Side by side
ZodiacTales vs Co-Star, The Pattern, Astro-Seek and Astro.com
Five popular places to get a birth chart, compared on the things people usually ask about: price, accounts, apps, chart depth, compatibility, Chinese astrology and ads. Each entry comes from that product's own website, help pages or app store listing.
Checked October 2026Each of these does something well. Co-Star and The Pattern are phone apps built around daily, personalized updates and friends. Astro-Seek and Astro.com are websites with deep technical settings for people who like to adjust every option. ZodiacTales is a website that puts Western astrology and the Chinese zodiac side by side, with written readings and no account. The table below sets out the facts so you can pick what suits you.
The comparison
Where a product's own pages do not say, the cell reads "Not stated" or "Not listed" rather than a guess.
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| Feature | ZodiacTales | Co-Star | The Pattern | Astro-Seek | Astro.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. No paid features today. | Free app with optional in-app purchases and a subscription (Pro-Star). | Free app with optional subscriptions (Go Deeper, Connect+). | Free. Its FAQ says there is no paid subscription. | Free charts and horoscopes, plus paid reports and optional subscriptions. |
| What costs extra | Nothing. | Charts for friends who are not on the app, a love report, the Eros couples feature, "Ask the stars" questions, and advanced chart reports. | The Go Deeper and Connect+ subscriptions, and extra profile slots. | None listed. | Longer written reports, the Extended Daily Horoscope, and Astrodienst PLUS (removes ads). |
| Account needed? | No. Nothing to sign up for. | Yes for the app (phone number or Apple account, verified by SMS code). The free web chart asks for an email. | Not stated for the app. The free web chart asks for an email. | No. An optional free account saves your birth data. | No. A guest profile works; an optional free account saves your charts. |
| Platforms | Website, built to work in phone browsers. No app to install. | iOS and Android apps, plus a free natal chart page on the website. | iOS and Android apps, plus a free natal chart page on the website. | Website. | Website. Its FAQ shows how to add it to a phone home screen. |
| Natal (birth) chart | Yes: chart wheel, planets, houses and aspects, with a written reading. | Yes. | Yes, presented mainly as personality readings. | Yes, with many chart types and settings. | Yes, with many chart types and drawing styles. |
| House system and technical depth | Placidus houses, tropical zodiac, Swiss Ephemeris positions. | Porphyry houses. | Whole sign houses. | Many selectable house systems (Placidus, Koch, Whole Sign, Equal, Campanus and more), plus sidereal, Vedic, traditional and horary tools. | A wide selection of house systems and chart types in its Extended Chart Selection. |
| Synastry and compatibility | Western synastry chart, BaZi compatibility, Chinese animal compatibility, and a friend-group reading. | Compare charts with friends; some relationship reports are paid. | Yes (Bonds), for friends and partners. | Synastry bi-wheel, composite charts and love compatibility. | Free short Partner Horoscope and composite charts; longer relationship reports are paid. |
| Chinese zodiac and BaZi | Yes: year animal, Five Elements, and a full Four Pillars (BaZi) calculator. | Not listed. | Not listed. | Chinese zodiac sign lookup. No BaZi tool listed. | Not listed. |
| Daily horoscope | Yes, for each of the 12 Chinese animals and 12 Western signs (by sign, not by your full chart). | Yes, personalized to your chart, with push notifications. | Yes, daily personalized updates. | Yes, a personal daily horoscope from transits to your chart. | Yes, a free Personal Daily Horoscope; an extended version is paid. |
| Written readings or data tables | Written readings alongside the chart data. | Short written horoscopes and chart explanations. | Plain-language written readings, plus audio. | Mostly charts and data tables, with short interpretations. | Chart drawings plus written horoscope interpretations. |
| Ads | No ads. | Not stated. | Not stated. | Yes. Its FAQ offers ad-free accounts in exchange for promoting the site. | Yes, third-party ads, removed for a time after a purchase or with Astrodienst PLUS. |
Checked October 2026 against each product's own site, help pages and App Store or Google Play listing. Features and prices change, so check the product itself before you subscribe to anything. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
What makes ZodiacTales different
- Chinese and Western astrology together. Your Western natal chart and your Chinese Four Pillars (BaZi) chart live on the same site, with pages for all 144 combinations of Western sign and Chinese animal. Why everyone has both.
- Free, with no account. Every calculator runs in your browser without signing up, and there are no ads.
- Written readings. Charts come with plain-language written readings next to the planet positions, houses and aspects, so you do not need to know the symbols to get something out of them.
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Frequently asked questions
Is there a free Co-Star alternative without an app?
Yes. ZodiacTales, Astro-Seek and Astro.com all run in a web browser, and their natal charts are free. ZodiacTales needs no account at all, and its chart comes with a written reading. Co-Star and The Pattern also offer a free natal chart on their websites, which asks for an email address, while their full experience lives in their iOS and Android apps.
Which site does Chinese zodiac and Western astrology together?
ZodiacTales covers both: a Western natal chart and synastry on one side, and the Chinese year animal, the Five Elements and a full Four Pillars (BaZi) calculator on the other, plus pages for all 144 Chinese and Western sign combinations. Astro-Seek has a Chinese zodiac sign lookup alongside its Western tools. Co-Star, The Pattern and Astro.com do not list Chinese astrology among their features.
Do I need an account to get my birth chart?
Not on ZodiacTales: there is nothing to sign up for. Astro-Seek and Astro.com also work without registering, with an optional free account to save birth data. The Co-Star app asks for a phone number or Apple account, and the free web charts from Co-Star and The Pattern ask for an email.
What is the best free astrology site for a detailed chart?
It depends on what you want. If you want to adjust house systems, chart types and other technical settings, Astro-Seek and Astro.com offer the most options. If you want a chart explained in plain written language, without an account, ZodiacTales is built for that, and it adds the Chinese side of your chart too.
Which house system does ZodiacTales use?
Placidus houses with the tropical zodiac, calculated with Swiss Ephemeris. Co-Star says it uses Porphyry houses and The Pattern uses whole sign houses. Astro-Seek and Astro.com let you choose between many systems.
Does ZodiacTales show ads?
No. ZodiacTales has no ads and no paid features today.