Astrology Platform Feature Comparison Matrix

Chart Types

Takeaway

Professional desktop software covers every chart type, mobile strips the advanced ones and APIs now lead on Vedic breadth.

Cited Findings

• AstroGold Professional (macOS/PC): natal, transit, secondary progressions, solar arc, tertiary and minor progressions, combined, solar return, lunar return, lunar phase return, planetary return, planetary stations, nodes and apsides, eclipse search, harmonic and antiscia charts, synastry (bi/tri/quad wheels), composite (via combined), relocation (via Astro Maps) — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstroGold iOS Advanced: natal, transit, secondary progressions, solar arc, tertiary and minor progressions, combined, solar and lunar return only. No lunar phase return, planetary return, stations, nodes/apsides, harmonic or antiscia; limited eclipse search — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstroGold Android Essentials: as iOS, minus lunar phase return and Astro Maps — AstroGold Comparison Table
• Matrix Win*Star 7.0: “190 specialty charts”, including natal, synastry, transit, progressed and solar arc — Matrix Software
• Matrix Kepler 9.0: professional system with Search Lite and Horizons Lite — Matrix Software
• Matrix Pegasus 5.0: “Vibration (harmonic) charts” at a low price — Matrix Software
• AstrologyAPI: Western natal, transit, progressed, solar arc, synastry and composite; Vedic D1–D60, Vimshottari/Yogini/Kalachakra/Chara dashas, Shadbala, Ashtakavarga, Bhavbala, panchang, muhurta, Ashtakoot/Dashkoot compatibility — AstrologyAPI
• Swiss Ephemeris: core engine behind all chart types via positions, house cusps, returns, progressions and eclipses — Swiss Ephemeris Programming Interface

Inferences

• Desktop is the only tier with parity across all chart types.
• Mobile strips returns, stations, nodes/apsides, harmonics and eclipses for screen space and UI simplicity.
• APIs are converging on full coverage; AstrologyAPI now exceeds many desktop apps in Vedic specificity.
• Horary and electional/Muhurta are rare in Western software but standard in Vedic platforms (AstrologyAPI, Sagar/Jagannatha Hora).

Gaps

• No reliable matrix for Sirius, TimePassages or Kepler’s full chart list.
• Composite versus Davison is rarely documented.
• Horary support is unclear for most Western platforms.
• Electional/Muhurta search is not compared across platforms.

Zodiac Systems

Takeaway

Tropical is universal; sidereal with multiple ayanamsas is a professional and Vedic-API feature that consumer apps rarely expose.

Cited Findings

• Swiss Ephemeris: swe_set_sid_mode() supports multiple ayanamsas; swe_get_ayanamsa_ex_ut() returns values; predefined modes include Fagan-Bradley, Lahiri, Raman and Krishnamurti — Swiss Ephemeris §12
• AstroGold Professional: “Ess. Dignities & Zodiacal Releasings” implies sidereal support, since Zodiacal Releasing is Hellenistic and needs it — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstroGold iOS/Android: “Ess. Dignities” only, no Zodiacal Releasings — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstrologyAPI: “Multiple ayanamshas” listed for KP and Lalkitab; Vedic charts default to Lahiri (23.5335° example) — AstrologyAPI
• Matrix Software: WinStar, Kepler and BlueStar are marketed as tropical and Vedic/sidereal — Matrix Software

Inferences

• Minimum viable: tropical plus Lahiri.
• Professional standard: 5+ ayanamsas (Lahiri, Raman, Krishnamurti, Fagan-Bradley, Yukteshwar).
• Swiss Ephemeris apps inherit full ayanamsa support automatically.
• Consumer apps hide sidereal options or limit them to one.

Gaps

• Ayanamsa counts per platform are mostly undocumented.
• User-defined ayanamsa support is unclear outside direct Swiss Ephemeris use.
• Real-time tropical/sidereal switching is not evaluated.

House Systems

Takeaway

Placidus is the default everywhere, professional software offers 10–15+ systems and Swiss Ephemeris exposes 18+ programmatically.

Cited Findings

• Swiss Ephemeris: swe_houses_ex() takes a character code — ‘P’ Placidus, ‘K’ Koch, ‘O’ Porphyry, ‘R’ Regiomontanus, ‘C’ Campanus, ‘E’ Equal, ‘V’ Equal (MC), ‘H’ Azimuthal/Horizontal, ‘X’ Meridian, ‘M’ Morinus, ‘W’ Whole Sign, ‘U’ Krishnamurti, ‘Y’ APCI, ‘B’ Alcabitius, ‘G’ Gauquelin sectors, ‘A’ Axial, ‘T’ Polich-Page, ‘D’ Pullen SD — Swiss Ephemeris §15.4
• AstroGold Professional: full support implied by “Wheel Editor” and “Personalization: Wheel/Dial/Grid” — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstroGold iOS/Android: no Wheel Editor, no Personalization — AstroGold Comparison Table
• Matrix Win*Star: “En Mundo, Geodetic, and Zodiacal” mapping suggests multiple systems — Matrix Software
• AstrologyAPI: Western charts default to Placidus; the house parameter is not prominent in marketing — AstrologyAPI

Inferences

• Swiss Ephemeris sets the completeness standard.
• Apps built on it can expose all 18+ systems with little effort.
• The Krishnamurti (KP) system is available (‘U’ code) for Vedic users.
• Whole Sign and Equal are gaining ground in modern apps.

Gaps

• No public matrix of the house systems each app exposes to users.
• Gauquelin sectors (‘G’) are rare in UIs despite support.
• Pullen Sinusoidal Delta (‘D’) is extremely rare.

Planets / Bodies

Takeaway

The baseline is the classical seven plus Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Chiron and the nodes; only professional desktop reaches asteroids, fixed stars and planetary moons.

Cited Findings

• Swiss Ephemeris bodies: Sun to Pluto (0–9), Mean/True Node (10/11), Mean/Oscu Apogee (12/13), Earth (14), Chiron (15), Pholus (16), Ceres (17), Pallas (18), Juno (19), Vesta (20), Intp Apog/Perigee (21/22) — Swiss Ephemeris §3.2
• Swiss Ephemeris asteroids: SE_AST_OFFSET (10000) plus catalogue number; 180 minor planets ship with AstroGold Professional — Swiss Ephemeris §3.2.1; AstroGold Comparison Table
• Swiss Ephemeris moons: SE_PLMOON_OFFSET (9000) plus planet*100 plus moon, covering Mars to Pluto moons and body centres — Swiss Ephemeris §3.2.2
• Swiss Ephemeris fictitious bodies: 8 Uranian (Cupido, Hades, Zeus, Kronos, Apollon, Admetos, Vulkanus, Poseidon) plus Isis-Transpluto, Nibiru, Harrington, Leverrier/Adams, Lowell/Pickering, Vulcan and Selena — Swiss Ephemeris §3.2.3
• Swiss Ephemeris fixed stars: swe_fixstar2_ut() and swe_fixstar_mag() with magnitude data — Swiss Ephemeris §6
• AstroGold Professional: “Includes 180 Minor Planets”, “Uranian Planets + Transpluto: Yes”, “Fixed Stars: Yes” — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstroGold iOS/Android: 9 bodies (Chiron, Vesta, Pallas, Juno, Ceres, Hygeia, Astraea, Sedna, Eris); Uranian planets and Transpluto yes; fixed stars no — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstrologyAPI: standard planets and nodes; asteroid endpoints not prominent — AstrologyAPI

Inferences

• Asteroid support is the biggest gap: 180+ on desktop, 9 on mobile, unclear in APIs.
• Fixed stars need a separate catalogue, so only desktop ships them.
• Uranian and hypothetical planets are niche but present in the Swiss Ephemeris core.
• Planetary moons and centres of body are research-grade (Swiss Ephemeris 2.10+).
• Sedna and Eris on mobile signal modernisation.

Gaps

• Exact asteroid counts for Solar Fire, Sirius, Kepler and TimePassages.
• Fixed-star catalogue size and magnitude limit per platform.
• TNO coverage beyond Sedna and Eris (Gonggong, Quaoar, Orcus and others).
• User-defined bodies in commercial apps.

Aspects

Takeaway

The five major aspects are universal, minor aspects mark the professional tier, and Vedic drishti exists only in Vedic platforms.

Cited Findings

• Swiss Ephemeris: no built-in aspect calculation, only positions and speeds for developers; swe_split_deg() handles nakshatra/pada for Vedic aspects — Swiss Ephemeris §18.6.6
• AstroGold Professional: “Dynamic Lists: Transit-Natal; Transit-Transit, Prog-Natal; Prog-Prog; Pop-up Interpretations” implies aspect listings — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstrologyAPI: Western aspects in chart endpoints; Vedic drishti via KP/Ashtakavarga endpoints — AstrologyAPI
• Matrix Win*Star: “Search against fixed stars or any defined point, for transiting house cusps, etc.” implies aspect search — Matrix Software

Inferences

• Aspects are computed in the application layer, not the ephemeris.
• Major aspects (conjunction, opposition, trine, square, sextile) reach 100% coverage.
• Minor aspects (semi-sextile 30°, quincunx 150°, semi-square 45°, sesquiquadrate 135°, quintile 72°, biquintile 144°) are professional tier.
• Vedic drishti rules (Saturn 3/10, Jupiter 5/9, Mars 4/8 and so on) appear only in Vedic platforms.
• Aspect pattern detection (Grand Cross, Kite, Yod) is a UI and interpretation feature.

Gaps

• No comprehensive aspect matrix for any platform.
• Orb defaults and customisation ranges are undocumented.
• Applying/separating distinction is unclear.
• Parallel and contra-parallel (declination) aspects are rarely mentioned.

Vedic Specifics

Takeaway

Vedic depth is fragmented: only Vedic-focused platforms cover dashas, vargas, ashtakavarga, shadbala, yogas and panchang together.

Cited Findings

• AstrologyAPI: all divisional charts D1–D60; Vimshottari, Yogini, Kalachakra and Chara dashas; Shadbala, Ashtakavarga, Bhavbala; panchang (tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, vara); muhurta for 18 life events; KP sub-lords and cusps, Lalkitab charts, multiple ayanamshas — AstrologyAPI
• AstroGold Professional: Firdaria, “Ess. Dignities & Zodiacal Releasings” (Hellenistic, not Vedic), “Lots/Parts: Yes” — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstroGold iOS/Android: “Ess. Dignities”; no Firdaria; Part of Fortune only — AstroGold Comparison Table
• Swiss Ephemeris: swe_split_deg() splits degrees into sign, nakshatra and pada; swe_set_sid_mode() sets ayanamsa; no built-in dasha, varga or yoga — Swiss Ephemeris §18.6.6
• Matrix Parashara’s Light 7.0: listed on the Matrix site, implying comprehensive Vedic support — Matrix Software

Inferences

• Dashas: Vimshottari is baseline; Yogini, Kalachakra and Chara are advanced; the full maha/antar/pratyantar/sookshma/prana tree is professional.
• Vargas: D1 plus D9 is minimum; D1–D60 is comprehensive; the full Parashara set is D3, D7, D10, D12, D16, D20, D24, D27, D30, D40, D45 and D60.
• Ashtakavarga: bindu counts plus Sarvashtakavarga is standard; trikona and shodasavarga are advanced.
• Shadbala: six-fold strength (Sthana, Dig, Kala, Cheshta, Naisargika, Drik).
• Bhava Chalit: house cusp shift from Rasi to Bhava is professional Vedic.
• Yogas: Pancha Mahapurusha (5), Raja Yogas, Dhana Yogas and Nabhasa Yogas belong to the interpretation layer.
• Panchang: tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana and vara form the daily almanac; sunrise, sunset, rahukalam and gulikakalam are extended.

Gaps

• No feature matrix for Parashara’s Light, Jagannatha Hora, Sagar or Kala Vedic.
• Dasha coverage (which systems, how many levels) is rarely specified.
• Yoga counts and categories are not compared.
• Panchang regional variants (North/South Indian calendars) are undocumented.
• Lalkitab/Red Book support is extremely rare.

Interpretations

Takeaway

Desktop sells template reports, while APIs are moving to structured JSON plus AI-grounded chat across 22+ languages.

Cited Findings

• Matrix WinWriter: “24 professional reports”, including AstroTalk, TimeLine, Friends & Lovers, Child*Star, Birthday Report and Midpoint Keys — Matrix Software
• AstroGold Professional: “Pro Reports: Yes ($)” — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstroGold iOS: “Pro Reports: Yes ($)” — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstrologyAPI: horoscopes in 22+ languages; AI chat grounded in data where “every claim cites API endpoint”; MCP server with 109 tools across Vedic and Western — AstrologyAPI
• Astrolabe: “Astrolabe Report Writer Software”, “24 professional reports” — Alabe.com

Inferences

• Desktop: template reports with fixed interpretations.
• API: structured JSON plus AI synthesis, which is more flexible.
• Languages: APIs lead with 22+; desktop is mostly English or a few languages.
• Cited AI chat is an emerging differentiator.
• MCP servers create a new integration category.

Gaps

• Report customisation depth per platform.
• Interpretation quality cannot be measured from feature lists.
• White-label and rebranding support for reports.
• Voice and audio interpretation.

Technical Features

Takeaway

Desktop owns rendering customisation and export, mobile renders fixed raster wheels, and APIs return data for the client to draw.

Cited Findings

• AstroGold Professional: Wheel Editor, Personalization: Wheel/Dial/Grid, export dynamic lists as PDF, iCloud Drive with auto sync, multiple windows, floating chart stepper/animator — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstroGold iOS: no Wheel Editor, no Personalization, no dynamic-list export; iCloud Drive; no multiple windows; widgets — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstroGold Android: no cloud storage (manual save via iCloud.com), no Astro Maps — AstroGold Comparison Table
• AstrologyAPI: REST/JSON, MCP server (109 tools), React/Flutter SDK, WebSocket streaming chat — AstrologyAPI
• Swiss Ephemeris: DLL/shared library for C, C++, Delphi, VB and Perl, with source distribution — Swiss Ephemeris §19-22
• Matrix WinStar: PDF output for printing and emailing (WinStar Express) — Matrix Software

Inferences

• The Wheel Editor is the professional differentiator: colours, line weights, glyphs, ring layouts.
• Animation: desktop steps smoothly; mobile steps discretely.
• Dynamic lists (aspect and transit tables) are desktop features.
• Astro Maps appear on desktop and iOS, not Android.
• API-first platforms allow React, Flutter, WebGL or native rendering.
• MCP is becoming the standard for AI-agent integration.

Gaps

• SVG versus PNG versus PDF rendering quality.
• Chart image resolution and DPI.
• Batch chart generation.
• White-label chart styling through APIs.
• Offline capability at mobile and API tiers.

Market Coverage Summary

Rare Features (Professional Desktop Only)

Common Features (Most Platforms)

Gaps in Current Market

1. No single platform covers both Western advanced (harmonics, zodiacal releasing, fixed stars) AND Vedic advanced (full dasha tree, 60 vargas, all yogas, ashtakavarga) comprehensively
2. Mobile parity with desktop — no mobile app matches professional desktop feature depth
3. API parity with desktop — AstrologyAPI closest but lacks: fixed stars, planetary moons, harmonics, zodiacal releasing, graphical ephemeris, wheel editor
4. Real-time collaboration — no multi-user chart sharing/annotation
5. Versioned chart snapshots — no Git-like history for chart interpretations
6. ML/AI-assisted rectification — not integrated in any major platform
7. Unified Western+Vedic workspace — platforms silo traditions
8. Accessibility — screen reader support for chart wheels undocumented
9. Open data export — most desktop apps use proprietary formats
10. Plugin/extension ecosystem — none have public plugin APIs

Source Summary

Research conducted October 2024. Feature matrices based on publicly documented features; actual implementations may vary. Contact vendors for current specifications.