Yes: the free edition captures, live stacks and measures focus. SharpCap Pro is £14 a year for a personal licence and adds polar alignment adjustment guidance, the Push To Assistant, automated focus scans, the sequence planners and advanced and planetary live stacking.

Does SharpCap run on a Mac?

No. SharpCap runs on Windows 11, 10, 8.1 and 7 (with SP1); the 64 bit version is the default.

Can SharpCap polar align my mount?

Yes. The wizard wants an equatorial mount, at least 10 to 15 stars in view and a rough alignment within 5 degrees of the pole, and needs no GoTo, internet or other software. The adjustment guidance is a Pro feature.

Can SharpCap find targets without a GoTo mount?

Yes, with a Pro licence: the Push To Assistant plate solves a frame and tells you which way to move. I used it on binoculars with a small guide scope and an SVBONY camera on top.

Can SharpCap capture a mosaic of the Sun or the Moon?

Yes. The Solar and Lunar Mosaic planner in SharpCap Pro plans the panels and captures them for you; I used it for a full-disc image of the Sun.

Why doesn't my camera show up in SharpCap?

Install the camera maker's drivers before you connect it; after that, it has worked with everything I have plugged into it.

I like both. SharpCap was the first I used, on the planets, and it feels quick and intuitive; NINA is the one I would build a whole unattended night around.

What have I not tested on the SharpCap?

The walk-through ran on SharpCap's built-in test camera with no mount or focuser connected, so polar alignment and focusing are shown as screens, not as a measured run.

SharpCap review: live stacking, polar alignment and push-to

Where does it rank on our leaderboard

Nine of the 16 software on my board, against price
Rank	Software	Stars for Your Buck	Recorded UK price
1	Stellarium	100 out of 100	Free
2	NINA	98 out of 100	Free
3	SharpCap	97 out of 100	£14
4	GraXpert	96 out of 100	Free
8	NoiseXTerminator	92 out of 100	£45
10	Siril	88 out of 100	Free
13	RegiStax	77 out of 100	Free
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 SharpCap
04 From the video
05 In my words
06 Watch it in my videos
07 Should you buy it?
08 Questions and more about this review

In 30 seconds

Stars for Your Buck 97/100

Reviewed 15 Jul 2026 Updated 26 Sep 2026

Rank: #3 of 16 software
Verdict: Damon's pick

Written by Damon Scotting 4 min read

Buy it if

You capture on a Windows laptop or mini PC and want to watch a live stack build as you image.
You image the planets, the Sun or the Moon with a small high-speed camera.
Your mount has no GoTo and you want plate-solved directions to each target.

Skip it if

You use a Mac or Linux: SharpCap runs on Windows only.
You only process finished data: SharpCap captures and stacks, it is not an editor like PixInsight.

“SharpCap for me is the absolute GOAT of astronomy software.”

SharpCap £14 a year

Specifications and features

Against the software I have reviewed

Compare with

SharpCap reviewed #3 of 16	NINA #2 of 16	PixInsight #14 of 16
Recorded UK price	£14	Free	£258
Stars for Your Buck	97/100	98/100	76/100
Made by	Robin Glover (UK)	Stefan Berg and the N.I.N.A. contributors	Pleiades Astrophoto (Spain)
What it is for	Camera capture, live stacking and polar alignment	Equipment control and automated imaging sequences	Processing astrophotographs
Licence	Free edition; SharpCap Pro £14 a year	Free and open source (Mozilla Public License 2.0)	€300 outside the EU; 45-day free trial
Operating systems	Windows 11, 10, 8.1 and 7 SP1	Windows 10 (64 bit) or later	Windows 11, macOS 26 and 15, Linux
Current version	4.1.14310 (10 Jul 2026)	3.2	1.9.4 Lockhart
Live stacking	Yes; advanced and planetary live stacking in Pro	Through the Livestack plugin	No: it processes saved data
Polar alignment	Yes; adjustment guidance in Pro	Through the Three Point Polar Alignment plugin	No
Plate solving	Built in near the pole; ASTAP and other solvers for the whole sky	Through ASTAP (recommended) and other solvers	ImageSolver script, for saved images
Autofocus	Focus measurement; automated focus scans in Pro	Yes, after conditions you set	No
Scripting and plug-ins	Python scripting (Pro)	A plugin framework	JavaScript scripts and modules; RC Astro's XTerminators sold separately

A walk through SharpCap

Live stacking Live Stack aligns each new frame on its stars and adds it to a running stack, shown here on SharpCap's built-in test camera. The histogram tab sets the display stretch before the first frame lands.

The stack as it grows The Status tab counts the frames and the total exposure: one 8 second frame so far, stacked in 108 ms. A second counter records any frames it rejects.

Star alignment Each frame is matched on up to 15 stars; the detector found 68 here. Three frames and 24 seconds are in this stack, paused and ready to resume.

Polar alignment The wizard wants an equatorial mount, 10 to 15 stars in view and a start within 5 degrees of the pole, and no GoTo, internet or other software. The adjustment guidance is a Pro feature.

Focus assistant The multi-star FWHM tool boxes every star it finds (55 here) and scores the focus, where lower is sharper. Automated focus scans with a motorised focuser need Pro.

Histogram The histogram plots the red, green and blue channels with the mean and spread of each, so exposure and gain can be set before a capture starts.

From the video

SharpCap in my solar imaging episode

Solar Mosaic Tool: choosing which edge of the Sun to align on

The mosaic panels laid over the solar disc, 3000 frames each

In my words

“Now using this Push To Assistant feature on the incredible SharpCap software, with one image you achieve directions to the rest of the universe.”

From my smart binoculars video

“Now with the help of our mini telescope and camera, we can plate solve our view of the night sky and receive directions from SharpCap towards whatever deep sky object we are looking for.”

From my smart binoculars video

“Now, with the help of imaging software such as SharpCap, I open the sequencer tab, click on the solar mosaic planner, calibrate the Sun's position relative to the camera's point of view, set my margin for error and go fully automated.”

From my solar imaging episode

“It has the information it needs, it knows what to do: all regions completely covered, simple and straightforward.”

From my solar imaging episode

Watch it in my videos

Would you TRY these $1,199 SMART BINOCULARS? · published 17 December 2024 · 12:39 · Watch on YouTube · 12,842 views, 460 likes on 2 Oct 2026

Jump to

5:30 My DIY smart binoculars
6:14 The parts and what they cost
6:52 Plate solving with a mini telescope
7:04 SharpCap's Push To Assistant
8:30 Directions from SharpCap
9:37 The comparison table
10:57 The bottom line

Transcript of the video 699 words · 5 chapters · searchable

Press a time stamp to play from there.

5:30 My DIY smart binoculars

5:31 terms of price and with that in mind let's see if I can outdo these smart binoculars with my very own pair I present to you the astronomical smart 5:37 binoculars pattern pending so here we go this is the Smart binocular setup and it was achieved for a very low budget compared to the Unistellar binoculars 5:46 are coming out very soon you can make this as advanced as you wish you can even increase the power of the binoculars I've actually managed to find 5:53 a very decent pair that were available for roughly $100 and the additional accessories required to make this entire setup still put is well below the 6:01 comparative budget of the Unistellar smart binoculars we have an SVBONY camera which is basically as low budget as astronomy cameras get and then we have 6:09 an SVBONY guide scope the additional accessories required to mount it all together cost about $10 and then we have it placed on a $25 tripod so that's a

6:14 The parts and what they cost

6:18 first look at my smart binoculars and here is the text breakdown of it all I've gone for the Celestron 25x 70 binoculars which are quite a bit more 6:26 powerful than the Envision I've had these for a while and I really do enjoy them but the unique part of my strategy is that I'm using a very tiny telescope 6:34 on top of my binoculars as my own personal night sky guide how does that work allow me to explain the Envision binoculars use the same method as your 6:43 smartphone app to direct you towards objects in our night sky this has always proven to be quite temperamental but the benefit of this is it does not require 6:50 their binoculars to feature a camera with my binoculars I'll be using my mini telescope and camera to image the night sky in order to produce an image that my

6:52 Plate solving with a mini telescope

6:58 tablet will then analyze in a blink of an eye and tell me precisely where I'm looking in the night sky but here's the best bit now using this push to

7:04 SharpCap's Push To Assistant

7:07 assistant feature on the incredible SharpCap software with one image you achieve directions to the rest of the universe so far our total cost is just 7:16 over $200 now the Unistellar binoculars require the addition of a smartphone or tablet in order to select your targets so really you should have to add the 7:24 cost of this required accessory but let's face it if you're buying these smart binoculars is a fair assumption that you have a more than capable 7:30 smartphone so in order to compete with the Unistellar Envision binos I could simply use a free Sky Atlas and the compass mode of the explore feature I 7:38 could even add a cheap mount adapter to my binoculars for my phone to sit on them but this Compass method is not always as precise as we'd hope for 7:47 $1,199 I'm expecting pinpoint results how are you going to tell me where the lunar Landing sites are if your measurements are off by even a fraction 7:54 of a degree the margin of error for this seems to be way too large at this field of view especially with no discernable way to identify the moon itself 8:03 seriously I'm considering buying a pair just to figure this feature out like how would the augmented reality overlays this precise without utilizing a camera 8:12 to plate solve your view of the night sky the Precision of the compass has to be perfect but I want to use an application 8:19 that allows me to be more precise than a compass so in order to keep this setup as bite-sized and portable as possible I'm using a Raspberry Pi and a 3 8:27 and 1/2 in touchscreen monitor together costing an additional $100 now with the help of our mini telescope and Camera we can plate solve our view of the night

8:30 Directions from SharpCap

8:36 sky and receive directions from SharpCap towards whatever deep Sky object we are looking for it's then up to me to slew the binoculars myself towards the 8:45 target the difference is these aren't rough estimates they are as precise as you can be which we need to be since our

Check out more videos on the SharpCap

Ep 4: Imaging the SUN in JAW DROPPING Detail!

24 Jul 2024

What YOU can SEE with a £3000 Telescope setup?!

23 Jul 2025

Should you buy it?

97/100 Stars for Your Buck

Pros

It works with every piece of equipment I plug into it.
Within two hours I had produced time lapses of Jupiter rotating, and they were incredible.
Live stacking aligns every frame on its stars, so the picture cleans up while you watch.
The Push To Assistant plate solves one frame and tells you which way, and how far, to move.
The free edition captures, live stacks and measures focus; SharpCap Pro is £14 a year.

Cons

Windows only: there is no Mac or Linux version.
Polar alignment adjustment guidance, the Push To Assistant, automated focus scans and the sequence planners need a Pro licence.
Install your camera's drivers first, or the camera will not show up.
The built-in plate solver only works near the pole; the rest of the sky needs a separate solver such as ASTAP.

I can't speak highly enough of this software; I'm very impressed by it.

Who the SharpCap is for

Planetary, solar and lunar imager

Buy

SharpCap is where I started on the planets: quick to set up, and Pro adds planetary live stacking with sharpening.

Live viewer and outreach host

Buy

Live stacking shows a clean deep-sky image building on screen, frame by frame, which is perfect for a crowd.

Owner of a mount with no GoTo

Buy

With a small guide scope and camera on top, the Push To Assistant turns any mount into a guided push-to.

Equatorial mount owner

Buy

The polar alignment routine needs no GoTo and no internet; Pro adds the step-by-step adjustment guidance.

Mac or Linux user

Skip

SharpCap is Windows only; look at software for your own system.

Imager who only processes data

Skip

SharpCap captures and stacks; finishing an image is a job for PixInsight or a free editor.

Three alternatives I have reviewed

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

Eight questions, answered

Questions about the SharpCap

Reviewed 15 July 2026 ·Updated 26 September 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 SharpCap free? Yes: the free edition captures, live stacks and measures focus. SharpCap Pro is £14 a year for a personal licence and adds polar alignment adjustment guidance, the Push To Assistant, automated focus scans, the sequence planners and advanced and planetary live stacking. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
Does SharpCap run on a Mac? No. SharpCap runs on Windows 11, 10, 8.1 and 7 (with SP1); the 64 bit version is the default. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
Can SharpCap polar align my mount? Yes. The wizard wants an equatorial mount, at least 10 to 15 stars in view and a rough alignment within 5 degrees of the pole, and needs no GoTo, internet or other software. The adjustment guidance is a Pro feature. A walk through SharpCap ↓
Can SharpCap find targets without a GoTo mount? Yes, with a Pro licence: the Push To Assistant plate solves a frame and tells you which way to move. I used it on binoculars with a small guide scope and an SVBONY camera on top. Watch it in my videos ↓
Can SharpCap capture a mosaic of the Sun or the Moon? Yes. The Solar and Lunar Mosaic planner in SharpCap Pro plans the panels and captures them for you; I used it for a full-disc image of the Sun. From the video ↓
Why doesn't my camera show up in SharpCap? Install the camera maker's drivers before you connect it; after that, it has worked with everything I have plugged into it. A walk through SharpCap ↓
SharpCap or NINA? I like both. SharpCap was the first I used, on the planets, and it feels quick and intuitive; NINA is the one I would build a whole unattended night around. In my words ↓
What have I not tested on the SharpCap? The walk-through ran on SharpCap's built-in test camera with no mount or focuser connected, so polar alignment and focusing are shown as screens, not as a measured run.