# Day & Night Map vs Solstice

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Day & Night Map at none against Solstice's 3. Day & Night Map also leads on ratings volume (1.4K vs 80) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.5). Solstice's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 8 months) and device support (5 vs 3). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Solstice sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Day & Night Map asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Day & Night Map against 4.8 for Solstice. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Day & Night Map has 1.4K ratings behind it against 80, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Day & Night Map's written reviews are positive against 85% of Solstice's.

Day & Night Map ships an update every 8 months, Solstice every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 1, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Day & Night Map | Solstice |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/day-and-night-map/id741375889/reviews) | **[4.8 (80 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/solstice/id1547580907/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.4K** | 80 |
| Positive reviews | 78.0% of reviews | **85.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 48 MB | 24 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.5 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Volker Voecking Software Engineering](https://appshunter.io/developer/390175341) | [Dan Eden](https://appshunter.io/developer/508167369) |

## What reviewers say

### Day & Night Map

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/day-and-night-map/id741375889)

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great app
- 🚀 Useful for radio hams
- 👍 Interesting to see sun/moon movement
- 👍 Excellent for travelers

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Widget issues (doesn't update, resizing)
- 🐛 Crashes on some devices

**Reported bugs**

- Moon position not displayed on iPad
- Daylight savings time not working properly

**Requested features**

- 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


### Solstice

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/solstice/id1547580907)

Track daily daylight changes in your location and see monthly projections. Explore daylight variations across different global locations and over time. Receive notifications and use widgets to stay informed about upcoming daylight.

**Highlights:** Daily daylight change comparison, Monthly daylight projections, Time Travel feature, Multi-location comparison, Daily notifications, Widgets

**Features:** Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Tip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $5.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $11.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Beautiful and clean design
- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 💡 Informative and detailed data
- 🚀 Fast and seamless performance
- 🎁 Free and privacy-respecting

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Widgets not displaying correctly
- 🐛 Notifications not sending
- 🐛 Inaccurate information (longest/shortest days inverted)
- 🐛 App hangs on cold open

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when sliding bar
- App crashes when holding any location
- Square widget displays white square with grey bars only
- Widget options not showing
- Lock screen widget progress ring shows incorrect progress

**Requested features**

- Add a month view
- Add equinox measurements and widgets
- Remember multiple locations
- Compare data for two places on the same screen
- Add automatic push notifications for sunset


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Day & Night Map free?

Day & Night Map is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Solstice free?

Solstice is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Day & Night Map or Solstice?

Solstice is rated higher. Day & Night Map averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while Solstice averages 4.8 from 80 ratings.

### Do Day & Night Map or Solstice have ads?

Neither Day & Night Map nor Solstice shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Day & Night Map or Solstice?

Day & Night Map ships an update every 8 months, and Solstice every 5 weeks. Most recently, Day & Night Map was updated on October 1, 2026 and Solstice on October 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*