TreeSnap vs MISIN Field Observer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TreeSnap
Contribute to vital tree research by identifying and tagging healthy trees in your area. Your data helps scientists study genetic diversity and develop better tree breeding programs to combat invasive diseases and pests.
- Identify and tag trees
- Contribute to scientific research
- Support forest health initiatives
- Locate trees for genetic studies
- Aid tree breeding programs
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Help Our Nation’s Trees! Invasive diseases and pests threaten the health of America’s forests. Scientists are working to understand what allows some individual trees to survive, but they need to find healthy, resilient trees in the forest to study. That’s where concerned foresters, landowners, and citizens (you!) can help. Tag trees you find in your community, on your property, or out in the wild using TreeSnap! Scientists will use the data you collect to locate trees for research projects like studying the genetic diversity of tree species and building better tree breeding programs.
MISIN Field Observer
Contribute to invasive species detection by submitting field observation data. The app allows for offline data capture, including GPS, photos, and species identification. Your contributions help track threats and inform management decisions.
- Offline observation submission
- Species catalog with photos and descriptions
- Interactive species map
- Personal report history
- Invasive species identification quiz
- Earn achievement badges
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The MISIN smartphone app provides a mobile solution for the capture of invasive species field observation data. You can play an important role in the early detection and rapid response to new invasive threats in your area by contributing invasive species observations to the MISIN database. These data are then shared with an emerging network of database efforts for the tracking of invasive threats and are used by land managers to help make informed decisions regarding the management and impact of invasive species. Your data can be browsed through the MISIN website at: https://www.misin.msu.edu. Features • Submit observations offline. GPS, photos, species — queued locally, uploaded when online. - Sync queue. • See pending/failed uploads, retry or delete, get a results summary after sync. • Species catalog. Browse, search, and filter invasives; each species has photos, descriptions, and look-alikes. • Species map. Clustered observation map with layer switcher and year-range slider. • Nearby species. Ranked list of what's been reported near you, with radius and time sliders. • Quick capture. Shortlist your common species for one-tap reporting. • Dashboard. Alerts, daily summary, trending species, and location stats on one home screen. • My observations. Personal report history with verification-status badges. • Badges. Earn 16 server-managed badges for reporting, quizzing, and exploring. • Species quiz. Photo-based invasive ID quiz with progress tracking. The MISIN Invasive Species reporting smart phone application was developed by the Applied Spatial Ecology and Technical Services Laboratory at Michigan State University.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: MISIN Field Observer at 5.0 against TreeSnap's 4.6. TreeSnap's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (19 vs 3). 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.
MISIN Field Observer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TreeSnap has 19 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
TreeSnap ships an update every 3 weeks, MISIN Field Observer every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TreeSnap | MISIN Field Observer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (19 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 19 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 134 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | University of Tennessee | Applied Spatial Ecology and Technical Services |
Customer experience
TreeSnap
MISIN Field Observer
In-app purchases
TreeSnap
No in-app purchases
MISIN Field Observer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is TreeSnap free?
Is MISIN Field Observer free?
Which has better reviews, TreeSnap or MISIN Field Observer?
Do TreeSnap or MISIN Field Observer have ads?
Which is updated more often, TreeSnap or MISIN Field Observer?
Other comparisons
