Magic Hour vs Blend Editor
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.
Blend Editor
Easily combine two photos to create stunning double exposure effects. Choose from artistic collections and real-time blend modes to unleash your creativity. Save and share your unique photo masterpieces.
- Double exposure photo blending
- 5 artistic photo collections
- Variety of real-time blend modes
- Adjust blend modes
- Intuitive user interface
- Save and share creations
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Blend Editor makes it easy to blend two photos to create a double exposure effect! With 5 artistic photo collections and a variety of real-time blend modes, you can totally follow your passion to improvise with greater ease! Only 3 Simple Steps: 1. Import - Select a background and foreground from your album or our artistic photo collections 2. Choose – Swipe to preview and pick the best blend mode 3. Save – Save or share on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc. Features: - 5 carefully selected photo collections: Skyscraper, Sky, Levitation, Text and Scenery - A variety of real-time blend modes - Easily adjust the blend mode for better effect - Swipe to change the position of the background and foreground - A simple and intuitive user interaction design Get it to create awesome masterpieces and amaze your family and friends!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Magic Hour at 4.8 against Blend Editor's 4.6. Magic Hour also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). Blend Editor's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 14.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. Magic Hour sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Blend Editor sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Magic Hour holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.2K and 3.1K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of Magic Hour's written reviews are positive against 81% of Blend Editor's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Magic Hour ships an update every 2 months, Blend Editor every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Magic Hour | Blend Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (5.2K ratings) — better | 4.6 (3.1K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.8% of reviews | 81.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5.2K — better | 3.1K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Linda Byrket | MULIAN LI |
Customer experience
Magic Hour
Blend Editor
User reviews
Magic Hour
From 5.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great overview of the entire Magic Hour
- 👍 Fantastic in every way
- 👍 All the info you need to plan, especially for photographers
- 👍 Sleek and easy to use
- 👍 Perfect for photographers and cinematographers
Room to improve
- ⏰ Time way off
- 🔍 Can't change location
- 🐛 Crashes all the time
- 💰 Forced in-app purchase
- 🔍 Can't see future dates anymore
Blend Editor
From 3.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Quick and easy to use
- 🎨 Creates great blended photos
- 💡 Allows using own photos
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🎨 Produces good results
Room to improve
- 💰 Many features require payment
- 🐛 Paid features not always working as expected
- 🔒 Lack of customization options
- 🔒 Limited free features
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
Blend Editor
Reported bugs
2 issues- Paid features not working after purchase
- Inability to access photos in library
Requested features
4 requests- Dark mode option
- More free features
- Ability to adjust each image separately before blending
- Landscape mode support for iPad
In-app purchases
Magic Hour
- Add Locations Ability$0.99
Blend Editor
- Sky$0.99
- Levitation$0.99
- Text$0.99
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Galaxy$0.99
- Artistic$0.99
- Remove ADs$1.99
- Scenery$1.99
- Get All Things$4.99
Questions
Is Magic Hour free?
Is Blend Editor free?
Which has better reviews, Magic Hour or Blend Editor?
Do Magic Hour or Blend Editor have ads?
Which is updated more often, Magic Hour or Blend Editor?
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