Education · head to head
Seek by iNaturalist vs Sky Guide
Seek by iNaturalist
Education
Free nonprofit wildlife and plant identification app built to be safe for children
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Sky Guide
Education
iOS astronomy app that moved from a one-time purchase to a free-to-download, subscription-tiered model
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Seek by iNaturalist identification quality depends on how well iNaturalist community data covers a given region, so obscure or under-photographed species can be misidentified.; Sky Guide it is iOS-only, unlike SkySafari which also covers Android and desktop.
- They diverge on capability: Seek by iNaturalist covers Offline identification, Sky Guide covers Light pollution forecasting.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Seek by iNaturalist and Sky Guide actually diverge.
| Attribute | Seek by iNaturalist | Sky Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free, no ads and no in-app purchases | Free download with Plus and Pro subscription upgrades |
| Platforms | iOS, Android | iOS |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Seek by iNaturalist
- Offline identification
- No account required
- Child-safe design
- Species badges
- Broad coverage
- Community-trained model
Only in Sky Guide
- Light pollution forecasting
- Meteor shower prediction
- Camera and gyroscope sky view
- Deep-sky object catalogue
- Extreme zoom
- Satellite tracking
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Seek by iNaturalist
- A parent wanting a nature app for a child without accounts, chat or data collection concernsnot Sky Guide
- A hiker in an area with no signal who needs offline plant or insect identificationnot Sky Guide
- A teacher running an outdoor nature scavenger hunt with a classnot Sky Guide
- Anyone who wants broad wildlife identification without paying a subscriptionnot Sky Guide
Sky Guide
- An iOS stargazer who wants light pollution forecasting to plan a dark-sky observing tripnot Seek by iNaturalist
- Someone tracking meteor showers and wanting a forecast of viewing conditionsnot Seek by iNaturalist
- A user who wants extreme zoom into deep-sky objects without owning a telescopenot Seek by iNaturalist
- A buyer comparing subscription astronomy apps on iOS specifically, rather than cross-platform toolsnot Seek by iNaturalist
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Seek by iNaturalist
- Identification quality depends on how well iNaturalist community data covers a given region, so obscure or under-photographed species can be misidentified.
- It lacks the deep plant care guidance that commercial apps like PictureThis provide, since it is an identification tool, not a gardening assistant.
- Observations made in Seek are not automatically added to the iNaturalist research database unless separately uploaded, which surprises some users expecting automatic contribution.
- The offline model download is a meaningful app size, which matters on devices with limited storage.
- Because there are no accounts, there is no cross-device sync of identification history.
Sky Guide
- It is iOS-only, unlike SkySafari which also covers Android and desktop.
- It has moved from one-time purchase to a subscription model, and long-time users who paid once for earlier versions have criticised the change publicly.
- Pro tier pricing is high relative to Star Walk 2 for broadly similar core stargazing functionality.
- It has no telescope control, unlike SkySafari Plus and Pro, which limits it to naked-eye and camera-based observing.
- Its relationship to other apps under the same distribution platform is not clearly documented, which makes long-term support commitments harder to assess.
Pricing, plan by plan
Seek by iNaturalist
Free- SeekFree
- Full identification for plants, insects and animals
- Offline identification once models are downloaded
- No account required
Sky Guide
Free- Sky GuideFree
- Base sky map and object labelling
- Sky Guide Plus$19.99/year
- Larger star and satellite catalogue
- Light pollution forecasting
- Meteor shower prediction
- Sky Guide Pro$39.99/year
- Very large deep-sky object catalogue
- Exoplanet data
- Extreme zoom
Which should you pick?
Choose Seek by iNaturalist if
- You need offline identification.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on iOS, Android.
- You also want no account required.
Choose Sky Guide if
- You need light pollution forecasting.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on iOS.
- You also want meteor shower prediction.
Questions people ask
- Is Seek by iNaturalist or Sky Guide better?
- Neither clearly leads. Seek by iNaturalist starts at Free and Sky Guide at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Seek by iNaturalist or Sky Guide?
- Seek by iNaturalist starts at Free and Sky Guide at Free.
- Does Seek by iNaturalist or Sky Guide run on more platforms?
- Seek by iNaturalist runs on iOS, Android. Sky Guide runs on iOS.
- Can I use Seek by iNaturalist for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Seek by iNaturalist best used for?
- Seek by iNaturalist is most often used for a parent wanting a nature app for a child without accounts, chat or data collection concerns, a hiker in an area with no signal who needs offline plant or insect identification, a teacher running an outdoor nature scavenger hunt with a class, anyone who wants broad wildlife identification without paying a subscription. Of those, a parent wanting a nature app for a child without accounts, chat or data collection concerns and a hiker in an area with no signal who needs offline plant or insect identification are not what Sky Guide is typically brought in for.
- What can Seek by iNaturalist do that Sky Guide cannot?
- Seek by iNaturalist covers Offline identification, No account required, Child-safe design, Species badges. Sky Guide covers Light pollution forecasting, Meteor shower prediction, Camera and gyroscope sky view, Deep-sky object catalogue.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Seek by iNaturalist: Is Seek really free?
Yes, entirely, with no ads or in-app purchases, run by the nonprofit iNaturalist.
Sky Guide: Is Sky Guide free?
The base app is free to download; Plus and Pro are subscription upgrades for a larger catalogue and forecasting features.
Seek by iNaturalist: Do I need an account?
No, Seek works fully without an account, which is a deliberate choice to make it safe for children.
Sky Guide: Did Sky Guide used to be a one-time purchase?
Yes, earlier versions were sold as a one-time purchase before it moved to the current free-plus-subscription model.
Seek by iNaturalist: Does Seek feed the iNaturalist research database?
Not automatically. You have to choose to upload an observation to iNaturalist.org for it to become part of the research record.
Sky Guide: Does Sky Guide support telescope control?
No. For telescope control, SkySafari Plus or Pro is the better choice.
Related pages
More on Seek by iNaturalist
Other head to heads
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Pl@ntNet
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Merlin Bird ID
- Seek by iNaturalist vs PictureThis
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Khan Academy
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Stellarium
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Codecademy
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Duolingo
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Quizizz
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Flip
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Replit AI Agent
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Bark for Schools
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Melodics
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Simply Piano
- Seek by iNaturalist vs SkySafari
- Seek by iNaturalist vs eBird
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Star Walk 2
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Anki
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Yousician
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Elevate
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Lumosity
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Photomath
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Flowkey
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Busuu
- Seek by iNaturalist vs ClassLink
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Gaggle
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Gimkit
- Seek by iNaturalist vs Jackrabbit Class
- Sky Guide vs Pl@ntNet
- Sky Guide vs Merlin Bird ID
- Sky Guide vs PictureThis
- Sky Guide vs Khan Academy
- Sky Guide vs Stellarium
- Sky Guide vs Codecademy
- Sky Guide vs Duolingo
- Sky Guide vs Quizizz
- Sky Guide vs Flip
- Sky Guide vs Replit AI Agent
- Sky Guide vs Bark for Schools
- Sky Guide vs Melodics
- Sky Guide vs Simply Piano
- Sky Guide vs SkySafari
- Sky Guide vs eBird
- Sky Guide vs Star Walk 2
- Sky Guide vs Anki
- Sky Guide vs Yousician
- Sky Guide vs Elevate
- Sky Guide vs Lumosity
- Sky Guide vs Photomath
- Sky Guide vs Flowkey
- Sky Guide vs Busuu
- Sky Guide vs ClassLink
- Sky Guide vs Gaggle
- Sky Guide vs Gimkit
- Sky Guide vs Jackrabbit Class