Buyer's Guide
Best astrophotography stacking software for landscape photographers (2026)
Most astrophotography software is built for telescope operators: equatorial mounts, calibration frames, FITS files, and deep-sky targets. If you shoot the Milky Way from a tripod with a foreground in the frame, that software was not designed for your workflow. This guide covers the tools that actually matter for landscape astrophotography.
At a glance
Sequator
Sequator is free, actively maintained, and does a genuinely good job of stacking landscape astrophotography images on Windows. It understands the foreground-sky separation problem that telescope software ignores, and it has a strong community behind it. If you are on Windows and stacking is all you need, Sequator is a solid free choice.
The limitation is platform: Sequator is Windows only. If you shoot on a Mac or Linux machine, it does not exist for you. And if you want gradient removal or star removal or reduction, you will need separate tools.
Starry Landscape Stacker
Starry Landscape Stacker was one of the first tools built specifically for landscape astrophotography rather than telescope imaging. It does stacking well, the foreground masking works, and at $39.99 on the Mac App Store it is an accessible entry point. It has a loyal following among Mac photographers who have been using it for years.
The limitations: Mac only, and it covers stacking only. For gradient removal and star removal or reduction, you need to add other tools to your workflow.
DeepSkyStacker
DeepSkyStacker is a free, well-established tool with a long track record in the deep-sky community. It handles calibration frames (flats, darks, bias), works in FITS format, and is built around the telescope imaging workflow. For that use case, it is excellent.
For landscape astrophotography, it is solving a different problem. If you hiked somewhere with a wide-angle lens and shot 20 frames of the Milky Way over a mountain, you don't need calibration frames and FITS output. The interface is oriented toward deep-sky operators, and the learning curve is steeper than the landscape workflow warrants.
Siril
Siril is a powerful free and open-source option that runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. It has gradient removal and star removal or reduction built in, which puts it ahead of Sequator and Starry Landscape Stacker on workflow completeness. The development is active and the feature set is growing.
Like DeepSkyStacker, Siril is built primarily for telescope deep-sky imaging. The interface reflects that orientation, and the learning curve is significant. For someone who wants to stack a set of Milky Way frames without spending hours learning the software, Siril requires more investment than the landscape workflow typically needs.
PixInsight
PixInsight is the professional standard for serious astrophotography. It runs on all three platforms, covers every step of the deep-sky pipeline, and has gradient removal and star removal or reduction that are among the best available. If you want to go deep into astrophotography processing, PixInsight is what the professionals use.
It costs several hundred dollars, and the learning curve is measured in weeks. It is built for telescope photographers doing serious deep-sky work. For landscape astrophotography, it is substantially more software than the workflow requires.
NightScape Stacker
NightScape Stacker is built specifically for landscape astrophotography. It handles the four steps that matter for nightscape work: stacking, gradient removal, star removal or reduction, and 16-bit TIFF export. Nothing more, nothing less. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux for a $99 one-time license.
The design goal is to handle the math between your camera and Lightroom without getting in the way. Shoot your frames, drop them in, work through the four steps, export a 16-bit TIFF, and finish your image in Lightroom. That is the complete workflow.
Which tool is right for you
You shoot on Windows and only need stacking
Sequator. Free and capable.
You shoot on a Mac and only need stacking
Starry Landscape Stacker. $39.99, proven, Mac App Store.
You use a telescope with an equatorial mount
DeepSkyStacker or Siril. Built for that workflow.
You want a complete professional pipeline and are willing to invest in the learning curve
PixInsight. The gold standard for deep-sky work.
You shoot Milky Way on a tripod on any platform and want stacking, gradient removal, and star removal or reduction in one app
NightScape Stacker. $99 one-time, Mac, Windows, Linux.
Try NightScape Stacker
$99 one-time · Mac, Windows, Linux · Stack, remove gradients, remove or reduce stars, export TIFF
Coming SoonAlso see: vs. Sequator · vs. Starry Landscape Stacker · vs. DeepSkyStacker