Comparison

Learn Bird Watching vs BeeMachine

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Learn Bird Watching

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
Read full description

BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA Learn birds the fun way! Learn to identify the birds that you're seeing and hearing. Take birding and birdwatching to a new level! Larkwire is a complete, game-based system for learning. Great for beginners and still challenging for advanced birders. Audio courses teach you to identify bird sounds and visual courses teach plumage. All courses are created by world class experts in field identification. This is the app used by professionals to master birding by ear. ***** "Best thing I’ve ever bought on the App Store." (Shopetastic review, 04/16/2020) ***** "Uniformly excellent" (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) ***** "A Rosetta Stone for birdsong." (Birding Magazine) ***** "This is a really cool tool!" (BirdChick) ***** "Really fun!" (Wildlife South) ********************************************** "Larkwire is already helping immensely with my ability to bird in the field. And my 7-year-old daughter is asking for 'that bird song game on the computer.'—I guess you have THREE of us hooked!" (Courtenay Schurman, Mountaineering Trainer) ********************************************** ********************************************** "It's like having a personal teacher who can pinpoint my weaknesses and make me work on them as I play. By far the best value for your money when you think about buying an avian audio guide." (Alain Clavette, aka @Acadian_Birder) ********************************************** ********************************************** "A fantastic tool for learning and reviewing birdsong. ... What I can vouch for, as a teacher, is the solid learning theory behind the software—this program is sure to improve the speed and accuracy with which you identify birds by ear." (David Pugh, Calgary Birder) ********************************************** SUPPORT For questions or support, email: support@larkwire.com EULA - Apple standard End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

BeeMachine

Identify bee species using AI-powered computer vision. This free app allows you to log your sightings, map them, and contribute to scientific research on bee populations. It's a fun way to learn about local pollinators and their diversity.

Highlights
  • AI-powered bee identification
  • Log and map bee sightings
  • Learn about bee species
  • Contribute to scientific research
  • Explore bee diversity
Features
Read full description

Identify bee species using computer vision. BeeMachine is a free community science app and a fun way to learn about the different bee species in your neighborhood or anywhere your adventures take you. Save your sightings, map them, and explore the diversity of bees. BeeMachine was developed by a small team of scientists and enthusiasts to provide expert-level identification skills for all. Your sightings will help scientists understand trends in bee populations and help us conserve these essential pollinators. Privacy Policy: https://beemachine.ai/page/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://dev.beemachine.ai/page/terms-of-use

Screenshots

Learn Bird Watching4 screens
BeeMachine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BeeMachine at none against Learn Bird Watching's 10. BeeMachine also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 91%). Learn Bird Watching's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (1.3K vs 9). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Learn Bird Watching holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Learn Bird Watching has 1.3K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 91% of Learn Bird Watching's written reviews are positive against 100% of BeeMachine's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Learn Bird Watching ships an update every 9 days, BeeMachine every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Learn Bird Watching versus BeeMachine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLearn Bird WatchingBeeMachine
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.3K ratings) — better4.6 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews90.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.3K — better9
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLarkwireBrian Spiesman

Customer experience

Learn Bird Watching

All ratings1,284 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews109 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral4.6%
Negative4.6%

BeeMachine

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Learn Bird Watching

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unable to download sample content
  • Repeating the same bird songs in succession
  • Inconsistent progress tracking

Requested features

4 requests
  • 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

BeeMachine

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Learn Bird Watching

Subscriptions3
  • Single Course Annual7 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • All Courses Annual7 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • All Courses Annual (Family)7 Days trial$64.991 Year
One-time7
  • Bird Songs Core West (N. Am)$9.99
  • Bird Songs Core East (N. Am)$9.99
  • Waterbirds Core (N. Am)$9.99
Show 4 more
  • Bird Songs Pro East (N. Am)$24.99
  • Bird Songs Pro West (N. Am)$24.99
  • Waterbirds songs/calls (N. Am)$24.99
  • Breeding Plumage East (N.Am.)$24.99
None

BeeMachine

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Learn Bird Watching free?
Learn Bird Watching is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BeeMachine free?
BeeMachine is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Learn Bird Watching or BeeMachine?
Learn Bird Watching is rated higher. Learn Bird Watching averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.3K ratings, while BeeMachine averages 4.6 from 9 ratings.
Do Learn Bird Watching or BeeMachine have ads?
Neither Learn Bird Watching nor BeeMachine shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Learn Bird Watching or BeeMachine?
Learn Bird Watching ships an update every 9 days, and BeeMachine every 2 months. Most recently, Learn Bird Watching was updated on October 21, 2026 and BeeMachine on October 24, 2026.

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