SunreachComparisons · Updated
Sunreach vs Sun Seeker: compass and AR vs terrain and 3D
Sun Seeker shows the sun’s path on a compass, in AR over the camera and on a map, with golden-hour alerts, widgets and an Apple Watch app. Sunreach does that too and adds the terrain: the minutes the sun is actually on your spot, from lidar where it exists, with a 3D view to plan from home.
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 Sun Seeker?
Sun Seeker is a sun compass: where the sun is and will be, from where you stand, quickly. Sunreach is a light planner: when the sun is on a spot you pick anywhere, with the terrain and lidar counted, and a 3D view to see it before you go.
| Sunreach | Sun Seeker | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to download. Sunreach Pro at launch: €24.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or €3.99 a month | $11.99 once |
| Platforms | iOS 26 or later (iPhone and iPad) | iPhone and iPad (iOS 18 or later), Apple Watch (watchOS 10 or later) |
| Sun-on-spot times with terrain | Yes. Times when direct sun is on the spot, every day of the year | Not in the listing |
| 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, twilight 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 | 3D AR camera overlay; flat map with the sun path |
| 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 camera overlay with the sun’s path and hour points |
| 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 | Clear-sky UV and solar irradiance; no forecast listed |
| 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 | Solar and lunar eclipse tables; no moon position listed |
Competitor details checked on 28 October 2026 from Sun Seeker'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 computes the skyline and gives the times, also for places you are not at. Sun Seeker draws the sun’s path, and you judge in AR whether a hill blocks it.
Why that gap is often an hour or more in the mountains: why sunrise time isn’t when the sun reaches you.
Sunreach computes this for any spot on Earth, from the real terrain around it. Get the app ↓
Where is Sun Seeker better?
A quick answer on the spot, and the Watch. Sun Seeker opens straight to the sun’s position, has a mature AR view, Lock Screen widgets and a Watch app with complications, all for one purchase.
Where is Sunreach better?
Planning ahead and the terrain. Sunreach gives sun-on-spot times for any pin, a 3D view with eye level and a city view with buildings, alignment search, the moon and Milky Way, peak light and fog outlooks, and the weather.
Sunreach also has widgets, a Live Activity and an Apple Watch app for saved spots.
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 sun compass on your wrist, Sun Seeker. For planning a shot or a trip somewhere with hills, buildings or mountains, Sunreach.
Frequently asked questions
Does Sun Seeker include mountains?
Its listing does not describe terrain modelling. The AR view shows the sun’s path over what the camera sees, so you can judge it on the spot.
Is there a subscription?
Sun Seeker (Sunlight Tracker) is a one-time purchase on the US App Store, checked October 2026. Sunreach is free for today and tomorrow, with Pro for other dates.
Sources
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