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Education · head to head

Skyward vs Star Walk 2

Skyward logo

Skyward

Education

Student information and school ERP for K-12 districts and municipalities

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Star Walk 2 logo

Star Walk 2

Education

Freemium stargazing app with a low-cost ad-free upgrade, aimed at casual sky watchers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Star Walk 2 has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Skyward no pricing is published anywhere, so the only way to learn what a district of your size pays is to enter a sales cycle, and comparative quotes across vendors are hard to obtain before a board meeting deadline.; Star Walk 2 its object catalogue is far smaller than SkySafari Pro, so it has little to offer once someone wants to go beyond naked-eye stargazing.
  • They diverge on capability: Skyward covers Qmlativ SIS, Star Walk 2 covers Augmented reality sky view.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Skyward and Star Walk 2 actually diverge.

Attributes where Skyward and Star Walk 2 differ
AttributeSkywardStar Walk 2
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFreemium, low-cost ad-free subscription upgrade
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidiOS, Android, macOS, Windows

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 Skyward

  • Qmlativ SIS
  • School Business Suite
  • Position control
  • Family and student access
  • State reporting packs
  • Municipality edition
  • Data mining and reporting
  • Employee access

Only in Star Walk 2

  • Augmented reality sky view
  • Time travel mode
  • Satellite tracking
  • Night mode
  • Meteor shower and event alerts
  • Ad-free Plus tier

What people use each for

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

Skyward

  • A district of 8,000 students that wants payroll, position budgeting and the SIS on one vendor contract instead of paying an integrator to reconcile employee records nightlynot Star Walk 2
  • A Wisconsin or Texas district where state submission deadlines are the dominant compliance burden and prebuilt state packs remove weeks of extract worknot Star Walk 2
  • A district still on the older PaC client-server product deciding whether to migrate to Qmlativ or replace the SIS outrightnot Star Walk 2
  • A county government buying the finance and HR half on its own, separate from any school usenot Star Walk 2

Star Walk 2

  • A parent wanting a cheap, simple app to show a child the night skynot Skyward
  • A traveller who wants to identify stars and planets without a big subscription commitmentnot Skyward
  • A casual stargazer who does not need telescope control or a deep-sky cataloguenot Skyward
  • Someone wanting satellite pass tracking including the ISS on a budgetnot Skyward

Where each one falls short

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

Skyward

  • No pricing is published anywhere, so the only way to learn what a district of your size pays is to enter a sales cycle, and comparative quotes across vendors are hard to obtain before a board meeting deadline.
  • State reporting depth is uneven: the packs are excellent in the states where Skyward has a large installed base and thin elsewhere, so a district in a low-penetration state inherits reporting work the vendor absorbs for others.
  • The third-party integration ecosystem is much smaller than PowerSchool's, so an edtech tool your teachers want may support the market leader first and Skyward months later or not at all.
  • Two product generations are still live and the migration from PaC to Qmlativ is a project in its own right, meaning a district can be paying for a modernisation programme rather than new capability.
  • Buying SIS and ERP from one vendor concentrates risk: a pricing increase, an ownership change or a product direction you dislike affects enrolment, payroll and the general ledger simultaneously, and unpicking that is a multi-year replacement rather than swapping one system.

Star Walk 2

  • Its object catalogue is far smaller than SkySafari Pro, so it has little to offer once someone wants to go beyond naked-eye stargazing.
  • It has no telescope control, unlike SkySafari Plus and Pro, so it cannot drive a motorised mount.
  • The free tier carries ads, which some users find intrusive during a stargazing session.
  • It shares a visual style with many similar AR sky map apps, so its differentiation beyond price is limited.
  • Content depth for deep-sky objects and satellite catalogues lags noticeably behind Sky Guide Pro and SkySafari Pro.

Pricing, plan by plan

Skyward

On request
  • Student Management Suite$undefined/year
    • Enrolment, scheduling, attendance and grading
    • State reporting
    • Family and student portals
  • School Business Suite$undefined/year
    • Finance, payroll and HR
    • Position control
    • Usually quoted alongside the SIS as a bundle
  • Municipality Edition$undefined/year
    • Finance and HR for local government
    • Quoted per organisation

Star Walk 2

Free
  • Star Walk 2Free
    • Core sky map and AR view
    • Ad-supported
  • Star Walk 2 Plus$5.99/year
    • Ads removed
    • Additional sky content

Which should you pick?

Choose Skyward if

  • You need qmlativ sis.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want school business suite.
Skyward review

Choose Star Walk 2 if

  • You need augmented reality sky view.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want time travel mode.
Star Walk 2 review

Questions people ask

Is Skyward or Star Walk 2 better?
Neither clearly leads. Skyward starts at On request and Star Walk 2 at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Skyward or Star Walk 2?
Star Walk 2 has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Skyward and Free for Star Walk 2.
Does Skyward or Star Walk 2 run on more platforms?
Skyward runs on Web, iOS, Android. Star Walk 2 runs on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Star Walk 2 for free?
Yes. Star Walk 2 has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Skyward starts at On request.
What is Skyward best used for?
Skyward is most often used for a district of 8,000 students that wants payroll, position budgeting and the sis on one vendor contract instead of paying an integrator to reconcile employee records nightly, a wisconsin or texas district where state submission deadlines are the dominant compliance burden and prebuilt state packs remove weeks of extract work, a district still on the older pac client-server product deciding whether to migrate to qmlativ or replace the sis outright, a county government buying the finance and hr half on its own, separate from any school use. Of those, a district of 8,000 students that wants payroll, position budgeting and the sis on one vendor contract instead of paying an integrator to reconcile employee records nightly and a wisconsin or texas district where state submission deadlines are the dominant compliance burden and prebuilt state packs remove weeks of extract work are not what Star Walk 2 is typically brought in for.
What can Skyward do that Star Walk 2 cannot?
Skyward covers Qmlativ SIS, School Business Suite, Position control, Family and student access. Star Walk 2 covers Augmented reality sky view, Time travel mode, Satellite tracking, Night mode.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Skyward: Was Skyward bought by PowerSchool?

No. Skyward remains an independent company based in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and competes directly with PowerSchool in the K-12 SIS market. It is one of the few SIS vendors of scale not owned by a private equity roll-up.

Star Walk 2: Is Star Walk 2 free?

A free ad-supported version exists; Star Walk 2 Plus removes ads and adds content for a low annual or monthly fee.

Skyward: Is pricing per student?

Yes, the student system is generally quoted per student per year with the finance suite priced separately, but no rate card is published and discounts vary heavily by district size and term length.

Star Walk 2: Does it support telescope control?

No. For telescope control, SkySafari Plus or Pro is the better choice.

Skyward: Can we buy just the finance and HR suite?

Yes. School Business Suite is sold on its own, and there is a municipality edition for city and county government with no school component.

Star Walk 2: How does it compare to SkySafari on price?

It is substantially cheaper, but with a much smaller star and deep-sky object catalogue.

Skyward: What is the difference between Qmlativ and PaC?

PaC is the older client-server generation and Qmlativ is the current browser-based product. New districts buy Qmlativ; existing PaC districts are being migrated.

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