astrology design library
Research6 MIN READ27 / 31

Competitive Landscape — Visual Guide

Research date: October 2026 · Full detail: report.md · Raw notes: notes/

Four charts show what competitors ship, where that depth lives, what they charge and which engine sits underneath.

1. At a glance

  • The market splits by tradition. Western apps sell engagement; Vedic apps sell consultations, reports and remedies.
  • Nebula leads U.S. revenue at ~$50M ARR (2023) by bundling tarot, palmistry and psychic chat. Co-Star holds 30M+ downloads.
  • AstroSage claims 70M+ downloads and ~80% of India’s kundli market. AstroTalk runs a marketplace of 1,600+ verified astrologers.
  • Only AskSoma and Astro-Seek (via AstroAPI) ship a developer API.
  • Professional calculation consolidates on Swiss Ephemeris (AGPL-3.0 or CHF 700 commercial). XALEN, Roxy Ephemeris and direct JPL DE440 avoid that licence.

2. Feature coverage per app

Consumer Apps — Feature Coverage Feature matrix of fifteen consumer astrology apps across natal, transit, progression, return, synastry, varga, dasha, panchang, AI, live consultation and developer API capabilities, with entry prices. Western apps cover synastry and AI but not Vedic techniques; Vedic apps cover vargas and dasha but not Western progressions. Only Astro-Seek and AskSoma expose a developer API. Consumer Apps — Feature Coverage Documented capabilities of 15 consumer apps, grouped by tradition. Filled = shipped, half = partial, hollow = absent or undocumented. Natal Transits Progressions Returns Synastry Vargas Dasha Panchang AI chat Live consult Dev API Entry price WESTERN / TROPICAL Co-Star $8.99/mo The Pattern $14.99/mo CHANI $11.99/mo Sanctuary $9.99/mo Nebula $56/mo TimePassages $7.99/mo AstroMatrix free VEDIC / SIDEREAL AstroSage free + /min AstroTalk free + /min Melooha ₹49 / Q AskSoma free + Pro align27 $9.99/mo Drik Panchang free HYBRID AstroGold $7.99/mo Astro-Seek free + $1 documented partial / limited absent or not documented Entry price = cheapest paid tier; free + /min means consultations are billed separately. Vendors publish feature lists, not matrices: a hollow mark can mean absent or simply unlisted. Sources in notes/ (October 2026).

  • Western apps cluster at natal, transits, synastry and AI chat. Only two of seven add progressions or returns, and none covers Vedic vargas or dasha.
  • Vedic apps cluster at vargas, dasha and panchang. Only AstroSage and Astro-Seek reach the full 16-chart Shodashvarga set.
  • Astro-Seek is the only app spanning both traditions and exposing an API; AskSoma is the only Vedic-first app with one.
  • A hollow mark means absent or undocumented: vendors publish feature lists, not matrices.

3. The features, in one line

Term What it means
Natal chart Planets, houses and angles at the moment and place of birth.
Transit Where planets are now, measured against the birth chart.
Secondary progression One day after birth mapped to one year of life; solar arc is a related method.
Solar / lunar return Chart cast when the Sun or Moon returns to its birth position; a yearly or monthly forecast.
Synastry / composite Two charts compared (synastry) or merged into one (composite); the relationship view.
Divisional chart (varga) A Vedic chart derived by dividing each sign — D9 for marriage, D10 for career, up to D60.
Dasha Vedic planetary period system used for timing; Vimshottari is the common 120-year cycle.
Panchang Daily Hindu almanac: tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana and vara.
Muhurta An auspicious window chosen for one event, such as a wedding or a launch.
Shadbala Six-fold planetary strength score used to rank a chart’s planets.
Ashtakavarga Point system scoring how supportive each sign is for each planet.
MCP Model Context Protocol — a standard way to expose tools and data to AI agents.

4. Where the depth lives

Feature Depth by Tier — Mobile, Desktop, API Capability comparison across consumer mobile apps, professional desktop software and hosted APIs. Desktop software is the only tier with wheel editing, harmonics, Zodiacal Releasing, Firdaria and fixed stars. Hosted APIs lead on divisional charts, yogas, white-label reports and MCP tooling. No tier serves both advanced Western and advanced Vedic work. Feature Depth by Tier — Mobile, Desktop, API Best-in-class coverage per tier. Mobile strips advanced technique; desktop owns it; APIs lead on Vedic breadth and delivery. Best consumer app Professional desktop Hosted API Natal, transit and synastry charts every major app full JSON + SVG Secondary progressions, solar arc 3 of 15 apps full Western-first Solar, lunar, planetary returns some apps full most APIs Wheel editor, graphical ephemeris no AstroGold Pro no Harmonics, Zodiacal Releasing, Firdaria no AstroGold Pro some APIs Fixed stars, 180+ minor planets no 180 minor planets rare Divisional charts (vargas) 16 max D1–D300 D1–D60 Dasha systems Vimshottari 56 systems Vimshottari+ Shadbala, ashtakavarga, yogas basic full 104–131 yogas Panchang and muhurta Drik Panchang full 18 life events Live human consultation marketplace no no Developer API or MCP surface AskSoma, Astro-Seek none 4 of 10 MCP full partial absent Claims vary by vendor; counts come from the research notes. The missing top-right cell is the product gap: one workspace with advanced Western technique and advanced Vedic calculation.

  • Desktop wins on Western technique. Wheel editing, harmonics, Zodiacal Releasing, Firdaria, fixed stars and hundreds of minor bodies appear only in desktop software such as AstroGold Professional, Parashara’s Light and Jagannatha Hora.
  • Mobile wins on reach, not depth. No app matches its own desktop edition; returns, stations, harmonics and the wheel editor are stripped.
  • APIs win on Vedic breadth. D1–D60 vargas, 100+ yogas, 20–30 languages, white-label reports and MCP tooling exist only here.
  • Desktop is bought, not rented. Kala costs $254.95; suites run $299–360 perpetual against a $7–15/mo consumer norm.
  • The empty top-right cell is the opening: no tier serves advanced Western and advanced Vedic work in one product.

5. Pricing

Pricing Models — How Each Group Earns Four pricing models in consumer astrology: subscription-first, freemium with in-app upsell, live consultation billed per minute, and free or pay-per-use. Western apps sell subscriptions between eight and fifteen dollars per month except Nebula, which bundles tarot and psychic chat at about fifty-six dollars per month. Vedic leaders give the chart away and earn from consultations. Pricing Models — How Each Group Earns Headline list prices in USD unless marked. The same app can appear twice when its subscription and its minutes are sold separately. Subscription-first flat recurring fee CHANI $11.99/mo · $107.99/yr The Pattern $14.99/mo · $83.99/yr align27 $9.99/mo · lifetime $449.99 Sanctuary $9.99/mo · $69.99/yr Freemium + upsell free core, paid upgrade Co-Star $8.99/mo Pro-Star TimePassages $7.99/mo · $59.99/yr AstroGold $7.99/mo iOS · $49.99 Android once Nebula ~$56/mo · $7.99/wk AskSoma free tier + Pro Live consultation chart free, minutes billed AstroTalk free + per-minute wallet AstroSage free + per-minute consults Sanctuary +$4.99–19.99/min Nebula +$0.99–4.99/min Free / pay-per-use free, ads, or one question AstroMatrix free (donations) Drik Panchang free · ₹19/mo without ads Astro-Seek free · $1/7-day trial Melooha ₹49 per question Subscription depth is capped at $10–15/mo. Nebula is the revenue outlier: ~$50M ARR (2023), ~$56/mo, tarot + palm + psychic minutes. Vedic leaders monetise consultations and remedies; the app is the funnel, not the product. Pay-per-question is the newest experiment: Melooha charges ₹49 per answer. Annual prices as published by each vendor. Currency shown as listed; ₹ = Indian rupee.

App Market Entry price Model
Co-Star Western $8.99/mo Subscription + credit packs
The Pattern Western $14.99/mo · $83.99/yr Subscription
CHANI Western $11.99/mo · $107.99/yr Subscription
Sanctuary Western $9.99/mo · $69.99/yr Subscription + readings $4.99–19.99/min
Nebula Western ~$56/mo · $7.99/wk Subscription + psychic $0.99–4.99/min
TimePassages Western $7.99/mo · $59.99/yr Subscription + $0.99 charts
AstroGold Hybrid $7.99/mo iOS · $49.99 once Android Subscription or one-time + reports
AstroMatrix Western Free Donations
AstroSage Vedic Free Per-minute consults; paid desktop suite
AstroTalk Vedic Free Per-minute wallet; remedy store
Melooha Vedic ₹49/question Pay-per-question
AskSoma Vedic Free + Pro Freemium subscription
align27 Vedic $9.99/mo · $79.99/yr Subscription + $449.99 lifetime
Drik Panchang Vedic Free Ads; ~₹19/mo to remove
Astro-Seek Hybrid Free $1/7-day trial, then membership
  • Western pricing is flat: $7–15/mo buys the paid tier almost everywhere. Nebula is the outlier because it sells minutes, not software.
  • Vedic leaders keep the app free and monetise trust through consultations, reports and remedies. Pay-per-question (₹49) is the newest experiment.

6. The API layer

API Providers — Engine and Licence Map Map of astrology API providers by calculation engine. Six of the nine hosted providers listed wrap Swiss Ephemeris under AGPL-3.0 or a CHF 700 commercial licence: AstrologyAPI.com, Prokerala, Astrology-API.io, AstroAPI.cloud, FreeAstrologyAPI and VedicAstroAPI. Vedika uses the Apache-2.0 XALEN engine, RoxyAPI uses the MIT Roxy Ephemeris, and OpenEphemeris reads NASA JPL DE440 directly. MCP tool counts and pricing shapes are listed below. API Providers — Engine and Licence Map Most hosted APIs inherit Swiss Ephemeris licensing. Three independent engines avoid it and add MCP tooling. Swiss Ephemeris inside AGPL-3.0, or CHF 700 one-time commercial licence Independent engines Permissive licence or direct NASA JPL DE440 AstrologyAPI.com 300+ endpoints · 100M calls/day credit wallet · MCP 109 tools Prokerala 20+ chart types · ₹0–4,999/mo credit tiers · no MCP Astrology-API.io 100+ calculations · from $11/mo 23 house systems · MCP AstroAPI.cloud module pricing · €39.99+/mo Western-first · 12 languages FreeAstrologyAPI free 500 req/day ₹1,000–6,500/mo paid VedicAstroAPI ₹1,499–10,999/mo 100+ Vedic · self-hosted MCP Six of the nine hosted providers listed wrap it. Vedika 1,128 endpoints · wallet $12–240/mo XALEN engine · Apache-2.0 · MCP 36 tools RoxyAPI 18 domains · ₹2,492–20,750/mo Roxy Ephemeris · MIT · 18 MCP servers OpenEphemeris 120 endpoints · free 150 credits direct JPL DE440 · MCP 92 · format=llm No AGPL copyleft; sub-arcsecond classical planets. AI-agent surfaces AstrologyAPI 109 MCP tools grounded AI chat Vedika 36 MCP tools voice + streaming OpenEphemeris 92 tools format=llm RoxyAPI 18 MCP servers 6 typed SDKs VedicAstroAPI self-hosted MCP BYO LLM chat Pricing shapes Credit wallets: AstrologyAPI · Prokerala · VedicAstroAPI Wallet tiers / flat: Vedika $12–240/mo · RoxyAPI ₹2,492–20,750/mo Modules / free tier: AstroAPI.cloud €39.99–299.99/mo or €4.50/module · FreeAstrologyAPI 500 req/day Sources: vendor pricing and documentation, October 2026. Endpoint counts are vendor claims and count variants separately.

Provider Surface Entry price Engine / licence MCP
AstrologyAPI.com 300+ endpoints Credit wallet Swiss Ephemeris ¹ 109 tools
Prokerala 20+ chart types 5K free credits → ₹4,999/mo Swiss Ephemeris ¹ No
Astrology-API.io 100+ calculations From $11/mo Swiss Ephemeris ¹ Listed
Vedika 1,128 endpoints $12–240/mo wallet XALEN, Apache-2.0 36 tools
FreeAstrologyAPI Vedic + Western core 500 req/day free → ₹6,500/mo Swiss Ephemeris ¹ No
AstroAPI.cloud Module-based API €39.99–299.99/mo; €4.50/module Swiss Ephemeris / JPL (unconfirmed) No
RoxyAPI 18 esoteric domains ₹2,492–20,750/mo Roxy Ephemeris, MIT 18 servers
VedicAstroAPI 100+ Vedic/Tarot ₹1,499–10,999/mo Swiss Ephemeris ¹ Self-hosted
OpenEphemeris 120 endpoints 150 free credits JPL DE440 direct 92 tools
Swiss Ephemeris C library AGPL or CHF 700 once — n/a

¹ AGPL-3.0 or CHF 700 commercial licence, unless the vendor holds a commercial licence; some vendors do not publish which.

  • Licensing is the hidden decision. Six of the nine hosted providers listed wrap Swiss Ephemeris. Only Vedika (Apache-2.0), RoxyAPI (MIT) and OpenEphemeris (commercial API over DE440) avoid it.
  • MCP is the new integration surface. Four of the nine run an MCP server: AstrologyAPI (109 tools), OpenEphemeris (92), Vedika (36) and RoxyAPI (18 domain servers). Astrology-API.io and VedicAstroAPI also list support.
  • White-label delivery is an API feature. Branded PDF reports and 20–30 language coverage exist only here; no mobile app offers either.

7. What it means for our build

  • Licence an API to reach market fastest, and accept margin compression at scale.
  • Own the engine with Swiss Ephemeris (CHF 700) or a permissive alternative (XALEN, Roxy Ephemeris) for calculation sovereignty and full feature control.
  • Take the vacant hybrid tier: one app and one API with professional-grade Western and Vedic calculation, AI synthesis, cross-tradition views and a typed MCP surface. No competitor occupies it.

Method: vendor pricing pages, app-store listings and public feature tables, collected October 2026. Coverage reflects published capabilities, not hands-on testing. Citations are in report.md and notes/.