Best sunset prediction apps for iPhone: colour, timing and alerts

Choose for the question you have

“When does the sun set?” and “Will the sky turn pink?” need different answers. A light-timing app calculates the sun’s position. A colour forecast interprets changing weather. A map helps you decide where to stand. A good choice starts with the missing part of your own routine.

These are recommendations by use case, not a league table of accuracy. The four native options publish sunrise or sunset quality forecasts; Sol is included as a browser alternative. Our iPhone app is coming soon.

Compare the useful differences

The free download is only the beginning of the comparison. Check whether the particular thing you need—tomorrow’s outlook, an alert or a second location—requires payment.

A missing detail here means we could not establish it from the reviewed source. It does not mean the app lacks the feature. Each product name opens its full profile and sources.

What we checked—and what remains untested

We reviewed the makers’ websites, US App Store listings and published product explanations on 27 September 2026. We compared six decisions: whether a tool predicts colour; how far ahead it looks; what is usable for free; how alerts or widgets fit the workflow; where it works; and what its forecast actually means.

We make Sol. Our recommendations are editorial judgments based on that documentation, not the result of installing every app on the same iPhone. We have not measured notification reliability, timed setup, or compared forecast accuracy across these products. Publisher images below illustrate their advertised interfaces; they are not our test screenshots.

Two inconsistencies matter enough to keep visible: Alpenglow’s sources give different forecast horizons, and SkyCandy’s listing gives different annual prices. We report both. A vendor’s claimed precision, a store rating, and an attractive sunset photograph do not establish which forecast will work best where you live.

We included four native colour-forecast options with public primary sources, plus our available web alternative. Timing-only tools are discussed separately. The list is a practical shortlist, not an exhaustive survey of the App Store.

Alpenglow: a dedicated forecast across Apple devices

If you want a forecast to become a reminder to go outside, Alpenglow is a sensible place to investigate first. Its Pro page documents threshold-based notifications, forecast widgets and Watch complications. Decide which of those surfaces you would actually use before paying.

What you can verify

The model explanation says today’s forecast is free and a proprietary model uses ICON weather data. It describes a seven-day Pro horizon. The US App Store description still says four days, alongside an event promoting a seven-day widget. The exact entitlement therefore needs checking in the current app.

Price and limitation

The web Pro page displays $1.49 monthly, $12.49 yearly and $24.99 lifetime; confirm currency and the final offer at checkout. The US store lists several different purchase prices, so these are not interchangeable quotes. Both sources were reviewed on the date above.

Choose it for: connecting a colour outlook to an Apple-device routine. Look elsewhere if: you only need a quick browser answer or cannot justify the paid feature you want. Neither a longer horizon nor a more precise location proves greater forecast accuracy.

SkyCandy: compare the forecast and location limits

SkyCandy’s US listing describes a daily forecast at one location for free users. Premium adds up to five days, multiple saved locations, automatic quality alerts and a Today widget. That makes the location restriction worth checking if you regularly move between home and a photography spot.

Price and limitation

The purchase list shows US $2.99 monthly and $23.99 yearly, while the description says $29.99 yearly. We cannot establish which annual offer a new subscriber will receive from that page alone. Check the actual subscription screen before starting its advertised trial.

Choose it for: a forecast workflow that can expand to several places. Check carefully: that the widget and alert you want are available on your device and tier. “Today widget” should not be assumed to mean every modern Lock Screen widget.

The image is a publisher example, not a record of a prediction we observed. Its percentage should not be compared directly with another product’s differently defined quality score.

Helio: put a forecast beside community reports

Helio’s listing describes sunrise and sunset quality scores, weather information, a community-report map and predicted locations to explore. Premium extends the forecast range. This is an option to investigate if observations from other people are useful context for your own local view.

What still needs checking

The reviewed listing does not establish an exact free-versus-paid day count or the alert and widget entitlements. Its US purchases include $2.99 monthly and two annual entries, $19.99 and $24.99. Treat those as listed offers, not a guarantee of the price presented to you.

Choose it for: combining the app’s outlook with its community features. Check carefully: whether your area has useful recent reports. A feature can exist without having enough local participation to help you.

Compare the report’s time and location with your planned view. A photograph from another evening or the other side of a hill does not confirm what your own horizon will look like.

Skyfire: a forecast layer for photography planning

On iPhone and iPad, Skyfire is an additional subscription inside The Photographer’s Ephemeris. Its map-based approach is useful to investigate when the question is where promising light may occur, rather than only whether to step outside at home.

Coverage before cost

The iOS page lists the lower 48 US states, southern Canada and Europe. It describes Basic as today plus two days, and Plus as today plus four, or three in Canada, with configurable notifications. It advertises a trial and directs readers to the app for current pricing. Check both TPE’s purchase and the additional subscription.

The forecast explanation says the map describes colour over the map location. That is a useful distinction: the clouds you photograph may lie away from where you stand. Trace the relationship between your viewpoint, the subject and the predicted sky.

Choose it for: scouting within its supported area. Look elsewhere if: your destination is outside that coverage or you want a simpler, no-install check. The older publisher image illustrates the approach; it is not proof of the current interface or an independently verified forecast.

Sol on the web: an outlook you can act on now

Sol’s available web tools answer a smaller, immediate question: what does the next published sunset outlook say for a supported city, and how might you plan around it? You can read the forecast and its explanation without installing an app or joining the launch list.

Our published method considers forecast cloud layers at the location and along the direction of sunset. It expresses the result in words. That wording is an outlook, not a probability of a photograph you will like. A favourable forecast does not account for every obstruction, and a “little colour” forecast does not mean there is nothing worth seeing.

Use it as a starting point

1. Choose a city in the preview below.
2. Check the evening’s date and the forecast’s update time.
3. Read the explanation rather than stopping at the headline.
4. Open the city forecast or outing planner to continue.

Free: the browser forecast and planning tools. Limit: this preview uses published city data, not a forecast for every precise viewpoint. If the data is old or the evening has passed, it will say so instead of presenting the forecast as current.

Sol’s iPhone app is coming soon. This review does not count its planned native features as features you can download today. For an installed forecast with paid automatic alerts now, compare the native products above.

Check the next published outlook

Choose a city to see Sol’s published forecast, its date and when it was updated. No account or location permission is needed. This is a working example of one product’s output, not a comparison of forecast accuracy.

Turn the numbers into an evening plan

Here is a dated example from Sol’s published output, not a sunset we observed. For Washington, DC, on 27 September 2026, the calculation gives a 6:58 pm sunset toward 268° west. The forecast was produced on 26 September at 23:35 UTC; its forecast was “Little colour,” with ground fog and cloud blocking the light to the west in the explanation.

The practical decision is separate from the calculation. For a short walk, you may still enjoy the changing light. For a long photography trip, a quiet outlook and blocked horizon give you a reason to investigate further or choose another plan. The same sunset time can support either decision.

Before leaving, check a fresh outlook, your actual view and the conditions at the location. The outing planner brings timing into one place; its current result will differ from this historical example.

Archived example: date, times, forecast and calculation timestamp (JSON)

When a timing app is the better choice

If you already know where you want to be and only need the next light window, a colour forecast may not be the missing tool. Lumy focuses on following the sun on Apple devices. PhotoPills and Sun Surveyor are worth investigating for composition and sun-path planning.

Keep the comparison fair: a precise golden-hour time says when the sun reaches a defined angle. It does not say whether cloud will let the light through. Conversely, a promising colour forecast cannot tell you whether a building will hide your subject.

Our golden-hour app guide covers that different decision. If you only need times for a place and date, start with the free golden-hour calculator. For a portrait session, use those times with the wedding-photo planning guide rather than treating sunset itself as the appointment.

How to judge a forecast where you live

Do not choose an accuracy winner from one spectacular sunset or one disappointing evening. Decide what matters to you first: visible colour overhead, clouds in the direction of your photograph, or direct warm light on a subject. Those outcomes can disagree.

A useful personal record has five parts: the place and viewing direction; the forecast captured before the event; how far ahead it was issued; what was actually visible; and anything that blocked your view. Keep the ordinary and unsuccessful evenings as well as the impressive ones. A screenshot taken after sunset is not evidence of a successful advance prediction.

If you compare apps, use the same evening and location, and check them at the same lead time. Do not compare one app’s morning outlook with another’s update ten minutes before sunset. Keep each score’s definition attached to it. A quality score and a stated chance of colour are not automatically comparable.

Our documentation review cannot settle that question for you. It can help you select a workflow to try, understand what you would pay for, and recognise claims that still need evidence. For the physical reasons a forecast can change, read how to read a colourful sunset.

Questions before you choose