Custom star map comparison 2026: what 7 popular sites really charge
Real prices, delivery times and star counts — checked June 2026
A custom star map costs anywhere from €3.99 to over $250 depending on where you order. We checked the public prices, delivery times and astronomical data of 7 popular star map websites in June 2026. Here is the honest comparison no vendor wants to publish.
Why choose Starry Memory
- A 1-to-60 price gap for the same sky — Starry Memory's HD digital file costs €3.99. Under Lucky Stars charges $130 to $250 for an unframed poster of the same astronomical event — and $29 for a digital version made of 3 static PDFs.
- \"Digital\" rarely means instant — Most competitors produce digital files in 1-3 business days. Under Lucky Stars posters take 7-10 days to arrive. Starry Memory makes the file available after payment validation.
- Star counts, stated plainly — GreaterSkies publishes its figure: 7,000-8,000 stars (to magnitude 7). Starry Memory computes the bright named stars of its catalogue, the Moon and the planets (Astronomy Engine) for your date; its faint background stars are decorative.
- Permanent discounts are anchoring tricks — Several shops display permanent -25% to -50% \"sales\" against inflated reference prices. A permanent discount is not a discount — compare the price you actually pay.
- 🔭 Free 3D Sky Exploration — The immersive sky experience is offered free on the website, before or after ordering — explore the sky calculated for your date like in a planetarium. It stays optional.
The custom star map market runs on opacity: permanent fake discounts, hidden shipping costs, and \"digital\" files that take days to arrive. Here are the real numbers, checked site by site in June 2026. A regular gift gets stored in a drawer. A Starry Memory gift hangs on a wall and tells its own story to every visitor, for thirty years. That's the difference between giving an object and giving a personal narrative anchored in astronomical precision.
| Service | Digital price | Delivery | Documented stars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starry Memory | €3.99 | Download after payment | Bright stars computed (HYG) |
| Etsy digital sellers | €4–10 | 1–3 days | not disclosed |
| Positive Prints | ≈ €28 | minutes | not disclosed |
| GreaterSkies | ≈ €49 | digital | 7,000–8,000 |
| The Night Sky | from $39 (print) | — | not disclosed |
| Twinkle In Time | from $55 (print) | — | not disclosed |
| Under Lucky Stars | $29 (3 PDFs) · $130–250 poster | 7–10 days | not disclosed |
The June 2026 price check, site by site
Starry Memory: €3.99, HD file after payment validation. Etsy digital sellers: €3.84-16.20, typically delivered in 1-3 days (median around €6.50-9.80). Positive Prints: from ~$29.95/€28, digital JPEG or print, premium formats up to $345. The Night Sky: prints from $39 (12×12\"), jewelry $79-300, no standard digital option. GreaterSkies: digital download around €49, prints from £59.95. Twinkle In Time: from $55, print only, no digital option at all. Under Lucky Stars: digital $29 (3 static PDFs), unframed posters $130-250, frames +$45-70.
Delivery time: the forgotten variable
Star maps are gifts, and gifts have deadlines. Under Lucky Stars: 3 business days production + 7-10 days shipping (14-31 days to Latin America). Etsy digital sellers: mostly 1-3 business days because each file is manually generated. Positive Prints delivers digital files \"within minutes\" — the only fast competitor. Starry Memory generates and emails the HD file after payment validation, 24/7, including on December 24th at 11pm. For last-minute gifts, that difference is the whole purchase decision.
Star counts: who actually computes the sky
Most vendors never disclose how many stars are on their maps. The verifiable numbers: GreaterSkies plots 7,000-8,000 stars to magnitude 7 from the Yale Bright Star Catalog — genuinely accurate, and they deserve credit for transparency. Starry Memory computes the bright named stars of its catalogue from their catalogue coordinates for your exact date, time and place, plus the Moon and visible planets with Astronomy Engine; the faint background stars are decorative. Both can be verified against Stellarium; we actively encourage it.
How to get a framed star map for under €40
The 2026 money-smart route: download the €3.99 HD file from Starry Memory, send it to any online or local print shop (a 50×70 cm museum-quality print costs €5-15 at Cheerz, Photobox or a local printer), add a standard frame (€10-20). Total: €19-39 for a result equivalent to the $130-250 shipped posters — with more stars on the map and the file yours to reprint forever.
🔭 Free 3D Sky Exploration included
Our free 3D sky explorer, open to everyone on the website, is an interactive tool that lets you navigate the exact sky of your chosen date as if you were standing under the stars that night. Drag to change the angle, zoom into a specific constellation, identify every visible planet. We combine a printed poster with an immersive digital experience — not a static PDF, but a personalised planetarium for your moment.
Picking the right graphic theme for your poster
Six collection styles are available in the creator, each adjustable (colours, typography, constellations). Atelier Ivoire pairs a light background with dark stars, suited to a Scandinavian interior or an already-busy wall. Nuit d’Or and Bleu Minuit use a deep background with bright stars, for an adult bedroom or an office. Rose Aube brings soft tones, often chosen for a child’s room or a birth gift. Sauge Botanique evokes nature and suits bohemian interiors. Gravure Céleste recalls antique astronomy plates. This page works with all six; check the rendering in the preview before choosing a format.
Why this poster isn't like the others
A regular poster lives in a bedroom for a few months before ending up in a cupboard. A Starry Memory poster lives in the story. Every time a visitor asks 'what's that?', the owner tells the story behind the chosen sky — the date, the place, why that night matters. The poster becomes the trigger for a thousand conversations, over ten, twenty, thirty years. That's what sets it apart from a mere decorative object: it carries a personal narrative that never wears thin. Our service at €3.99 makes this possibility accessible to everyone — without compromising on astronomical precision or the quality of the file delivered.
Starry Memory vs other options: what's different
On the custom star map market, you mainly find three categories. All-physical services delivering a printed poster between $25 and $50, with a 3-10 day delay and expensive logistics passed on to the price. Marketplaces (Etsy) where each seller has their own quality, their own delay, with no guarantee of astronomical precision. Premium digital services charging $15-30 for a file, justifying it by careful design. Starry Memory positions itself elsewhere: €3.99 for the HD digital file, available to download on the site after payment validation, with a documented astronomical method and access to the 3D explorer included. For this occasion, this positioning means: no compromise on quality, price divided by 5 to 10.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest custom star map in 2026?
Starry Memory at €3.99 for the HD digital file (4960×7016 px, 300 DPI, available to download on the website after payment validation). The next cheapest serious options are Etsy digital sellers (typically €4-10, delivered in 1-3 days) and Positive Prints (~€28 digital). Print-first brands start much higher: The Night Sky from $39, Twinkle In Time from $55, Under Lucky Stars from $130 unframed.
How much does Under Lucky Stars cost exactly?
Prices checked in June 2026 on their official support pages: $130 for a 12×16\" unframed poster, $195 for 18×24\", $250 for 24×36\"; frames add $45-70. Their digital option costs $29 and contains 3 static PDF files. Production takes 3 business days plus 7-10 days shipping to the US and Europe.
Which star map site has the most accurate sky?
Accuracy depends on the star catalog and ephemerides used. GreaterSkies publishes 7,000-8,000 stars from the Yale Bright Star Catalog. Starry Memory computes the bright named stars of its catalogue, the Moon and the planets with Astronomy Engine; its faint background stars are decorative. Every map can be cross-checked against Stellarium, the free open-source planetarium.
Is a digital star map worth it over a printed one?
If you can print locally, yes: you pay €3.99 for the file, then €5-15 for a 50×70 cm professional print — under €40 framed, versus $130-250+ for shipped posters. You also keep the file forever, can reprint at any size up to A1, and receive it after payment validation instead of 10 days.
How does the 3D sky exploration work?
On the website, the immersive experience gives free access to an interactive web planetarium, before or after ordering. You can rotate the celestial sphere, zoom into any constellation, recognise the bright named stars. No installation required — works on smartphone, tablet or computer.
Does the poster work for a future date?
Yes — we can compute the sky up to 2100. The computation remains accurate, as star positions change very slowly on a human timescale.
✦ Personalised star certificate
For a person rather than a date: give them a star
A personalised certificate with a QR code: one smartphone scan shows the star in 3D, then its direction in the real sky.
- Choose a real star and its name
- Scan the certificate’s QR code, no app needed
- Find it in the sky with your smartphone
From €8.91 · PDF to download as soon as you pay
Symbolic dedication in the private Starry Memory registry. Depending on its brightness and the weather, you’ll see it with the naked eye, with binoculars, or find its direction.
Name a star: the certificate in detail
Rather the sky of a date and place? Create a star map · HD file €3.99