I do not see plate solving, in either of these apps, as a feature to worry about, when your starting out. If your wanting to use these apps on dark site trips, where the main need is for accurate polar alignment initially, then Sharpcap V2.9 ( which is free and very easy to use) is a recent obvious choice for fast accurate polar alignment without the need for internet connection, or even power to the mount ( simple declutching and rotating is all that's required). I find that even though i have plate solving capability, i do not use it. If your polar alignment is accurate, it (plate solving) is redundant. Some might be offended but i see plate solving as a lazy astronomers tool.
Now some will no doubt argue that plate solving is necessary for returning to the exact same pixel position night after night using a reference image, and that is where it shines, but it is not really a necessity in that your registration software (DSS, or whatever), will adjust the stacking. All you really need is good polar alignment to get back to the same location, and you can use your reference image on the screen with a target rectile to tweak placement if necessary.