# Bird Codes vs Bird App

The clearest difference is update cadence: Bird App at weekly against Bird Codes's every 3 months. Bird Codes's advantage is ratings volume (98 vs 16) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 18.6). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Bird Codes against 4.9 for Bird App. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bird Codes has 98 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 90% and 91% positive.

Bird Codes ships an update every 3 months, Bird App weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bird Codes | Bird App |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (98 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-codes/id500496362/reviews) | **[4.9 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-app-a-bird-a-day/id6642718665/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **98** | 16 |
| Positive reviews | 90.5% of reviews | **90.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 4 MB | 10 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nemesis Code](https://appshunter.io/developer/500496365) | [Colin Brooks](https://appshunter.io/developer/1763685782) |

## What reviewers say

### Bird Codes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-codes/id500496362)

Quickly look up and learn four-letter alpha codes for bird species. This reference tool helps birders speed up field notes and eBird checklist entries by providing a fast way to find abbreviations used in ornithology.

**Highlights:** Search by bird name, Search by alpha code, Lookup for 2078 species, Uses Pyle and DeSante (2003) system, Speed up field notes, Faster eBird checklist entry

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Quick access to codes
- ✅ Functional for purpose
- 💡 Useful for birders
- 👍 Simple and handy

**What reviewers complain about**

- ⏳ Outdated information
- 🔄 Needs regular updates
- 🐌 Slow to respond
- 📉 Woefully behind times
- ❓ Useless if not updated

**Reported bugs**

- App won't open on latest iPhone
- Stutters and slow to respond

**Requested features**

- Update app regularly
- Add new US birds (vagrants)
- Reflect taxonomic splits/lumps/renames
- Display species in conflict when invalid code entered
- Update for larger screens


### Bird App

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-app-a-bird-a-day/id6642718665)

Discover a new bird daily with fascinating facts, images, and quotes. Customize your device with bird-themed widgets and save your favorites for later. Explore further with links to external resources.

**Highlights:** Daily featured birds, Bird facts and images, Bird-themed quotes, Save and share favorites, Customizable widgets, Links to external resources

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bird Codes free?

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

### Is Bird App free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Bird Codes or Bird App?

Bird App is rated higher. Bird Codes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 98 ratings, while Bird App averages 4.9 from 16 ratings.

### Do Bird Codes or Bird App have ads?

Neither Bird Codes nor Bird App shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bird Codes or Bird App?

Bird Codes ships an update every 3 months, and Bird App weekly. Most recently, Bird Codes was updated on November 6, 2026 and Bird App on November 4, 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.*