SunreachComparisons · Updated
Sunreach vs PhotoPills: terrain-aware times vs the planner
PhotoPills is a one-time-purchase toolbox: a map planner for the sun, moon and Milky Way, a fast finder for alignments, AR and a set of exposure and depth-of-field calculators. Sunreach plans the same light over real terrain and lidar, so its times say when the sun clears the ridge in front of you, not when it crosses a flat horizon.
Sunreach is a 3D and AR sun tracker for iPhone and iPad, coming soon to the App Store. This guide describes the current app; planned upgrades are listed separately. Terrain coverage varies by location.
What is the main difference between Sunreach and PhotoPills?
PhotoPills covers every kind of shot and gives you the tools; you bring the judgement about the terrain. Sunreach does fewer things and counts the terrain in all of them: sun on the spot, golden light on the spot, alignments that know the skyline.
| Sunreach | PhotoPills | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to download. Sunreach Pro at launch: €24.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or €3.99 a month | $10.99 once, no in-app purchases |
| Platforms | iOS 26 or later (iPhone and iPad) | iPhone and iPad (iOS 15 or later), Apple Vision Pro; also on Android |
| Sun-on-spot times with terrain | Yes. Times when direct sun is on the spot, every day of the year | Not in the feature list: rise and set times are for the horizon, the terrain is left to you |
| Golden hour that reaches the spot | Yes: golden and blue hour by the sky plus "low warm light on the spot" | Golden and blue hour by the sky |
| 3D view | 3D terrain with shadows, eye level you can walk and frame with any lens from 16 to 400 mm, a 3D city view with buildings and their shadows, and a drone camera with height and hyperlapse controls | 2D map planner; AR view of the sun, moon and Milky Way |
| Alignment search (sun or moon on a target) | Yes: pick a street, a notch on the skyline or a tower and get the days and minutes the sun or moon lines up with it, hidden-by-terrain cases marked | Yes: “Sun, Moon Alignments Fast Finder” |
| Augmented reality | AR sun path where you stand; it lines itself up on the sun, and on the skyline when you tap to look for it. Alignment is still undergoing real-device validation | AR for the sun, moon, Milky Way, celestial equator, Polaris, depth of field and field of view |
| Polariser guide | Yes: where a polariser darkens the sky most for any minute, how much of the effect the forecast cloud leaves, the band in AR and 3D, wide-lens and water-glare notes | Not in the feature list |
| Moon and Milky Way | Moon path, phase calendar, terrain-aware moonrise/set, dark-sky and galactic-core windows in the plan; Moon and Milky Way overlays in 3D and AR. Moon on any date, Milky Way and eclipses are Sunreach Pro | Yes: moon and Milky Way in the planner, AR and widgets |
Competitor details checked on 28 October 2026 from PhotoPills's US App Store listing and help pages (linked below). Prices change; check the store in your region.
Which one shows when the sun reaches a spot behind mountains?
Sunreach: its alignment search uses the skyline from terrain and lidar, so a sun “setting in the notch” is the real notch, and it marks matches the terrain hides. PhotoPills’ finder searches for the sun or moon position you set; whether a ridge is in the way is left to you.
For a city alignment like Manhattanhenge the two agree closely, because the horizon is flat. In the mountains, the Great Soča Gorge shows how far apart flat-horizon and terrain times can be.
Sunreach computes this for any spot on Earth, from the real terrain around it. Get the app ↓
Where is PhotoPills better?
Breadth and price. PhotoPills is a single $10.99 purchase with the Milky Way, star trails, time-lapse, exposure and depth-of-field tools, a mature AR mode, widgets and Android, plus a large library of tutorials.
Where is Sunreach better?
The terrain, in 3D. Sunreach shows when direct sun is on the spot, golden light that actually reaches it, a 3D view with eye level, lenses and a drone camera, a 3D city view with buildings, peak light and fog outlooks.
Sunreach is free for today and tomorrow; other dates and alignment search are in Sunreach Pro.
Sunreach also forecasts the aurora for your own spot: NOAA’s live oval on a night globe, the Kp the place needs over its skyline toward the pole (the red glow of big storms counted), the best hour of the night from the oval’s turn toward magnetic midnight, where to drive tonight, aurora alerts and a widget. See what Kp you need to see the aurora.
Which should you choose?
If you shoot the night sky, want every calculator in one app, or are on Android, PhotoPills. If your shots depend on when light clears a ridge or reaches a valley, or you want to frame them in 3D before you go, Sunreach; many landscape photographers keep both.
Frequently asked questions
Does PhotoPills account for mountains?
Its feature list does not include terrain-aware sun times. You can plan directions on the map and judge the terrain yourself.
Does Sunreach have an alignment finder like PhotoPills?
Yes. Alignment search finds the days and minutes the sun or moon lines up with a street, a skyline notch or a tower, with the terrain counted.
Sources
Ask AI about this article: ChatGPT · Perplexity · Claude · Google AI Mode