Frequently asked questions
Things astrologers ask us before they sign up.
Every question on this page comes from a real conversation: a beta interview, a support thread, a comment on the waitlist. We grouped them by topic so you can jump straight to the part that matters.
26 questions answered9 topic groupsUpdated May 2026
Getting started & is it for you
Getting started & is it for you.
What it costs to begin, how fast your first reading goes out, and how Astrolium compares to the free calculators you already use, whether you read full-time or just a few charts a month.
- How quickly can I get my first client reading out?
- Minutes. Enter the birth data, the chart renders in seconds, the AI drafts an interpretation you edit, and you export a branded PDF or share a link. Already keep a Solar Fire library? Import your .SFCHT files and your back catalogue is there on day one.
- Is Astrolium worth it if I only do a few readings a month?
- Yes. The Free plan covers your first five clients with unlimited natal charts at no cost. When you want AI drafts, transits, and branded PDFs, Pro is $11/mo, built as the first paid step for readers with a handful of clients, not a full studio. You move up to Adept only when your practice grows into it.
- Why pay for Astrolium when astro.com and Astro-Seek are free?
- Those are calculators. You still copy positions into notes by hand and scatter client data across documents. Astrolium keeps charts, client records, AI drafts, and branded PDFs in one workspace, so the reading goes out faster and your history stays together. For plain charts with nothing to manage, the Free plan matches them at $0.
Pricing & billing
Pricing & billing.
What you pay, when you pay it, and what changes between plans. Founding-member pricing locks in for life.
- What happens to my client data if I cancel?
- You get a 30-day read-only window to export. One-click JSON dump covers every client profile, chart, session note, and PDF. After 30 days the data is deleted from production and from backups within a further 60 days.
- What are the exact limits on the free tier?
- 5 client profiles, natal charts only, 6 house systems, watermarked PDFs. No AI interpretation, no transits or progressions, no transit scanner. Unlimited one-off chart calculations. No payment method to sign up.
- Does the Astrolium free PDF have a watermark?
- Free tier carries a 'Made with Astrolium' footer. Pro at $11/mo removes it. Master white-labels the PDF, footer, and share URL with your practice branding.
- Is there a discount for paying annually?
- Yes. Annual billing is 2 months free. Adept is $290/yr (versus $29/mo × 12 = $348). Master is $790/yr (versus $79/mo × 12 = $948). Switching from monthly to annual prorates the difference.
- Is there a free tier of Astrolium?
- Yes. The free plan covers 5 client profiles, unlimited natal charts, 6 house systems, and Solar Fire .SFCHT import — usable indefinitely, no card required. The first paid step is Pro at $11/mo, which turns on the AI assistant, transits, all 23 house systems, and branded PDF export. Adept ($29) then lifts the client cap and adds the full chart suite.
- What is the Astrolium refund policy?
- 30-day money-back on annual plans, no questions. Monthly plans are non-refundable; cancellation takes effect at the next renewal. Email hello@astrolium.com from the address on file; the refund posts to the original card within 5 business days.
AI assistant
AI assistant.
What the AI knows, what it leaves to you, what languages it speaks, and how we keep it grounded in the chart in front of it.
- Is Astrolium's AI just ChatGPT writing astrology?
- No. Astrolium runs Google Gemini (via OpenRouter) grounded in your own Knowledge Base, the interpretation rules and notes you upload, not free-form generation. The reading follows your method, citing the chart positions it reads from. Internal QA shows the output matches manually-written paragraphs for sect, dignity, house, and aspect at over 92%.
- Can I trust the AI to write a reading I'll show a paying client?
- The AI drafts from the actual chart and your method, then cites the positions it read: sect, dignity, house, aspect. You review and edit before anything reaches a client. Treat it as a fast first draft that follows your rules, not an oracle that replaces your judgment. Nothing leaves your workspace on its own.
- Which languages does Astrolium's AI interpretation support?
- 5 at launch: EN, RU, ES, PT, DE. Source-to-target translation with a terminology lock so technical terms (sect, almuten, antiscia) stay precise across languages. Switch from a dropdown on the chart page.
- I don't want AI in my reading. Can I turn it off?
- Yes. The AI assistant is opt-in and clearly labeled; nothing is generated unless you ask, and the Free plan ships no AI at all. Astrolium runs fully without it: chart calculation, the client roster, and PDF reports all work AI-free. Your technique settings stay first-class, not a modern default. You choose the house system (23 of them), tropical or sidereal zodiac, your aspect orbs, lots, and fixed stars, and the chart respects the school you set (Hellenistic, traditional, or modern), which drives the dignities and orbs it uses.
- Does the AI work out of the box, or do I have to feed it my own rules first?
- It works the moment you open a chart, reading from classical technique: sect, dignity, houses, aspects. If you have your own interpretation style, Adept and Master let you upload notes to a Knowledge Base so drafts follow your method. That step is optional. Nothing is required before your first reading.
Calculation engine & accuracy
Calculation engine & accuracy.
The math under the hood: Swiss Ephemeris, 23 house systems, sidereal & tropical, fixed stars, asteroids, historical timezones.
- Can Astrolium calculate houses for high-latitude births?
- Yes. Above 66° latitude, Placidus and other quadrant systems can fail on certain dates. Astrolium auto-detects the condition and suggests Porphyry or Whole Sign with an inline tooltip, both of which resolve at any latitude.
- Does Astrolium use the Swiss Ephemeris?
- Yes. Astrolium calculates all charts on the Swiss Ephemeris engine, the same arc-second accuracy used by Solar Fire and academic research. Chart calculations complete in under 300ms across 23 house systems, asteroids, Arabic parts, and fixed stars.
- How does Astrolium handle pre-1900 birth times?
- IANA tzdb covers 1500 to present. For dates before a city's first legal timezone adoption, Astrolium auto-falls back to Local Mean Time (LMT) computed from longitude. No manual offset entry.
Switching from other tools
Switching from other tools.
Coming from Solar Fire, Astro Gold, or astro.com: what imports, how the cost stacks up against a desktop license, and what the first 30 days look like.
- How does Astrolium pricing compare to Solar Fire?
- Solar Fire is a $360 one-time Windows install. Astrolium runs $0 to $79 per month in any browser. Adept ($29/mo) gives unlimited clients, AI interpretation, and PDF exports. Two years on Adept is cheaper than Solar Fire and includes cloud sync, no installs, and ongoing updates.
- Can I import my Solar Fire chart library into Astrolium?
- Yes. Astrolium supports Solar Fire .SFCHT import on every paid and free tier. Drag your .SFCHT export onto the Astrolium dashboard and 1000+ client charts move over in under 60 seconds with notes and aspect catalogs intact.
Platforms & compatibility
Platforms & compatibility.
Browser, Mac, Windows, iPad, iPhone, Android. The short version: web first, native shells where they earn their keep.
- Does Astrolium work on Mac and iPad?
- Yes. Astrolium runs in any modern browser on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPad, and Android. No app install, no separate license per device. Unlike Solar Fire, which is Windows-only, you can move between any of your devices with a single account.
- Is there a native iOS or iPad app?
- No, browser-only at V1. iPad Safari and iPad Chrome work fully, including chart touch gestures and PDF export. A native iOS app is a V1.3 candidate, not committed.
Data, privacy & security
Data, privacy & security.
Where client birth data lives, how it's encrypted, what we keep if you cancel, and how the GDPR side works.
- How is client birth data stored and protected?
- Your client data is encrypted at rest with AES-256, EU-resident (Hetzner), and served over TLS 1.3. Named sub-processors per the DPA: Vercel, Hetzner, Stripe, Postmark, OpenRouter (Google Gemini, inference only), Cloudflare. GDPR-compliant. SOC 2 Type II on the roadmap for V1.2.
Teams, API & white-label
Teams, API & white-label.
For when your practice grows into a studio: shared seats, the read/write API, and running Astrolium under your own branding.
- Does Astrolium have an API?
- Yes, on Master. Astrolium inherits the astrology-api.io quota at 5,000 chart calculations per month with Swiss Ephemeris parity. Overage runs $0.04 per chart. Endpoints cover natal, transit, progressed, synastry, composite, and solar return.
- Can I add team members to Astrolium?
- Yes, on Master. The $79/mo tier includes 3 seats with shared client roster and role permissions (admin, practitioner, read-only). Every seat gets an audit log entry per client-record change.
- Can I white-label Astrolium for my practice?
- Yes, on Master. White-label replaces the Astrolium wordmark, PDF footer, and share URL with your practice branding. Shared chart links run on your custom subdomain after DNS verification.
Roadmap & not-yet-shipped
Roadmap & not-yet-shipped.
Things that are on the way: rectification, audio session recording, more sidereal schools. With honest dates.
- Does Astrolium support birth-time rectification?
- Not yet. Rectification is on the roadmap for V1.1 (Q3 2026): a trick-of-the-light wizard that correlates 3 to 6 dated life events against a candidate birth-time range and bisects to the best fit. Adept and Master at release.
Still chewing on a question?
Email hello@astrolium.com and a human gets back inside one working day. Or jump in and try it — the answer is usually in the product.