Comparison

AC Pocket Guide vs Insecta

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

Head to head
About

AC Pocket Guide

This companion app helps players track fish, insects, and flowers in their island life game. It provides detailed information on each item, including selling price, occurrence times, and locations. Supports multiple languages and hemispheres, with offline functionality.

Highlights
  • Comprehensive fish and insect lists
  • Detailed occurrence and selling price data
  • Sorting and searching capabilities
  • Multi-language support
  • Northern and Southern Hemisphere support
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Start a new life on an island is not easy! Fortunately AC Pocket Guide is your best friend/companion when you play the game. * Fish list includes 80 fish, including fish name, selling price, time of occurrence, place of occurrence, best seasons to catch, etc * Inset list includes 80 insects, including insect name, selling price, time of occurrence, place of occurrence, best seasons to catch, etc * You can sort by name, A to Z or Z to A, sort by price, low to high, high to low * You can search fish or insect name in 4 different languages * Support English, Japanese, Chinese simplified and Chinese traditional * Supports both Northern and Southern Hemisphere, so don’t worry your location * Fully offline-support * Keep updated game data * More features will be added * NO Ads, NO subscription. Less than a cup of coffee price Enjoy your new life on your island. Enjoy the fun of the game!

About

Insecta

Explore the insect world with detailed 3D models and augmented reality. Identify bugs from photos and learn about their habitats and characteristics. Access a growing collection of insects through a subscription.

Highlights
  • Augmented reality insect models
  • Insect identification from photos
  • Detailed insect descriptions
  • Habitat and photo galleries
  • Interactive 3D models
  • AR placement in your environment
Features
Read full description

Insecta provides an engaging way to explore the wonderful world of insects. It includes a collection of weird and colorful insects, each featuring a description, habitat information, and a gallery of photos. You’re able to interact with highly detailed 3D models of each insect and hang out with them in augmented reality. The app’s amazing AR experience enhances users’ learning experience too. Choose from more than twenty insects from the collection and, in the blink of an eye, you’ll find one of those creepy creatures hanging out right by your desk. If your friends don’t believe you, take a picture and send it to them. You can also identify insects you encounter in the real world by taking a photo or uploading one from your gallery, allowing Insecta to analyze the image and help identify the insect. Once identified, explore detailed information, images, interactive 3D models, and even place the insect in your space using augmented reality for an up-close learning experience. Access to all insects and future updates with Explorer: The Explorer is an auto-renewing subscription. Payment for Explorer subscription will be charged to your Apple ID account at the confirmation of purchase. The subscription will renew automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions at any time by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase.

Screenshots

AC Pocket Guide4 screens
Insecta4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Insecta at Free against AC Pocket Guide's $0.99. Insecta also leads on ratings volume (145 vs 4). AC Pocket Guide's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (75% vs 40%). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Insecta is free to download; AC Pocket Guide costs $0.99 up front. Insecta sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. AC Pocket Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AC Pocket Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Insecta has 145 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of AC Pocket Guide's written reviews are positive against 40% of Insecta's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AC Pocket Guide ships an update every 4 days, Insecta every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
AC Pocket Guide versus Insecta: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAC Pocket GuideInsecta
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.5 (4 ratings) — better3.9 (145 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better39.6% of reviews
Number of ratings4145 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB385 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYang LiuSamira Sadeghi

Customer experience

AC Pocket Guide

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

Insecta

All ratings145 ratings
Positive68.3%
Neutral6.9%
Negative24.8%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive39.6%
Neutral14.6%
Negative45.8%

Bugs and requests

AC Pocket Guide

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Insecta

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • AR plane not scanning
  • Cannot exit AR window
  • AR is a blank screen
  • No request to access camera in AR
  • No error message in AR
Show 13 more
  • Scanning feature does not work
  • Useless directions for scanning
  • Explorer does not work
  • Explorer not working
  • Explorer not free as indicated
  • App keeps trying to upgrade
  • App keeps trying to reload
  • Content separates Taiwan from China
  • Cannot see full insect view
  • Insect image in introduction page is partially visible and cannot be dragged
  • Insects are the size of an elephant in AR
  • Insects are the size of an elephant in AR
  • Insects are the size of an elephant in AR

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add more insects/bugs
  • Allow users to add their own insects
  • Add more insects like Emperor Scorpion, Hercules Beetle, Giant Hornet, Rhino Beetle
  • Add more bugs in the future
  • Add more insects to the app
Show 5 more
  • Add more bugs
  • Add more insects to come
  • Continue to add more and more insects
  • Show only insects found in the UK
  • Add more features

In-app purchases

None

AC Pocket Guide

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Insecta

Subscriptions4
  • Insecta Plus Monthly$2.991 Month
  • The Explorer$4.991 Month
  • The Explorer3 Days trial$14.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Insecta Plus Annual$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • The Explorer$2.99

Questions

Is AC Pocket Guide free?
AC Pocket Guide costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Insecta free?
Insecta is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, AC Pocket Guide or Insecta?
AC Pocket Guide is rated higher. AC Pocket Guide averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Insecta averages 3.9 from 145 ratings.
Do AC Pocket Guide or Insecta have ads?
Neither AC Pocket Guide nor Insecta shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AC Pocket Guide or Insecta?
AC Pocket Guide ships an update every 4 days, and Insecta every 2 months. Most recently, AC Pocket Guide was updated on October 9, 2026 and Insecta on October 23, 2026.

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