Magic Hour vs Been Outside
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Magic Hour
This app helps photographers and cinematographers find the optimal times for shooting around sunrise and sunset. It provides precise calculations for 'magic hour' based on your location and offers moon phase information. Optional in-app purchases unlock advanced features like location selection and calendar integration.
- Magic hour time calculation
- Sunrise and sunset times
- Moonrise and full moon alerts
- Weather forecast integration
- Customizable notifications
- Location-based planning
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Magic Hour (also called golden hour) is the time of day around sunrise and sunset when the light is great for photography and cinematography. It is typically when the sun is between 6 degrees below the horizon to 6 degrees above. This sunlight is evenly dispersed and helps you create great pictures. Magic Hour makes it easy for you to know when magic hour is coming and how much time you have left once it begins. The app takes your location along with the current day and calculates when magic hour will occur. If the weather forecast is available we give that to you as well. What other light is cool to photograph in? The moon, of course. And you want a full moon for that. Our Moon Watch section lets you know the next moonrise and when the next full moon will appear. In addition to this, you can set up notifications on and before magic hour begins. And with our in-app purchase you can select locations other than your current one, view future magic hour times, and create calendar events for them. Data that is used with the Magic Hour App (e.g. locations, notifications, calendar events, etc.) remain local to your device and are not transmitted nor remotely stored.
Been Outside
This app automatically tracks your time spent outdoors using geofences. Define your indoor locations, and it logs when you enter and exit these areas. Your location data remains private on your device.
- Automatic outdoor time tracking
- Geofence-based location monitoring
- Customizable indoor locations
- Data privacy (on-device storage)
- Simple and intuitive interface
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Been Outside tracks how long you are outside. It works with geofences. You add locations you want to have registered as inside (home, work, ...). The app automatically tracks when you leave and enter these regions. The data never leaves your device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Magic Hour at Free against Been Outside's $0.99. Magic Hour also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (77% vs 50%). Been Outside's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads 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
Magic Hour is free to download; Been Outside costs $0.99 up front. Magic Hour sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Been Outside asks for nothing beyond the download.
Magic Hour holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Magic Hour has 5.2K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Magic Hour's written reviews are positive against 50% of Been Outside's.
Magic Hour ships an update every 2 months, Been Outside every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Magic Hour | Been Outside |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (5.2K ratings) — better | 4.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.8% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5.2K — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Linda Byrket | Dominik Hauser |
Customer experience
Magic Hour
Been Outside
Bugs and requests
Magic Hour
Reported bugs
8 issues- 🐛 Time way off
- 🐛 Can't change location
- 🐛 Crashes all the time
- 🐛 Can't see future dates anymore
- 🐛 Widget doesn't update
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- 🐛 Keeps crashing
- 🐛 Can't determine magic hour at another location
- 🐛 App crashes
Requested features
7 requests- 💡 Moonrise notification
- 💡 Notification when magic hour ends
- 💡 Blue hour option
- 💡 Allow users to set their own background photo
- 💡 Ability to plan shoots in different locations
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- 💡 Companion app for planning sunsets weeks in advance
- 💡 Custom alert tones
Been Outside
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Magic Hour
- Add Locations Ability$0.99
Been Outside
No in-app purchases









