Comparison

Lumy vs Golden Hour

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

Head to head
About

Lumy

Track sunrise, sunset, and golden hour for optimal outdoor activities and photography. This app offers personalized profiles, weather forecasts, and on-device data processing for privacy. Plan your day with natural light in mind.

Highlights
  • Personalized activity profiles (Modes)
  • Sunrise, sunset, and golden hour tracking
  • Moon phase and rise/set times
  • 7-day weather forecasts
  • On-device data processing
  • Apple Watch complications and Live Activities
  • Customizable notifications
Features
Read full description

Lumy is a modern sun tracker + outdoor activity planner. - Perfect lighting for photos or videos? Done. - Sunrise hike or sunset walk? Easy. - Outdoor yoga or sunlight breaks? Covered. Whether you’re chasing golden hour* or keeping an eye on moon phases for a night under the stars, Lumy helps you make the most of natural light. Now redesigned from the ground up - Lumy feels more personal, purposeful, and in sync with how we live. Introducing Modes: Switch between profiles like Daily, Photography, or Meditation to shape Lumy around your routine. See only what matters to you. Lumy also supports iOS’s State of Mind feature, offering sunlight suggestions based on your mood entries in the Health app - a gentle nudge to step out and connect with nature. And with weather forecasts for the next seven days, you can plan with confidence. Lumy calculates all sun and moon data entirely on-device. No tracking. No server calls. Only the weather needs internet. Lumy works seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and HomePod. One purchase, full family access. Features - Modes: Switch profiles based on your needs... from weekday planning to weekend golden hour. - Sun + Moon Tracking: Accurate data, solar compass, and future predictions. - Season Info: Both astronomical and meteorological seasons. - Remainders: Custom repeatable notifications. - Apple Watch: Complications, Double-tap, and Live Activities. - Widgets + Control Center: Quick access via Smart Stack and more. - Interaction Upgrades: Time travel slider, Quick Access Button, fluid animations. - Visual Feel: Simulated light, shimmering glows, and enhanced Classic visuals. - Accessibility: VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, Reduce Motion, and more. - Privacy First: Fully offline (except weather). Your data stays with you. - Localization: Available in Japanese, Chinese, French, and German. Lumy helps photographers, outdoor lovers, and wellness seekers stay in sync with the sun and moon. *What's Golden Hour? Golden Hour (or Magic Hour) is the short time after sunrise or before sunset when the light is soft, warm, and perfect for capturing stunning photos or videos. Sun Information Available: Sunrise, Sunset, First Light, Last Light, Golden Hour, Blue Hour, Astronomical Twilight, Nautical Twilight, Civil Twilight, Solar Noon, Solar Midnight. Moon Information Available: Moonrise, Moonset, Altitude, Azimuth, Transit, Transit Elevation, Weekly Moon Phase, Next Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter, Last Quarter. Got feedback or suggestions? We’d love to hear from you! Reach out at hello@waplestuff.com.

About

Golden Hour

Find the optimal times for photography with the best natural light based on your chosen location and date. It also provides sun positions and offers a convenient watch app for real-time golden hour information.

Highlights
  • Optimal light time calculation
  • Sun position data
  • Location and date specific
  • Watch app integration
  • Gorgeous light for pictures
Features
Read full description

Golden Hour gives you, from the chosen location and date, the 2 best moments of the day during which you will have the most gorgeous light for you pictures. The sun positions is also provided. The Watch App gives you the today's golden hours at your current location.

Screenshots

Lumy4 screens
Golden Hour3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Golden Hour at Free against Lumy's $7.99. Lumy's advantage is review sentiment (79% vs 49%) and update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly). On rating, 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

Golden Hour is free to download; Lumy costs $7.99 up front. Lumy sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Golden Hour sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Lumy against 4.7 for Golden Hour. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lumy has 2.3K ratings behind it against 393, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Lumy's written reviews are positive against 49% of Golden Hour's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lumy ships an update every 2 days, Golden Hour monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Lumy versus Golden Hour: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLumyGolden Hour
Price$7.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (2.3K ratings) — better4.7 (393 ratings)
Positive reviews78.9% of reviews — better48.9% of reviews
Number of ratings2.3K — better393
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#7 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size257 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRaja VijayaramanApplorium Ltd

Customer experience

Lumy

All ratings2,315 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews679 reviews
Positive78.9%
Neutral9.6%
Negative11.5%

Golden Hour

All ratings393 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive48.9%
Neutral11.1%
Negative40.0%

User reviews

Lumy

From 2.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 Beautifully designed
  • 🚀 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 🎨 Elegant and visually appealing
  • ⏱️ Provides valuable time-sensitive information
  • 📱 Seamless integration with Apple Watch

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🌍 Limited location support
  • 🕰️ Inaccurate or outdated information in some cases
  • 🔌 Battery drain issues on Apple Watch
  • 🧭 Compass/direction information not always reliable

Golden Hour

From 393 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 👍 Great for photographers
  • 👍 Clean UI, no ads
  • 👍 Accurate golden hour times
  • 👍 Works well on watch (sometimes)

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App not opening/loading
  • 🐛 Errors after update
  • 🐛 Location search broken
  • 🐛 Inaccurate weather
  • 🐛 Not optimized for iPhone SE/X

Bugs and requests

Lumy

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Widgets not working or displaying incorrect information
  • Complications not updating properly on Apple Watch
  • Crashes and freezes on certain iOS versions
  • Location services not functioning as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • More customization options for widgets and complications
  • Ability to manually set location
  • Integration with other weather/astronomy apps
  • Expanded information on moon phases and celestial events
  • Improved Apple Watch complications and support

Golden Hour

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App not opening
  • App not loading on watch
  • Unknown error message on launch
  • App crashes after update
  • Search for other locations broken (time zone issue)
Show 4 more
  • Map is tiny on iPhone SE
  • Widget shows 00:00
  • App crashes on opening
  • iPhone X optimization missing

Requested features

11 requests
  • Add blue hour timeframes
  • Add labels for map lines
  • Add option to save last location
  • Add live wallpapers
  • Add diagram for shots
Show 6 more
  • Improve location search granularity
  • Allow planning for future dates/locations
  • Fix time zone issues for location search
  • Add dark mode
  • Add Apple Watch app
  • Fix evening/morning labels on map

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Lumy

One-time3
  • A Little Light (Small Tip)$0.99
  • More Light (Medium Tip)$3.99
  • All the Light (Huge Tip)$9.99
1 purchases

Golden Hour

One-time1
  • Lifetime upgrade$3.99

Questions

Is Lumy free?
Lumy costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Golden Hour free?
Golden Hour is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lumy or Golden Hour?
Lumy is rated higher. Lumy averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.3K ratings, while Golden Hour averages 4.7 from 393 ratings.
Do Lumy or Golden Hour have ads?
Neither Lumy nor Golden Hour shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lumy or Golden Hour?
Lumy ships an update every 2 days, and Golden Hour monthly. Most recently, Lumy was updated on September 22, 2026 and Golden Hour on September 21, 2026.

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