Comparison

Zooniverse vs OpenLitterMap

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

Head to head
About

Zooniverse

Participate in real scientific research by classifying data for projects across various disciplines. Contribute to discoveries and datasets that advance knowledge, all from your mobile device. This platform connects volunteers with professional researchers for impactful citizen science.

Highlights
  • People-powered research platform
  • Volunteer opportunities
  • Access to mobile-friendly projects
  • Push notification updates
  • View publications
  • Contribute to scientific discoveries
Features
Read full description

The Zooniverse is the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research. This research is made possible by volunteers—hundreds of thousands of people around the world who come together to assist professional researchers. Our goal is to enable research that would not be possible, or practical, otherwise. Zooniverse research results in new discoveries, datasets useful to the wider research community, and many publications. The Zooniverse Mobile App provides push notification updates about our projects, as well as access to our most mobile-friendly projects and publications.

About

OpenLitterMap

Contribute to a global database of litter and plastic pollution by taking photos and tagging them. The interactive map visualizes pollution data, allowing users to create custom tags and see live updates. Participate in a worldwide competition to collect the most data.

Highlights
  • Interactive global litter map
  • Photo tagging of pollution
  • Customizable tag creation
  • Live map updates
  • Open source data
  • Country-based data collection competition
Features
Read full description

OpenLitterMap is an open source, interactive, and accessible database of the world's litter and plastic pollution. Just take a photo and tag it with our app. Litter is the first application of this real-time data collection platform. For the last 8+ years we have been crowdsourcing data to help train the OpenLitterAI to help with detection and classification. You can extend our pre-defined list of tags with your own custom tags. Just type in whatever you want and press enter. Keep the global map open to see live updates. If you click on a notification, you will be zoomed to the data that was just recorded. Copy the URL to get a link that can send anyone to any photo. Our code & data is open and accessible. Anyone can download our data for free, and use it for any purpose. This is necessary to bring transparency and democracy to science on pollution. As you tag litter, you help your country compete at the #LitterWorldCup to see who can collect the most data. By default, all users are anonymous. However, you can make your name or username appear on the map or leaderboards and compete for a position. You can also add your social media links which will appear on each upload. Like getting upvoted, the more data you upload means the more visibility you will get! Follow us on social media to keep up to date with all of the latest updates and developments.

Screenshots

Zooniverse4 screens
OpenLitterMap4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Zooniverse at none against OpenLitterMap's shown. Zooniverse also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and ratings volume (37 vs 9). OpenLitterMap's advantage is review sentiment (83% vs 59%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.7 for Zooniverse against 3.6 for OpenLitterMap. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 37 and 9 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 59% of Zooniverse's written reviews are positive against 83% of OpenLitterMap's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zooniverse ships an update every 2 months, OpenLitterMap every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 14, 2026 and June 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Zooniverse versus OpenLitterMap: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZooniverseOpenLitterMap
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (37 ratings) — better3.6 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews58.8% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings37 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB47 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperZooniverseSean Lynch

Customer experience

Zooniverse

All ratings37 ratings
Positive70.3%
Neutral5.4%
Negative24.3%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive58.8%
Neutral11.8%
Negative29.4%

OpenLitterMap

All ratings9 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

None

Zooniverse

No in-app purchases

None

OpenLitterMap

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Zooniverse free?
Zooniverse is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OpenLitterMap free?
OpenLitterMap is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Zooniverse or OpenLitterMap?
Zooniverse is rated higher. Zooniverse averages 3.7 out of 5 from 37 ratings, while OpenLitterMap averages 3.6 from 9 ratings.
Do Zooniverse or OpenLitterMap have ads?
OpenLitterMap shows ads; Zooniverse does not.
Which is updated more often, Zooniverse or OpenLitterMap?
Zooniverse ships an update every 2 months, and OpenLitterMap every 3 weeks. Most recently, Zooniverse was updated on September 14, 2026 and OpenLitterMap on June 20, 2026.

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