Comparison

Audubon Bird Guide vs Band Codes

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 a comprehensive field guide. Features include real-time bird identification, detailed species information, and sighting logs. Connect with a community of birdwatchers and conservationists.

Highlights
  • Real-time bird identification tool
  • Detailed species profiles with photos and audio
  • Personalized bird sighting logs and life lists
  • Nearby birding hotspots and sightings
  • Community photo sharing
  • Conservation news and action opportunities
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

Band Codes

Quickly access 4-letter codes used by bird banders for species identification. This reference tool also provides band sizes and important notes for banding specific birds, aiding in ornithological research.

Highlights
  • 4-letter species codes
  • Band size lookup
  • Banding notes
  • Quick reference
  • Ornithological research aid
Features
Read full description

Do you want to quickly find and learn the 4-letter codes which bird banders use to record each species? Do you need a quick reference to look up band sizes used for each species? The Band Codes app gives you quick access to the shorthand codes for the species names, as well as additional information such as band sizes and important notes regarding banding certain species. Bird banding is a common research technique to study migration timing and survival of birds. Birds are captured by a variety of methods and an aluminum band is attached to one of their legs. Each band has a unique number that allows researchers to learn about the birds movements and any physiological changes that may have occurred between the times it was captured. Note: If you are a birder, we suggest that you check out Bird Codes, which is more extensive, including all the species found in the area covered by the American Ornithologists Union. Banding birds is federally regulated, and only those trained and licensed as banders should attempt to catch and band birds.

Screenshots

Audubon Bird Guide4 screens
Band Codes2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Band Codes at none against Audubon Bird Guide's shown. Band Codes also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.6). Audubon Bird Guide's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 34 months) and ratings volume (4.5K vs 4). On price, 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

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

Audubon Bird Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Audubon Bird Guide has 4.5K ratings behind it against 4, 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 Band Codes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Audubon Bird Guide ships an update every 3 weeks, Band Codes every 34 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Audubon Bird Guide versus Band Codes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAudubon Bird GuideBand Codes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (4.5K ratings) — better4.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews64.2% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4.5K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 34 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.68.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size355 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNational Audubon SocietyNemesis Code

Customer experience

Audubon Bird Guide

All ratings4,525 ratings
Positive82.3%
Neutral4.1%
Negative13.6%
Written reviews240 reviews
Positive64.2%
Neutral6.3%
Negative29.6%

Band Codes

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
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

Band Codes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Audubon Bird Guide

No in-app purchases

None

Band Codes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Audubon Bird Guide free?
Audubon Bird Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Band Codes free?
Band Codes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Audubon Bird Guide or Band Codes?
Audubon Bird Guide is rated higher. Audubon Bird Guide averages 4.3 out of 5 from 4.5K ratings, while Band Codes averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Audubon Bird Guide or Band Codes have ads?
Audubon Bird Guide shows ads; Band Codes does not.
Which is updated more often, Audubon Bird Guide or Band Codes?
Audubon Bird Guide ships an update every 3 weeks, and Band Codes every 34 months. Most recently, Audubon Bird Guide was updated on November 10, 2026 and Band Codes on November 1, 2026.

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