Comparison

Sunshine Pal vs SunGuard

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

Head to head
About

Sunshine Pal

Effortlessly track your daily natural light exposure to optimize vitamin D production and improve sleep. Get personalized safe sun timers and daily goals to build healthy outdoor habits.

Highlights
  • Automatic Apple Watch tracking
  • Vitamin D estimation
  • Personalized safe sun timer
  • Daily sunlight goals and scoring
  • Trends and insights
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
Features
Read full description

Tired by 3pm and it isn't the coffee. A blood test that came back low. A winter that hits harder every year. Sleep that won't reset no matter what you try. They trace back to the same input more often than people think: how much natural light you actually got. And it's the one thing nobody measures. You track steps, heart rate, sleep and calories — not the light that quietly drives all four. Sunshine measures it for you. In the background. With nothing to press. IF THIS IS YOU - You work indoors and you're flat by mid-afternoon, with no idea why. - Your vitamin D came back low, and now you're guessing whether the supplement is doing anything. - You're fair-skinned, or you're the one watching the kids outside, and "enough sun" quietly turns into too much. - You read that morning light fixes sleep — and you have no way to know if you're actually getting it. - Winter flattens you every year, and this time you'd like to see it coming. - You work shifts and you've lost the plot with daylight entirely. IT TRACKS ITSELF — APPLE WATCH With an Apple Watch (Series 6 or later), Sunshine reads the ambient light sensor and detects your time in daylight on its own, syncing through HealthKit. No start button. No stop button. Nothing to remember. That matters more than it sounds. An app that needs you to tap "start" every time you step outside is an app you'll abandon in three days. This one keeps working on the days you forget it exists. No Apple Watch? UV index, burn-time window, sun times, supplements, goals and widgets all work on iPhone alone, and you can log a session by hand. Automatic is what the Watch adds. HOW MUCH VITAMIN D YOU ACTUALLY MADE Sunshine estimates your body's vitamin D production from the live UV index, your skin type (Fitzpatrick scale) and your time outdoors. It doesn't replace a blood test — it answers the question a blood test can't: was today enough? Through grey weeks and winter, it shows you when a supplement is doing the sun's job. SUPPLEMENTS COUNT TOO Log vitamin D, K2, magnesium and omega-3 with one tap. They're added to what the sun already gave you, for one honest daily total — synced both ways with the Health app. BEFORE YOU BURN A personal safe-exposure window, calculated from the current UV index and your skin type: how long you can stay out before burning starts. Built for fair skin, for parents timing an afternoon at the park, and for anyone living where the UV doesn't negotiate — Australia, the tropics, altitude. A TARGET YOU CAN ACTUALLY HIT Set a daily light goal — 15 minutes or three hours — and get a 0-100 score for how close you came. Streaks and Game Center achievements keep it going. It turns "I should get outside more" into something with a number attached. THE PATTERN YOU'D NEVER HAVE SPOTTED Seven-day and monthly views. Weekly rings for consistency. Your real peak outdoor hours. Most people find the same thing on their first look: workdays are almost lightless. ON YOUR HOME SCREEN, AND A NUDGE IN TIME Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets show today at a glance. A reminder nudges you outside if you're falling short — at a time you choose, so it arrives while you can still do something about it. WHY THIS ONE - It's automatic. Passive tracking is the only kind that survives a busy week. - It's honest. Estimates are labelled as estimates, built from real UV data and your own skin type. - It's private by design, not by policy. PRIVACY Everything stays on your device. No cloud upload. No account. No analytics. Nothing sold to advertisers. Your health data is yours — that's the whole policy. PREMIUM (OPTIONAL) Sunshine is free to use. Premium unlocks advanced insights and additional widget styles — weekly, yearly, or a one-time lifetime purchase with no subscription. Sunlight is free. Knowing whether you got any is the hard part. Terms of Use: https://elevenapril.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://elevenapril.com/privacy

About

SunGuard

Features
Read full description

The app dynamically adapts to your behavior: If you move into the shade or partial shade, your remaining sun exposure time is recalculated with a single tap. The same applies to activities like swimming, sweating, or spending time on reflective surfaces such as snow or sand. This ensures your estimate remains realistic and up-to-date at all times. You’ll be notified in time before your skin is damaged. The app also reminds you when to reapply sunscreen—for optimal protection all day long. Transparency is key: In the Info section, all calculations are clearly explained, and you’ll find in-depth information about UV radiation, skin types, and effective sun protection. The free version already offers all the essential features to reliably protect you from the sun. With the Pro version, you get even more out of the app: • Create multiple profiles and conveniently manage your whole family • Start tracking your sun exposure retroactively if you forgot to open the app in the morning • One-time purchase for €9.99 – ad-free for life Whether in everyday life, on vacation, or while exercising—this app adapts to you and helps you enjoy your time in the sun safely and mindfully. Not medical advice or a medical device!

Screenshots

Sunshine Pal4 screens
SunGuard3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: SunGuard at 15.1 against Sunshine Pal's 18.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Sunshine Pal sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and SunGuard sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sunshine Pal ships an update every 9 days, SunGuard weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Sunshine Pal versus SunGuard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSunshine PalSunGuard
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer帅 陈Patrick Schmutz

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Sunshine Pal

Subscriptions5
  • SunshinePal Premium Weekly$1.997 Days
  • SunshinePal Premium Monthly Trial7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • SunshinePal Premium Monthly$3.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • SunshinePal Premium Yearly3 Days trial$8.991 Year
  • SunshinePal Premium Yearly Trial7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • SunshinePal Premium Lifetime$12.99
  • SunshinePal Premium Lifetime$17.99
1 purchases

SunGuard

One-time1
  • SunGuard Pro$8.99

Questions

Is Sunshine Pal free?
Sunshine Pal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SunGuard free?
SunGuard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Sunshine Pal or SunGuard have ads?
Neither Sunshine Pal nor SunGuard shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sunshine Pal or SunGuard?
Sunshine Pal ships an update every 9 days, and SunGuard weekly. Most recently, Sunshine Pal was updated on October 26, 2026 and SunGuard on October 25, 2026.

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