Comparison

Sun Map Clock vs Light Ruler

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

Head to head
About

Sun Map Clock

Features
Read full description

Sun Map Clock is a professional simulation tool designed to track the sun's path and shadow directions at any given location and time. By simply moving the intuitive time and date sliders, you can visualize exactly how the sun will interact with a specific area throughout the year. Perfect for construction managers, real estate agents, solar panel installers, and surveyors who need accurate, reliable site data without visiting the location. KEY FEATURES - Shadow Length & Width Simulation: Enter the height and width of an object at the pin and the shadow falls on the map as a band with its real projected length (height / tan of sun altitude) and its real width. Heights run 0.5-300 m, covering high-rise towers, and widths 0.5-500 m, covering block-scale buildings. Steps of 0.1 m let you dial in exact figures for daylight explanations, right-to-light and overshadowing studies, and row-to-row spacing of solar panels. - Interactive Sun Map: Visualize the sun's direction and shadow angles on the map, and scrub through the day with the time slider to follow the sun's path. - Time Travel Sliders: Easily slide through hours, days, and seasons to see how shadows change. Sliders show clear marks for sunrise, sunset, and solstices. When you reach the end of the slider, it smoothly moves to the next day or year. - Safety & Climate Data: Check temperature, UV index, and heat alerts for safe site management and hazard prediction (KY activities). It also shows past weather records and 5-year average data (average temperature and sunny day rate). - Solar Panel Optimization: Automatically calculate the optimal tilt and azimuth for solar panels at any location. - Multi-Site Management & CSV Export: Save multiple project locations and export comprehensive sun and climate data to CSV for your reports. - Quick Share: Take screenshots of the map and data panel to share actionable instructions instantly with your team. - Day/Night Terminator: Visualize the global day and night boundary moving in real-time as you adjust the time. - Alerts per Site: Sunrise, sunset, golden hour and "the sun gets low (long shadows)", each with its own lead time, set per saved site. The sun's position is computed on the device, so alerts fire even out of signal range. - Works Offline: Weather fetched while online is stored on the device and shown where there is no signal, together with the time it was fetched — old values are never taken for current ones. Offline storage can be switched off, shows real disk usage and can be cleared. - Units Set Separately: Temperature (°C / °F), length (m / ft) and wind speed (m/s / mph) are chosen independently, because the combination differs by country. Targeted for B2B professionals, this app bypasses complex astronomical jargon and focuses directly on actionable data for your field work. Free trial: every feature is free for 30 days, starting when you tap "Start Using Now" on the welcome screen. To keep using them after that, an auto-renewing monthly or yearly subscription is required. *** Subscription Terms: Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; the renewal is charged within 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple ID account settings. Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://qconp.com/#section-privacy-en

About

Light Ruler

This photography calculator helps plan shots for landscape, long exposure, and night sky photography. It calculates shutter speed with ND filters, depth of field, and night sky exposure limits. All data is stored locally on your device.

Highlights
  • ND filter long exposure calculation
  • Equivalent exposure adjustments
  • Depth of field and hyperfocal distance
  • Night sky shutter speed limits
  • Angle of view and focal length comparison
  • Local data storage
Features
Read full description

Light Ruler is a local-first photography calculator designed for iPhone. It is useful for landscape, long exposure, night sky, and everyday exposure planning. You can quickly calculate: - ND filter long exposure shutter speed - Equivalent exposure for aperture, shutter, and ISO changes - Depth of field, near limit, far limit, and hyperfocal distance - Maximum night sky shutter before visible star trails - Angle of view and equivalent focal length across sensor formats Light Ruler does not require an account, does not connect to a backend, and does not actively make network requests. Camera profiles, lens profiles, and saved calculations are stored locally on your device. Useful for: - Long exposure with ND filters - Night sky shutter planning - Landscape depth of field and hyperfocal checks - Comparing focal length behavior across sensor formats

Screenshots

Sun Map Clock4 screens
Light Ruler4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Sun Map Clock at 3 against Light Ruler's 1. Sun Map Clock also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). 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. Sun Map Clock sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $15.00 per month and Light Ruler sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sun Map Clock ships an update fortnightly, Light Ruler weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ¡ 6 level
Sun Map Clock versus Light Ruler: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSun Map ClockLight Ruler
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQAEE CONPUUTENG小倊 垐

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Sun Map Clock

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$15.001 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$150.001 Year
1 purchases

Light Ruler

One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro Unlock$3.99

Questions

Is Sun Map Clock free?
Sun Map Clock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Light Ruler free?
Light Ruler is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Sun Map Clock or Light Ruler have ads?
Neither Sun Map Clock nor Light Ruler shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sun Map Clock or Light Ruler?
Sun Map Clock ships an update fortnightly, and Light Ruler weekly. Most recently, Sun Map Clock was updated on October 14, 2026 and Light Ruler on September 29, 2026.

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