Comparison

Magic Hour vs Blend Editor

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Magic hour time calculation
  • Sunrise and sunset times
  • Moonrise and full moon alerts
  • Weather forecast integration
  • Customizable notifications
  • Location-based planning
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Double exposure photo blending
  • 5 artistic photo collections
  • Variety of real-time blend modes
  • Adjust blend modes
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Save and share creations
Features
Read full description

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

Magic Hour4 screens
Blend Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Magic Hour versus Blend Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMagic HourBlend Editor
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5.2K ratings) — better4.6 (3.1K ratings)
Positive reviews76.8% of reviews81.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5.2K — better3.1K
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS14.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB54 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLinda ByrketMULIAN LI

Customer experience

Magic Hour

All ratings5,115 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral1.3%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews164 reviews
Positive76.8%
Neutral5.5%
Negative17.7%

Blend Editor

All ratings3,065 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral4.2%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews1,170 reviews
Positive81.2%
Neutral6.8%
Negative12.1%

User reviews

Magic Hour

From 5.2K App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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
Show 3 more
  • 🐛 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
Show 2 more
  • 💡 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

1 purchases

Magic Hour

One-time1
  • Add Locations Ability$0.99
8 purchases

Blend Editor

One-time8
  • Sky$0.99
  • Levitation$0.99
  • Text$0.99
Show 5 more
  • Galaxy$0.99
  • Artistic$0.99
  • Remove ADs$1.99
  • Scenery$1.99
  • Get All Things$4.99

Questions

Is Magic Hour free?
Magic Hour is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Blend Editor free?
Blend Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Magic Hour or Blend Editor?
Magic Hour is rated higher. Magic Hour averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5.2K ratings, while Blend Editor averages 4.6 from 3.1K ratings.
Do Magic Hour or Blend Editor have ads?
Neither Magic Hour nor Blend Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Magic Hour or Blend Editor?
Magic Hour ships an update every 2 months, and Blend Editor every 4 months. Most recently, Magic Hour was updated on October 1, 2026 and Blend Editor on September 30, 2026.

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