WorldWide Telescope

Web · Windows · API

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.4

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely2 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

WorldWide Telescope is ranked #14 of 34 in astronomy apps on Freedom251. It runs on API, Web, Windows. There is a free plan.

WorldWide Telescope plans and pricing

All plans

WorldWide Telescope Free Free and open source software and data sets worldwidetelescope.org · 7 Oct 2026

Compared on astronomy apps

Free plan: Yes
Offline access: No
Platform coverage: cross-platform
Telescope control: Yes
Mission tracking: Yes
Learning content: Yes

Best WorldWide Telescope alternatives

See all 20

Two bars NASA Eyes Free tier No. 1Free6.8 Two bars Celestia Free tier No. 2Free6.7 Two bars Solar System Scope Free tier No. 3Free6.7 Two bars Cosmic Watch Free tier No. 4$0.42/mo6.6 Two bars Night Sky Free tier No. 5Free6.6 Two bars Star Chart Free tier No. 6Free6.6

The record

Purpose: WorldWide Telescope enables visualization and sharing of scientific data and stories from telescopes, observatories, and institutions for students, researchers, museums, planetariums, and scholarly publications.
Exploration: Users can explore the sky at different wavelengths, view telescope imagery, watch guided tours, and explore the Solar System in 3D.
Web client: The web client runs in a browser and requires no download; the site recommends a strong internet connection for the best experience.
Windows: The current stable Windows release listed is version 6.1.2.0, dated July 12, 2022, and WWT 6 supports Windows 7 through 11.
Research tools: Researchers can use WWT’s rendering engine to visualize and analyze data inside Jupyter with pywwt.
Web embedding: WWT can be embedded in a webpage or used to build a custom application, and the project provides WebGL engine documentation.
Developer API: The documentation describes a Layer Control API for programmatically loading data into the WWT Windows application.
Planetariums: The Windows client supports planetarium setups from single-projector domes to multi-server, multi-channel dome projection, including warping and blending.
Open source: The project describes its software and data sets as free and open source, and says its source code was released under the MIT License.
Project sponsor: WorldWide Telescope is a fiscally sponsored project of NumFOCUS, a nonprofit supporting the open-source scientific computing community.
Support: Users can ask questions and get help through the online WWT Forum or contact the project by email.
Notable limits: The WWT Excel add-in is no longer maintained and is unlikely to work on recent operating system installations.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Astronomy Apps in 2026#14 of 34

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Sources

worldwidetelescope.org/about/· checked 7 Oct 2026
worldwidetelescope.org/use/everyone/· checked 7 Oct 2026
worldwidetelescope.org/download/· checked 7 Oct 2026
worldwidetelescope.org/learn/· checked 7 Oct 2026
worldwidetelescope.org/home/· checked 7 Oct 2026
docs.worldwidetelescope.org· checked 7 Oct 2026
worldwidetelescope.org/use/planetariums/· checked 7 Oct 2026
worldwidetelescope.org/connect/· checked 7 Oct 2026