DayLighter vs ShootLight
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DayLighter
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Know exactly when the light will be right, for any place and any date. DayLighter is a calm, offline planner for the golden hour and the blue hour. It computes the sun for your exact coordinates with a real solar-position algorithm that runs entirely on your iPhone, so the times match the almanac closely and work with no signal at all. TODAY'S LIGHT, FREE - Morning and evening golden hour and blue hour - Sunrise, sunset, solar noon, and day length - Civil twilight, dawn to dusk - A light ribbon that shows the whole day at a glance, with a marker for right now - The sun's height and compass direction, live PLAN ANY DATE (PRO) - Scout tomorrow's sunrise or next month's blue hour - Pick any past or future date and see every light window for it - Enter any coordinate by hand, or use your current location READ THE SUN - A chart of the sun's height above the horizon across the day - A month view of how the daylight is growing or shrinking, week to week - See how much longer or shorter today is than yesterday SAVE YOUR SHOOT SPOTS (PRO) - Keep a library of the places you love to shoot - Each spot stays live, with its own sunrise, golden hour, and blue hour - Tonight's golden hour for any spot is one tap away EXPORT A SHOOT PLAN (PRO) - A one-page PDF with every light window, day length, solar noon, and the compass direction of the golden light - Or a CSV of the same, to drop into a sheet - Print it, pin it to a board, or send it to your crew HONEST AT THE EDGES DayLighter handles the far north and south honestly, from the midnight sun to the polar night, and tells you plainly when the sun stays up or down all day. A NOTE ON TIME Times show in each location's own local clock, estimated on device so the app needs no network. For a far-off place this can differ from its daylight-saving clock by up to an hour. FREE AND LIFETIME Free gives you today's full light plan for any location you enter, plus one saved spot. One lifetime purchase unlocks planning for any date, unlimited saved spots, and the PDF and CSV shoot plan. Pay once, keep it forever. No subscription. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything is computed on your device and stays there. No account, no cloud, no ads, no tracking, and it works fully offline. ONE-TIME PURCHASE DayLighter Lifetime is a single purchase of $4.99 USD. There is no subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
ShootLight
This app helps photographers and videographers plan shoots by analyzing sun, sky, and weather conditions. It provides a 'shoot score' for each hour and location, offering detailed insights into light, clouds, and precipitation to optimize your shooting schedule.
- Hourly shoot scoring based on sun and weather
- 3D sun-path and shadow projection
- Augmented Reality sky view
- Hour-by-hour weather charts
- Route planning by light or speed
- Traffic-aware drive times
- Exportable shoot-day PDF
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ShootLight is a shoot-planning app for photographers and videographers. It reads the sun, the sky, and the weather together, scores every hour of the day, and helps you build a shoot day around the conditions that actually matter. Built by a working production company. THE SHOOT SCORE Every location and every hour gets one clear read — Don't bother / Workable / Good to shoot / Great window — based on: • Sun angle, golden hour, blue hour, and twilight (computed on your device) • Cloud by layer: a low marine deck flattens the light, while high cirrus can light up a sunset • Wind, rain, visibility, haze, and fog risk Tap any rating to see exactly why it scored that way, and whether the next hour improves or fades. SEE THE CONDITIONS • A 3D sun-path arc projected over the real terrain at your location • Shadow Mode — plant a sundial and watch its shadow move as you scrub through the day • AR Sky — trace the sun and moon across the real sky through your camera • Hour-by-hour charts for cloud, wind, rain, visibility, temperature, and UV PLAN THE SHOOT DAY • Pick your locations — each scored by its own sun and weather • Route by best light, fastest, or midday • Shoot both golden hours, with a midday break in between • Traffic-aware drive times, including a "leave home by" time from your home base • Set shoot time per stop and the whole day recalculates • Add notes per location — gate codes, parking, what to shoot • Export a shoot-day PDF for your crew or client WEATHER BUILT FOR A SHOOT Cloud by layer, wind and gusts, precipitation radar, satellite cloud loops, visibility and haze, fog risk, and a 7-day outlook that scores the week ahead so you can pick the right day. Powered by Apple Weather and Open-Meteo, with MET Norway as a backup. Sun and moon positions are computed on your device. No accounts. No ads. No tracking. — by Spearhead Media Weather data: Apple Weather, Open-Meteo, MET Norway. Radar: RainViewer, NASA GIBS.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: DayLighter at Free against ShootLight's $9.99. ShootLight's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#199 vs unranked). On 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
DayLighter is free to download; ShootLight costs $9.99 up front. DayLighter sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ShootLight asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | DayLighter | ShootLight |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 7 — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #199 — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | InnovaLabWorks | Brady Spear |
In-app purchases
DayLighter
- DayLighter Lifetime$4.99
ShootLight
No in-app purchases









