Comparison

Encyclopedia vs InsectLens

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Encyclopedia

This app offers a comprehensive offline encyclopedia of World War II, featuring thousands of articles, HD photos, and an intuitive interface. It's designed for all ages, from children learning history to enthusiasts seeking detailed information, and includes a badge system to encourage reading.

Highlights
  • Thousands of articles
  • High-definition photos
  • Simple organization
  • Offline availability
  • Badge collection system
  • Suitable for all ages
Features
Read full description

Study World War II through 1,200 illustrated reference articles about major battles, campaigns, people, equipment and the conflict's historical context. MORE IMAGES, COMPLETE CREDITS Explore additional openly licensed and public-domain photos and illustrations. Image source, creator and licence credits are available offline in the app. START WITH FIVE FREE ARTICLES New readers can choose any five different articles. Your chosen articles stay unlocked, and revisiting them never uses another choice. Existing readers keep previously granted access. MAKE DISCOVERIES YOUR OWN • Search article titles and full text • Follow links between related topics • Save articles and return to your reading position • Continue recent reading and track your progress • Explore connections through the timeline and graph • Find article sources and image credits inside the app CHOOSE YOUR ACCESS Own the full encyclopedia with a one-time purchase for complete offline reading. Or choose monthly or annual Premium for the full encyclopedia plus AI chat grounded in this subject's articles. Eligible new Premium subscribers receive a three-day introductory trial. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled through your App Store account. Current local prices and terms appear before purchase. Restore Purchases recovers eligible previous purchases. Earlier full-version ownership includes encyclopedia and offline access; Premium AI requires a subscription. Internet access is required for AI chat and purchases. AI answers may contain errors; consult the linked sources. Article text is derived from Wikipedia. Images come from appropriately licensed Wikimedia Commons and other open sources. Source links, licenses and credits are available in the app. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Historical reference includes warfare, persecution and accounts of atrocities.

About

InsectLens

Identify insects and spiders instantly by pointing your camera. Get clear safety information, learn about their role in your garden, and track your discoveries with a personal log. Explore the natural world around you with detailed species profiles.

Highlights
  • Instant insect identification
  • Safety level assessment
  • Garden friend/foe identification
  • Detailed species profiles
  • Personal observation log
  • Naturalist badge system
Features
Read full description

Will it bite? Will it sting? Is it even dangerous? Point your camera at a beetle on the path, a butterfly in the garden, or the mystery bug crawling across the kitchen floor, and InsectLens names it, explains it, and gives you a clear safety answer — harmless, use caution, or stay back — in seconds. WHY PEOPLE KEEP IT ON THE HOME SCREEN Identify the bug, common name and scientific name. Snap a photo and InsectLens matches the most likely species — butterflies, beetles, bees and wasps, ants, true bugs, dragonflies, grasshoppers, moths, and the spiders and other crawlers people meet alongside them. You get the everyday name plus the scientific name, and a confidence indicator so you know how sure the match is. Know if it bites, stings, or is harmless. Every find shows a clear safety level — harmless, use caution, or stay back — written in plain language. Read whether a species can bite or sting, how much a sting tends to hurt, when an allergic reaction is a real risk, and the calm, sensible thing to do. No more frantic searching while a kid asks "is it dangerous?" Tell a garden friend from a garden foe. Ladybirds and lacewings devour aphids; honey bees and hoverflies pollinate; some caterpillars chew your seedlings. InsectLens explains whether the insect in front of you helps your plants or harms them, so you can welcome the allies and manage the pests without reaching for spray on sight. Learn the living creature, not just its name. Each species profile covers what it eats, where it lives, its life cycle from egg to adult, when it is active, how to tell it from look-alikes, and its conservation status — written for a curious mind, eight years old or eighty. Keep an observation log you'll actually return to. Save every bug you identify into a personal log on your device, with the place and date you spotted it. Watch your list of species grow across seasons, fill out the orders and families you've met, and earn naturalist badges as your log expands. The specimen stays alive on its leaf — only the record comes home with you. HOW IT WORKS 1. Snap or pick a photo of the insect (get close, keep it in focus). 2. InsectLens matches the most likely species with a confidence indicator — confirm it or adjust by hand. 3. Read the safety level, whether it bites or stings, and whether it helps or harms a garden. 4. Save it to your observation log and keep exploring. A NOTE ON SAFETY InsectLens is an educational identification and nature-learning tool, not medical or pest-control advice. A photo match can be wrong, especially for look-alike species, so never handle a bug you are unsure about, and treat any creature cautiously when identity is uncertain. For bites, stings, or allergic reactions, contact a medical professional. For an infestation, contact a licensed pest-control specialist. PRIVACY YOU CAN READ We use PostHog for limited product analytics and AppsFlyer to measure installations and ads for our apps. Eligible event data may be shared with Meta for advertising measurement and optimization under applicable privacy controls. Photos and recognition content are not used for advertising. See our Privacy Policy for details. SUBSCRIPTION InsectLens Pro is an auto-renewing subscription, offered weekly and annually (for example $12.99 per week or $89.99 per year; promotional annual pricing may be shown at times). Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically at the same price and period unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Prices may vary by region. Terms of Use: https://insectlens.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://insectlens.com/privacy Point your camera at the next bug you meet — and finally know what it is and whether it's safe.

Screenshots

Encyclopedia4 screens
InsectLens4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: InsectLens at 5.0 against Encyclopedia's 4.4. Encyclopedia's advantage is ratings volume (15 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Encyclopedia sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and InsectLens sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

InsectLens holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Encyclopedia has 15 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Encyclopedia ships an update weekly, InsectLens every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Encyclopedia versus InsectLens: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEncyclopediaInsectLens
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (15 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings15 — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size501 MB147 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperGood Spider, LLC懿峰 吕

Customer experience

Encyclopedia

All ratings15 ratings
Positive86.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

InsectLens

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Encyclopedia

One-time1
  • Full Version$9.99
4 purchases

InsectLens

Subscriptions4
  • InsectLens Pro 周订阅$12.997 Days
  • InsectLens Pro 年订阅优惠$59.991 Year
  • InsectLens Pro 年订阅回归优惠$69.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • InsectLens Pro 年订阅$89.991 Year

Questions

Is Encyclopedia free?
Encyclopedia is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is InsectLens free?
InsectLens is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Encyclopedia or InsectLens?
InsectLens is rated higher. Encyclopedia averages 4.4 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while InsectLens averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Encyclopedia or InsectLens have ads?
Neither Encyclopedia nor InsectLens shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Encyclopedia or InsectLens?
Encyclopedia ships an update weekly, and InsectLens every 9 days. Most recently, Encyclopedia was updated on October 11, 2026 and InsectLens on October 15, 2026.

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