AkastroidPay once, or month by month
Every feature is free to try. Your licence is checked on your own machine.
Free
Every feature, no time limit.
No account, no card needed.
- Deep sky, planets, Moon and Sun
- Drizzle, mosaics, photometric color
- 16-bit TIFF and FITS export
- Process five sessions, keep three exports
Pro Monthly
Pro, paid month by month.
Cancel any time. Needs 1.3.15 or later.
- Everything in Free, no limits
- Every update while it runs
- Mac, Windows and Linux
Pro
No limits, paid once.
$129 from 1 November.
- Everything in Free, no limits
- Every future version free
- Mac, Windows and Linux
Pro Studio
Two computers, paid once.
$199 from 1 November.
- Everything in Pro
- Two computers at once
- Move either one any time
- One key, one invoice
14-day refund in every country, no questions asked. Pro and Pro Studio are one-time payments and include every future version; Pro Monthly includes every update while it runs.
About updates. Every future version is free, version 2 and later included. You will not pay again for an upgrade, and nobody will be moved to a subscription. I have put this here rather than only in the licence agreement so you can read it before you buy.
The FAQ covers what a licence includes and how to move it between machines. If you are unsure whether it will read your data, email hello@akastroid.com before buying.
What each stage replaces
The programs people usually chain together, and the part of Akastroid that does the same job. It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, with no plugins and no exporting between steps.
Each of those programs is good at its job, most are free, and several are Windows-only. Akastroid saves you the chain of exports between them. PixInsight in expert hands still goes further. What it replaces and what it does not.
How it compares
Most astrophotography software is free. Akastroid is worth paying for if the time saved on learning and running a chain of tools matters more to you than the money.
| Akastroid | Siril | PixInsight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $79 once, every future version free | Free | ~€300 |
| Learning curve | Automatic, then adjustable | Steep | Very steep |
| Finish, measured on the same stack | SNR 402, sky gradient 2.6% | SNR 87, gradient 21.6% (standard finish) | Not measured |
| Stars | Reduction, colour, halo repair, green cast removed; each measured | Tools, set by hand | Tools, set by hand |
| Colour | Photometric by default, cast readout | Photometric on request | Photometric on request |
| Frame rejection | Twelve measurements, fault named | Quality metrics | Quality metrics |
| Camera RAW in | Yes | Convert first | Convert first |
| Smart telescope files | 13 models known by name | Generic | Generic |
| Planetary video | Stack and sharpen built in; measured level with AutoStakkert and RegiStax | Separate tools | Separate tools |
| Annotation | One click, catalogues you choose, burned into the export | Yes | Yes |
| Explains its choices | Every decision, with the number behind it | No | No |
| Manual control | Exposure, contrast, highlights, colour, stars, crop; global only, no masks | Everything | Everything, scriptable |
| Runs offline | Always | Yes | Yes |
If you already know PixInsight, keep using it. It goes further than Akastroid does. Akastroid is for people who would rather spend the evening on the picture than on the software. The measured rows use the same data for both programs. The full numbers, including where Akastroid loses, are on the Siril, AutoStakkert and RegiStax pages.