Comparison

Lumy vs Lightphase

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

Lightphase

This app predicts and displays the timing of various light phases, including golden hour, civil twilight, and astronomical twilight. It helps photographers and outdoor enthusiasts plan their activities around optimal lighting conditions, offering detailed information and countdowns.

Highlights
  • Predicts golden hour and twilight times
  • Counts down to next light phase
  • Displays six distinct light phases
  • Visualizes the day's light curve
  • Interactive scrubbing through the day
  • Watch complications and widgets
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Lightphase is a clock for natural light. It tells you which light you are standing in, the minute it changes, and how long you have left. Shooting the overlook at golden hour? Lightphase gives you the minute it starts and the minute it ends. Hiking back after sunset? It tells you when Civil Twilight runs out, the last light you can walk by without a headlamp. Waiting for a dark sky? It shows when night begins, which is often more than an hour after sunset. Every phase of light, named Lightphase divides the day by the sun's angle into the phases photographers and hikers plan around, and names each one in plain words. Daylight. The sun is high, the light is flat and the shadows are short and hard. 35° Window. Low enough for directional light, with fuller color and more contrast than golden hour. The long, workable stretch of morning and afternoon. Golden Hour. Warm, low sun from the horizon to 6 degrees up. Long shadows and raking side light. Civil Twilight. The sun has set and the sky is still bright. Enough light to walk by, or to shoot handheld. Nautical Twilight. Deep blue sky over a faint horizon. Most of what people call blue hour happens here. Astronomical Twilight. The last glow before full dark. The stars are out, and a long exposure still picks up the horizon. Night. Full dark, with no usable light from the sun. The answer comes first The top of the screen holds the answer: the light you are in, when it began and ends, and how much of it is left. Below it sit the next golden hour and the next sunrise or sunset, with the time it gets dark or the first light before it. See the whole day at once Behind the answer, the screen takes the color of the sky at the sun's height where you are, with today's light drawn as a curve across it. Drag the sun along the curve and every reading follows your finger. Find out what the light will be doing at six before you decide where to be at six. Glance without opening anything The Home Screen widget shows the sky, the light you are in and how long it lasts. The medium size adds the next golden hour. On the Lock Screen, a widget shows the phase and when it changes. On your wrist, too The watch app comes with three complications. One names the light you are in and when it changes. One counts down to a light you choose, with a ring that empties as it runs. One draws today's arc with the sun where it stands right now. Readable in direct sun A light palette for bright sun and a dark one for dusk. Every phase is spelled out in words, so you never have to tell one color from another. Times that match the almanac Sunrise and sunset are timed to the sun's upper edge meeting the horizon, and the twilights use their standard angles. Almanacs use the same definitions, so the times agree with the ones you already trust, and the app shows where every number comes from. Works where the signal does not Lightphase works out the light on your iPhone from where you are and the time of day. It keeps working in airplane mode, in a canyon, and anywhere the bars run out. Your location stays on your iPhone, where only the latest position is kept for your widgets and complications. One price, everything in it One purchase covers the iPhone app, the watch app, every widget and every complication. There is no subscription and nothing to buy inside. The sun does not charge a monthly fee, so neither do we. Every light Lightphase tracks Sunrise, sunset, golden hour, blue hour, first light, last light, civil twilight, nautical twilight, astronomical twilight and night.

Screenshots

Lumy4 screens
Lightphase4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lightphase at none against Lumy's 3. Lightphase also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 79%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Lumy's advantage is ratings volume (2.4K vs 2) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). On ads and iOS requirement 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

Lumy costs $7.99 and Lightphase $4.99 up front. Lumy sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Lightphase asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lightphase holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lumy has 2.4K ratings behind it against 2, 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 100% of Lightphase's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lumy ships an update every 3 days, Lightphase every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Lumy versus Lightphase: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLumyLightphase
Price$7.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.8 (2.4K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.4K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#15 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size259 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRaja VijayaramanOnyx Mueller

Customer experience

Lumy

All ratings2,410 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews687 reviews
Positive79.0%
Neutral9.5%
Negative11.5%

Lightphase

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Lightphase

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
None

Lightphase

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lumy free?
Lumy costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Lightphase free?
Lightphase costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lumy or Lightphase?
Lightphase is rated higher. Lumy averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.4K ratings, while Lightphase averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Lumy or Lightphase have ads?
Neither Lumy nor Lightphase shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lumy or Lightphase?
Lumy ships an update every 3 days, and Lightphase every 2 weeks. Most recently, Lumy was updated on October 23, 2026 and Lightphase on October 12, 2026.

Other comparisons