Sky Guidevs
SkySafari
SkySafari: If you want telescope control and cross-platform support including Android and desktop
Sky Guide
iOS astronomy app that moved from a one-time purchase to a free-to-download, subscription-tiered model
As of 1 September 2026, Sky Guide is free to use. An iOS stargazing app from Fifth Star Labs that now offers a free base app with two paid subscription upgrades, Plus and Pro. Softwr lists it under Education. Sky Guide is made by Fifth Star Labs, available on iOS.
Overview
What Sky Guide does
Sky Guide overlays labelled stars, planets, satellites and deep-sky objects on a live camera or gyroscope-driven sky view, with light pollution forecasting, meteor shower prediction and a large object catalogue in its higher tiers. It began years ago as a straightforward one-time paid app and has since moved to a free download with in-app subscription upgrades. The distinguishing fact is that shift itself. Sky Guide Plus adds a larger star and satellite catalogue and light pollution and meteor forecasting for a low monthly or annual fee, while Sky Guide Pro adds an enormous deep-sky object catalogue, exoplanet data and extreme zoom for a higher fee. That business model change from one-time purchase to subscription is a common complaint among users who bought earlier versions outright and now see ongoing features gated behind a recurring charge. Buyers are iOS-only stargazers who want strong light pollution and meteor forecasting alongside the sky map itself, a feature set SkySafari and Star Walk 2 do not emphasise as heavily. The trade-off against SkySafari is platform, since Sky Guide is iOS-only where SkySafari also covers Android and desktop, and against Star Walk 2 the trade-off is price, since Sky Guide Pro costs considerably more.
What people use it 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
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Sky Guide
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- Sky GuidevsStar Walk 2
Star Walk 2: If you want a cheaper casual stargazing app without Pro-tier pricing
- Sky GuidevsStellarium
Stellarium: If you want free, open source planetarium software for desktop instead of a phone subscription
Pricing
What Sky Guide costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Sky Guide
Free
- Base sky map and object labelling
Sky Guide Plus
$19.99 /yr
- Larger star and satellite catalogue
- Light pollution forecasting
- Meteor shower prediction
Sky Guide Pro
$39.99 /yr
- Very large deep-sky object catalogue
- Exoplanet data
- Extreme zoom
Capabilities
Features
Light pollution forecasting
Predicts sky darkness and visibility conditions for a location and date
Meteor shower prediction
Forecasts upcoming meteor showers and expected visibility
Camera and gyroscope sky view
Live overlay of labelled objects using the phone camera or motion sensors
Deep-sky object catalogue
Pro tier includes a very large catalogue of deep-sky objects and exoplanets
Extreme zoom
Pro tier allows zooming into individual objects in detail
Satellite tracking
Tracks visible satellites including the ISS in the Plus and Pro tiers
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Is Sky Guide free?
The base app is free to download; Plus and Pro are subscription upgrades for a larger catalogue and forecasting features.
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.
Does Sky Guide support telescope control?
No. For telescope control, SkySafari Plus or Pro is the better choice.
Keep looking
Where to go from Sky Guide
- Sky Guide alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Sky Guide pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Sky Guide badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Education softwareThe full category
- Best Education softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Education software for
Compare Sky Guide with
- SkySafari
- Star Walk 2
- Stellarium
- Anki
- PictureThis
- Simply Piano
- Yousician
- Elevate
- Lumosity
- Photomath
- Merlin Bird ID
- Flowkey
- Busuu
- ClassLink
- Gaggle
- Gimkit
- Jackrabbit Class
- eBird
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Sky Guide, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Sky Guide
Sky Guide alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Sky Guide pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Sky Guide
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Sky Guide badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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