# Bird Codes vs eBird Alert!

The clearest difference is update cadence: eBird Alert! at monthly against Bird Codes's every 3 months. eBird Alert! also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 90%). Bird Codes's advantage is ratings volume (98 vs 8) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 18.2). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 4.8 for eBird Alert!. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bird Codes has 98 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of Bird Codes's written reviews are positive against 100% of eBird Alert!'s.

Bird Codes ships an update every 3 months, eBird Alert! monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bird Codes | eBird Alert! |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (98 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bird-codes/id500496362/reviews)** | [4.8 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ebird-alert/id6745479305/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **98** | 8 |
| Positive reviews | 90.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 4 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 18.2 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nemesis Code](https://appshunter.io/developer/500496365) | [Colin Rafferty](https://appshunter.io/developer/1809866831) |

## 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


### eBird Alert!

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ebird-alert/id6745479305)

Discover rare bird sightings in your vicinity using data from a global bird record database. Customize your search by distance, recency, and location, and access identification details and photos to aid in spotting. Easily open sighting locations in your preferred map application.

**Highlights:** View rare and local bird sightings, Customize sighting proximity and recency, Select specific nearby counties, Open sighting locations in maps, Access identification details and photos, Add sightings to eBird checklists

**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 eBird Alert! free?

eBird Alert! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Bird Codes or eBird Alert!?

Bird Codes is rated higher. Bird Codes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 98 ratings, while eBird Alert! averages 4.8 from 8 ratings.

### Do Bird Codes or eBird Alert! have ads?

Neither Bird Codes nor eBird Alert! shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bird Codes or eBird Alert!?

Bird Codes ships an update every 3 months, and eBird Alert! monthly. Most recently, Bird Codes was updated on October 20, 2026 and eBird Alert! on October 14, 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.*