Comparison of Kepler 7, Kepler 8, and Sirius 4

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This table can be helpful if you are thinking of upgrading from Kepler 7 to either Kepler 8 or Sirius 4, upgrading from Kepler 8 to Sirius 4, or deciding whether to purchase Kepler 8 or Sirius 4.

Kepler 8 has all features in Kepler 7 plus additional features and improvements.

Sirius has all features in Kepler 8 plus additional features and improvements.

	Kepler 7	Kepler 8	Sirius 4
An almost endless number of features, many of which are not available in other astrology software: Time Line and AstroSignature forecasts, AstroMaps, extensive research, many interpretations, etc. (features listed below are only the features that are more extensive Kepler 8 or Sirius 4)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Overall look and feel of the program	Easy to use, but the layout, design, and colors of many windows are nicer in Kepler 8 and Sirius 4.	Elegant. Same as Sirius 4	Elegant. Same as Kepler 8.
Business Manager feature for scheduling clients, etc.	No	Yes	Yes
Number of cities in atlas	About 350,000	Over 1 million	Over 1 million
Number of charts of famous people, businesses, etc.	About 19,000	Over 19,000	Over 84,000, and this includes over 20,000 charts from the AstroDatabank and includes the birth data accuracy rating and a link to the information in the online astrodatabank
Progressed Charts	5 direct and 5 converse kinds of progressions, 4 ways to progress house cusps	10 direct and 10 converse kinds of progressions, 4 ways to progress house cusps	10 direct and 10 converse kinds of progressions, 9 ways to progress house cusps
Return Charts	Solar, Lunar, and Planet Returns	Also Bailey Conception Chart	Also Bailey Conception Chart, Phase Angle Returns, Converse Returns, Prenatal Lunation Charts, Diurnal Charts, Converse Transit Chart
Composite Charts	4 different methods of calculating composite charts	Only composite charts of 2 charts	Also composite charts of 3 or more charts
Harmonic Charts and Arc Transform Charts	Yes	Also fractional harmonic charts	Also fractional harmonic charts and the Harmonic Age Chart
Save to file	Ability to save in different formats and resolutions	Ability to save in different formats and resolutions	Also ability to save in PDF format (within the program without requiring a PDF printer driver)
Chart Wheels	Many wheel styles and excellent features to customize	Improved default colors and color choices, more elegant Page Designer with drag-and-drop capability	Same as Kepler 8 and also a popup wheel, a popup wheel in a separate program feature, and a menu item to view the wheel in a graphics program. Also chart wheel patterns according to different methods such as the Huber system, etc.
Interactive Wheels and AstroClock	AstroClock and very simple and limited Time Adjust feature. BiWheels, TriWheels, and QuadWheels are available but not in an Interactive style where you can interactively move the chart forward and backward in time.	Elegant and sophisticated Time Adjust feature, Interactive Natal-Transit BiWheel, Interactive Natal-Progressed BiWheel, and Interactive Natal-Transit-Progressed TriWheel. QuadWheels are available but not an interactive QuadWheel.	Same as Kepler 8 and also an Interactive QuadWheel that is either Natal-Transit-Progressed-Solar Return or Natal-Transit-Progressed-Progressed (2 progressed charts such as secondary progressed and solar arc, for example).
Midpoint Structures	Yes	Yes	Can also include any asteroid in a midpoint structure, midpoint structures in altitude, and also golden ratio and direct distance midpoint structures.
Degree Meanings	Degree Meanings according to 11 different astrologers	Also the original Sabian Symbols by M.E. Jones, Sabian symbols of angular distance, and the Circular Degree Meanings of John Sandbach	Same features as Kepler 8.
Harmonics, Fixed Stars, classical astrology, etc.	Many listings and tables of information	Same as Kepler 7.	Also other listings and tables such as List of Asteroid Nodes, Perhelion and Aphelion, Refranation Table, composite almutens, almudebit and anareta tables, temperament analysis, Table of harmonics 1 - 32 based on work of David Hamblin, Ability to select highest harmonic in harmonic aspect grid, List of Harmonics 1 - 128 of direct midpoint structures, Huber strength listing, etc.
Interpretations	Natal, Compatibility, Forecast, and Relocation. Some reports are available in various languages (Spanish, French, etc.)	Same as Kepler 7. The Fixed Stars and Asteroid Interpretations in Sirus 2.0 are available as an optional purchase	Also an Interpretation of Planets Conjunct Fixed Stars, and an Interpretation of Planets Conjunct Asteroids,
AstroSignature and Electional Forecasts	Many graphic forecasts	Same features as Kepler 7, but with improved user interface	Also a sophisticated Weather Forecast and a Gold Price Forecast, and an Accident Proneness Forecast. There are tutorial videos on the research that is the basis for the Gold Price and Accident Forecasts.
Rectification	A score indicating likelihood of birth time based on various forecast methods	Same as Kepler 7 with some improvements to the user interface. The automatic rectification feature of Sirius 4 is available as an optional purchase.	Automatic rectification: the likelihood of the birth time over the time period during the day that you select is determined and a graph of the results and a window of the astrological details is given.
AstroCalendar	No	Available as an optional purchase	Yes
Primary Directions	Several different methods of calculating primary directions are provided.	Same as Kepler 7	Also options for planets aspecting planets, the 4 major asteroids, and Chiron, and primary directions without latitude.
Planet Mandalas	No	Not included. Available an optional purchase.	Yes
AstroMaps	Many kinds of AstroMaps including Treasure Maps, Local Space, Geodetic, etc.	Also the Zenith Star Map	Also an Arabic Parts Map and a Paran Map
Vedic	Extensive Vedic features that are very easy to use	Same as Kepler 7	Also Panchanga table, Muhurta table, Sarvatobhadra, Marriage Matching, Krishna Paddhati system, a simple charka window, and a dosha questionnaire, more dasha systems, and other options
Calculator	Yes	Also features for technical astrologers such as converting right ascension and declination to or from zodiac longitude and latitude, converting 360 degree to and from 24 hour notation, etc.	Same as Kepler 8
Research	Extensive features for researching the database for specific factors or AstroSignatures, compatibility, paired charts such as a chart and an event, etc.	Also ability to list chart data sorted by date or a planet position	Same as Kepler 8 and also a feature for exploring quantitative data and synodic cycles, and the ability to export planetary data for use in a spreadsheet program or statistics program.

	Buy Kepler 8.0 $300	Buy Sirius 4.0 $650 $550

Upgrade Strategies

If you own Pegasus, Kepler, Win*Star Plus, Extended, or Pro or Blue*Star Pro, there are reduced upgrade prices for purchasing Sirius. You can also upgrade Pegasus and older versions of Kepler to Kepler 8.

Suppose, for example, that you own Kepler 7. You can do one of the following:

Upgrade Kepler 7 to Kepler 8 for $100 plus shipping
You can also purchase these options which are included in Sirius 4:
1. Automatic Rectification for $125
2. Gold Forecast $300
Other items that are included in Sirius that cannot be purchase as an add on to Kepler: Astro*Calendar, Asteroid Interpretations, Planet Mandalas, Weather Forecast, and Accident Forecast
Upgrade to Sirius 3 to Sirius 4.0 for $125 plus shipping
Suggestion: For most people either Kepler 8 or Sirius 4 are the best choices. The upgrade price from Kepler 8 to Sirius 4 is very attractive. You pay only $50 more if you purchase Kepler 8 and later upgrade to Sirius 4 rather than purchase Sirius 4 directly. Purchase Sirius only if you really want or need the additional features and fits in your budget. You can always upgrade to Sirius at a later time so you do not need to purchase Sirius now if it feels more comfortable for you to purchase Kepler 8.

The eight optional modules for Kepler 8 cost more than the upgrade to Sirius and you still have only some of the features in Sirius 3 and you will still pay $300 if you later upgrade to Sirius 4. We suggest purchasing the options of Kepler 8 only if you are sure you won't upgrade to Sirius for a long time and you are sure that the additional features in Sirius are not important to you.

Click here for a full Software Upgrade List