Comparison

Lumy vs Golden Hour Calculator

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 Calculator

This app helps photographers find the optimal times for capturing magical light. It provides accurate timings for golden hour, blue hour, sunrise, and sunset, with customizable notifications and the ability to save favorite locations.

Highlights
  • Golden hour timing
  • Blue hour timing
  • Sunrise and sunset times
  • Location-based calculations
  • Customizable notifications
  • Save favorite locations
Features
Read full description

FIND THE PERFECT TIME FOR PHOTOGRAPHY EVERY DAY, EVERYWHERE. Golden hour calculator will provide you with exact timings of mag hour times. Wherever you are. Get accurate timings for golden hour, blue hour, sunset and sunrise. GET NOTIFIED Never miss that golden hour, blue hour, sunset or sunrise light again. Set up notifications and choose how long before you want to be notified. SAVE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES Need to look up magic hour times for a specific place frequently? Simply save it as a bookmark for one-tap access. Never miss that perfect light for your photography again. Golden Hour Calculator will be a reliable companion to make sure you hit that amazing golden light. The free version will provide you with accurate data for your current location and date. If you unlock the plus-version you'll get access to a date and location chooser, notifications and bookmarks.

Screenshots

Lumy4 screens
Golden Hour Calculator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Golden Hour Calculator at Free against Lumy's $7.99. Golden Hour Calculator also leads on iOS requirement (12.1 vs 18.0). Lumy's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks) and ratings volume (2.3K vs 77). On ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Calculator is free to download; Lumy costs $7.99 up front. Lumy sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Golden Hour Calculator 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

Lumy holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lumy has 2.3K ratings behind it against 77, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Lumy's written reviews are positive against 71% of Golden Hour Calculator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lumy ships an update every 2 days, Golden Hour Calculator every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and July 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Lumy versus Golden Hour Calculator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLumyGolden Hour Calculator
Price$7.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (2.3K ratings) — better4.6 (77 ratings)
Positive reviews78.9% of reviews — better70.6% of reviews
Number of ratings2.3K — better77
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#6 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.012.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size257 MB58 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRaja VijayaramanChristopher Kreymborg

Customer experience

Lumy

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

Golden Hour Calculator

All ratings77 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral2.6%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive70.6%
Neutral5.9%
Negative23.5%

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 Calculator

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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 Calculator

One-time1
  • Golden Hour Calculator Plus$0.99

Questions

Is Lumy free?
Lumy costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Golden Hour Calculator free?
Golden Hour Calculator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lumy or Golden Hour Calculator?
Lumy is rated higher. Lumy averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.3K ratings, while Golden Hour Calculator averages 4.6 from 77 ratings.
Do Lumy or Golden Hour Calculator have ads?
Neither Lumy nor Golden Hour Calculator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lumy or Golden Hour Calculator?
Lumy ships an update every 2 days, and Golden Hour Calculator every 2 weeks. Most recently, Lumy was updated on September 22, 2026 and Golden Hour Calculator on July 16, 2026.

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