Compare software

Sky Map vs KStars: catalog facts
Sky MapKStars
Free

Free and open source under the GPL 3.0 or later licence.

Free

Free and open source from the KDE community.

Android Windows, macOS, Linux
  • Real-time identification using the phone's sensors
  • Long history, maintained by the original developers
  • Sky simulation with up to 100 million stars, plus comets and asteroids
  • Observation planner and calculation tools such as conjunction prediction
  • The classic interface looks dated, as the developers acknowledge
  • Accuracy depends on the phone's compass and sensors
  • The large feature set takes time to learn
  • Some information and imagery features rely on internet resources
Downloadable app Downloadable app
Open source Open source
License: GPL-3.0-or-later License not stated
No account needed No account needed
Not stated if it works offline Not stated if it works offline

Checked October 2, 2026

Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.