# BirdNET vs Bird Scanner

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.

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | BirdNET | Bird Scanner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.0 (212 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birdnet/id1541842885/reviews)** | [3.9 (53 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-scanner/id1585486892/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **212** | 53 |
| Positive reviews | **66.6% of reviews** | 25.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 98 MB | 24 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 13.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Stefan Kahl](https://appshunter.io/developer/1541842887) | [RLAM FZCO](https://appshunter.io/developer/1712678414) |

## What reviewers say

### BirdNET

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birdnet/id1541842885)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💚 Excellent bird identification accuracy
- 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
- 🔍 Helpful links to Wikipedia and other resources
- 🎉 Enjoyable and educational for bird enthusiasts
- 🗺️ Leverages location data to improve identification

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes or freezes on some devices
- 🔍 Struggles to identify multiple birds singing simultaneously
- 🔇 Unable to play back previous recordings in some cases
- 🗺️ Inaccurate or incomplete regional bird data
- 🤔 Questionable identification results in some cases

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-scanner/id1585486892)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bird Identifier Premium Weekly | $2.49 | per 7 days |
| Bird Identifier Premium 1 week | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Bird Scanner premium - 1 month | $11.99 | per month |
| Bird Identifier Premium | $29.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked 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.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*