Comparison

BirdNET vs Bird Scanner

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

Head to head
About

BirdNET

Identify bird species by their sounds using AI. Record audio with your device and discover the birds around you. Contribute to conservation research by submitting your recordings.

Highlights
  • AI-powered bird sound recognition
  • Identify common North American and European species
  • Record audio with internal microphone
  • View probable bird species identification
  • Contribute to conservation research
  • Learn about local birds
Features
Read full description

How can computers learn to recognize birds from sounds? The BirdNET research project uses artificial intelligence and neural networks to train computers to identify nearly 3,000 of the most common species of North America and Europe. You can record a file using the internal microphone of your iOS device and see if BirdNET correctly identifies the probable bird species present in your recording. Get to know the birds around you and help us to collect observations by submitting your recordings. BirdNET is a joint project of the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Chemnitz University of Technology.

About

Bird Scanner

Identify bird species using your camera with advanced AI. Explore nature, learn about wildlife through a rich database, and discover new species with high accuracy. Upgrade for unlimited scans and extensive plant information.

Highlights
  • AI-powered bird identification
  • Identify over 40,000 species
  • Image recognition technology
  • Rich database and encyclopedia
  • Unlimited scans with premium
  • Plant information with premium
Features
Read full description

Bird Scanner identifies more than 40 000 bird species every day with high accuracy & confidence. The app uses the power of image recognition technology to identify any type of Bird species all around you. • Get outside and point the Camera at any Bird • Identify wildlife, special Birds, discover Nature, and learn about them via our rich database information via encyclopaedia. JUST OPEN YOUR CAMERA AND START EXPLORING! Our advanced artificial intelligence engine is constantly learning from community experts and bird specialists. the app gets better and smarter over time. With just a simple picture click you can appreciate more the nature around you :). Upgrade to Premium version with a free trial and get unlimited scans, identifications, and extensive rich information about Plants. Subscription option: - Yearly Subscription - Monthly Subscription * Subscription payments will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of your purchase and automatically renews your subscription unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. * You can cancel your subscription anytime by canceling your subscription through your Apple account settings. This must be done 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. The cancellation will take effect the day after the last day of the current subscription period. Offers and pricing are subject to change without notice. Privacy Policy: https://boxmath.co/privacy_policy.html Terms and Conditions: https://boxmath.co/terms_and_conditions.html

Screenshots

BirdNET4 screens
Bird Scanner4 screens

Verdict

The call

BirdNET and Bird Scanner both sit at 4.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 67% of BirdNET's written reviews are positive against 25% of Bird Scanner's. BirdNET also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ratings volume (212 vs 53). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Bird Scanner sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per 7 days. BirdNET asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for BirdNET against 3.9 for Bird Scanner. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 212 and 53 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of BirdNET's written reviews are positive against 25% of Bird Scanner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
BirdNET versus Bird Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBirdNETBird Scanner
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (212 ratings) — better3.9 (53 ratings)
Positive reviews66.6% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings212 — better53
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better13.1
Further details — not scored
Size98 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStefan KahlRLAM FZCO

Customer experience

BirdNET

All ratings212 ratings
Positive71.2%
Neutral10.4%
Negative18.4%
Written reviews371 reviews
Positive66.6%
Neutral10.0%
Negative23.5%

Bird Scanner

All ratings53 ratings
Positive71.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative24.5%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%

Bugs and requests

BirdNET

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when trying to access observation history
  • Recordings disappearing after app updates
  • Inability to start a new recording without exiting the app
  • Microphone not working on certain devices
  • Incorrect or missing bird species in regional databases

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to manually select frequency ranges for analysis
  • Option to delete individual observations or recordings
  • Import/export functionality for recordings and observations
  • Improved handling of background noise and interference
  • More detailed feedback when multiple birds are detected

Bird Scanner

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

BirdNET

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Bird Scanner

Subscriptions4
  • Bird Identifier Premium Weekly$2.497 Days
  • Bird Identifier Premium 1 week$4.997 Days
  • Bird Scanner premium - 1 month$11.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Bird Identifier Premium$29.991 Year

Questions

Is BirdNET free?
BirdNET is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bird Scanner free?
Bird Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, BirdNET or Bird Scanner?
BirdNET is rated higher. BirdNET averages 4.0 out of 5 from 212 ratings, while Bird Scanner averages 3.9 from 53 ratings.
Do BirdNET or Bird Scanner have ads?
Neither BirdNET nor Bird Scanner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BirdNET or Bird Scanner?
BirdNET ships an update every 3 months, and Bird Scanner every 3 months. Most recently, BirdNET was updated on September 28, 2026 and Bird Scanner on September 27, 2026.

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