Rain Bird vs MSU Irrigation
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Rain Bird
Control your sprinklers remotely from your mobile device. Automate watering schedules and adjust for weather conditions to conserve water and reduce costs. Compatible with various Rain Bird controller models.
- Remote sprinkler control
- Customizable watering schedules
- Automated weather adjustments
- Water and money saving
- Controller model compatibility
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Smart Watering Made Simple. Connect your Rain Bird controller to your mobile device to turn on sprinklers, set up customized watering schedules, and automate weather adjustments, saving you water and money. Compatible with the following Rain Bird controller models: ST8-WIFI ESP-TM2 ESP-RZXe ESP-Me ESP-ME3 RC2 ARC8 For more information: http://wifi.rainbird.com 1-800-RAINBIRD
MSU Irrigation
Plan and log irrigation field by field with data-driven recommendations. Get daily insights based on weather, ET, and crop/soil conditions. Collaborate with your team to ensure everyone is aligned on irrigation schedules.
- Field-by-field irrigation management
- Daily recommendations based on weather and ET
- Crop and soil data integration
- Irrigation schedule tracking
- Team collaboration features
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Manage irrigation with data, not guesswork. MSU Irrigation helps you plan and log irrigation field by field. Get daily recommendations based on weather, ET, and your crop and soil. Add fields, track schedules, and invite your team so everyone stays on the same page.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Rain Bird at 70K against MSU Irrigation's 3. Rain Bird also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). MSU Irrigation's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MSU Irrigation holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rain Bird has 70K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Rain Bird ships an update every 2 months, MSU Irrigation every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and June 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Rain Bird | MSU Irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (70K ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 31.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 70K — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 82 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rain Bird Corporation | MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY |
Customer experience
Rain Bird
MSU Irrigation
Bugs and requests
Rain Bird
Reported bugs
5 issues- Constant connection errors
- App crashes frequently
- Date/time not syncing correctly
- Seasonal adjustment not working as expected
- Manual controls not functioning properly
Requested features
6 requests- Add water usage history and analytics
- Allow pausing of individual zones
- Improve manual control options
- Add weather integration and smart scheduling
- Improve notification system
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- Add ability to turn off entire system remotely
MSU Irrigation
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Rain Bird
No in-app purchases
MSU Irrigation
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Rain Bird free?
Is MSU Irrigation free?
Which has better reviews, Rain Bird or MSU Irrigation?
Do Rain Bird or MSU Irrigation have ads?
Which is updated more often, Rain Bird or MSU Irrigation?
Other comparisons
