Comparison

Dawn Chorus vs BirdNET Live

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

Head to head
About

Dawn Chorus

Record and upload bird songs to a global database for scientific and artistic research. Explore bird songs and create art from sound and movement. The app works offline, storing data locally for later upload.

Highlights
  • Record bird songs
  • Upload to global database
  • Learn about bird songs
  • Create art from sound
  • Offline recording
  • Biodiversity insights
Features
Read full description

Dawn Chorus is a project that combines conservation, science, and art. Under the motto Stop and Listen, it creatively brings humans and nature back together: People around the world take a minute in the morning to listen to the bird concert around them, record it, and upload it to a global database. This data is made available to art and science in order to gain insights into the conservation of biodiversity, for example. With the Dawn Chorus app, users can easily and quickly make their recordings. They can also learn more about bird songs and give free rein to their creativity – for example, with the media art feature "Sonic Feather," which transforms movement and sound into art. The app's data is only used in anonymous form and solely for scientific and artistic purposes. The app also works offline; in this case, the data is stored locally on the smartphone and can be uploaded later. Dawn Chorus was launched in 2020 as a citizen science and arts project by BIOTOPIA – Nature Museum Bavaria (Munich) and the Art and Nature Foundation (Nantesbuch), in collaboration with the Max Planck Society. The Bavarian State Association for Bird Conservation (LBV) is also a partner. More information at https://dawn-chorus.org/.

About

BirdNET Live

Identify bird species by their songs and calls using advanced on-device sound recognition. Analyze audio files, conduct structured surveys, and manage your sound library without an internet connection.

Highlights
  • On-device sound identification
  • Live scrolling spectrogram
  • Real-time species detections
  • Structured survey modes
  • Audio file analysis
  • Manage sound library
Features
Read full description

BirdNET Live runs our most sophisticated sound ID model directly on your device — no internet connection required. Watch a live scrolling spectrogram, view species detections in real time, and manage your growing library of animal sounds right from your phone. BirdNET Live supports bioacoustic research and structured acoustic surveys across multiple workflows: - Live Mode — Real-time species detections with a live spectrogram - Point Counts — Structured timed sessions with live detections - Surveys — Record longer transects while tracking detections along your route - File Analysis — Analyze audio files from local storage - Batch Analysis — Process multiple audio files in bulk - ARU Mode — Schedule longer acoustic recording deployments BirdNET Live is designed for researchers and citizen scientists alike and offers extensive configuration and detection review options. This app is a joint effort by the Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics and Chemnitz University of Technology, in partnership with the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. Development of this app is supported by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt. For more information, consult our online user guide: https://birdnet-team.github.io/birdnet-live-app/user/

Screenshots

Dawn Chorus4 screens
BirdNET Live4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dawn Chorus at 4.5 against BirdNET Live's 4.1. Dawn Chorus also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.6). BirdNET Live's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks) and review sentiment (65% vs 50%). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dawn Chorus holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 15 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Dawn Chorus's written reviews are positive against 65% of BirdNET Live's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dawn Chorus ships an update every 5 weeks, BirdNET Live weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Dawn Chorus versus BirdNET Live: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDawn ChorusBirdNET Live
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (8 ratings) — better4.1 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews65.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings815 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size142 MB352 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNatural ApptitudeStefan Kahl

Customer experience

Dawn Chorus

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

BirdNET Live

All ratings15 ratings
Positive73.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative26.7%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive65.2%
Neutral8.7%
Negative26.1%

In-app purchases

None

Dawn Chorus

No in-app purchases

None

BirdNET Live

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dawn Chorus free?
Dawn Chorus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BirdNET Live free?
BirdNET Live is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dawn Chorus or BirdNET Live?
Dawn Chorus is rated higher. Dawn Chorus averages 4.5 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while BirdNET Live averages 4.1 from 15 ratings.
Do Dawn Chorus or BirdNET Live have ads?
Neither Dawn Chorus nor BirdNET Live shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dawn Chorus or BirdNET Live?
Dawn Chorus ships an update every 5 weeks, and BirdNET Live weekly. Most recently, Dawn Chorus was updated on November 3, 2026 and BirdNET Live on November 5, 2026.

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