Bug Journal vs BugFine
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bug Journal
Document your insect discoveries with this virtual bug collection app. Capture photos, record field notes with automatic date and location data, and organize your findings. Features an interactive identification tool and educational bug information.
- Virtual bug collection
- Photo capture with notes
- Automatic date and location tagging
- Interactive bug identification tool
- Bug information lookup
- Exportable reports for school projects
Read full descriptionHide full description
Bug Journal is a virtual bug collection. You will be able to take pictures and record field notes. Date and location are automatically stored with the photo. Sort the journal by date, name or species. Any journal entry can be exported as a printed report or air-dropped to another iPhone. Reports were made with school projects in mind! Bug Journal has an interactive identification tool built in. Simply answer a couple questions about the bug and the app will narrow down the possibilities. You will also be able to look up the various bugs for more information. If you are interested in the latest news about bugs, there are 5 news feeds you can look at.
BugFine
This app helps users document their insect catches with detailed records, including location and timestamp. Earn stamps for your collections and easily review past entries. It's designed for educational purposes, allowing users to discover new aspects of entomology.
- Record insect catches
- Educational insect discovery
- Earn stamps for collections
- Review past entries
- Location and timestamp data
- Personal data privacy
Read full descriptionHide full description
Collecting insects is more enjoyable with BugFine!! - Take records about insects that you catch, and you may find new things on your own for education. - The more you catch and record it on BugFine, the more you get stamps. - You can easily choose values such as the name, size, and spot which you input in the past. - Location and timestamp information is retrievable if a photo has proper EXIF. - Personal and location information is NOT uploaded.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Bug Journal at 3.7 against BugFine's 3.0. Bug Journal also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). BugFine's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. BugFine sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Bug Journal asks for nothing beyond the download.
Bug Journal holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Bug Journal's written reviews are positive against 100% of BugFine's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Bug Journal ships an update every 3 months, BugFine every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bug Journal | BugFine |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (3 ratings) — better | 3.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 98 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | David Johnson | SHINY A LLC |
Customer experience
Bug Journal
BugFine
In-app purchases
Bug Journal
No in-app purchases
BugFine
- Premium Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Premium Quarterly7 Days trial$4.993 Months
