Solace vs Sundown: Which Mac Warmth App Is Better?

What is Sundown?

Sundown is a macOS blue-light filtering app built by the team behind Ra Optics, a company known for its blue-light-blocking glasses. It focuses on one job: reducing blue light and screen flicker in the evening to support better sleep.

Key features:

• Deep colour warmth, down to around 500K, well past Night Shift's 2700K floor
• Flicker-free dimming using gamma curves instead of pulse-width modulation
• Auto-sunset scheduling that turns warmth on and off with local sunrise and sunset
• Six built-in presets plus a single warmth slider
• No account or usage tracking required

Sundown's pricing is subscription-first: $4.99 a month, $39 a year, or a $79 lifetime option, with a 7-day free trial before billing begins. There is no App Store listing; it is a direct download from trysundown.com.

Sundown does not offer dark mode scheduling, wallpaper switching, or weather-aware appearance changes. Its scope is narrow and deliberate: colour temperature and screen flicker, and nothing beyond that.

What is Solace?

Solace is a macOS menu bar app that combines dark mode scheduling, colour temperature control, wallpaper management, and weather-aware switching in a single tool.

Key features:

• Dark mode scheduling (solar, custom times, or weather-aware)
• Evening Warmth (built-in colour temperature reduction, independent of Night Shift)
• Wallpaper sync (separate wallpapers for light and dark mode)
• Global keyboard shortcut
• Multi-display support
• Zero data collection
• One-time purchase ($4.99, no subscription, ever)

Solace's Evening Warmth runs independently of Night Shift, so it is not limited by Apple's colour range, and it works alongside the app's other appearance features rather than as a standalone tool.

Feature comparison

Solace is a one-time $4.99 purchase, works on up to 3 Macs, and includes free updates. Sundown bills $4.99 a month or $39 a year after a 7-day trial, with an optional $79 lifetime tier.

When to choose Sundown

Sundown is the better choice if:

• Deep warmth customisation (down to around 500K) and flicker-free dimming matter more to you than any other feature
• You want to try the tool for a week before spending anything, using the 7-day trial
• You would rather pay monthly or yearly and cancel any time than commit to owning an app outright
• Colour warmth is genuinely the only thing you need. Dark mode scheduling, wallpaper switching, and weather awareness are not on your list

Sundown's warmth engine goes deeper than most alternatives, and coming from a team focused on blue-light research gives it real credibility in that one area. If warmth control is the whole job, Sundown does it well.

When to choose Solace

Solace is the better choice if:

• You want to pay once and be done, rather than a recurring subscription or a $79 lifetime upsell
• Dark mode scheduling on its own, not tied to a sunset filter, matters to you
• You want wallpaper syncing and weather-aware switching alongside warmth control
• You would rather run one app for appearance, warmth, and wallpaper than stack several separate tools

The core difference: Sundown is a subscription warmth filter with a lifetime upgrade path. Solace is a one-time purchase that covers warmth plus dark mode, wallpaper, and weather in a single app.

The verdict

Sundown is a legitimate, actively developed app, and its depth on colour warmth (roughly 500K reach, flicker-free dimming, six presets) is a real strength, especially for anyone who found Night Shift or f.lux too limited on that front. But its pricing sits at $4.99 a month, $39 a year, or $79 for lifetime access, with a 7-day trial before any of that kicks in. That is a different commitment to a single $4.99 payment.

Solace costs $4.99 once, covers colour warmth as well as dark mode scheduling, wallpaper syncing, and weather-aware switching, and collects no data. If narrow, deep warmth control is genuinely all you are after and paying monthly or upgrading to a lifetime licence does not bother you, Sundown fits. If you want broader appearance control for less money overall, Solace is the simpler pick.

Frequently asked questions