How to choose Vedic astrology software

The nine criteria

1. Is the ephemeris source documented?

Every chart ultimately comes from a table or algorithm giving planetary positions. If a program will not say what it uses, you cannot assess its accuracy at all. Look for a named source and a stated date range. Jyotish Sarathi documents both on its methodology page: Swiss Ephemeris, covering 1768–2293 AD.

2. Is the siddhanta a visible setting?

Surya Siddhanta and Drik Siddhanta produce different charts, and both are legitimate. Software that silently picks one gives you no way to match a traditional panchanga or to verify against the observed sky. See Surya vs Drik Siddhanta.

3. Is the ayanamsha selectable, and how many systems?

This matters more than most buyers realise: Lahiri and Raman differ by roughly a degree and a half on every planet, which is enough to change a nakshatra pada. If your lineage uses Raman or Krishnamurti and the software only offers Lahiri, every chart you produce will disagree with your own tradition. See what is ayanamsha.

4. Does the output record its own settings?

A chart that does not say which siddhanta and ayanamsha produced it cannot be reproduced or checked later — by you, by a client, or by another astrologer. This is the criterion that turns a printout into a professional document rather than a screenshot.

5. Does it work offline?

Relevant for reliability and for privacy, and decisive if you consult in places with poor connectivity. See offline vs online.

6. How deep are the modules you actually use?

Compare depth, not counts. If you read dasha, does it go to Pratyantardasha and offer more than one system? If you do matching, does it show both charts and both dasha trees, or only a score? If you read varga, does it go to D60? A program with forty shallow features is worse than one with fifteen complete ones.

7. Which platforms, and is it the same engine on each?

Professional work usually needs a desktop. Check whether the desktop build is a real native application or a wrapper, and whether the mobile and desktop versions compute identically — a discrepancy between your phone and your laptop is a real problem when a client is in the room.

8. Can you get a usable document out of it?

If you deliver readings, the export is part of the product. Look for a complete printable cheena with the charts, the dasha and the yoga list — and the ability to put your own name and design on it.

9. What happens to the birth data, and what does it cost?

Birth details are sensitive. Prefer software that computes locally and makes any upload explicit and optional. On price, look at what the free tier can actually do, whether the paid tier changes the calculation or only unlocks modules, and whether the pricing is stated for your currency. See free vs paid.

A ten-minute test before you commit

1. 1Cast a chart you already know well — your own, or one you have records for.
2. 2Compare the nakshatra pada of the Moon and the Vimshottari dasha balance at birth against your records. These are the two most settings-sensitive numbers in a chart.
3. 3If they differ, find out why. A program that lets you check the siddhanta, the ayanamsha and the birth-place coordinates will let you resolve the difference in a minute. One that does not has failed criterion 2, 3 or 4.
4. 4Print or export one document and see whether it is something you would hand to a client.

How Jyotish Sarathi scores on these criteria

The criteria are worth applying to any program you consider, including this one — that is the point of publishing them. See the features index for what each module does and pricing for what the tiers include.