Comparison

Audubon Bird Guide vs Butterfly Dictionary

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

Head to head
About

Audubon Bird Guide

Identify North American birds with this comprehensive field guide. Features include a bird ID tool based on observations, detailed species information with photos and audio, and a personal sightings log. Discover nearby birding locations and connect with conservation efforts.

Highlights
  • Bird identification tool
  • Detailed species profiles
  • Bird song and call audio
  • Sightings log and life list
  • Nearby birding hotspots
  • Photo sharing
Features
Read full description

The Audubon Bird Guide is a free and complete field guide to over 800 species of North American birds, right in your pocket. Built for all experience levels, it will help you identify the birds around you, keep track of the birds you’ve seen, and get outside to find new birds near you. With over 2 million downloads to date, it is one of the best and most trusted field guides for North American birds. KEY FEATURES: ALL-NEW: BIRD ID It's now easier than ever to identify a bird you just saw. Enter all you were able to observe—what color was it? How big? What did its tail look like?—and Bird ID will narrow down a list of possible matches for your location and date in real time. LEARN ABOUT THE BIRDS YOU LOVE Our field guide features over 3,000 photos, over eight hours of audio clips of songs and calls, multi-season range maps, and in-depth text by leading North American bird expert Kenn Kaufman. KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE BIRDS YOU SEE With our completely redesigned Sightings feature, you can keep a record of every bird you encounter, whether you're hiking, sitting on the porch, or simply catching a glimpse of birds out the window. We'll even keep an updated life list for you. EXPLORE THE BIRDS AROUND YOU See where the birds are with nearby birding hotspots and real-time sightings from eBird. SHARE PHOTOS Post your photos to the Photo Feed so other Audubon Bird Guide users can see your best bird shots. GET INVOLVED WITH AUDUBON Keep up with the latest news from the world of birds, science, and conservation. Find an Audubon location near you to go birding. Or see where your voice is needed and take action to protect birds and the places they need, right from your app. Have any questions or need help? Contact us at audubonconnect@audubon.org About Audubon: The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon’s state programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive.

About

Butterfly Dictionary

Access a comprehensive guide to over 200 butterfly species with detailed pictures and descriptions. Ideal for enthusiasts, this app allows you to search, sort, and create favorite lists. It also provides links to external wiki pages for deeper exploration.

Highlights
  • Over 200 butterfly species
  • Detailed pictures and descriptions
  • Search and sort functionality
  • Favorite list creation
  • Links to external wiki pages
  • User-friendly interface
Features
Read full description

Butterfly Dictionary is a fast, easy to use and convenient app to look up over 200 Butterflies, showing Pictures and Descriptions. Ideal for butterfly watchers, lepidopterists or anyone with an interest in butterflies! Tap on an individual item to get more information and get even more information from the related Wiki page. Make a shortlist of your favourites by tapping the Like button. You can also search by name and order by popularity or A-Z Feedback gratefully appreciated! I'm looking to improve this app to make this a more effective tool

Screenshots

Audubon Bird Guide4 screens
Butterfly Dictionary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Audubon Bird Guide at 4.3 against Butterfly Dictionary's 3.6. Audubon Bird Guide also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 34 months). Butterfly Dictionary's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 16.6). On price 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

Both are free to download. Butterfly Dictionary sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Audubon Bird Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Audubon Bird Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Audubon Bird Guide has 4.5K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Audubon Bird Guide's written reviews are positive against 50% of Butterfly Dictionary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Audubon Bird Guide ships an update every 3 weeks, Butterfly Dictionary every 34 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Audubon Bird Guide versus Butterfly Dictionary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAudubon Bird GuideButterfly Dictionary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (4.5K ratings) — better3.6 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews64.2% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4.5K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 34 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.69.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size355 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNational Audubon SocietyMartin Ogg

Customer experience

Audubon Bird Guide

All ratings4,524 ratings
Positive82.3%
Neutral4.1%
Negative13.6%
Written reviews240 reviews
Positive64.2%
Neutral6.3%
Negative29.6%

Butterfly Dictionary

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Audubon Bird Guide

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when opening settings
  • Incorrect sighting location recording
  • Unreliable login and account features
  • Compatibility issues with newer devices
  • Syncing and data loss problems

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add photo ID and sound ID features
  • Improve location-based bird sightings
  • Expand coverage to more regions/countries
  • Allow offline access to field guide
  • Provide more detailed bird information
Show 2 more
  • Improve sorting and filtering options
  • Sync sightings with other platforms

Butterfly Dictionary

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Audubon Bird Guide

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Butterfly Dictionary

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Audubon Bird Guide free?
Audubon Bird Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Butterfly Dictionary free?
Butterfly Dictionary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Audubon Bird Guide or Butterfly Dictionary?
Audubon Bird Guide is rated higher. Audubon Bird Guide averages 4.3 out of 5 from 4.5K ratings, while Butterfly Dictionary averages 3.6 from 5 ratings.
Do Audubon Bird Guide or Butterfly Dictionary have ads?
Audubon Bird Guide shows ads; Butterfly Dictionary does not.
Which is updated more often, Audubon Bird Guide or Butterfly Dictionary?
Audubon Bird Guide ships an update every 3 weeks, and Butterfly Dictionary every 34 months. Most recently, Audubon Bird Guide was updated on October 27, 2026 and Butterfly Dictionary on October 11, 2026.

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