Comparison
NightScape Stacker vs. StarShrink
RC-Astro's StarShrink reduces bloated, oversized stars in astrophotography images. It is a Photoshop-only plugin that does one thing: make stars smaller and tighter. NightScape Stacker includes both star reduction and full star removal as part of a standalone workflow that also handles stacking, noise reduction, and gradient removal, with no Photoshop subscription required.
StarShrink
StarShrink addresses a specific problem: stars that are too large and too diffuse, which can dominate the frame and compete with the Milky Way core for attention. It processes all stars in an image at once, making them smaller and sharper without requiring manual selection. Compared to traditional approaches like Photoshop's Spherize or Pinch filters, it produces more consistent results across varying star sizes.
StarShrink is the most restricted of RC-Astro's tools in terms of where it runs. It is Photoshop only. There is no PixInsight version and no Affinity version. That means you need an active Adobe Creative Cloud subscription to use it, regardless of whether you use Photoshop for anything else in your workflow.
StarShrink also reduces stars only. It cannot remove them entirely, and it does nothing for stacking, noise, or gradients. It is a finishing tool for one narrow aspect of the image. At $59.95 plus a Photoshop subscription, it is a meaningful cost for what amounts to a single adjustment step.
NightScape Stacker
NightScape Stacker handles both star reduction and full star removal. You choose how far to go based on the image and the look you want. Reduce stars to make the Milky Way core more prominent while keeping the sky realistic, or remove them entirely for a cleaner foreground composite. Both options are built into the same step.
No Photoshop subscription is required. NightScape Stacker runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux as a standalone application. Star reduction is one step in a four-step workflow alongside stacking, noise reduction, and gradient removal. The $99 one-time license covers all four steps on up to two machines.
If you are a Photoshop user who only needs star reduction as a finishing step and already owns Photoshop, StarShrink is a focused tool for that specific job. If you want star reduction alongside a complete post-processing workflow without a monthly Photoshop bill, NightScape Stacker covers both at a lower total cost.
One app. Full workflow. No subscriptions.
$99 one-time · 2 seats · Mac, Windows, Linux · AI runs locally
Coming Soon