# Birdfy vs Citizen Central

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Citizen Central at none against Birdfy's 17. Birdfy's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Birdfy sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $2.39 per month. Citizen Central asks for nothing beyond the download.

Birdfy ships an update every 10 days, Citizen Central every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Birdfy | Citizen Central |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.1 (3.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birdfy/id6463374220/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **3.8K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 48.9% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 282 MB | 133 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [NETVUE, INC.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1530898976) | [GOGov, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/351223719) |

## What reviewers say

### Birdfy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birdfy/id6463374220)

Monitor your backyard for feathered visitors with real-time live streaming and automatic video capture of bird activity. Organize your recordings by species, share your discoveries with a global community, and even track the entire nesting and hatching process.

**Highlights:** Real-time bird visitor tracking, Automatic video capture of bird moments, Categorized video clips by bird species, Community sharing of bird observations, Nesting and hatching process tracking, AI-powered bird and animal identification

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

**In-app purchases (17)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Collection Storage Basic mo. | $2.39 | per month |
| MVR - Basic - Monthly | $2.39 | per month |
| MVR - Plus - Monthly | $3.59 | per month |
| Collection Storage Plus mo. | $4.69 | per month |
| Hummingbird Recognition mo. | $4.69 | per month |
| Bird Recognition Basic mo. | $5.89 | per month |
| Collection Storage Pro mo. | $7.09 | per month |
| MVR - Pro - Monthly | $7.09 | per month |
| Collection Storage Basic ann. | $23.49 | per year |
| MVR - Basic - Annual | $23.49 | per year |
| MVR - Plus - Annual | $35.49 | per year |
| Hummingbird Recognition ann. | $45.99 | per year |
| Collection Storage Plus ann. | $46.95 | per year |
| Bird Recognition Basic ann. | $57.99 | per year |
| Collection Storage Pro ann. | $70.99 | per year |
| Hummingbird Reco. Lifetime | $85.99 | one-time |
| Bird Recognition Lifetime Plan | $99.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Intuitive app layout
- 🎥 Great video quality
- 🐦 Excellent for bird watching
- 💡 Useful community features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
- 🔌 Connectivity issues
- 🤖 Inconsistent bird identification
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate/use
- 💰 Paywall for advanced features

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to delete devices
- Unreliable live view and video uploads
- Unexpected app logout and account deletion

**Requested features**

- Batch editing for misidentified birds
- Favorites/frequently spotted section
- Landscape mode support
- Customizable notification sounds
- Motion detection sensitivity adjustments


### Citizen Central

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/citizen-central/id6475014009)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Birdfy free?

Birdfy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Citizen Central free?

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

### Do Birdfy or Citizen Central have ads?

Neither Birdfy nor Citizen Central shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Birdfy or Citizen Central?

Birdfy ships an update every 10 days, and Citizen Central every 5 months. Most recently, Birdfy was updated on October 21, 2026 and Citizen Central on October 13, 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.*