Comparison

Shadowmap vs Shade Tracker

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Shadowmap

Visualize sunlight and shadows on any location globally. Simulate sun exposure for rooftops, streets, or gardens with detailed 3D building and terrain data. Plan outdoor spaces, optimize solar panel placement, or scout photography locations remotely.

Highlights
  • Global 3D sun and shadow simulation
  • Detailed building, tree, and terrain data
  • Optimize solar panel placement
  • Scout photo and film locations
  • Plan gardens and outdoor spaces
  • Edit 3D world with objects and buildings
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Shadowmap shows where the sun shines and where shadows fall – for any rooftop, street, or garden on Earth. Built on global building, tree, and terrain data, it simulates sunlight down to the minute, on any date. Trusted by realtors, solar professionals, photographers, and anyone planning life around the sun. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Find the sunniest home, apartment, or plot • Optimize solar panel placement & yield • Scout photo & film locations remotely • Plan gardens, terraces & outdoor spaces • Time your day around natural light WHAT'S NEW • Major update: LOD2 buildings and accurate tree data for the UK and New York • UK & New York: Seasonal trees now simulate sunlight shining through leafless trees in winter • Major performance update: increased stability and improved UX • Edit the 3D World – place objects, adjust buildings, share your scene (free) GET STARTED FOR FREE • Simulate sunlight & shadows • Explore the global 3D map • Edit existing 3D buildings and trees • Place basic 3D objects (cuboids, cylinders, trees) •. Share your edited 3D scene Explorer (In-App Purchase): • Unlock 3D camera view of the Sun • Change date & time in the future or the past for precise planning Home (In-App Purchase): • All Explorer features • Extended 3D objects (freeform, roofs, trees) • 14-day global weather and UV forecast, along with historical data • High-quality 3D maps & extra base maps • Adjust default building height • Visualize floor levels on facades Studio (In-App Purchase): • Our most advanced offering • All Explorer + Home features • Interactive 3D Solar Analytics • High resolution textured 3D digital twin • Edit existing 3D buildings and trees • Create individual shapes & use prefabs • Upload your own 3D models • Share & embed your projects anywhere Shadowmap is an award-winning app: • APTI Award Winner 2024 • Golden Kitty Awards Finalist 2021 • #3 Product of the Day – Product Hunt – Download Shadowmap today and connect with the Sun in unprecedented ways. – Technical support: support@shadowmap.org You can purchase "Shadowmap Home" and "Shadowmap Studio" as monthly or yearly subscription. You can subscribe and pay through your iTunes account. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will automatically renew unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You may manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renew after purchase by going to the ‘Manage Subscription’ page in settings. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited if you purchase a subscription, where applicable. All subscriptions will renew at their respective cost. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://shadowmap.org/privacy-policy

About

Shade Tracker

Visualize how sunlight and shadows move across a live map. See building and tree shadows change in real-time by dragging a timeline. Analyze daily or annual sun exposure for any location.

Highlights
  • Live shadow map with building and tree shadows
  • Interactive timeline to scrub through time
  • Daily and annual sun exposure heatmaps
  • Custom shadow calculator by drawing structures
  • Sun direction, elevation, and UV index
  • Saved places for quick access
Features
Read full description

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

Shadowmap4 screens
Shade Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Shade Tracker at 5.0 against Shadowmap's 3.4. Shade Tracker also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). Shadowmap's advantage is chart position (#107 vs unranked) and ratings volume (7 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Shadowmap sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Shade Tracker sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shade Tracker holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shadowmap has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shadowmap ships an update every 6 weeks, Shade Tracker every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 13, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Shadowmap versus Shade Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShadowmapShade Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (7 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#107 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShadowmap Technologies GmbHSermin Demirbas

Customer experience

Shadowmap

All ratings7 ratings
Positive57.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative42.9%
Written reviews66 reviews
Positive45.5%
Neutral6.1%
Negative48.5%

Shade Tracker

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Shadowmap

Subscriptions10
  • Shadowmap Home – Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Shadowmap Home – Monthly Trial3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Shadowmap Explorer – Yearly$29.991 Year
Show 7 more
  • Shadowmap Explorer – Yearly3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Shadowmap Studio – Monthly$59.991 Month
  • Shadowmap Studio – Yearly3 Days trial$59.991 Month
  • Shadowmap Home – Yearly$99.991 Year
  • Shadowmap Home – Yearly Trial3 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Shadowmap Studio – Yearly$599.991 Year
  • Shadowmap Studio – Yearly3 Days trial$599.991 Year
7 purchases

Shade Tracker

Subscriptions4
  • Pro Weekly$2.997 Days
  • Pro Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Pro Monthly$7.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Pro Monthly$12.991 Month
One-time3
  • Shade Tracker Pro$4.99
  • Shade Tracker Pro$14.99
  • Shade Tracker Pro$29.99

Questions

Is Shadowmap free?
Shadowmap is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shade Tracker free?
Shade Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shadowmap or Shade Tracker?
Shade Tracker is rated higher. Shadowmap averages 3.4 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Shade Tracker averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Shadowmap or Shade Tracker have ads?
Neither Shadowmap nor Shade Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shadowmap or Shade Tracker?
Shadowmap ships an update every 6 weeks, and Shade Tracker every 2 weeks. Most recently, Shadowmap was updated on November 13, 2026 and Shade Tracker on November 13, 2026.

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