Buying guide · Smart telescopes
The best smart telescopes in 2026, tested side by side
I have reviewed ten smart telescopes. Here they are ranked by my Stars for Your Buck score out of 100, with who each one suits and the same nebula through six of them.
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The winners, and the number behind each
All ten, ranked
At a glance
Same target, every scope
How I tested
Every telescope on this page has a full review of its own: my images from it, the raw stack against my finished image, the specifications and the video. Each one is scored out of 100 for Stars for Your Buck on the same leaderboard as all 167 of my reviews, so a smart telescope is judged on the same scale as everything else.
Prices are the UK shop listings on the date shown beside each one.
Questions
Which smart telescope should a beginner buy?
The Seestar S30 Pro. It tops my leaderboard of smart telescopes at 99 out of 100, and I mark it Buy for a complete beginner. On a tighter budget, the DWARF mini (89, £399) and the Seestar S30 (81, £419) are also Buy for complete beginners.
Do the expensive smart telescopes take better pictures?
Not by enough to earn their price on my board. The Vespera III and Vespera Pro 2 cost £2,199 and £2,599 and score 60 and 74; the eVscope 2 costs £4,099 and scores 8. The top four smart telescopes on my board all cost under £1,000. I still mark the Vespera Pro 2 Buy if you want the best images a smart telescope can give.
Should I buy the Seestar S30 Pro or the S50 Pro?
On the same night the S50 Pro showed more in Andromeda's galactic bands once zoomed right in. At normal viewing sizes the two are close, and the S30 Pro costs far less (£649 against £999), so it is my better-value pick.
Which smart telescope has the widest field of view?
The Seestar S30 Pro: 3.9 x 2.2 degrees in a single frame, from its own plate solves. The DWARF II (3.19 x 1.79 degrees) and DWARF 3 (3.0 x 1.7 degrees) come next; the narrowest of the nine I plate solved is the Seestar S50 at 1.27 x 0.71 degrees.
Some shop links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through one I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. How that works.