Bird Journal vs GrowIt
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bird Journal
Record, explore, and share your bird and wildlife observations. This app allows for detailed data entry, including photos and habitat information, with a vast global species library. Access your records across devices and contribute to conservation efforts.
- Record observations with custom data entry
- Explore records with reports, graphs, and maps
- Share records and contribute to conservation
- Access data on any device
- Secure cloud storage for data
- Import existing records from other apps
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Bird Journal is the best way to record, explore and share your bird & wildlife observations and experiences. It has thousands of users across the world, and now brings its full power to iPhone and iPad in one beautifully native app. Start keeping a record of your bird & wildlife observations now with a free account. RECORD ANYTHING Enter bird & wildlife observations, photos, habitat and more with customisable data entry. Bird Journal's growing library contains hundreds of checklists and taxonomies, with over 100,000 species and subspecies worldwide. EXPLORE YOUR RECORDS Enjoy looking back through your data with beautiful entry reports, species lists, graphs*, maps*, reports* & a redesigned photo gallery. Search instantly by date, species, location & more. POWERFUL TOOLS, NOW ON MOBILE Import and export your records, replace species across your data, and build your own custom checklists, taxonomies and synonym packs — all for the first time on your phone or tablet. SHARE YOUR RECORDS Export, print and share records, species lists and photos straight to friends and other apps. eBird and BirdTrack systems are fully supported, so you can conveniently contribute to conservation efforts. ACCESS ANYWHERE Access and enter your records on any supported device or computer. Data is stored on each device, meaning you always have access even when on the move, in the field or abroad. REMEMBER FOREVER Never lose your data. Everything added to Bird Journal is safely and securely stored in Bird Journal's cloud. If you lose your device or your computer malfunctions, simply sign back in to your account to carry on from where you left off. BRING YOUR DATA Get started quickly by importing existing records from any other system or app. eBird, BirdTrack & Wildlife Recorder records can be imported directly. * Requires an upgrade to a Bird Journal Premium account.
GrowIt
This app simplifies home gardening with personalized guidance and expert tips for growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs. It offers customized planting calendars, garden layout planning, and step-by-step growing information. Get seasonal care tips, reminders for watering and fertilizing, and even identify plant diseases with a photo.
- Personalized planting schedules
- Garden layout planning
- Step-by-step growing guides
- Seasonal plant care tips
- Automated reminders
- Plant disease identification
- Regrowing and hydroponic tips
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Start growing your own fresh produce at home with GrowIt, your ultimate gardening app designed to simplify the gardening experience! Whether you're planting as beginner, enthusiast or professional, GrowIt offers personalized guidance and expert tips to ensure your success throughout the growing season. Designed by plant experts and supported by years of in-depth research in cultivation, GrowIt provides all the essential information for growing healthy vegetables, fruits, and herbs, from garden layout, to watering, fertilizing, soil condition, and companion planting. With customized planting calendar based on your location and climate, you'll find it easy to figure out when to start seeds, transplant, harvest and more. Key Features: ◆ Discover things to grow: Search for easy-to-grow seasonal plants and get personalized planting schedule tailored to your specific zone. ◆ Plan your garden in minutes: Organize your raised beds or patch with companion and combative plant information. Use square foot gardening layout grid for easy spacing of 80+ plants, and over 1,000 varieties. ◆ Learn how to grow, step by step: Build your garden with proper soil, fertilizer, and sunlight. Turn yourself into a green thumb with a library of growing information. ◆ Get seasonal plant care tips: Stay ahead of freezes, heat waves and other extreme weather conditions to protect your garden. ◆ Stay informed with reminders: Say goodbye to guesswork with auto-calculated sprouting and harvest dates for your specific plant and location. Know exactly when to water and fertilize to maximize your produce. ◆ Identify plant diseases effortlessly: Simply snap a photo, and get plant-specific treatment advice. ◆ Address common gardening issues: Eliminate garden weeds, pests w/o chemicals. Avoid plant diseases with proven planting strategies. ◆ Explore more to get inspired. Unlock secrets to regrowing from scraps, hydroponic growing, indoor gardening, and so much more! Make the most of your harvest with recommended recipes and preservation tips on canning, freezing and drying. Join GrowIt now and enhance your gardening skills! Learn, plan, organize and care for your vegetable garden. Enjoy a bountiful harvest with your family and friends! [About GrowIt Premium] • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • The account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription • Subscriptions may be managed by the user, and auto-renewal may be turned off, by going to iTunes Subscriptions after purchase Terms of Use: https://app-service.growmyfoodai.com/static/user_agreement.html Privacy Policy: https://app-service.growmyfoodai.com/static/privacy_policy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: GrowIt at 4.7 against Bird Journal's 3.0. GrowIt also leads on ratings volume (14K vs 16). Bird Journal's advantage is review sentiment (77% vs 46%). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Bird Journal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and GrowIt sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
GrowIt holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GrowIt has 14K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of Bird Journal's written reviews are positive against 46% of GrowIt's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Bird Journal ships an update weekly, GrowIt every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bird Journal | GrowIt |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (16 ratings) | 4.7 (14K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.9% of reviews — better | 46.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 16 | 14K — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 95 MB | 106 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bluebird Technology Limited | Glority Global Group Ltd. |
Customer experience
Bird Journal
GrowIt
User reviews
Bird Journal
From 16 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Efficient field recording
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 💡 Supports multiple taxonomy lists
- 💡 Cross-platform synchronization
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes with large countries
- 🐛 Lacks many website features
- 🐛 Slow taxonomic updates
- 🐛 Not free (subscription cost)
- 🐛 Cannot filter species by name/family
GrowIt
From 14K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Helpful gardening app
- 👍 Beginner-friendly
- 🌱 Useful information and guides
- 📆 Reminders and planning features
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inaccurate planting information
- 🔒 Misleading advertising about free trial
- 🔍 Limited plant selection
- 🌡️ Weather information not accurate
Bugs and requests
Bird Journal
Reported bugs
9 issues- App crashes when going for Brazil or USA
- App not matching birds for UK
- Cannot add recent sightings of Boobys etc.
- App no longer runs reliably on iOS
- App is buggy and unclear
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Cannot sign in
- Data lost on phone replacement
- Sync issues between mobile and desktop
- Orientation issues on iPad
Requested features
52 requests- Add Avilist taxonomy support
- Update to current species naming conventions
- Filter species by name or family
- Species pages to list sightings
- Way to jump to early dates in entries
Show 47 moreShow fewer
- Manually enter coordinates for new locations
- Auto-populate location and weather
- Attach photos in the app
- Share information with groups of friends
- Add mammals to the update version
- Add checklists for other wildlife (dragonflies, butterflies)
- Add missing counties to lists
- Add a pull-down box for sites when adding sightings
- Geotag and move sightings after seeing them
- World list and other wildlife lists
- Life List section
- Custom species entry
- Location filtering for own locations
- Improved species list customization
- Improved list management on mobile
- More intuitive export function
- More detailed statistics on mobile
- County species lists enhancements
- Add dragonflies, butterflies checklists
- Add mammals to the app
- Add world list and other wildlife lists
- Add Life List section
- Add custom species entry
- Add location filtering for own locations
- Improve species list customization
- Improve list management on mobile
- Improve export function
- Add more detailed statistics on mobile
- Enhance county species lists
- Add photo attachments to the app
- Add ability to share trips with other users
- Add ability to share entries with another user
- Add ability to share a trip
- Add mammals to the update version
- Add checklists for other wildlife (dragonflies, butterflies)
- Add missing counties to lists
- Add a pull-down box for sites when adding sightings
- Geotag and move sightings after seeing them
- World list and other wildlife lists
- Life List section
- Custom species entry
- Location filtering for own locations
- Improved species list customization
- Improved list management on mobile
- Improved export function
- Add more detailed statistics on mobile
- Enhance county species lists
GrowIt
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes frequently when scrolling
- Issues with deleting/updating plants
- Reminders not working as expected
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to add more garden beds
- Option to manually enter plant data
- Notification for watering based on rainfall
- More detailed care information for plants
In-app purchases
Bird Journal
- One Year Premium Subscription$34.99
GrowIt
- Grow My Food Premium3 Days trial$3.997 Days
- Grow My Food Premium7 Days trial$3.997 Days
- Grow My Food Premium7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Grow My Food Premium$14.993 Months
- Grow My Food Premium7 Days trial$14.993 Months
- GrowIt Premium$19.996 Months
- Grow My Food Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Grow My Food Premium7 Days trial$34.991 Year
- GrowIt Family Premium7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Grow My Food Premium1 Month trial$39.991 Year









