SunreachComparisons · Updated
Sunreach vs Shadowmap: city shadows vs sun on your spot
Shadowmap simulates sunlight and shadows on a global 3D model of buildings, trees and terrain, for any date and time in its paid tiers, with solar-panel analytics on top. Sunreach answers a photographer’s question instead: the minutes direct sun is on one spot, from terrain and 2 m lidar, plus AR on location and a search for the days the sun or moon lines up with a target.
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 Shadowmap?
Shadowmap is built for buildings: homes, terraces, solar panels and architecture, with editable 3D objects and solar analytics. Sunreach is built for planning light at a viewpoint, in mountains as much as cities, and answers with times, the data used and an accuracy.
| Sunreach | Shadowmap | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to download. Sunreach Pro at launch: €24.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or €3.99 a month | Free; Explorer $29.99/year (other dates and times, 3D sun camera); Home $9.99/month or $99.99/year; Studio $59.99/month or $599.99/year |
| Platforms | iOS 26 or later (iPhone and iPad) | iPhone and iPad (iOS 15 or later), Apple silicon Mac, Apple Vision Pro; also a web app |
| Sun-on-spot times with terrain | Yes. Times when direct sun is on the spot, every day of the year | No time ranges; you scrub the time and watch shadows on the 3D map |
| Terrain data | 40 m terrain everywhere (from 30 m elevation data), 50 × 50 km around the spot. 2 m lidar ground, fetched for any spot, in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Flanders, Czechia, Poland, Norway, Finland, Estonia, four German states and where USGS 3DEP covers the USA; 5 m in Spain; demo areas in Slovenia, France, Austria and Trentino (coverage) | Global terrain and building data (buildings from Overture, trees from OpenStreetMap); resolution not stated |
| Trees and buildings in the skyline | Not for now: skylines use bare ground everywhere (lidar ground in supported countries, 40 m terrain elsewhere) | Yes: 3D buildings and trees cast shadows; you can edit them and add objects |
| Accuracy stated | Estimated per answer: ±1 min with 2 m data, ±5 min with 40 m terrain, plus atmospheric and local-data uncertainty | Not stated |
| 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 | 3D map of buildings, trees and terrain with shadows; 3D sun camera view (Explorer) |
| 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 | Not in the listing |
| Cities and buildings | Yes: a 3D city view with buildings and their shadows for the minute you pick (Mapbox); buildings do not count in the sun-on-spot times for now | Yes, its main use: buildings and trees with editable heights, a textured 3D city in Studio |
| 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 | Not in the listing |
| Weather | Apple Weather forecast, peak light after sunset (which peaks stay lit and for how long, with a go or don’t-go from the clouds) and a valley-fog outlook with the summits above it | 14-day weather and UV forecast (Home) |
| 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 |
Competitor details checked on 28 October 2026 from Shadowmap'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 lists the minutes the sun is above the terrain skyline at your pin for every day of the year, from 2 m lidar where it exists. Shadowmap draws terrain and building shadows on its map, so you read the answer off the map by moving the time.
In a valley the difference matters: Bovec gets the sun hours after sunrise in winter, and Sunreach gives that as a time with an estimated error of about a minute where lidar exists.
Sunreach computes this for any spot on Earth, from the real terrain around it. Get the app ↓
Where is Shadowmap better?
Cities and buildings. Shadowmap counts buildings and trees in its shadows, lets you edit their heights or add your own objects, and adds solar irradiance and sun-exposure analytics for roofs and facades.
Where is Sunreach better?
Mountains, photography and being there. Sunreach gives sun-on-spot times from lidar terrain, golden light on the spot, peak light after sunset, a fog outlook, AR sun path where you stand, and alignment search for the sun or moon.
For cities, Sunreach’s 3D city view also shows buildings and their shadows; its sun-on-spot times use the ground only for now (how to use it in a city).
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?
For a flat, a garden or solar panels, where trees and buildings next door decide everything, Shadowmap. For a photo, a viewpoint or a trip, especially with hills or mountains around, Sunreach.
Frequently asked questions
Does Shadowmap work in the mountains?
It includes global terrain, so mountain shadows show on its map. It does not list sun-on-spot times or a stated accuracy.
Does Sunreach count buildings?
Its 3D city view shows buildings and their shadows. Its sun-on-spot times use the ground only for now.
Sources
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