Comparison

ShadeTraceMap vs Shade Tracker

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

Head to head
About

ShadeTraceMap

Visualize sunlight, shade, and weather patterns globally with interactive maps and a live sun compass. Simulate how light changes throughout the day and year for any location. Get current weather and forecasts to plan outdoor activities.

Highlights
  • Interactive 2D/3D maps with building geometry
  • Time-based sun and shade simulation
  • Live sun compass
  • Sun path and position calculations
  • Global city and place search
  • Current weather and forecasts
Features
Read full description

Explore sunlight, shade, and weather conditions anywhere in the world with ShadeTrace Map. ShadeTrace Map combines interactive maps, a live sun compass, sun-position calculations, weather forecasts, and a time-based sun simulator in one simple experience. KEY FEATURES • Interactive 2D/3D map with real building geometry, satellite imagery, and simulated shadows • Adjust the date and time to see how sunlight and shade change throughout the day • Live Sun Compass — point your phone to see exactly where the sun is right now • View the sun's path, direction, altitude, sunrise, and sunset for any date • Search for cities and places anywhere in the world • Check current weather conditions and forecasts • Automatically follows your device's light and dark mode Whether you are planning an outdoor activity, exploring a neighborhood, taking photographs, or simply curious about the movement of the sun, ShadeTrace Map makes sunlight and weather information easy to understand. Shade and sun-position results are estimates based on map data and astronomical calculations. Actual conditions may differ because of weather, terrain, vegetation, incomplete building data, and other environmental factors. ShadeTrace Map should not be used as a safety, navigation, medical, or professional surveying tool. Internet access is required for maps, place search, and weather information. The Sun Compass requires a device with a magnetometer (compass sensor).

About

Shade Tracker

Features
Read full description

Will your balcony get sun at 4pm? Where should you park so the car is still shaded in three hours? Does that table stay in the sun through dinner? Shade Tracker answers those questions on a live map. Drag the timeline and watch the shadows of buildings and trees move in real time. The sun's position comes from actual astronomical calculation. LIVE SHADOW MAP • Building and tree shadows drawn directly onto the map • Tree heights come from a global canopy model, so shade under trees counts too • 2D, tilted 3D, and satellite views THE TIMELINE • Scrub with your finger and the shadows follow instantly • One pixel is one minute, with about six hours of context on screen • The color of the timeline is the real solar elevation for that minute, so night, twilight, golden hour, and full day are visible at a glance • Scroll as far into the past or future as you want, or jump to any date • One tap on Now returns you to the current moment HOURS OF SUN • Turn the map into a heat map of how many hours each spot gets sun, over a range you pick: sunrise to sunset, now to sunset, or the whole day • Tap anywhere to read the exact figure for that point ANNUAL SUNLIGHT • The same heat map sampled across a full year, for longer decisions about a roof, garden, or balcony SHADOW CALCULATOR • Draw a structure on the map, give it a height, and its shadow is included immediately • Set the height to zero to erase instead: see what changes if a tree comes down or a building is removed • Drawings stay on your device and can be edited or deleted SUN DIRECTION AND STATUS • Arrows from the map center show the current sun direction, the sunrise direction, and the sunset direction • A floating badge gives the sun's compass bearing and elevation, plus whether you are in sun or shade right now, read from the shadow data rather than guessed • Sunrise and sunset times UV INDEX • Current UV for your location, in the standard health color bands • Scrub the timeline to see the UV forecast for that hour SAVED PLACES • Long-press a point and name it: Home balcony, Work parking, that café • The address resolves automatically; tap the list to fly back SEARCH • Place and address search with live suggestions • Type coordinates to go straight to a point • Times are shown in the local time zone of wherever you are looking GOOD FOR Apartment hunting, parking in the shade, picking a side of the terrace, gardening and the full sun versus partial shade question, photography and golden hour, early thinking about solar panels, shaded walking routes on hot days, architecture and site studies, and planning outdoor events. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO Building heights are mostly estimates from open map data, so not every roof is modeled exactly. Tree heights come from a global model rather than individual measurements. UV is a clear-sky value and does not account for you being in shade. Clouds and weather are not part of the calculation: this answers where the sun falls when the sun is out. No account and no sign-up. The calculations run on your device. WHAT'S FREE AND WHAT'S PRO The live shadow map with today's timeline, sun direction lines, sunrise and sunset times, the UV index, search, and up to 3 saved places are free. Shade Tracker Pro is an optional paid upgrade, available as an auto-renewing subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. It unlocks: • HOURS OF SUN (one free preview included) • ANNUAL SUNLIGHT • SHADOW CALCULATOR • Viewing days other than today • The sun arc time control • Unlimited saved places -------------- Privacy Policy: https://shadetracker.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://shadetracker.app/terms EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ShadeTraceMap4 screens
Shade Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

ShadeTraceMap and Shade Tracker are too close to call on the numbers: across 8 compared parameters — price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for ShadeTraceMap against 5.0 for Shade Tracker. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShadeTraceMap ships an update every 3 weeks, Shade Tracker every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
ShadeTraceMap versus Shade Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShadeTraceMapShade Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSin Yi YoongSermin Demirbas

In-app purchases

None

ShadeTraceMap

No in-app purchases

None

Shade Tracker

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ShadeTraceMap free?
ShadeTraceMap is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shade Tracker free?
Shade Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ShadeTraceMap or Shade Tracker?
ShadeTraceMap and Shade Tracker are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do ShadeTraceMap or Shade Tracker have ads?
Neither ShadeTraceMap nor Shade Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ShadeTraceMap or Shade Tracker?
ShadeTraceMap ships an update every 3 weeks, and Shade Tracker every 2 weeks. Most recently, ShadeTraceMap was updated on November 5, 2026 and Shade Tracker on November 6, 2026.

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