Nature's Notebook vs Foldscope
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Nature's Notebook
Record observations of plant and animal life cycles, such as flowering and migration. Mark observation sites, create species lists, and log seasonal changes in nature.
- Record plant and animal life cycle events
- Mark observation sites
- Create species lists
- Log seasonal observations
- Citizen science program
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Nature's Notebook is a program for observing and recording plant and animal life cycle events, like flowering and bird migration. Use this app to mark your sites, create a list of plants and animals, and going into the field to record observations throughout the seasons. Find out more at www.usanpn.org/nn/guidelines.
Foldscope
This app allows users to capture, focus, and scale images taken through a specialized lens. It also provides a platform for sharing these images and text posts with a global community of users. Explore and discover microscopic worlds through shared content.
- Capture and focus microscopic images
- Scale images through the lens
- Share images and text posts
- Browse global user posts
- Explore the Microcosmos community
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Use the Foldscope app to scale and focus your images while using the Foldscope! - Capture, focus, and scale images through the Lens - Share your images and text posts on Microcosmos - Browse Microcosmos to explore posts from Foldscopers around the world
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Foldscope at 5.0 against Nature's Notebook's 3.1. Nature's Notebook's advantage is ratings volume (26 vs 2) 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.
Foldscope holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nature's Notebook has 26 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Nature's Notebook ships an update every 3 weeks, Foldscope every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on July 7, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Nature's Notebook | Foldscope |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.1 (26 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 26 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 47 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | National Phenology Network | Foldscope Intruments, Inc |
Customer experience
Nature's Notebook
Foldscope
In-app purchases
Nature's Notebook
No in-app purchases
Foldscope
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Nature's Notebook free?
Is Foldscope free?
Which has better reviews, Nature's Notebook or Foldscope?
Do Nature's Notebook or Foldscope have ads?
Which is updated more often, Nature's Notebook or Foldscope?
Other comparisons
