Comparison

Jellywatch vs Whale and Dolphin Tracker

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

Head to head
About

Jellywatch

This app serves as a global database for monitoring ocean conditions, focusing on jellyfish populations. It empowers citizen scientists to submit observations and photos, contributing to freely accessible data on blooms, red tides, and general marine environments. Species identification is also offered for submitted images.

Highlights
  • Ocean condition monitoring
  • Jellyfish population tracking
  • Citizen science reporting
  • Global data submission
  • Species identification
  • Free data access
Features
Read full description

Jellywatch is a database for monitoring ocean conditions, especially jellyfish populations. Citizen scientists are encouraged to submit reports from around the world. The data will be freely available to download or browse. Report jellyfish blooms, red tides, and even clean “normal” conditions you observe. If you submit a photo, we can identify the species for you as well.

About

Whale and Dolphin Tracker

Record sightings of whales and dolphins worldwide. Contribute to global research by logging your observations with GPS data and photos. Help scientists understand marine wildlife distribution and environmental interactions.

Highlights
  • Log sightings in real-time
  • Built-in GPS logger
  • Upload photos with sightings
  • Access submitted data
  • View global sightings map
  • Contribute to citizen science
Read full description

Log sightings and identify species of commonly sighted whales and dolphins from any location around the world. Whale and Dolphin Tracker provides a platform where both professional scientists and members of the public can participate in research and conservation by contributing their marine wildlife sightings. By submitting your sightings you will add to a global database that will help researchers determine patterns of species distribution and how these species interact with their environment. Features: -Log sightings in real-time during your trip. -Use the built-in GPS logger to create a full GPS track of your trip. -Upload photos from your mobile device to submit with your sighting. -Maintain full access to your submitted data through your Whale and Dolphin Tracker account. -View global sightings submitted by all users on a live sightings map updated in real time. Contribute to research: -Crowdsourcing allows for a larger scope of data collection than what is possible for dedicated researchers to achieve. -Greater coverage in both time and space increases the likelihood of documenting rare and/or understudied marine wildlife. -Citizen science creates ocean stewards and leads to a greater awareness of marine wildlife. How to submit a sighting: - Use the app to record GPS location of any sightings of whales, dolphins, and other marine wildlife. - Help researchers account for survey effort by associating a track with each sighting. Simply start the GPS track when you depart land and stop the track upon your return. Complete GPS tracks enable calculations of sightings per distance and are valuable for research on distribution of marine animals. - Upload photos associated with your sightings directly from your mobile device. Photos will be used by researchers to confirm species identification and will be added to photo-identification databases, where applicable.

Screenshots

Jellywatch4 screens
Whale and Dolphin Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Jellywatch at 91% against Whale and Dolphin Tracker's 17%. Jellywatch also leads on rating (3.0 vs 2.5). Whale and Dolphin Tracker's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (24 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Jellywatch holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Whale and Dolphin Tracker has 24 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Jellywatch's written reviews are positive against 17% of Whale and Dolphin Tracker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Jellywatch ships an update every 3 months, Whale and Dolphin Tracker monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Jellywatch versus Whale and Dolphin Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJellywatchWhale and Dolphin Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings) — better2.5 (24 ratings)
Positive reviews90.9% of reviews — better16.7% of reviews
Number of ratings224 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.014.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMonterey Bay Aquarium Research InstitutePacific Whale Foundation

Customer experience

Jellywatch

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative9.1%

Whale and Dolphin Tracker

All ratings22 ratings
Positive36.4%
Neutral4.5%
Negative59.1%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral11.1%
Negative72.2%

In-app purchases

None

Jellywatch

No in-app purchases

None

Whale and Dolphin Tracker

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Jellywatch free?
Jellywatch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Whale and Dolphin Tracker free?
Whale and Dolphin Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Jellywatch or Whale and Dolphin Tracker?
Jellywatch is rated higher. Jellywatch averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Whale and Dolphin Tracker averages 2.5 from 24 ratings.
Do Jellywatch or Whale and Dolphin Tracker have ads?
Neither Jellywatch nor Whale and Dolphin Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Jellywatch or Whale and Dolphin Tracker?
Jellywatch ships an update every 3 months, and Whale and Dolphin Tracker monthly. Most recently, Jellywatch was updated on October 26, 2026 and Whale and Dolphin Tracker on October 24, 2026.

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