Education · head to head
Sky Guide vs YuJa
Sky Guide
Education
iOS astronomy app that moved from a one-time purchase to a free-to-download, subscription-tiered model
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
YuJa
Education
Video platform, lecture capture, accessibility remediation and proctoring bundled for institutions
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Sky Guide has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Sky Guide it is iOS-only, unlike SkySafari which also covers Android and desktop.; YuJa nothing is published, and because the pricing is a bundle against enrolment, comparing YuJa with a video-only competitor requires unpicking which modules you would actually deploy rather than reading two price lists.
- They diverge on capability: Sky Guide covers Light pollution forecasting, YuJa covers Lumina Video Platform.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Sky Guide and YuJa actually diverge.
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 Sky Guide
- Light pollution forecasting
- Meteor shower prediction
- Camera and gyroscope sky view
- Deep-sky object catalogue
- Extreme zoom
- Satellite tracking
Only in YuJa
- Lumina Video Platform
- Lecture capture
- Panorama
- Verity
- EqualGround
- Auto-captioning
- Engage
- Institution-wide licensing
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Sky Guide
- An iOS stargazer who wants light pollution forecasting to plan a dark-sky observing tripnot YuJa
- Someone tracking meteor showers and wanting a forecast of viewing conditionsnot YuJa
- A user who wants extreme zoom into deep-sky objects without owning a telescopenot YuJa
- A buyer comparing subscription astronomy apps on iOS specifically, rather than cross-platform toolsnot YuJa
YuJa
- A public university facing an enforceable web and document accessibility deadline that needs LMS content remediated and a dashboard it can show an auditor.not Sky Guide
- An institution replacing a per-user lecture capture licence where casual recorders push the seat count past what the budget supports.not Sky Guide
- A university that wants captioning, audio description and accessible alternative formats produced natively rather than routed to a third-party captioning vendor per hour.not Sky Guide
- A disability services office and IT department jointly procuring one supplier for accessibility remediation, website scanning and media captioning instead of three contracts.not Sky Guide
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
YuJa
- Nothing is published, and because the pricing is a bundle against enrolment, comparing YuJa with a video-only competitor requires unpicking which modules you would actually deploy rather than reading two price lists.
- The suite is broad and the modules are not equally mature; buyers who choose it for the accessibility line should evaluate the video and proctoring products separately rather than assuming equivalent quality.
- Storage and streaming are presented as unlimited, but unlimited in a quoted institutional contract is a negotiated position rather than a technical guarantee, and heavy adopters should get the fair use threshold in writing.
- Proctoring is contested; student unions and academic staff at many institutions object to automated invigilation, so buying Verity as part of a bundle can trigger a governance argument the video purchase did not anticipate.
- Bundling concentrates supplier risk: lecture capture, exam integrity and accessibility compliance in one contract means a single renewal negotiation where the institution has very little leverage.
Pricing, plan by plan
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$39.99/year
- Very large deep-sky object catalogue
- Exoplanet data
- Extreme zoom
YuJa
On request- YuJa Suite$undefined/year
- Priced per institution, usually against full-time equivalent enrolment
- Video Platform, Panorama, Verity, EqualGround and Engage licensed individually or bundled
- Multi-year institutional agreements are the norm
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose YuJa if
- You need lumina video platform.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
- You also want lecture capture.
Questions people ask
- Is Sky Guide or YuJa better?
- Neither clearly leads. Sky Guide starts at Free and YuJa at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Sky Guide or YuJa?
- Sky Guide has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Sky Guide and On request for YuJa.
- Does Sky Guide or YuJa run on more platforms?
- Sky Guide runs on iOS. YuJa runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
- Can I use Sky Guide for free?
- Yes. Sky Guide has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. YuJa starts at On request.
- What is Sky Guide best used for?
- Sky Guide is most often used for an ios stargazer who wants light pollution forecasting to plan a dark-sky observing trip, someone tracking meteor showers and wanting a forecast of viewing conditions, a user who wants extreme zoom into deep-sky objects without owning a telescope, a buyer comparing subscription astronomy apps on ios specifically, rather than cross-platform tools. Of those, an ios stargazer who wants light pollution forecasting to plan a dark-sky observing trip and someone tracking meteor showers and wanting a forecast of viewing conditions are not what YuJa is typically brought in for.
- What can Sky Guide do that YuJa cannot?
- Sky Guide covers Light pollution forecasting, Meteor shower prediction, Camera and gyroscope sky view, Deep-sky object catalogue. YuJa covers Lumina Video Platform, Lecture capture, Panorama, Verity.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
YuJa: Is YuJa priced per user?
No. It is licensed per institution, typically against full-time equivalent enrolment, which is the main structural difference from per-seat lecture capture rivals.
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.
YuJa: Is storage really unlimited?
It is marketed that way. In a quoted institutional contract, get the fair use position and any streaming threshold written into the agreement.
Sky Guide: Does Sky Guide support telescope control?
No. For telescope control, SkySafari Plus or Pro is the better choice.
YuJa: What is Panorama?
An accessibility product that scans documents in your LMS, remediates them, generates alternative formats and reports compliance status.
YuJa: Does it integrate with our LMS?
Yes, with Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace and Sakai through LTI, with in-course playback and rostering.
YuJa: How does it compare with Panopto?
Panopto is more focused on video and lecture capture. YuJa bundles accessibility remediation and proctoring around the video, which is why it wins tenders that weight accessibility heavily.
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