Comparison

Day & Night Map vs SunLocation

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

SunLocation

This app displays the current sun's position and altitude, synchronizing with your device's compass. It also offers an optional add-on to hide ads and view moon positions, phases, and altitude graphs.

Highlights
  • Current sun position and altitude
  • Compass synchronization
  • Moon position and phases display
  • Altitude graphs for sun and moon
  • Distance graph for the moon
  • Ad-free option with add-on
Features
Read full description

SunLocation is an app that lets you know the current sun location and altitude. If there is a compass, the directions are synchronized. You might want to watch the Super Moon, take a photo, move, go out or look at the sky. If the position is different, the compass is interfering. Please adjust the position with the compass app and try again. The altitude is displayed in the center. Add-on (Add moon position and phases and hide ads) - The ad will be hidden. - You can display the month position and age. - Tap the center to switch between sun and moon altitudes at any time. - You can see the altitude graph of the sun and the moon. - You can see the distance graph of the moon. Enjoy !

Screenshots

Day & Night Map4 screens
SunLocation4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Day & Night Map at 78% against SunLocation's 12%. Day & Night Map also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). SunLocation's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 8 months) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SunLocation sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Day & Night Map asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Day & Night Map holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Day & Night Map has 1.4K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Day & Night Map's written reviews are positive against 12% of SunLocation's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Day & Night Map ships an update every 8 months, SunLocation every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Day & Night Map versus SunLocation: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDay & Night MapSunLocation
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.4K ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews78.0% of reviews — better12.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.4K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVolker Voecking Software EngineeringYoshitaka Watanabe

Customer experience

Day & Night Map

All ratings1,357 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive78.0%
Neutral8.5%
Negative13.6%

SunLocation

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive12.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative84.0%

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

SunLocation

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Day & Night Map

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

SunLocation

One-time1
  • Moon position and age, etc.$0.99

Questions

Is Day & Night Map free?
Day & Night Map is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SunLocation free?
SunLocation is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Day & Night Map or SunLocation?
Day & Night Map is rated higher. Day & Night Map averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while SunLocation averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Day & Night Map or SunLocation have ads?
Neither Day & Night Map nor SunLocation shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Day & Night Map or SunLocation?
Day & Night Map ships an update every 8 months, and SunLocation every 6 weeks. Most recently, Day & Night Map was updated on September 23, 2026 and SunLocation on September 13, 2026.

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