The Sun vs Sol
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Sun
This app provides precise sunrise and sunset times for your current location. You can also plan ahead by checking future sun times for any date and location.
- Current sunrise and sunset times
- Future sun time lookup
- Location-based data
- Data from MET Norway
- Free to use
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Need to know when the sun goes up and down where you are right now? This application tells you that. You can also look into the future when the sun goes up and down on a certain date and at a particular location. Sun and moon times are based on data from MET Norway. This app is free (and always will be).
Sol
Forecast sunrise, sunset, and twilight times for any location and date. Set smart alarms that adjust with the seasons and receive detailed solar almanac information. Plan your day around natural light, perfect for photography, outdoor activities, or maintaining sleep cycles.
- Sunrise and sunset time forecasting
- Twilight period calculation (astronomical, nautical, civil)
- Location-aware alarms that adjust seasonally
- Global location search and GPS support
- Detailed solar almanac information
- Golden hour and magic hour identification
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What time is sunset today? Or sunrise tomorrow? When is the "magic hour" next March 20 in Paris? With Sol, you can check times and get reminders of solar events, at home or while traveling! Great for everyone looking to plan activities based on sunlight. Use it to remind you to walk the dog before dark, get up with the sun, or find golden hour time for that perfect photo. Sol: Sun Clock is the Swiss-army knife of sunlight tools with a design inspired by the simplicity of the sundial. Use it to plan your day, guide natural sleep cycles, get the best light for outdoor photography, make sure animals or kids are safe inside before dark, or to map out the best times to go running or fishing. * Be in tune: Sol will tell you when the golden hour is, how much sunlight you have left in the day or what time the next sunrise occurs. * Look to the future, travel around the world: Sol lets you find sunlight information for any date, anywhere on earth. * Find solar midnight and solar noon, and all three twilight (dawn and dusk) periods: astronomical twilight, nautical twilight, and civil twilight. Keep tabs on the next solstice and equinox. * Reminders and Alarms: Use Sol as a natural alarm clock that you can set to any event (like sunset, golden hour or solar noon), and the alarm or reminder time will adjust gradually as the days change with the seasons. * Automatic Location: Sol not only calculates the amount of daylight and sunrise and sunset times, but does so for any location in the world (both Northern and Southern hemispheres) by using your device's GPS... no network connection required. * Other locations: Optionally, use the built-in map to choose any location in the world by moving the pin, or search using the name of any city. * Optional location-aware alarms. Sol knows when you change with your location; and as you travel it will adjust any alarms you set relative to sunrise and sunset times. Create alarms for multiple locations around the world. * Detailed almanac information: Useful information about the day's length, sun's azimuth and elevation, equinoxes and solstices, and a friendly glossary that explains all the terms. Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. However, GPS runs in the background ONLY if you have set location-aware alarms.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: The Sun at Free against Sol's $4.99. The Sun also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). Sol's advantage is chart position (#75 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
The Sun is free to download; Sol costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for The Sun against 4.8 for Sol. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.5K and 900 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of The Sun's written reviews are positive against 93% of Sol's.
The Sun ships an update every 3 months, Sol every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.
| Parameter | The Sun | Sol |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.5K ratings) | 4.8 (900 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.5% of reviews | 93.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 900 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | #75 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Team Lundsgård | Juggleware, LLC |
Customer experience
The Sun
Sol
Bugs and requests
The Sun
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Sol
Reported bugs
2 issues- Date selection issue where it shows a month ahead
- Notifications stop working after a few days
Requested features
4 requests- Add moon phase information
- Allow alarms to work even when device is muted
- Expand alert options beyond sunrise/sunset (e.g. solar noon, golden hour)
- Provide more customization options for alerts and alarms
In-app purchases
The Sun
No in-app purchases
Sol
No in-app purchases









