# Aurora Forecast. vs Light Pollution Map

The clearest difference is monetization model: Light Pollution Map at free with in-app purchases against Aurora Forecast.'s subscription. Aurora Forecast.'s advantage is review sentiment (32% vs 14%) and ratings volume (4.9K vs 239). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Aurora Forecast. sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Light Pollution Map sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Aurora Forecast. against 4.5 for Light Pollution Map. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aurora Forecast. has 4.9K ratings behind it against 239, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 32% of Aurora Forecast.'s written reviews are positive against 14% of Light Pollution Map's.

Aurora Forecast. ships an update weekly, Light Pollution Map every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Aurora Forecast. | Light Pollution Map |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (4.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aurora-forecast/id539875792/reviews)** | [4.5 (239 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/light-pollution-map-dark-sky/id1200379779/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **4.9K** | 239 |
| Positive reviews | **32.0% of reviews** | 14.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#74** | #133 |
| Size | 22 MB | 93 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **17.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [TINAC Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/539875795) | [Dunbar Technology, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1200379778) |

## What reviewers say

### Aurora Forecast.

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aurora-forecast/id539875792)

**Currently charting:** #74 Top Grossing · Weather, #108 Top Free · Weather (US App Store)

This app acts as an intelligent guide for aurora hunting, leveraging AI and local weather data to provide personalized "Go/No-Go" verdicts. It offers real-time updates, interactive maps, and customizable notifications to help you find the Northern Lights.

**Highlights:** AI Aurora Analyst with personalized Go/No-Go verdicts, Real-time Kp-index updates via widgets, Apple Watch complications for wrist tracking, Interactive aurora probability map, 3D globe with real-time aurora visualization, Customizable push notifications for storms

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Alerts (Monthly) | $2.99 | per month |
| Aurora Ultimate Pro (Monthly) | $4.99 | per month |
| Aurora Alerts(Yearly) | $12.99 | per year |
| Aurora Ultimate Pro (Yearly) | $19.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🌟 Excellent app with nice graphs
- 🌟 Accurate with current solar activity and short-term forecast
- 🌟 Fantastic amount of information about the sun and aurora
- 🌟 Alerts help plan for aurora viewing
- 🌟 Comprehensive data and visuals

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes or freezes
- ⚠️ Inaccurate forecasts and predictions
- ⚠️ Notifications not working as expected
- ⚠️ Difficult to interpret data and graphs
- ⚠️ Biased towards Northern Hemisphere

**Reported bugs**

- Forecast data not updating
- App crashing on startup
- Incorrect location data
- Alerts not working as intended

**Requested features**

- Add support for Southern Hemisphere aurora
- Improve location-based forecasting and alerts
- Provide more user-friendly explanations of data and graphs
- Allow customization of notification settings
- Expand coverage to include more regions


### Light Pollution Map

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/light-pollution-map-dark-sky/id1200379779)

**Currently charting:** #133 Top Free · Weather (US App Store)

Discover optimal locations for stargazing and astrophotography with a detailed light pollution map. Get real-time alerts for celestial events like meteor showers and auroras, track the ISS, and access daily astronomy photos. Enhance your night sky observations with comprehensive tools and information.

**Highlights:** Interactive light pollution map, Aurora borealis live map and alerts, Meteor shower and super moon alerts, ISS tracker with live updates, Moon phases and information, Astronomy photo of the day

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Version | $9.99 | per year |
| Pro Version | $14.99 | per year |
| Pro Version | $19.99 | per year |
| Pro Version | $29.99 | per year |
| Pro Version Upgrade Discounted | $8.99 | one-time |
| Pro Version Upgrade | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Clear detailed satellite views
- 🚀 Works with barely any signal
- 📊 Useful map with latest data
- 🌌 Helps with astrophotography

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes on opening the map
- 🐛 Crashes after locating user's position
- 🔍 No legend for map colors
- 💰 Tries to get users to upgrade to premium

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when opening light pollution map
- App crashes after locating user's position
- Cloud coverage feature not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Add Bortle rating information
- Improve cloud coverage feature
- Fix crashing issues


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Aurora Forecast. free?

Aurora Forecast. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Light Pollution Map free?

Light Pollution Map is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Aurora Forecast. or Light Pollution Map?

Aurora Forecast. is rated higher. Aurora Forecast. averages 4.6 out of 5 from 4.9K ratings, while Light Pollution Map averages 4.5 from 239 ratings.

### Do Aurora Forecast. or Light Pollution Map have ads?

Neither Aurora Forecast. nor Light Pollution Map shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Aurora Forecast. or Light Pollution Map?

Aurora Forecast. ships an update weekly, and Light Pollution Map every 3 weeks. Most recently, Aurora Forecast. was updated on October 20, 2026 and Light Pollution Map on October 19, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Aurora Forecast. or Light Pollution Map?

Aurora Forecast. currently peaks at #74 in the App Store charts, and Light Pollution Map at #133. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*