€3.99 for a star map other services charge €25–50 for
Why pay €30 for a star map you can get for €3.99? Most personalised star map services price their digital files between €15 and €30, justifying it by 'premium design'. Starry Memory delivers the same astronomical precision (HYG v3.0 catalogue, NASA JPL ephemerides), the same print resolution (4960×7016 px @ 300 DPI), and adds a 🔭 free 3D sky explorer no other service offers — all for €3.99. Here's how we do it.
There's no good reason a custom star map should cost €30. The astronomical data is open-source (HYG, NASA JPL). The print resolution is standard (300 DPI). The personalisation is automated. Yet the market charges €25-50 for what is, fundamentally, a printable PDF. Starry Memory exists because we noticed this gap and asked: 'what's the minimum price that still covers the computation and gives a fair margin?' The answer was €3.99. No compromise on precision, no compromise on quality — just no premium markup.
What makes the €3.99 price genuinely surprising is that we still include access to our interactive 3D sky explorer — a feature no €30 competitor offers. After purchase, you receive a personal link to a web planetarium showing exactly the sky of your chosen date and location. Drag to rotate, zoom into any constellation, identify each visible star with its name and magnitude. It works on any browser, no installation. This single feature alone is worth more than €3.99 — and you get it free with every order.
Your €3.99 buys you a 4960×7016 px PNG at 300 DPI. That means you can print it at A4 (perfect for a desk), A3 (standard bedroom wall), A2 (main living room) or even A1 (accent wall) without quality loss. Local print shops typically charge €5-15 for an A3 print on quality paper. Online services (Cheerz, Photobox, Mixbook) charge €8-25. Frame it from any local shop (€10-30 for a decent frame). Total cost for a beautifully framed, gallery-quality star map: €20-50. That's still cheaper than ordering directly from a 'premium' service, with full control over the paper and frame quality.
Most established star map services built their pricing in the 'premium gift' segment — €25-50 was the going rate in 2020. To preserve their margins, they justify the price with vague language ('premium design', 'museum-quality data', 'expertly crafted'). But the underlying technology (catalogue + ephemerides + projection algorithm) is open-source and standardised. We chose to compete on price instead of marketing — and pass the savings to customers. The €30 services aren't going to drop their prices, because they've optimised their business around that price point. We optimised ours around €3.99.
Three groups. (1) Smart gift-givers who notice they can get the same product for 7-10× less, and prefer to spend the difference on a nicer frame or paper. (2) Last-minute shoppers who need a gift in 30 seconds — our digital delivery is faster than any 'rush shipping' option. (3) Multiple-recipients gifters who want to give a star map to 5 family members for €20 total instead of €150. The €3.99 price unlocks gifting patterns that aren't possible at €30.
Because we removed everything except what matters: the astronomical precision and the file. We don't have printing costs, shipping costs, or inventory. The €3.99 reflects the actual cost of generating and delivering one HD file, plus a small margin.
Yes — and you can verify it. Order our €3.99 file, then order one from a €30 competitor. Open both in Photoshop or any image viewer. You'll see the same 119,614 stars, the same planetary positions, the same 300 DPI resolution. The only difference is the price.
We offer premium framed prints as an optional upgrade. Many customers order the €3.99 file first as a gift, then upgrade to a framed print if they want a permanent wall version.
No. €3.99 is the all-in price for the digital HD file (4960×7016 px, 300 DPI), the personalised poem, and the 🔭 3D explorer access. No subscription, no upsell, no surprise.