Comparison

AUT vs iNaturalist

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

Head to head
About

AUT

Access campus news, events, and personal academic information. Navigate student life with interactive maps, class schedules, and job listings. Stay connected with community chat and personalized notifications.

Highlights
  • Personal class timetable
  • Customized news and events feed
  • Interactive campus maps
  • Student job listings
  • Community chat with chatbot
  • Real-time computer lab availability
Features
Read full description

With the official AUT App, you have access to up-to-date news, events and information about AUT anytime, anywhere. New tools and functionality allow you to navigate student life at AUT both physically and virtually. By logging in with your student Network ID you’ll be able to: • See your personal class timetable • Access a customised feed of news and events • Add events and activities to direct to your schedule • Get quick access to your grades • Receive timely and personalised notifications direct to you • Engage in community chat, including AUT’s chatbot Tua • Make use of interactive campus maps and navigation • Check the live shuttle bus schedule • See and apply for student jobs • Launch an enquiry with Student Hub • Be guided on how to develop your Pepeha and gain confidence in Te Reo • See real-time computer lab availability • And more! Auckland University of Technology Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makaurau is committed to enhancing student communications across our 30,000 students. The app allows AUT to send meaningful notifications along with in-app messages relevant to you, reducing the volume of email and one size fits all communications. The AUT Student App provides endless tools to engage with you and support you on your student journey. Plus, got a great idea to add to the app – let us know. The app was built in-house by AUT Grads keen to develop and deliver new functionality to serve you, our awesome student community.

About

iNaturalist

Identify plants, animals, and fungi using your camera or imported photos. Get AI-powered species suggestions and connect with a global community of nature enthusiasts to learn more about the natural world and contribute to scientific conservation efforts.

Highlights
  • AI species identification
  • Record species observations
  • Contribute to scientific data
  • Explore biodiversity
  • Connect with nature enthusiasts
Currently charting
Read full description

Your photos of plants, animals, fungi, and more can help protect nature all around the world. iNaturalist is free, nonprofit, and community-powered. iNaturalist helps millions of people learn about and document the nature around them. Point your camera at plants, animals, and fungi to get instant identification suggestions, then share your photos or sound recordings as an "observation." Then, see your observation get reviewed by a global community of knowledgeable nature-lovers to turn it into a useful data point for science and conservation efforts. Your everyday moments of curiosity can directly contribute to protecting nature, and you don't need any previous experience or knowledge to get started. iNaturalist is a mission-driven nonprofit dedicated to connecting people to nature and advancing biodiversity science and conservation, and is freely available thanks to the generous support of our community. KEY FEATURES • Identify species from anywhere in the world • Contribute to science by sharing your observations • Keep a record of species you see • Explore and protect biodiversity • Connect with and learn from other nature enthusiasts

Screenshots

AUT4 screens
iNaturalist4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: AUT at 5.0 against iNaturalist's 4.1. AUT also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). iNaturalist's advantage is ratings volume (684 vs 1) and review sentiment (49% vs 30%). 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

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

AUT holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iNaturalist has 684 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 30% of AUT's written reviews are positive against 49% of iNaturalist's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AUT ships an update every 5 weeks, iNaturalist fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
AUT versus iNaturalist: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAUTiNaturalist
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.1 (684 ratings)
Positive reviews30.0% of reviews48.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1684 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank—#88 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB220 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAuckland University of TechnologyiNaturalist

Customer experience

AUT

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive30.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative60.0%

iNaturalist

All ratings684 ratings
Positive72.2%
Neutral8.9%
Negative18.9%
Written reviews446 reviews
Positive48.7%
Neutral15.2%
Negative36.1%

Bugs and requests

AUT

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

iNaturalist

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App freezes when suggesting IDs on audio clips
  • Inconsistent tap responsiveness in search menu
  • Observation time not accurately filling based on upload time
  • Map showing incorrect observation locations
  • Crashes and performance issues on some devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to type in address/coordinates for location
  • Option to add observations to projects during upload
  • Batch editing/uploading of observations
  • More precise search filters (e.g. aquatic, parasitic, migratory)
  • Bring back colored observation markers on map

In-app purchases

None

AUT

No in-app purchases

None

iNaturalist

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AUT free?
AUT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is iNaturalist free?
iNaturalist is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AUT or iNaturalist?
AUT is rated higher. AUT averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while iNaturalist averages 4.1 from 684 ratings.
Do AUT or iNaturalist have ads?
Neither AUT nor iNaturalist shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AUT or iNaturalist?
AUT ships an update every 5 weeks, and iNaturalist fortnightly. Most recently, AUT was updated on October 6, 2026 and iNaturalist on October 19, 2026.

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