ASIStudio review: ZWO's free suite for capture and stacking
Where does it rank on our leaderboard
| Rank | Software | Stars for Your Buck | Recorded UK price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stellarium | 100 out of 100 | Free |
| 2 | NINA | 98 out of 100 | Free |
| 4 | GraXpert | 96 out of 100 | Free |
| 5 | BlurXTerminator | 95 out of 100 | £75 |
| 10 | Siril | 88 out of 100 | Free |
| 12 | ASIStudio | 82 out of 100 | Free |
| 14 | PixInsight | 76 out of 100 | €300 |
| 15 | DeepSkyStacker | 71 out of 100 | Free |
| 16 | Adobe Photoshop | 67 out of 100 | £22 |
Contents
- 01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
- 02 Specifications and features
- 03 A walk through ASIStudio
- 04 In my words
- 05 Should you buy it?
- 06 Questions and more about this review
In 30 seconds
Stars for Your Buck 82/100
Written 2 Oct 2026 Updated 2 Oct 2026
- Rank
- #12 of 16 software
- Verdict
- Damon recommends
Written by Damon Scotting 3 min read
Buy it if
- Your cameras are ZWO.
- You want capture, live stacking and stacking tools in one suite.
- You run two cameras on two scopes and want a second live preview beside SharpCap.
Skip it if
- Your cameras are not ZWO: like most ZWO software, it only works with ZWO gear.
- You want something new: it does nothing the other apps can't.
Not groundbreaking, but it hits the nail on the head, with a whole suite of tools in one place.
Specifications and features
Against the software I have reviewed
Compare with
| ASIStudio reviewed #12 of 16 | SharpCap #3 of 16 | NINA #2 of 16 | ASIAIR app #9 of 16 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded UK price | Free | £14 | Free | Free |
| Stars for Your Buck | 82/100 | 97/100 | 98/100 | 89/100 |
| Made by | ZWO (Suzhou, China) | Robin Glover (UK) | Stefan Berg and the N.I.N.A. contributors | ZWO (Suzhou, China) |
| What it is for | Planetary and deep-sky capture, live stacking and stacking | Camera capture, live stacking and polar alignment | Equipment control and automated imaging sequences | Remote control of an ASIAIR controller and the whole imaging rig, from a phone or tablet |
| Licence | Free download | Free edition; SharpCap Pro £14 a year | Free and open source (Mozilla Public License 2.0) | Free app; needs an ASIAIR controller (ASIAIR Plus 256G $399, ASIAIR Mini $249 on ZWO's store) |
| Operating systems | Windows (64 and 32 bit), macOS, Linux | Windows 11, 10, 8.1 and 7 SP1 | Windows 10 (64 bit) or later | iOS 13 or later (iPhone and iPad), Android, macOS 11 or later on Apple silicon |
| Current version | 1.22 | 4.1.14310 (10 Jul 2026) | 3.2 | 3.0 (29 Jul 2026) |
| Apps in the suite | ASICap, ASIVideoStack, ASIImg, ASILive, ASIDeepStack, ASIFitsView | not recorded | not recorded | not recorded |
| Live stacking | Yes: ASILive | Yes; advanced and planetary live stacking in Pro | Through the Livestack plugin | Yes |
A walk through ASIStudio
The launcher The launcher groups the apps by job: ASICap and ASIVideoStack for the planets, then ASIImg, ASILive, ASIDeepStack and a FITS viewer for deep sky.
ASICap Planetary capture, with the camera, image format, histogram, exposure, gain and display controls down the right.
ASIImg Deep-sky imaging: camera, resolution, exposure, bin and cooler settings, with a histogram under them.
ASILive Live stacking for deep sky, with stack, histogram and image processing panels: brightness, contrast and noise reduction.
ASIDeepStack Stacking for deep sky: bias, flat, dark and light frames each go in their own tab, then one button runs the stack.
In my words
“I really enjoy ASIStudio. It ticks every box you need it to. It is not groundbreaking and it does nothing the other apps can't, but for what you need, it hits the nail on the head, and I like having a whole suite of tools in one place. I have used it a lot, and my favourite use is a slightly unusual one: when I want live previews from two cameras on two scopes at once, I run one in SharpCap and the other in ASIStudio. Like most ZWO software it only works with ZWO gear, which can be a real handicap. But if your cameras are ZWO, it is a genuinely useful tool.”
From my dictated take
Should you buy it?
82/100 Stars for Your Buck
Pros
- Ticks every box you need.
- A whole suite of tools in one place.
- It runs a second camera's live preview beside SharpCap, for two scopes at once.
Cons
- It only works with ZWO gear, as most ZWO software does, which can be a real handicap.
- It is not groundbreaking: it does nothing the other apps can't.
But if your cameras are ZWO, it is a genuinely useful tool.
Three alternatives I have reviewed
- SharpCap Quicker for planets and live viewing; free, or Pro at £14 a year 97/100 £14 Read the review
- NINA Free, and runs a whole night of imaging on its own 98/100 Free Read the review
- ASIAIR app ZWO's phone app for running an ASIAIR rig 89/100 Free Read the review
Questions and more about this review
Reviewed by
Damon Scotting
The Telescope Man Verified
BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham
About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book
I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded
Six questions, answered
Questions about the ASIStudio
Written 2 October 2026 ·Updated 2 October 2026
I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. How this site is funded
- Is ASIStudio free? Yes. ZWO offers it as a free download for Windows (64 and 32 bit), macOS and Linux. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
- Does it work with cameras from other makers? Like most ZWO software, it only works with ZWO gear, so it suits a rig built on ZWO cameras. In my words ↓
- What is in the suite? ASICap for planetary capture and ASIVideoStack for stacking planetary video; ASIImg for deep-sky imaging, ASILive for live stacking and ASIDeepStack for stacking; and ASIFitsView, a FITS viewer. A walk through ASIStudio ↓
- Can I run it beside SharpCap? Yes. When I want live previews from two cameras on two scopes at once, I run one in SharpCap and the other in ASIStudio. In my words ↓
- Which version is current? Version 1.22, the same number on Windows, macOS and Linux. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
- What have I not tested on the ASIStudio? My screenshots show the apps with no camera connected, so they show the controls, not a capture or a finished stack.