# Bird Journal vs ThirstyGo

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ThirstyGo at none against Bird Journal's 1. ThirstyGo also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 77%) and device support (4 vs 2). Bird Journal's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bird Journal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ThirstyGo asks for nothing beyond the download.

Bird Journal ships an update weekly, ThirstyGo every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bird Journal | ThirstyGo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.0 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-journal/id456599754/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **16** | — |
| Positive reviews | 76.9% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 95 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Bluebird Technology Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/456599757) | [LuYang Li](https://appshunter.io/developer/1711364387) |

## What reviewers say

### Bird Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-journal/id456599754)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| One Year Premium Subscription | $34.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Efficient field recording
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 💡 Supports multiple taxonomy lists
- 💡 Cross-platform synchronization

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes with large countries
- 🐛 Lacks many website features
- 🐛 Slow taxonomic updates
- 🐛 Not free (subscription cost)
- 🐛 Cannot filter species by name/family

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- 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


### ThirstyGo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thirstygo/id6469036530)

Locate clean drinking water sources globally with this app. It features a real-time map, GPS tracking, and community updates to help travelers, hikers, and anyone needing hydration find water nearby. Supports Apple Watch for convenient access.

**Highlights:** Real-time map of water locations, GPS-powered distance tracking, Community-driven updates, Apple Watch support, Global coverage, Long press for distant locations

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bird Journal free?

Bird Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is ThirstyGo free?

ThirstyGo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Bird Journal or ThirstyGo have ads?

Neither Bird Journal nor ThirstyGo shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bird Journal or ThirstyGo?

Bird Journal ships an update weekly, and ThirstyGo every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bird Journal was updated on November 6, 2026 and ThirstyGo on October 30, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*