NightScape Lab vs StarXTerminator
StarXTerminator, from RC Astro, is one of the best star-removal tools available: clean, fast, and trusted by a lot of serious imagers. It runs as a plugin in Photoshop and PixInsight, inside Siril, and as a standalone tool. NightScape Lab is the whole nightscape-astrophotography workflow around that kind of step, in one tool inside Photoshop.
Best-in-class star removal
RC Astro has earned its reputation. StarXTerminator removes stars with remarkably few artifacts and handles dense fields beautifully. Many imagers consider it the gold standard for the task, and at $49.95 with a perpetual license (August 2026 price) it's fairly priced for what it does. It also got easier to fit into a workflow in 2026: the standalone CLI left beta, and the tools now run inside Siril as well as Photoshop and PixInsight.
Capability comparison
| Capability | NightScape Lab | StarXTerminator |
|---|---|---|
| Star removal quality | strong | ✓ best-in-class |
| Star removal output | starless layer + Star Map layer (Linear Dodge) | starless result |
| Star reduction | ✓ Declutter · Constellation Guard | StarShrink, sold separately ($39.95) |
| Where it runs | Photoshop panel · macOS & Windows | Photoshop · PixInsight · Siril · CLI · macOS + Windows |
| Calibrated RAW stacking (sky + ground) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Lightroom Classic round-trip | ✓ | ✗ |
| White Balance / Defringe | ✓ | ✗ |
| Foreground Sky Merge + Star Trails | ✓ | ✗ |
| Delivers a signed linear base image | ✓ 16-bit ProPhoto | n/a |
| Price | $129 once · whole workflow | $49.95 perpetual · star removal |
Stars is one tab of the whole workflow
- ✓Stars is one tab of a bigger panel. The Stars tab pairs Star Removal (a starless layer plus a separate Star Map layer, Linear Dodge) with Declutter, flux-sculpted star reduction with Constellation Guard.
- ✓Stacking and the Lightroom round-trip. Calibrated RAW stacking with dual sky/ground accumulation, dispatched straight from Lightroom Classic, results back in your catalog automatically.
- ✓Foreground Sky Merge and Star Trails included. A color-matched merge of foreground and sky, plus five trail looks (Solid, Comet, Meteor, Fade, Vortex), right in the panel or dispatched from Lightroom.
- ✓Buy once. $129 covers the whole workflow; RC Astro's comparable Photoshop bundle is $189.80 and doesn't include a stacker.
Honest questions
Is NightScape Lab's star removal as good as StarXTerminator?
StarXTerminator is widely regarded as best-in-class for pure star removal, and we won't pretend to beat it at its own game. NightScape Lab's star removal is strong, delivers a starless layer plus a separate Star Map layer (Linear Dodge) you can recombine on your terms, and it's one step in a full nightscape workflow rather than a standalone plugin.
Can I use StarXTerminator inside NightScape Lab's workflow?
Since NightScape Lab lives in Photoshop, any Photoshop-hosted plugin you own (including StarXTerminator) is still available on the same document. NightScape Lab gives you a capable built-in option so you don't have to buy separate plugins to get started.
Which should I buy?
If you only want the best star removal, StarXTerminator is a great $49.95 purchase, and it now runs in Photoshop, PixInsight, Siril, or standalone. If you want stacking, the Lightroom round-trip, finishing, the Foreground Sky Merge, and star trails in one place for nightscapes, NightScape Lab covers the whole job for $129, on macOS and Windows alike.
One panel instead of a shelf of plugins.
Stacking, finishing, the merge, and star trails: $129 once.
30-day money-back guarantee. If it's not for you, email for a full refund, no questions asked.