Comparison

StarEdit vs Astro Stacker

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

StarEdit

Easily remove stars from your galaxy photos to make intuitive edits. Adjust star count, size, and saturation, then combine starless and star images for social media. This app uses AI for convenient mobile editing.

Highlights
  • Instantly remove stars from photos
  • Adjust star count, size, and saturation
  • Apply curve and color adjustments
  • Combine starless and star images
  • AI-powered mobile editing
  • Edit target and sky in starless images
Features
Read full description

A specialised app to instantly remove stars from your photo so that you can make intuitive changes to your galaxy. Then add back the stars. Besides applying curve and color to your galaxy/nebulae, you could also adjust the number of star, size of star and saturation of star. Then combine the starless and star into a single image for your social media post. Traditionally, user has to download and remove stars on a laptop. This app makes it convenient and easy to do it on the phone using AI. Workflow: 1) Starless > Curve > Color 2) Star > Curve > Color 3) Both > Curve > Color Additional editing for Target and Sky in the Starless image if device has 4G RAM or more. Note: - The app is designed for seestar image of resolution 1080 x 1920 pixels. Larger image will need longer time to load and remove stars. Requirement: - App works best with 4G RAM and above. If the device has less than 4G RAM, it will use lesser weights for AI and produce degraded image. - Image is optimised at 1920 x 1080 pixels. Support: Please write to ustransit74@gmail.com. If the app does not process the stars in your image correctly, please send me your original photo. I will add your photo to the next AI training. A new app update will then be release. Video tutorial is available at https://www.instagram.com/ycbsl

About

Astro Stacker

Transform your smartphone into a powerful astrophotography tool. This app uses advanced algorithms to combine multiple night sky photos, reducing noise and revealing hidden celestial details for professional-quality results.

Highlights
  • Advanced stacking algorithms (Average, Median, Maximum, Minimum)
  • Intelligent and manual image alignment
  • Real-time processing and progress tracking
  • On-device processing, no cloud upload
  • Export high-resolution stacked images
  • Detailed processing insights and logs
Features
Read full description

Stack your night-sky photos into one cleaner, more detailed image, right on your iPhone or iPad. Astrophotography stacking combines many exposures of the same sky. Astro Stacker finds the stars in every frame, lines them up and combines them, so random noise falls away and faint stars, the Milky Way and deep-sky targets come through. HOW IT WORKS 1. Take several separate photos of the same patch of sky from a tripod or stable surface. 2. Import them from Photos or Files into a Deep Sky Studio project. 3. Pick a stack mode and tap Stack. 4. Finish the result with Auto Stretch, styles and colour tools, then save or export. THREE SIMPLE STACK MODES - Quick: averages every frame for a fast first look. - Quality (default): rejects outliers such as plane and satellite trails, and leaves out the weakest frames. - Max Detail: the slowest and most selective mode, with finer alignment. AUTOMATIC STAR ALIGNMENT Stars are detected and matched in every frame, with sub-pixel alignment and a quality check for each frame. Stacking needs clear stars in your photos to line them up. CALIBRATION FRAMES (PRO) Add darks, flats, dark-flats and bias frames to correct hot pixels, thermal noise, vignetting and dust. Astro Stacker sorts frames by file name and exposure, so files named "dark" or "flat" are picked up for you. FINISH IN THE SAME APP - Auto Stretch to bring faint signal into view - Gradient removal for light pollution and uneven skies - Local contrast, vibrance, levels and per-channel colour balance - Styles: Natural, Nebula Pop, Cosmic Drama and Scientific, each with a strength slider - Before-and-after comparison - Quick Enhance for a single photo you've already taken FILES IN AND OUT - Import: photos from your library on Free; camera RAW, Apple ProRAW and FITS on Pro - Export: JPG, PNG, TIFF and FITS, with 16-bit export on Pro ON-DEVICE Stacking and editing run on your iPhone or iPad. You don't need a computer, and your source frames are not uploaded to stack them. An optional account backs up finished results. FREE AND PRO Free: up to 10 light frames per stack, 3 stacks every 7 days and 3 saved results. Pro: unlimited frames and stacks, RAW, ProRAW and FITS import, calibration frames, 16-bit export and unlimited history. Choose monthly, annual or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period, and you can manage them in your App Store account settings. GOOD TO KNOW - Moon, planet and solar stacking (Planet Lab) is coming soon. Today's stacking needs stars to align on. - Colour FITS files from one-shot-colour cameras are not debayered yet. - Star-trail stacking isn't supported, because every stack is aligned on the stars. Guides to capturing and stacking: https://astrostacker.co/guides Privacy Policy: https://astrostacker.co/privacy Terms of Use: https://astrostacker.co/terms Apple Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

StarEdit4 screens
Astro Stacker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: StarEdit at 60% against Astro Stacker's 0%. StarEdit also leads on rating (4.8 vs 1.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Astro Stacker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. StarEdit asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StarEdit holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of StarEdit's written reviews are positive against 0% of Astro Stacker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StarEdit ships an update every 3 weeks, Astro Stacker fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
StarEdit versus Astro Stacker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStarEditAstro Stacker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4 ratings) — better1.1 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings47 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeryong chong lohAhmed Al-Mahmud

Customer experience

StarEdit

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative30.0%

Astro Stacker

All ratings7 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral18.2%
Negative81.8%

In-app purchases

None

StarEdit

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Astro Stacker

Subscriptions2
  • AstroStacker app$12.991 Month
  • AstroStacker app$99.991 Year
One-time1
  • AstroStacker app$219.00

Questions

Is StarEdit free?
StarEdit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Astro Stacker free?
Astro Stacker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, StarEdit or Astro Stacker?
StarEdit is rated higher. StarEdit averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Astro Stacker averages 1.1 from 7 ratings.
Do StarEdit or Astro Stacker have ads?
Neither StarEdit nor Astro Stacker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StarEdit or Astro Stacker?
StarEdit ships an update every 3 weeks, and Astro Stacker fortnightly. Most recently, StarEdit was updated on November 4, 2026 and Astro Stacker on November 9, 2026.

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