Comparison

Day & Night Map vs DawnTracker

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

Head to head
About

Day & Night Map

Visualize the Earth's day and night cycles on an interactive world map. Select any date and time to see current illumination, or create animated GIFs of changing light patterns.

Highlights
  • Real-time day/night map
  • Selectable date and time
  • Animated GIF creation
  • Minute-by-minute updates
  • Global illumination visualization
Read full description

Day & Night Map shows you exactly which parts of Earth are in daylight and which are in darkness — right now, or at any date and time you choose. Watch the terminator move across the globe as hours and days pass. Explore sunrise, sunset, and twilight around the world. Perfect for travellers, astronomers, photographers, teachers, and anyone curious about time on our planet. KEY FEATURES • Live world map of day and night • Move through time with intuitive date and time controls • Jump back to the current moment with one tap • Pinch to zoom and pan across the map • Full-screen map view • Home Screen widgets in multiple sizes (including Extra Large on iPad) • Configurable widgets: sun, moon, moon phase, twilight, icon size, and more • Show sun and moon positions on the map • Display the current moon phase • Twilight zones: smooth shading or separate civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight • Equator and tropics lines • Show your current location on the map (optional) • Display time in local time or UTC • Light, dark, or system appearance • Share a map image by email, message, and more • Create animations over a chosen time range • Export animations as animated GIFs ANIMATIONS Pick a start and end date, set the step interval and speed, and watch the day/night line move over hours or days. Play the animation in the app or create an animated GIF to share. HOME SCREEN WIDGET Add the widget to your Home Screen and keep the current day/night map at a glance. Customize what is shown and how it looks directly when adding or editing the widget.

About

DawnTracker

This app calculates precise times for sunrise, sunset, and various twilight periods for any location and date. It's useful for photographers planning shoots or anyone wanting to know daily solar event timings.

Highlights
  • Sunrise, solar noon, and sunset times
  • Civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight
  • Golden and blue hour calculations
  • Day length estimation
  • Offline functionality
  • Supports favorite cities
Features
Read full description

When will the sun rise today in Paris? How long does the Golden Hour last tomorrow in Hamburg? And what time will civil dawn begin, 3 months from now, in New York City? DawnTracker calculates solar events (sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk, golden & blue hour etc.) for your current location and your favorite cities. A handy little tool if you're trying to capture the perfect sunset or simply want to know when the sun will set today. * Pick any date and any city to get info * Sunrise, Solar Noon and Sunset * Civil, Nautical and Astronomical Twilight * Golden & blue hour * Day length * Beginning and end of night * Calculations based on location data. Doesn't need internet connection. Doesn't share data. Available for iPhone and Apple Watch. Privacy policy: https://wxt.media/apps/privacy/

Screenshots

Day & Night Map4 screens
DawnTracker3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Day & Night Map at Free against DawnTracker's $2.99. Day & Night Map also leads on ratings volume (1.4K vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). DawnTracker's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 7 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Day & Night Map is free to download; DawnTracker costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DawnTracker holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Day & Night Map has 1.4K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Day & Night Map ships an update every 7 months, DawnTracker every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Day & Night Map versus DawnTracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDay & Night MapDawnTracker
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.8 (1.4K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.4K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVolker Voecking Software EngineeringInes Opifanti

Customer experience

Day & Night Map

All ratings1,365 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral3.2%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive76.3%
Neutral10.2%
Negative13.6%

DawnTracker

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Day & Night Map

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Moon position not displayed on iPad
  • Daylight savings time not working properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Option to keep noon at center and have map move
  • Show analemma and sun position on it
  • 24-hour clock setting for widget
  • Improve moon position display on iPad

DawnTracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Day & Night Map

No in-app purchases

None

DawnTracker

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Day & Night Map free?
Day & Night Map is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DawnTracker free?
DawnTracker costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Day & Night Map or DawnTracker?
DawnTracker is rated higher. Day & Night Map averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while DawnTracker averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Day & Night Map or DawnTracker have ads?
Neither Day & Night Map nor DawnTracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Day & Night Map or DawnTracker?
Day & Night Map ships an update every 7 months, and DawnTracker every 3 days. Most recently, Day & Night Map was updated on October 14, 2026 and DawnTracker on October 12, 2026.

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