WeatherCAN vs Shade Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WeatherCAN
Access Canada's official weather forecasts and alerts directly from Environment and Climate Change Canada. Get current conditions, hourly and daily forecasts, and high-resolution radar animations for over 10,000 locations. Receive customizable Air Quality Health Index notifications and messages from meteorologists.
- Current conditions and forecasts
- Weather alerts and notifications
- Location-based weather tracking
- High-resolution radar animation
- Customizable Air Quality Health Index
- Messages from meteorologists
- Bilingual (English/French)
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Environment and Climate Change Canada has a mobile weather app! It’s cool (pun intended), it’s fun, and it’s easy to use. Get all your latest forecast information directly from Canada’s official weather source. Receive weather alerts notifications in your area, as well as in your saved locations, wherever you are in Canada. Key features: • Current conditions, 24-hour forecast and 7-day forecasts for over 10,000 locations in Canada • Never worry about missing alerts! Push notifications for all weather alerts issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada • Weather information for your location (following you as you travel) as well as for saved locations anywhere in Canada. • High resolution radar animation on a zoomable map background • Today and short-range forecast widget for quick, at-a-glance weather information • Accessible in English and French, and an in-app ability to switch between languages • Message centre – interesting messages from friendly, human meteorologists • Custom Air Quality Health Index notifications tailored to your unique risk level, depending on your sensitivity to pollution. For more information: www.canada.ca/weathercan By clicking "Install" you consent to the installation of this app and updates in the future. This app can be uninstalled at any time.
Shade Tracker
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Will your balcony get sun at 4pm? Where should you park so the car is still shaded in three hours? Does that table stay in the sun through dinner? Shade Tracker answers those questions on a live map. Drag the timeline and watch the shadows of buildings and trees move in real time. The sun's position comes from actual astronomical calculation. LIVE SHADOW MAP • Building and tree shadows drawn directly onto the map • Tree heights come from a global canopy model, so shade under trees counts too • 2D, tilted 3D, and satellite views THE TIMELINE • Scrub with your finger and the shadows follow instantly • One pixel is one minute, with about six hours of context on screen • The color of the timeline is the real solar elevation for that minute, so night, twilight, golden hour, and full day are visible at a glance • Scroll as far into the past or future as you want, or jump to any date • One tap on Now returns you to the current moment HOURS OF SUN • Turn the map into a heat map of how many hours each spot gets sun, over a range you pick: sunrise to sunset, now to sunset, or the whole day • Tap anywhere to read the exact figure for that point ANNUAL SUNLIGHT • The same heat map sampled across a full year, for longer decisions about a roof, garden, or balcony SHADOW CALCULATOR • Draw a structure on the map, give it a height, and its shadow is included immediately • Set the height to zero to erase instead: see what changes if a tree comes down or a building is removed • Drawings stay on your device and can be edited or deleted SUN DIRECTION AND STATUS • Arrows from the map center show the current sun direction, the sunrise direction, and the sunset direction • A floating badge gives the sun's compass bearing and elevation, plus whether you are in sun or shade right now, read from the shadow data rather than guessed • Sunrise and sunset times UV INDEX • Current UV for your location, in the standard health color bands • Scrub the timeline to see the UV forecast for that hour SAVED PLACES • Long-press a point and name it: Home balcony, Work parking, that café • The address resolves automatically; tap the list to fly back SEARCH • Place and address search with live suggestions • Type coordinates to go straight to a point • Times are shown in the local time zone of wherever you are looking GOOD FOR Apartment hunting, parking in the shade, picking a side of the terrace, gardening and the full sun versus partial shade question, photography and golden hour, early thinking about solar panels, shaded walking routes on hot days, architecture and site studies, and planning outdoor events. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO Building heights are mostly estimates from open map data, so not every roof is modeled exactly. Tree heights come from a global model rather than individual measurements. UV is a clear-sky value and does not account for you being in shade. Clouds and weather are not part of the calculation: this answers where the sun falls when the sun is out. No account and no sign-up. The calculations run on your device. WHAT'S FREE AND WHAT'S PRO The live shadow map with today's timeline, sun direction lines, sunrise and sunset times, the UV index, search, and up to 3 saved places are free. Shade Tracker Pro is an optional paid upgrade, available as an auto-renewing subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. It unlocks: • HOURS OF SUN (one free preview included) • ANNUAL SUNLIGHT • SHADOW CALCULATOR • Viewing days other than today • The sun arc time control • Unlimited saved places -------------- Privacy Policy: https://shadetracker.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://shadetracker.app/terms EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Shade Tracker at every 2 weeks against WeatherCAN's every 2 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
WeatherCAN ships an update every 2 months, Shade Tracker every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WeatherCAN | Shade Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 28.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 83 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Environment and Climate Change Canada | Sermin Demirbas |
In-app purchases
WeatherCAN
No in-app purchases
Shade Tracker
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is WeatherCAN free?
Is Shade Tracker free?
Do WeatherCAN or Shade Tracker have ads?
Which is updated more often, WeatherCAN or Shade Tracker?
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