Sun Seeker vs Celestial Navigation
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sun Seeker
Track the sun's hourly direction, path, and times for sunrise, sunset, and twilight. Visualize solar data with a compass or AR view, and receive notifications for key solar events. Ideal for planning outdoor activities, photography, and property assessment.
- Hourly sun direction intervals
- Sunrise, sunset, and twilight times
- Golden hour and blue hour visualization
- Flat compass and 3D AR views
- Sun shadow length calculation
- Sun event notifications
- Location-based solar data
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Sunseeker is a comprehensive solar tracking & compass app. It shows the sun’s hourly direction intervals, its equinox, winter & summer solstice paths, sunrise sunset times, twilight times, sun shadow, the golden hour & more. The app allows you to add sun-event notifications & has a widget showing the day’s solar data & position on an arc. The surveyor view shows the solar direction for each sunlight hour. Sunseeker has both a flat compass view & a 3D Augmented Reality (AR) view to show the solar position & path. The app is useful for - ▶ Photographers- to plan according to the golden hour or blue hour & optimal sunlight conditions, sunrise & sunset times & directions. ▶ Cinematographers- this sun tracker & sun surveyor enables you to find the sun exposure, directions, sun shadow & sunrise sunset times for any location. ▶ Real Estate Buyers- can use the app before buying a property to check the sun path & to find the sun exposure of properties. ▶ Drivers - Sunseeker lets you track the sun path & movement during the days & helps drivers know the sun position to find how long the car will remain in the shade at any given parking spot. ▶ Campers & Picnickers- for anyone planning a day out, Sunseeker app will help in finding where to camp, sit or pitch an umbrella depending on the sunlight & sun direction. ▶ Gardeners- Sun Seeker can also help with finding optimal planting locations & seasonal sunlight hours as a sun rise calendar ▶ Architects & Surveyors- for visualising the spatial variability of the solar angle throughout the year & using the compass app as a sun surveyor & calendar to determine the sunlight directions. Main Features * Sunseeker is a sun locator which uses GPS, magnetometer & gyroscope to find the correct solar position & sun path for your current location. * Flat compass view shows current solar position, diurnal solar angle & elevation (separated into day & night segments), sun shadow length ratio, atmospheric path thickness. * 3D augmented reality (AR) camera overlay view shows the sun's current position, its path with hour points marked. Check golden hour using this feature! * Camera view has an optional pointer to guide you towards the current location of the sun & help you with sun direction. * Map view shows solar direction arrows, sun path & elevations for each hour of the day. * Choose any date to view sun position & path on that day. You can view sunset & sunrise times for each day as well. * Choose any location on earth (includes 40,000+ cities or custom locations available offline, as well as a comprehensive online map search capability) * Get additional details including sun rise, sunset & culmination times, maximum elevation, civil, nautical & astronomical twilight times of the sun. * Optional device notifications for all manner of sun-related periods & events, such as golden hour or blue hour, various twilight & shadow periods, or sun at a given compass heading or above a given elevation. * This sun rise calendar app allows the user to include equinox, summer & winter solstice paths on both flat compass view & camera view. Sun Seeker app has been featured in numerous high-profile blogs, websites & publications, including Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Sydney Morning Herald etc. "Truly amazing", "Incredible", "Brilliant" - the most genuinely useful application of augmented reality - ever! Check out our YouTube video here: https://bit.ly/2Rf0CkO Simply search YouTube for "Sun Seeker app" to find many videos, websites & blogs created by our enthusiastic users FAQs * See https://bit.ly/2FIPJq2 - also easily accessible from the app's info screen Note * The compass accuracy depends on having an undistorted magnetic field around your device. If you use it close to metallic objects or electrical equipment, directional accuracy may be impaired. The device’s compass accuracy can be optimised by calibrating it prior to use. See app’s FAQs for more help.
Celestial Navigation
This application assists with celestial navigation by performing sextant sight reduction calculations. It displays intermediate numbers for verification and can draw lines of position on a map. Features include a perpetual nautical almanac and a star finder to identify celestial bodies.
- Sextant sight reduction calculations
- Perpetual nautical almanac
- Line of position calculation and plotting
- Star Finder for celestial identification
- Save and manage sextant readings
- Display intermediate calculation numbers
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This app does all the calculations to reduce a sextant reading to a line of position on the map. All intermediate numbers are shown to check your manual calculations. • Perpetual nautical almanac • Calculation of the line of position (azimuth and distance) • Draws the line of position on the map. • Star Finder: just point your device to the sky to identify the navigational stars. • Save your readings, choose what to show on the map. A sextant is required to make full use of this app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Celestial Navigation at $1.99 against Sun Seeker's $11.99. Celestial Navigation also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). Sun Seeker's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (13K vs 15). On 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
Sun Seeker costs $11.99 and Celestial Navigation $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sun Seeker holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sun Seeker has 13K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Sun Seeker's written reviews are positive against 77% of Celestial Navigation's.
Sun Seeker ships an update every 2 months, Celestial Navigation every 5 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Sun Seeker | Celestial Navigation |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $11.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (13K ratings) — better | 4.2 (15 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 87.9% of reviews — better | 77.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 13K — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #4 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ozPDA | Dr. Harald Merkel |
Customer experience
Sun Seeker
Celestial Navigation
Bugs and requests
Sun Seeker
Reported bugs
2 issues- App crashes on certain devices
- Compass not working properly
Requested features
4 requests- Add moon tracking and phases
- Improve offline functionality
- Provide more customization options
- Integrate weather data for better planning
Celestial Navigation
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sun Seeker
No in-app purchases
Celestial Navigation
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sun Seeker free?
Is Celestial Navigation free?
Which has better reviews, Sun Seeker or Celestial Navigation?
Do Sun Seeker or Celestial Navigation have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sun Seeker or Celestial Navigation?
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