# Learn Bird Watching vs BirdNET

The clearest difference is rating: Learn Bird Watching at 4.8 against BirdNET's 4.0. Learn Bird Watching also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (91% vs 67%). BirdNET's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Learn Bird Watching sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per year. BirdNET asks for nothing beyond the download.

Learn Bird Watching holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Learn Bird Watching has 1.3K ratings behind it against 212, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Learn Bird Watching's written reviews are positive against 67% of BirdNET's.

Learn Bird Watching ships an update every 9 days, BirdNET every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Learn Bird Watching | BirdNET |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (1.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/learn-bird-watchinglarkwire/id544499991/reviews)** | [4.0 (212 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birdnet/id1541842885/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.3K** | 212 |
| Positive reviews | **90.7% of reviews** | 66.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 66 MB | 98 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Larkwire](https://appshunter.io/developer/544141375) | [Stefan Kahl](https://appshunter.io/developer/1541842887) |

## What reviewers say

### Learn Bird Watching

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/learn-bird-watchinglarkwire/id544499991)

Learn to identify birds by sound and sight with a game-based system. This app offers audio and visual courses created by experts to improve your birding skills, suitable for beginners and advanced enthusiasts alike.

**Highlights:** Game-based learning system, Identify birds by sound, Identify birds by sight, Expert-created courses, Suitable for all skill levels, Master birding by ear

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Single Course Annual | $24.99 | per year |
| All Courses Annual | $44.99 | per year |
| All Courses Annual (Family) | $64.99 | per year |
| Bird Songs Core West (N. Am) | $9.99 | one-time |
| Bird Songs Core East (N. Am) | $9.99 | one-time |
| Waterbirds Core (N. Am) | $9.99 | one-time |
| Bird Songs Pro East (N. Am) | $24.99 | one-time |
| Bird Songs Pro West (N. Am) | $24.99 | one-time |
| Waterbirds songs/calls (N. Am) | $24.99 | one-time |
| Breeding Plumage East (N.Am.) | $24.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Helpful for learning bird songs
- 🚀 Efficient learning process
- 💡 Customizable playlists and settings
- 🎮 Fun and engaging game-like format
- 🌟 Comprehensive coverage of bird species

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Difficulty finding specific birds in the app
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 📱 Not optimized for smaller screens

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to download sample content
- Repeating the same bird songs in succession
- Inconsistent progress tracking

**Requested features**

- Add bird song playback when selecting bird images
- Implement voice recognition for answering questions
- Include spectrograms for better visual learning
- Expand coverage to birds in other regions


### BirdNET

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birdnet/id1541842885)

Identify bird species by their sounds using AI. Record audio with your device and discover the birds around you. Contribute to conservation research by submitting your recordings.

**Highlights:** AI-powered bird sound recognition, Identify common North American and European species, Record audio with internal microphone, View probable bird species identification, Contribute to conservation research, Learn about local birds

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💚 Excellent bird identification accuracy
- 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
- 🔍 Helpful links to Wikipedia and other resources
- 🎉 Enjoyable and educational for bird enthusiasts
- 🗺️ Leverages location data to improve identification

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes or freezes on some devices
- 🔍 Struggles to identify multiple birds singing simultaneously
- 🔇 Unable to play back previous recordings in some cases
- 🗺️ Inaccurate or incomplete regional bird data
- 🤔 Questionable identification results in some cases

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when trying to access observation history
- Recordings disappearing after app updates
- Inability to start a new recording without exiting the app
- Microphone not working on certain devices
- Incorrect or missing bird species in regional databases

**Requested features**

- Ability to manually select frequency ranges for analysis
- Option to delete individual observations or recordings
- Import/export functionality for recordings and observations
- Improved handling of background noise and interference
- More detailed feedback when multiple birds are detected


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Learn Bird Watching free?

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

### Is BirdNET free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Learn Bird Watching or BirdNET?

Learn Bird Watching is rated higher. Learn Bird Watching averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.3K ratings, while BirdNET averages 4.0 from 212 ratings.

### Do Learn Bird Watching or BirdNET have ads?

Neither Learn Bird Watching nor BirdNET shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Learn Bird Watching or BirdNET?

Learn Bird Watching ships an update every 9 days, and BirdNET every 3 months. Most recently, Learn Bird Watching was updated on September 25, 2026 and BirdNET on September 25, 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.*