Comparison

Albedo vs Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle

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

Head to head
About

Albedo

Features
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Albedo turns your screen into a window to the moon. Built with 720 real NASA lunar frames, it renders the moon's current phase in stunning detail — accurate to the hour, beautiful enough to stare at. Whether you're timing a golden hour shoot, tracking moonrise for a night hike, or simply wondering what the moon looks like tonight, Albedo puts precise astronomical data inside an interface designed to feel like cinema. REAL NASA MOON, FRAME BY FRAME 720 high-resolution lunar images map every hour of the 29.5-day synodic cycle. Scrub through time with a precision slider and watch the moon wax and wane in front of you. Each frame is a real photograph — not a rendering. GOLDEN HOUR & BLUE HOUR TRACKER Know exactly when the light is perfect. Albedo calculates morning and evening golden hour and blue hour windows for your location, displayed on a beautiful 24-hour light chart. Plan your next shoot down to the minute. MOON CALENDAR Browse lunar phases across any month from 2000 to 2100. Each day shows a thumbnail of the moon's appearance, making it easy to plan around full moons, new moons, and everything in between. MOON JOURNAL Attach notes and photos to any date on the calendar. Record observations, mark shooting conditions, or keep a lunar diary. Your entries are stored securely on-device with SwiftData. AR MOON FINDER Point your camera at the sky and find the moon. Albedo places an accurate 3D moon at the real lunar position using ARKit, with a guide arrow when the moon is off-screen. INTERACTIVE 3D MOON Explore a textured 3D lunar globe you can rotate freely. Examine the surface up close, from the Sea of Tranquility to the Tycho crater. MOONRISE, MOONSET & DISTANCE Precise moonrise and moonset times for your location, plus real-time lunar distance. All calculations adapt as you scrub through time. SMART NOTIFICATIONS Get notified before full moons, new moons, and evening golden hours so you never miss a moment. Customizable alerts delivered at the right time. LOCATION-AWARE Albedo uses your GPS for accurate local calculations, or let you search and set any location manually. All solar and lunar times adjust instantly. DESIGNED FOR DARK A pure black interface with glassmorphism accents and cinematic serif typography. Albedo is built for night use — easy on the eyes, beautiful in the dark. WORKS EVERYWHERE Available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro. Your moon, on every screen. Albedo Pro unlocks the full experience: Calendar, Journal, 3D Moon, AR Moon Finder, and notifications. The core moon phase viewer and light tracker are free. Download Albedo and see the moon like never before.

About

Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle

Features
Read full description

Know exactly what the Moon is doing tonight — the current phase, how much of the disc is lit, and when the next full moon arrives — all in one clean, offline app. Moon Phase Calendar computes the real Moon for your exact location using an on-device astronomical model, so you get accurate moonrise and moonset times, illumination, and distance without an internet connection and without ads. No guesswork, just the sky, clearly. WHAT YOU GET - Tonight's phase at a glance with a true illuminated Moon disc, phase name, and plain-English description - Exact illumination percentage, Moon age in the 29.5-day cycle, distance from Earth, and the Moon's zodiac sign - Moonrise and moonset times for where you are, plus whether the Moon is up right now - Live countdowns to the next full moon and the next new moon, with the traditional name (Wolf, Harvest, Snow and more) - A tap-any-day lunar calendar showing the Moon's shape for every date in the month - Supermoon detection and optional reminders the morning of each full and new moon PERFECT FOR - Night-sky photographers timing shots around the terminator, earthshine, or a giant moonrise - Gardeners who plant, prune, and harvest by the lunar cycle - Anyone who sets intentions, journals, or keeps rituals with the new and full moon - Stargazers and curious minds who just love looking up WHY NOT JUST SEARCH THE MOON PHASE ONLINE? A quick search gives you one number for one place. Moon Phase Calendar gives you your local rise and set times, a full month you can scroll, meaning and tips tuned to tonight's phase, and reminders — all computed on your device, offline, forever. PRIVACY Everything runs on your iPhone. Your location is used only to calculate moonrise and moonset and never leaves the device. No accounts, no tracking, no data uploaded. FULL ACCESS Moon Phase Calendar Premium unlocks the Date Explorer — the exact Moon for any past or future date, like your birthday or an anniversary — plus per-phase meaning and personalized guidance for photography, gardening, and rituals. Premium is available as a weekly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions bill to your Apple ID and renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends; manage or cancel anytime in Settings. Lifetime is a single payment with no renewal. See tonight's Moon in seconds — download Moon Phase Calendar and look up. Terms of Use (EULA): https://web-levi.web.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://web-levi.web.app/privacy-policy Questions? Contact tphuc.work@gmail.com

Screenshots

Albedo4 screens
Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle at monthly against Albedo's every 5 months. Albedo's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. Albedo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Albedo ships an update every 5 months, Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle monthly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
Albedo versus Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlbedoMoon Phase Tracker & Cycle
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTINAC Inc.Phuc Pham

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Albedo

One-time1
  • Albedo Pro$3.99
3 purchases

Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle

Subscriptions2
  • Weekly$5.997 Days
  • Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro$59.99

Questions

Is Albedo free?
Albedo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle free?
Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Albedo or Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle have ads?
Neither Albedo nor Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Albedo or Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle?
Albedo ships an update every 5 months, and Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle monthly. Most recently, Albedo was updated on October 31, 2026 and Moon Phase Tracker & Cycle on October 31, 2026.

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