The Weather Network vs Shade Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Weather Network
Plan your days with confidence using this app, offering accurate local and travel weather forecasts. Get real-time radar, severe weather alerts, and detailed reports on air quality and UV index to stay safe and prepared.
- Accurate local forecasts (hourly, 7-day, 14-day)
- Live radar and satellite maps
- Severe weather alerts and government warnings
- Precipitation start and stop times
- Health and weather reports (Air Quality, UV Index)
- Customizable widgets
- Bilingual support (English/French)
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Plan with confidence and stay safe with The Weather Network app, your trusted daily planner for accurate weather. Trusted by over 10 million users for reliable forecast, real-time weather radar, and instant storm alerts for over 35 years. Whether you need a local forecast for my location or travel weather for an international trip, you’ll have the most reliable local weather forecast at your fingertips, covering all of North America and beyond. Features You’ll Love: Accurate Local Forecasts – Get the most accurate weather forecast right in your neighbourhood. Plan everything with our Hourly Forecast, 7-day, and long-range 14-Day Forecast, with real-time updates every 15 minutes. Live Radar Maps – Track storms precisely with our advanced Radar and Satellite maps. Our GPS accuracy shows weather at your exact location. Explore map layers for temperature, precipitation, wind, fire, clouds, and highway conditions. Severe Weather Alerts – Your Outdoor Safety comes first. Receive instant Custom Notifications for all types of Severe Weather. Get Severe Storm Alerts, Lightning Alerts, Snow & Rain Alerts, and Temperature Swing Alerts, including official government warnings for your location. Precipitation Start & Stop Times – Never get caught in the rain or snow again! Our precipitation graphs show you exactly when rain or snow will start and stop, accurate to the minute. Health & Weather Reports – Essential for outdoor planning, our detailed reports on Air Quality, UV Index, and allergy risks for your Nearby Weather conditions help you prepare for your day. Weather News & Video – Go beyond the forecast with breaking news and analysis from our weather experts. Customizable Weather Widget – Get a quick glance at today's forecast. Add our customizable widget to your home or lock screen for instant weather updates. Siri Shortcuts – Get quick access to your most-used weather features. Bilingual Weather (English / French) – Full support in both English and French. Go Ad-Free – Your forecast, simplified. A completely ad-free experience.. Subscribe today. Get the most accurate local forecast right in your neighbourhood. Plan everything with our daily, hourly, 7 & 14-day forecasts. Never get caught in the rain or snow again! Our precipitation graphs show you the exact start and stop times, down to the minute. Track storms precisely with our advanced live radar. Safety first: get real-time severe weather alerts and official government warnings to stay prepared. Plan smart with Air Quality, UV and Pollen reports. The most accurate forecast for every travel destination—from Toronto to Berlin. Get a quick glance at today's forecast with our customizable widgets for your home screen & lock screen, so you're always ready to go. Get Canada's weather app, the most accurate and reliable weather forecast for your exact location. Download The Weather Network app today. Your weather, when it really matters. Privacy & Feedback You can visit our website at www.theweathernetwork.com and go to our Help Centre for answers to your questions. https://help.theweathernetwork.com/hc/en-us By installing this app, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Policy. To learn more, visit: https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/about-us/privacy-policy and https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/info/terms-of-use The Weather Network/MétéoMédia app is trusted by 10.9 million mobile app users. Source: Comscore, Mobile Metrix, June 2025. About us: https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/info/about-us The Weather Network (R) is a registered trademark of Pelmorex Weather Networks (Television) Inc.
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 in-app purchases: Shade Tracker at none against The Weather Network's 2. Shade Tracker also leads on ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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. The Weather Network sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Shade Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.
The Weather Network ships an update fortnightly, Shade Tracker every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Weather Network | Shade Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (12K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 26.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 12K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 116 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pelmorex Corp. | Sermin Demirbas |
Bugs and requests
The Weather Network
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to restore purchases
- Geolocation issues
- Forecast data inaccuracies
- Compatibility problems with newer OS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Customizable weather widgets
- Metric units option
- Improved location search
- Better weather alerts and notifications
Shade Tracker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
The Weather Network
- Remove Ads - Monthly$1.991 Month
- Remove Ads - Yearly7 Days trial$6.991 Year
Shade Tracker
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Weather Network free?
Is Shade Tracker free?
Do The Weather Network or Shade Tracker have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Weather Network or Shade Tracker?
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