BirdNET vs BatLib
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
BatLib
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The BatLib app plays the different ultrasonic calls of most European bats, transformed into the audible range using the heterodyne mixer method. This is particularly useful for comparing directly with the output of the BATSCANNER device to help determine the species. 1. Enter the frequency that your BATSCANNER displays to filter the species 2. Listen to the typical bat call sequences 3. Compare the sound with what you hear from your BATSCANNER 4. Sounds similar? Read additional information about the bat species, such as acoustic characteristics, size, habitat, photos, etc. Further information about our bat products: www.batscanner.ch
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: BirdNET at every 3 months against BatLib's every 26 months. BirdNET also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BirdNET ships an update every 3 months, BatLib every 26 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BirdNET | BatLib |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (212 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 66.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 212 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 26 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 98 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Stefan Kahl | Elekon AG |
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
BatLib
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
BirdNET
No in-app purchases
BatLib
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is BirdNET free?
Is BatLib free?
Do BirdNET or BatLib have ads?
Which is updated more often, BirdNET or BatLib?
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