Bad Elf Flex vs Urban Tree Key
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bad Elf Flex
This utility app enhances the functionality of Bad Elf Flex and Flex Mini GNSS receivers. It allows users to monitor hardware health, adjust settings, and update firmware. For the Flex model, it also enables the purchase and application of tokens for advanced features and correction sources like SBAS and RTK.
- Monitor GNSS receiver health
- Change hardware settings
- Perform firmware updates
- Purchase and load Flex Tokens
- Enable hardware-based features
- Access correction sources
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This is the free companion utility app for the flexible, intuitive, and affordable Bad Elf Flex and Flex Mini GNSS receivers. Designed for GIS and survey professionals, the Bad Elf Flex and Flex Mini connect to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth and provide high-accuracy location data to ANY and ALL field data collection apps in your workflow. This app allows you to view the health of the Flex and Flex Mini hardware, change settings, and perform firmware updates. For the Bad Elf Flex, the app also supports purchasing and loading Flex Tokens into the hardware for enabling hardware-based features and correction sources. Several correction sources are supported including SBAS, RTK via NTRIP, and Atlas (L-band) satellite corrections. Visit https://bad-elf.com/ to learn more about the Bad Elf Flex and Flex Mini GNSS receivers. NOTES: * This app requires a Bad Elf Flex or Flex Mini to operate. * Our "Bad Elf GPS" companion app supports our legacy mapping-grade receivers: Bad Elf GPS Pro, GPS Pro+, Surveyor, and GPS for Lightning dongle. * Continued use of the GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
Urban Tree Key
Identify common urban tree species in California and the Western U.S. with this intuitive tool. It uses photos and simple questions about tree characteristics to guide you to the correct species, providing detailed information for each.
- Tree species identification
- Photo-based guidance
- Leaf and bark analysis
- Detailed species information
- Native range and care tips
- Glossary of terms
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The Urban Tree Key is a tool for identifying the most common urban tree species in California and the Western U.S. A series of reference photos and simple questions about leaves, bark, tree shape etc. intuitively guide the user to identification. They key will help you identify a tree on the spot, and learn the species for future encounters. Each species in the key has a detailed page including additional photos and information about the tree, such as its native range, considerations for planting and care, and more. All technical terms are simply defined in the linked glossary.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Urban Tree Key at 5.0 against Bad Elf Flex's 3.6. Urban Tree Key also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months). Bad Elf Flex's advantage is ratings volume (14 vs 2). 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.
Urban Tree Key holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bad Elf Flex has 14 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Bad Elf Flex ships an update every 2 months, Urban Tree Key every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bad Elf Flex | Urban Tree Key |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (14 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 64 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bad Elf, LLC. | Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute |
In-app purchases
Bad Elf Flex
No in-app purchases
Urban Tree Key
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Bad Elf Flex free?
Is Urban Tree Key free?
Which has better reviews, Bad Elf Flex or Urban Tree Key?
Do Bad Elf Flex or Urban Tree Key have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bad Elf Flex or Urban Tree Key?
Other comparisons
