# vTree vs Odonata Central

The clearest difference is rating: Odonata Central at 5.0 against vTree's 3.3. Odonata Central also leads on monetization model (free vs paid) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 11 months). vTree's advantage is ratings volume (46 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

Odonata Central holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: vTree has 46 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

vTree ships an update every 11 months, Odonata Central every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | vTree | Odonata Central |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.3 (46 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vtree/id576191197/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/odonata-central/id1561634667/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **46** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 36.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 10 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | **11.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [John Peterson](https://appshunter.io/developer/1175417672) | [Birds In The Hand, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/323029383) |

## What reviewers say

### vTree

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vtree/id576191197)

Identify woody plants across North America with detailed fact sheets, thousands of images, and location-based filtering. Get expert help from "Dr. Dendro" for tricky identifications.

**Highlights:** 969 North American woody plants, Thousands of color images, Location-based species filtering, Search by keyword, Identify via attribute questions, Expert identification help

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Comprehensive database
- 👍 Good for non-photo ID
- 👍 Informative descriptions
- 👍 Identifies location and altitude
- 👍 High-quality photos (when they load)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 App won't open
- 🐛 Downloads to 123% and freezes
- 🐛 Stuck on "downloading species"
- 🐛 Limited species offered

**Reported bugs**

- Eternally spinning “loading species” then crashes
- Won’t open, downloads to 123% then freezes
- Stuck “downloading species”
- Crashes when updating location off grid
- Missing photos

**Requested features**

- Allow offline use by downloading all fact sheets
- Update app for newer iPhone screen sizes
- Editable list of recently identified trees
- Search trees by leaf
- Break down database into regions/states


### Odonata Central

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/odonata-central/id1561634667)

Record and upload your dragonfly and damselfly sightings to a citizen science project. Create checklists with species, abundance, date, and location, then view your observations on the Odonata Central website. Primarily for users in the Western Hemisphere who can identify local odonates.

**Highlights:** Record odonate sightings, Create species checklists, Upload observations to website, Location-based species suggestions, Offline data entry, Multi-language support

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is vTree free?

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

### Is Odonata Central free?

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

### Which has better reviews, vTree or Odonata Central?

Odonata Central is rated higher. vTree averages 3.3 out of 5 from 46 ratings, while Odonata Central averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do vTree or Odonata Central have ads?

Neither vTree nor Odonata Central shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, vTree or Odonata Central?

vTree ships an update every 11 months, and Odonata Central every 2 months. Most recently, vTree was updated on October 11, 2026 and Odonata Central on October 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.*
