Comparison

Magic Hour vs Drone Buddy

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

Drone Buddy

This app provides drone pilots with essential flight data, including weather radar, wind maps, and no-fly zone information. It helps users plan safe flights, discover new flying locations, and stay updated on drone news. An optional subscription offers advanced features.

Highlights
  • Weather radar and wind maps
  • No-fly zone data
  • Best flying window forecasts
  • Crowd-sourced flying spot discovery
  • Drone news updates
  • Drone flying hub for jobs and business
Features
Read full description

Don’t waste a trip. Check wind, weather, and airspace before you take off — then find nearby flying sites shared by other pilots. Trusted by over 1 million pilots. 4.7 stars from 8.4K App Store ratings. WHAT YOU GET • Go / no-go — a clear fly check for your pin from weather, TFRs, and U.S. Class B/C/D/E • Wind and weather — live wind, gusts, rain radar, and visibility so you know if it’s actually flyable • Best flying windows — the calmest daylight slots, scored for wind, rain, cloud, visibility, and daylight • No-fly reference maps — global airports, U.S. Class B/C/D/E, US / UK / Canada national parks, TFRs, stadium events, and FAA UAS restricted areas. Adjust airport circle range for your certification. These are planning tools, not official clearance, and not a LAANC filing. • Where to fly — crowd-sourced sites with photos and notes from other pilots • Flying Hub — save favorite spots; businesses can post jobs, inspections, surveys, and training • Drone news — regulations, gear, and industry updates DRONE BUDDY PRO Check any pin first: go / no-go on a searched site, hourly wind, calm flying windows for 10 days, and TFR alerts on the pin you care about. 3-day free trial on the annual plan, then the yearly price shown in-app. Cancel anytime in Apple ID settings. Also available as a 3-month plan or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions auto-renew unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the period ends. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Manage or cancel in Account Settings. Please cross-check local laws and airspace before every flight. Drone Buddy is not affiliated with the FAA and does not replace B4UFLY or an FAA-listed LAANC app. Maps and community sites can be incomplete — you are responsible for a legal, safe flight. Privacy: https://dronebuddy.io/privacy Terms: https://dronebuddy.io/terms Support: sayhi@dronebuddy.io Web: https://dronebuddy.io

Screenshots

Magic Hour4 screens
Drone Buddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Drone Buddy at weekly against Magic Hour's every 2 months. Magic Hour's advantage is review sentiment (77% vs 55%). On price, rating, 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 Drone Buddy sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Magic Hour against 4.7 for Drone Buddy. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.2K and 8.4K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of Magic Hour's written reviews are positive against 55% of Drone Buddy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Magic Hour ships an update every 2 months, Drone Buddy weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Magic Hour versus Drone Buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMagic HourDrone Buddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5.2K ratings) — better4.7 (8.4K ratings)
Positive reviews76.8% of reviews — better55.0% of reviews
Number of ratings5.2K8.4K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS14.0 — better15
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB124 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLinda ByrketKirway LLC

Customer experience

Magic Hour

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

Drone Buddy

All ratings8,417 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews218 reviews
Positive55.0%
Neutral9.6%
Negative35.3%

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

Drone Buddy

From 8.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Unique and outstanding design
  • 👍 Correct and reliable data
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 👍 Helpful for drone flying

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🔍 Missing vital data and information
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🌍 Not accurate for non-US regions

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

Drone Buddy

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Map crashes after populating airports
  • Profile settings not saving
  • Inconsistent wind speed data

Requested features

4 requests
  • Color-coded wind speed indicators
  • Ability to report and verify no-fly zones
  • Integration with air traffic control
  • Metric units support

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Magic Hour

One-time1
  • Add Locations Ability$0.99
11 purchases

Drone Buddy

Subscriptions9
  • Upgrade to Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Unlock Drone Buddy Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Drone Buddy Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Drone Buddy Pro 3 months$12.993 Months
  • Unlock Drone Buddy Pro$17.996 Months
  • Drone Buddy Pro Access Yearly$19.991 Year
  • Unlock Drone Buddy Pro Yearly3 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • Unlock Drone Buddy Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
  • Unlock Drone Buddy Pro Yearly3 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time2
  • Unlock Pro Access Lifetime$79.99
  • Unlock Pro Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Magic Hour free?
Magic Hour is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drone Buddy free?
Drone Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Magic Hour or Drone Buddy?
Magic Hour is rated higher. Magic Hour averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5.2K ratings, while Drone Buddy averages 4.7 from 8.4K ratings.
Do Magic Hour or Drone Buddy have ads?
Neither Magic Hour nor Drone Buddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Magic Hour or Drone Buddy?
Magic Hour ships an update every 2 months, and Drone Buddy weekly. Most recently, Magic Hour was updated on September 23, 2026 and Drone Buddy on September 24, 2026.

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