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Machine Learning · head to head

Seldon vs Stellarium

Seldon logo

Seldon

Machine Learning

Kubernetes model serving whose current version is licensed under the Business Source Licence

From
Free
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

  • Each has a real cost: Seldon seldon Core v2 is under the Business Source Licence rather than Apache 2.0, so production use requires a commercial agreement, and a team that evaluated it believing it was open source discovers the licence is the blocker exactly when the project is ready to ship.; 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: Seldon covers Kubernetes custom resources, Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Seldon and Stellarium actually diverge.

Attributes where Seldon and Stellarium differ
AttributeSeldonStellarium
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinuxWindows, macOS, Linux
CategoryMachine LearningEducation
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Seldon

  • Kubernetes custom resources
  • Inference graphs
  • Traffic strategies
  • Open Inference Protocol
  • Alibi Explain
  • Alibi Detect
  • Kafka-backed pipelines in v2
  • Commercial control plane

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.

Seldon

  • Serving an ensemble or a multi-stage inference path as one versioned deployment rather than as a chain of separate servicesnot Stellarium
  • Running genuine production experiments where a share of live traffic goes to a candidate model and the results are comparednot Stellarium
  • Regulated environments needing explanations and drift monitoring attached to the served model rather than bolted on laternot Stellarium
  • Organisations with an established Kubernetes platform team who want serving expressed as manifests under existing deployment controlsnot Stellarium

Stellarium

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

Where each one falls short

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

Seldon

  • Seldon Core v2 is under the Business Source Licence rather than Apache 2.0, so production use requires a commercial agreement, and a team that evaluated it believing it was open source discovers the licence is the blocker exactly when the project is ready to ship.
  • Core v1 remains Apache 2.0 but is in maintenance, so taking the free route means running software that receives no new development while the architecture it belongs to moves on without it.
  • Version 2 is a different system rather than a newer release, with different custom resources, a scheduler component and a Kafka-based pipeline model, so migrating from v1 is a re-implementation of every deployment manifest rather than an upgrade.
  • Kafka is a dependency for v2 pipelines, so an organisation that does not already operate it takes on a distributed log with its own storage, retention, rebalancing and failure modes purely in order to serve models.
  • Everything assumes Kubernetes fluency and the failure modes are Kubernetes failure modes, custom resource version mismatches, an operator that will not reconcile, admission webhooks and resource limits terminating an inference pod mid-request, so it needs a platform engineer rather than a data scientist.

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

Seldon

Free
  • Seldon CoreFree
    • Open source
    • Kubernetes deployment
    • Model serving
  • Seldon DeployFree
    • Enterprise features
    • GUI
    • Monitoring

Stellarium

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Seldon if

  • You need kubernetes custom resources.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want inference graphs.
Seldon 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 Seldon or Stellarium better?
Neither clearly leads. Seldon starts at Free and Stellarium at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Seldon or Stellarium?
Seldon starts at Free and Stellarium at Free.
Does Seldon or Stellarium run on more platforms?
Seldon runs on Linux. Stellarium runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Seldon for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Seldon best used for?
Seldon is most often used for serving an ensemble or a multi-stage inference path as one versioned deployment rather than as a chain of separate services, running genuine production experiments where a share of live traffic goes to a candidate model and the results are compared, regulated environments needing explanations and drift monitoring attached to the served model rather than bolted on later, organisations with an established kubernetes platform team who want serving expressed as manifests under existing deployment controls. Of those, serving an ensemble or a multi-stage inference path as one versioned deployment rather than as a chain of separate services and running genuine production experiments where a share of live traffic goes to a candidate model and the results are compared are not what Stellarium is typically brought in for.
What can Seldon do that Stellarium cannot?
Seldon covers Kubernetes custom resources, Inference graphs, Traffic strategies, Open Inference Protocol. Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering, Large object catalogue, Telescope control, Scripting engine.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Seldon: Is Seldon open source?

Partly, and this is the thing to check before you build on it. Core v1 is Apache 2.0 but in maintenance. Core v2 was moved to the Business Source Licence in 2024, which allows evaluation but not unlicensed production use. Verify the current licence of each component you intend to run, including MLServer and the Alibi libraries.

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.

Seldon: What is the difference between v1 and v2?

Architecture, not just version number. v2 introduces a scheduler, a different set of custom resources and Kafka-backed pipelines. Manifests, mental model and operations all change, so treat a move as a project.

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.

Seldon: Do I need Kubernetes?

Yes. It is a Kubernetes-native system and there is no meaningful deployment without a cluster and someone competent to run it.

Stellarium: What platforms does the free version run on?

Windows, macOS and Linux desktop.

Seldon: What is MLServer?

Seldon's Python inference server implementing the Open Inference Protocol, usable inside Seldon deployments or on its own. Check its current licence alongside Core's, since the company has moved projects onto the Business Source Licence.

Seldon: Do I have to run Kafka?

For v2 pipelines, yes. If you only need single models served, that dependency is a large amount of infrastructure for the benefit, and a simpler serving layer may be the better answer.

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