Comparison

BirdTrack vs Collins British Bird Guide

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

Head to head
About

BirdTrack

Easily record bird sightings and other wildlife observations from your mobile device. Track your lists, explore local birdwatching spots, and contribute to vital research and conservation efforts. Your data syncs seamlessly with your online account.

Highlights
  • Record bird and wildlife sightings
  • Offline mapping and recording
  • Illustrated species checklist
  • Track year and life lists
  • View community sightings map
  • Contribute to research and conservation
Features
Read full description

Want an easy way to record the birds you see, and keep track of what you have seen? The BirdTrack app makes recording your sightings easy and your birdwatching more rewarding; plus your sightings support research and conservation at the local, national and global scale. Whether you want to record single sightings of those special birds or make a list of all the birds you see whilst birdwatching on a local patch you can do both from the palm of your hand. This free app links directly to your BirdTrack account on the web and acts as your digital notebook, enabling you to quickly and easily record the information you want for the birds (and some other wildlife groups) you see. With our app, you can: • Select the species you saw from an illustrated checklist of the most likely species based on BirdTrack data for your location and the time of year. • Offline mapping and observation recording, enabling use in places with no data connection. • Keep records of birds seen anywhere in the world. • See suggestions of local birdwatching places; add records for these popular places to help monitor their bird populations. • Add sightings for some other taxa groups, including amphibians, butterflies, dragonflies, mammals, orchids, and reptiles. (UK only). • View and edit previous sightings directly on your device. • View a map of recent sightings made by the BirdTrack community. • Keep track of your year and life lists, plus see lists of ‘target’ species seen by other BirdTrack users. • Option to share your sightings via social media. • Add optional information to your sightings, including breeding evidence, plumage details, and sensitive record settings to control the visibility of your records. • Sightings are seamlessly synchronised with your BirdTrack account, so you can see all your observations whether you are viewing via your device or via the website. Developed by the British Trust for Ornithology, on behalf of the BirdTrack partnership.

About

Collins British Bird Guide

Explore British and Irish birds with detailed illustrations, authoritative text, and sound recordings. Search by location, time, or plumage, and record your sightings. An AI-powered identification tool is available via subscription.

Highlights
  • Detailed illustrations
  • Authoritative bird text
  • Sound recordings of songs and calls
  • Powerful search filter
  • Record sightings tool
  • AI-powered species identification (subscription)
Features
Read full description

Collins British Bird Guide takes 264 of the most commonly seen British & Irish bird species from the award-winning Collins Bird Guide and presents them in the same easy-to-use practical format. Search for a species by location, time of year or plumage traits; browse the stunning illustrations by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterström; read the authoritative text by Lars Svensson; check distribution against the up-to-date maps taken from Bird Atlas 2007–2011; or listen to any of the hundreds of sound recordings. Praise for the Collins Bird Guide app: ‘It’s much more convenient than taking a big book with you...the Collins app is fantastic.’ – Chris Packham, Metro ‘The Collins Bird Guide app is destined to become a real triumph, the ultimate in field guide apps — and deservedly so.’ – BirdGuides Features include: ‣ Beautiful illustrations by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterström ‣ Detailed text covering habitat, range, identification and voice by Lars Svensson ‣ Record sightings, location and date with the listing tool ‣ Powerful search filter ‣ Intuitive design to quickly and easily swipe through species ‣ Curated lists of confusable species ‣ Over 550 carefully selected songs and calls – many by author Lars Svensson ‣ Select species names from 30+ languages ‣ Expertly edited video clips for every species in the app (require in-app purchase) ‣ Weighs nothing! Identify Assist is our brand-new subscription service. Instantly identify species from photos and recordings with cutting-edge AI. The latest version of the app requires iOS 17.0 or later. If you like the app, don’t forget to share the app, rate it and leave a review. Privacy Policy natureguides.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

BirdTrack4 screens
Collins British Bird Guide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: BirdTrack at Free against Collins British Bird Guide's $7.99. BirdTrack also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). Collins British Bird Guide's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 45%). On rating, update cadence, ads and device support 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

BirdTrack is free to download; Collins British Bird Guide costs $7.99 up front. Collins British Bird Guide sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. BirdTrack asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for BirdTrack against 4.0 for Collins British Bird Guide. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of BirdTrack's written reviews are positive against 67% of Collins British Bird Guide's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BirdTrack ships an update every 6 weeks, Collins British Bird Guide monthly. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
BirdTrack versus Collins British Bird Guide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBirdTrackCollins British Bird Guide
PriceFree — better$7.99
Rating4.0 (3 ratings)4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews45.2% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB342 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBTONatureGuides Ltd.

Customer experience

BirdTrack

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews73 reviews
Positive45.2%
Neutral8.2%
Negative46.6%

Collins British Bird Guide

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral5.6%
Negative27.8%

In-app purchases

None

BirdTrack

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Collins British Bird Guide

Subscriptions2
  • Identify Assist - monthly$1.991 Month
  • Identify Assist - yearly14 Days trial$12.991 Year
One-time2
  • Third edition$0.49
  • Video Library$4.99

Questions

Is BirdTrack free?
BirdTrack is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Collins British Bird Guide free?
Collins British Bird Guide costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BirdTrack or Collins British Bird Guide?
BirdTrack and Collins British Bird Guide are both rated 4.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do BirdTrack or Collins British Bird Guide have ads?
Neither BirdTrack nor Collins British Bird Guide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BirdTrack or Collins British Bird Guide?
BirdTrack ships an update every 6 weeks, and Collins British Bird Guide monthly. Most recently, BirdTrack was updated on November 6, 2026 and Collins British Bird Guide on November 6, 2026.

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