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Education · head to head

Stellarium vs Weaviate

Stellarium logo

Stellarium

Education

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Weaviate logo

Weaviate

Machine Learning

Open-source vector database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Weaviate the free tier caps at 100,000 objects, 1 GB of memory and a single collection
  • They diverge on capability: Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering, Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Stellarium and Weaviate actually diverge.

Attributes where Stellarium and Weaviate differ
AttributeStellariumWeaviate
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxLinux, Mac, Windows, Web
CategoryEducationMachine Learning
FoundedUnknown2019

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 Stellarium

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

Only in Weaviate

  • Vector and keyword search
  • Built-in vectorizers
  • GraphQL API
  • Multi-tenancy
  • Hybrid search
  • OpenAI
  • Hugging Face
  • Cohere

What people use each for

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

Stellarium

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

Weaviate

  • Running a vector database for semantic and hybrid searchnot Stellarium
  • Generating and storing embeddings alongside the objects they describenot Stellarium

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Weaviate

  • The free tier caps at 100,000 objects, 1 GB of memory and a single collection
  • Billing is per million vector dimensions rather than per record, so wider embeddings cost proportionally more for the same object count
  • Premium is a prepaid contract starting at $400 a month rather than pay as you go
  • Storage rates do not fall consistently with tier, and Premium Dedicated is $0.1505 per GiB against $0.12 on the cheaper Flex plan
  • The Query Agent is metered separately, free to 1,000 requests a month and $30 a month plus overage beyond

Pricing, plan by plan

Stellarium

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

Weaviate

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full features
    • Self-hosted
  • ServerlessFree
    • Managed service
    • Auto-scaling

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Weaviate if

  • You need vector and keyword search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
  • You also want built-in vectorizers.
Weaviate review

Questions people ask

Is Stellarium or Weaviate better?
Neither clearly leads. Stellarium starts at Free and Weaviate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Stellarium or Weaviate?
Stellarium starts at Free and Weaviate at Free.
Does Stellarium or Weaviate run on more platforms?
Stellarium runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Weaviate runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
Can I use Stellarium for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Stellarium best used for?
Stellarium is most often used for a student or educator wanting a serious, scriptable planetarium tool without a budget line item, an amateur astronomer wanting telescope control from desktop software they can inspect and modify, someone running a planetarium display or public astronomy event on a scripted show, a hobbyist who wants a large object catalogue without paying a subscription, and does not need a phone app. Of those, a student or educator wanting a serious, scriptable planetarium tool without a budget line item and an amateur astronomer wanting telescope control from desktop software they can inspect and modify are not what Weaviate is typically brought in for.
What can Stellarium do that Weaviate cannot?
Stellarium covers Photorealistic sky rendering, Large object catalogue, Telescope control, Scripting engine. Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search, Built-in vectorizers, GraphQL API, Multi-tenancy.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Weaviate: What pricing options does Weaviate offer?

Weaviate provides a free tier with usage-based pricing, plus enterprise options. Visit the pricing page for detailed information on plans.

Source
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.

Weaviate: Does Weaviate offer customer support?

Yes, support is included with Weaviate's cloud offerings. Enterprise customers receive first-class support from their global team of experts.

Source
Stellarium: What platforms does the free version run on?

Windows, macOS and Linux desktop.

Weaviate: Can I deploy Weaviate on my own infrastructure?

Yes. Weaviate is open source and deployment-agnostic. You can run it in your own cloud environment or use their managed cloud service.

Source
Weaviate: What data security features does Weaviate provide?

Weaviate includes security & governance, RBAC, SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance, along with multi-tenancy and high availability for enterprise requirements.

Source
Weaviate: How do I get started with Weaviate?

Sign up for their cloud tier, create your first dataset, connect an LLM, and build your AI app. Documentation and quickstart guides are available for Python, Go, TypeScript, and JavaScript.

Source
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