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Education · head to head

Panorama Education vs Stellarium

Panorama Education logo

Panorama Education

Education

Student survey, wellbeing screening and multi-tiered support tracking for school districts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Stellarium logo

Stellarium

Education

Free open source desktop planetarium software, distinct from the paid Stellarium Mobile Plus app

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Stellarium has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Panorama Education social and emotional survey responses about named children are more sensitive than grades, and districts that adopt without an explicit consent, retention and access policy have found themselves defending the programme to parents after the fact.; Stellarium it is desktop-only software, so it has no native touch-optimised phone interface; the similarly named mobile app is a different paid product from a different company.
  • They diverge on capability: Panorama Education covers Validated surveys, Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Panorama Education and Stellarium actually diverge.

Attributes where Panorama Education and Stellarium differ
AttributePanorama EducationStellarium
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWindows, macOS, Linux

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Education).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Panorama Education

  • Validated surveys
  • National comparison data
  • Student Success
  • Early warning indicators
  • Playbook of strategies
  • Role based dashboards

Only in Stellarium

  • Photorealistic sky rendering
  • Large object catalogue
  • Telescope control
  • Scripting engine
  • Free and open source
  • Plugin ecosystem

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Panorama Education

  • A district required to report on school climate and needing an instrument it can defend methodologicallynot Stellarium
  • Multi-tiered support teams that currently track interventions in spreadsheets with no record of what was triednot Stellarium
  • Districts wanting to test whether an attendance intervention actually moved attendance for the pupils who received itnot Stellarium
  • Boards asking for evidence on staff retention and school climate rather than anecdotenot Stellarium

Stellarium

  • A student or educator wanting a serious, scriptable planetarium tool without a budget line itemnot Panorama Education
  • An amateur astronomer wanting telescope control from desktop software they can inspect and modifynot Panorama Education
  • Someone running a planetarium display or public astronomy event on a scripted shownot Panorama Education
  • A hobbyist who wants a large object catalogue without paying a subscription, and does not need a phone appnot Panorama Education

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Panorama Education

  • Social and emotional survey responses about named children are more sensitive than grades, and districts that adopt without an explicit consent, retention and access policy have found themselves defending the programme to parents after the fact.
  • Measurement without intervention capacity produces documented problems and no change, and the annual renewal then has to be justified on data the district could not act on.
  • Survey fatigue is real. Pupils who are surveyed repeatedly answer less carefully, which degrades the comparison the district paid for.
  • The platform depends on clean feeds from the student information system, so districts with poor data hygiene get risk flags built on wrong enrolment and attendance data.
  • Comparison against a national set invites league table thinking inside a district, and school leaders whose climate scores are compared publicly start managing the survey rather than the climate.

Stellarium

  • It is desktop-only software, so it has no native touch-optimised phone interface; the similarly named mobile app is a different paid product from a different company.
  • As a volunteer-maintained open source project, support is community-based rather than a guaranteed commercial help desk.
  • The interface, while capable, is less immediately intuitive for a first-time user than a polished commercial phone app.
  • Telescope control and some advanced plugins require additional setup that a non-technical user may find fiddly.
  • Because it shares a name with the unrelated paid Stellarium Mobile Plus app, buyers researching pricing online can easily conflate the two products.

Pricing, plan by plan

Panorama Education

On request
  • Panorama Education$undefined/year
    • Quoted per pupil or per district
    • Survey administration and Student Success priced separately
    • Multi-year district agreements typical

Stellarium

Free
  • Stellarium DesktopFree
    • Full software, GPL licensed
    • No account, ads or subscription
    • Community-developed plugins

Which should you pick?

Choose Panorama Education if

  • You need validated surveys.
  • You also want national comparison data.
Panorama Education review

Choose Stellarium if

  • You need photorealistic sky rendering.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want large object catalogue.
Stellarium review

Questions people ask

Is Panorama Education or Stellarium better?
Neither clearly leads. Panorama Education starts at On request and Stellarium at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Panorama Education or Stellarium?
Stellarium has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Panorama Education and Free for Stellarium.
Does Panorama Education or Stellarium run on more platforms?
Panorama Education runs on Web. Stellarium runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Stellarium for free?
Yes. Stellarium has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Panorama Education starts at On request.
What is Panorama Education best used for?
Panorama Education is most often used for a district required to report on school climate and needing an instrument it can defend methodologically, multi-tiered support teams that currently track interventions in spreadsheets with no record of what was tried, districts wanting to test whether an attendance intervention actually moved attendance for the pupils who received it, boards asking for evidence on staff retention and school climate rather than anecdote. Of those, a district required to report on school climate and needing an instrument it can defend methodologically and multi-tiered support teams that currently track interventions in spreadsheets with no record of what was tried are not what Stellarium is typically brought in for.
What can Panorama Education do that Stellarium cannot?
Panorama Education covers Validated surveys, National comparison data, Student Success, Early warning indicators. Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering, Large object catalogue, Telescope control, Scripting engine.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Panorama Education: Do parents have to consent to SEL surveys?

Under FERPA and COPPA the district can consent as the school official, but several states and many districts require parental notification or opt out for social and emotional screening. Decide the local position before the first administration, not after the first complaint.

Stellarium: Is Stellarium really free?

The desktop software is free and open source under the GPL licence. The separate mobile app, Stellarium Mobile Plus, is a different paid product.

Panorama Education: Is Panorama a student information system?

No. It reads from one. It is a measurement and intervention tracking layer and does not hold the official education record.

Stellarium: Is the mobile app made by the same team?

No. Stellarium Mobile Plus is built by Noctua Software, a different company, and is sold on subscription.

Panorama Education: Has it signed the Student Privacy Pledge?

Yes. That commits it on data use and retention. It does not answer the separate question of whether your district should screen pupils on social and emotional measures at all.

Stellarium: What platforms does the free version run on?

Windows, macOS and Linux desktop.

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