SunSpan vs Mooncaster
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SunSpan
Visualize an entire year of daylight, sunrise, sunset, and twilight on a single, intuitive chart. Easily inspect daily solar times and phases by tapping or dragging across the visual representation. Offers detailed insights into seasonal changes and astronomical events.
- Full-year daylight chart
- Eight-stop twilight gradient
- Inspect daily solar times
- DST transitions marked
- Location picker via map/GPS
- Automatic time zone resolution
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SunSpan — A Year of Daylight on One Screen SunSpan renders an entire year of sunrise, sunset, and twilight as a single chart. Each day is a vertical band shaded from astronomical night through nautical and civil twilight into full daylight, so the seasonal curve, the solstices, the equinoxes, and effects like white nights and polar day are visible at a glance. Tap or drag across the chart to select any day and see its sunrise, sunset, daylight length, and twilight phase times in a detail bubble. Features - Full-year daylight chart for any location, any year from 1900 to 2100 - Eight-stop twilight gradient: night, astronomical, nautical, civil, day - Tap or drag any day to inspect sunrise, sunset, daylight length, and twilight phase times - DST transitions marked on the chart - Location picker via satellite map, or automatic from device GPS - Time zone resolved automatically from the selected coordinates - Localized in English, Spanish, German, and Ukrainian Privacy No accounts, no analytics, no ads. Location is used only on-device to compute solar geometry and never leaves the device.
Mooncaster
This app predicts promising moonrises by combining lunar data with local weather forecasts. It helps users find the best viewing times and locations, offering scores for astronomical and weather conditions. Plan your perfect moonlit experience with detailed alerts and interactive maps.
- Predicts promising moonrises
- Combines lunar geometry with weather forecasts
- Provides Astronomy, Weather, and Moonrise Scores
- Offers interactive direction maps
- Delivers custom and automatic alerts
- Includes Home Screen Widgets
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Know when a moonrise is truly worth heading outside for. Mooncaster goes beyond moonrise times. It combines precise lunar geometry with local Apple Weather forecasts to show how promising the view may be, when to be ready, and where to look. Whether you’re planning a photograph, choosing a viewpoint, or simply hoping to catch a beautiful Moon near the horizon, Mooncaster turns complex astronomy and weather data into a clear plan. FIND THE BEST MOONRISES • Browse a curated list of astronomically promising moonrises • See every upcoming visible moonrise or build your own custom view • Filter by illumination, cloud cover, visibility, and timing near sunset •View today's moonrise or moonset in a Home Screen Widget. PLAN WITH SCORES YOU CAN UNDERSTAND • Astronomy Score rates illumination, timing, and the Moon’s near-horizon climb • Weather Score considers cloud cover and visibility during the viewing window • Moonrise Score brings astronomy and weather together in one 0–100 rating • Forecast confidence—High, Medium, Low, or Pending—shows how much trust to place in the current outlook KNOW WHEN AND WHERE TO LOOK • View moonrise and moonset times, phase, illumination, direction, and compass bearing • See how quickly the Moon climbs and follow its arc across the sky • Use an interactive direction map to fine-tune your viewing position STAY AHEAD OF CHANGING WEATHER • Check conditions focused on the moonrise viewing window—not just a generic daily forecast • Review cloud cover, visibility, and recent forecast trends • Refresh on demand; Mooncaster also updates weather and alerts in the background when iOS allows GET THE RIGHT ALERT AT THE RIGHT TIME Auto Mode watches your Best Moonrises and schedules alerts only when an astronomically promising event receives a favorable, reliable forecast. You can also set manual alerts for any moonrise you choose. Pick from the morning of the event, 6 hours, 1 hour, 30 minutes, 15 minutes before, or right at moonrise. EXPLORE MORE WITH MOONRISE PRO Mooncaster includes a complimentary seven-day preview of every feature. The preview does not automatically start a subscription, and a limited one-location view remains available afterward. Moonrise Pro unlocks: • Unlimited saved locations • Complete 45-day lunar outlooks, with weather added as forecast data becomes available • Full upcoming moonrise lists and detailed forecasts • Interactive direction maps • Automatic and custom scheduled alerts Choose monthly or annual access, or make a one-time lifetime purchase. Monthly and annual subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Forecasts and scores are planning aids, not guarantees. Terrain, buildings, haze, and other local obstructions may affect what you see. Weather data is provided by Apple Weather. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.catspaw-systems.com/PrivacyPolicies/MooncasterPrivacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SunSpan at none against Mooncaster's 3. SunSpan also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). Mooncaster's advantage is ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. Mooncaster sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. SunSpan asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for SunSpan against 5.0 for Mooncaster. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively.
SunSpan ships an update every 2 days, Mooncaster every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SunSpan | Mooncaster |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 34 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mykhailo Chelnokov | Catspaw Systems LLC |
In-app purchases
SunSpan
No in-app purchases
Mooncaster
- Monthly Mooncaster Subscription$0.991 Month
- Mooncaster Annual Subscription$9.991 Year
- Mooncaster Lifetime Access$24.99








