Ranking 102 Computerized Telescopes (GoTos and PushTos)
Computerized telescopes have numerous benefits and drawbacks. They are offered in both GoTo and PushTo configurations. GoTo telescopes have motors that automatically track the sky, while PushTo telescopes use encoders or your smartphone to compute where they are aimed and then offer directions on where to point to locate your target. GoTo telescopes normally come with the caveat of being unable to be aimed manually – either at all or without disrupting their tracking and pointing accuracy – but this is finally changing with the advent of new dual-encoder systems which allow seamless manual or computerized pointing abilities.
The biggest drawback of computerized telescopes is that they add weight and cost which could otherwise go into simply purchasing a larger and more powerful telescope – or saving the money for accessories; this is particularly true with GoTo telescopes but can apply to PushTo systems as well. However, very large telescopes can outright require tracking (and by extension, GoTo) to be used comfortably, and you might particularly benefit from GoTo if you do not have a lot of time to learn your way around the sky or do a lot of your viewing with other people such as friends or family.
Our rankings here sort more than 102 telescopes by value and performance in different price categories. For a wider selection that compares smaller price increments and manual telescopes, check out our main telescope rankings page.
~$300-550 range
~$550-$750 range
~$750-$1400 range
~$1400-$2200 range
~$2200-$3000 range
~$3000-$4500 range
- Celestron Advanced VX 11″ Schmidt-Cassegrain
- Celestron CGEM II 925 EdgeHD
- Celestron CGEM II 700 Mak
- Celestron CPC Deluxe 925 EdgeHD
- Celestron CPC Deluxe 800 EdgeHD
- Celestron Advanced VX 9.25″ EdgeHD
- Celestron CGX 700 Mak
~$4500-$6500 range
- Orion SkyQuest XX16G Dobsonian GoTo
- Sky-Watcher 14” Flextube SynScan GoTo Dobsonian
- Celestron CGX 925 EdgeHD
- Celestron CGX 1100 EdgeHD
- Celestron CGEM II 1100 SCT
- Sky-Watcher 16″ Flextube SynScan GoTo Dobsonian
- Celestron CPC 1100 EdgeHD
- Meade 10″ LX200 ACF Computerized Telescope
- Meade 12″ LX90 ACF Computerized Telescope
- Vaonis Stellina
- Celestron CGX-L 9.25 SCT
- Meade 8″ LX200 ACF
- Unistellar eVscope 2