SunSafe Alternatives: 6 UV and Tanning Apps for iPhone (2026)

The best SunSafe alternative depends on what you want SunSafe to do differently. As of October 2026, Shade is the pick if you want an estimated burn time that counts down on your Lock Screen and Apple Watch, UV Index Widget – Worldwide is the closest like-for-like swap for forecasts, widgets and Apple Health, Beam Tanning and Tan AI are built around tanning routines, and UVLens or Apple Weather cover the UV index without a subscription.

SunSafe: UV Index & Tanning, from Brilliant Apps Sweden, is one of the most popular apps in the category, with nearly 11,000 US ratings averaging 4.8 as of October 2026. Its listing describes real-time UV, a 10-day UV forecast, high-UV alerts, sunburn risk based on your skin type, sunscreen reminders, personalized tanning routines, exposure tracking with a Live Activity, vitamin D tracking, and Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. Exposure tracking and tanning guidance need a SunSafe Pro subscription. It’s a good app. People usually look elsewhere for one of four reasons: they want an Apple Watch app, they’d rather see one clear number than follow a routine, they want to avoid a subscription, or they want an app in another language.

Every app below was checked against its current US App Store page in October 2026. Ratings and features change often, so treat this as a snapshot.

Quick comparison

App	Best for	Apple Watch	Skin type	Pricing model
SunSafe	Tanning routines and a 10-day forecast	Not listed	Your skin type	Free download, SunSafe Pro subscription
Shade	Burn-time countdown during a session	Yes, with complications	Fitzpatrick I–VI, picked by you	Free tier, optional Shade Plus
UV Index Widget – Worldwide	Widgets, 7-day hourly forecast, Health logging	Yes, with complications	Your skin type	Free with ads, optional Pro
Beam Tanning	Goal-based tanning routines	Listed as supported	On-device photo analysis	UV index free, routines paid
Tan AI	Selfie skin scan and AI chat	Not listed	Selfie analysis	Free with ads, optional subscription
UVLens	A free UV forecast and burn risk	Not listed	Short quiz	Free, no in-app purchases listed
Apple Weather	Checking the UV index	Yes	Not asked	Built in

1. Shade — best if you want a burn-time countdown

Shade is the app we make, so weigh this entry with that in mind. Where SunSafe gives you routines to follow, Shade centres on one number: your estimated burn time, meaning how long until your skin is likely to start burning. It reads the live and hourly UV index for your location from Apple Weather, asks for your Fitzpatrick skin type (I–VI) and whether you’re bare, wearing sunscreen or covered up, and follows WHO UV Index guidance and standard minimal erythemal dose values, with a margin below the threshold. Sunscreen is counted far below the SPF number on the bottle, because most people apply less than the amount used in testing.

Start a session when you lie down and Shade counts down using the hourly UV forecast, with turn-over cues, a reapply reminder every two hours when you’re wearing sunscreen, and a heads-up before your estimated burn time. You can follow it on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, or on your wrist with the Apple Watch app. There’s no account to create.

Where SunSafe is stronger: SunSafe has a 10-day forecast, multiple saved locations, step-by-step routines, a far longer track record, and runs on iOS 17. Shade needs iOS 26, its interface is in English, and it has no routines. The free tier covers the live UV index, burn-time estimate, widgets and your first full session; Shade Plus unlocks unlimited sessions, Live Activity, Watch session controls and the rest. For a feature-by-feature view, see Shade vs SunSafe.

2. UV Index Widget – Worldwide — closest match for forecasts and widgets

If what you use most in SunSafe is the forecast and the widgets, UV Index Widget – Worldwide from Bjorn Jenssen is the nearest swap. It had about 14,500 US ratings averaging 4.8 in October 2026. It shows the current UV index, today’s peak and a 7-day hour-by-hour forecast, lets you save places around the world, and has Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. A My Skin section takes your skin type for tips, sunburn-risk alerts and sun exposure tracking. It logs hourly UV and vitamin D estimates to Apple Health, and its Apple Watch app includes the forecast, My Skin and watch-face complications.

The App Store lists it as containing ads, with optional Pro in-app purchases.

Pick it if you mainly want UV numbers everywhere, including your watch face, rather than tanning routines.

3. Beam Tanning — best for goal-based routines

If you like SunSafe’s routines and want something similar, Beam Tanning from Titano Digital is the most-rated app in the category, with more than 16,000 US ratings averaging 4.7 as of October 2026. The UV index for your current location is free. With a subscription you set the tone you’re aiming for and follow a custom routine. Beam processes face photos on your device to estimate skin attributes, and its listing says UV data comes from Apple Weather. The App Store lists Apple Watch among its supported devices.

Pick it if you want a routine with a target, much like SunSafe Pro. More detail in Shade vs Beam.

4. Tan AI — best for selfie scans and questions

Tan AI had about 3,900 US ratings averaging 4.9 as of October 2026. You take a selfie, it estimates your skin tone and undertone, and it builds a routine with flip reminders, SPF reminders and UV alerts. It also shows a 16-day UV forecast, tracks progress with photo comparisons, and has an AI chat assistant. It’s free with ads, and a subscription removes them and unlocks the full feature set. It’s localized into more than 30 languages, including Italian, which SunSafe (English, Portuguese and Spanish) isn’t.

Pick it if you want photo-based tracking or an app in your own language. See Shade vs Tan AI.

5. UVLens — best free option with a burn-risk estimate

UVLens from ElementX shows the UV index forecast for the day and when to cover up or seek shade. A short skin-type quiz gives you an estimate of how quickly you could burn without sunscreen, and the app adds a reapply reminder and a Home Screen widget. As of October 2026 it’s free with no in-app purchases listed, runs on iPhone and iPad, and is localized into 10 languages. It has far fewer ratings than SunSafe (244 in the US, averaging 3.3).

Pick it if you want burn risk and a forecast without paying anything. Compare it in Shade vs UVLens.

6. Apple Weather — best if you only need the number

The Weather app already on your iPhone shows the UV index in each location’s details, and it’s on your Apple Watch too. It’s free and needs no setup. It doesn’t know your skin type, won’t time a session and won’t remind you to reapply sunscreen. Several apps here, Shade and Beam included, use Apple Weather’s UV data and build on it. More in Shade vs Apple Weather.

How to choose

• You want an Apple Watch app: Shade, UV Index Widget and Beam list Watch support; Apple Weather has it built in.
• You want one number, not a routine: Shade shows an estimated burn time and counts it down.
• You like SunSafe’s routines: Beam and Tan AI follow the same idea with different twists.
• You don’t want a subscription: UVLens and Apple Weather, or Shade’s free tier.

For a wider look at the category, see our best tanning apps in 2026. If you want to see how skin type and the UV index change the estimate before you download anything, try the burn-time calculator.