Comparison

Birder Diary vs Island Designer

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

Head to head
About

Birder Diary

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Birder Diary is a lightweight and elegant birding journal. Take or import bird photos, and the app automatically identifies the species. Your sightings are saved to your personal bird guide and marked on the map as your birding footprints. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Island Designer

This app is a powerful island map editor for planning your dream island layout. It offers extensive tools for sculpting terrain, placing buildings, and landscaping with various trees and flowers. Save, manage, and export your designs in high resolution.

Highlights
  • Terrain and path sculpting
  • Extensive building and structure placement
  • Variety of trees and flowers
  • Precision grid editing
  • Full object edit control
  • Auto-save and map management
  • HD map export
Features
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Island Designer is a powerful and intuitive island map editor that helps you plan every detail of your dream Animal Crossing island. Choose from 76 pre-built island templates or start from a blank canvas β€” the possibilities are endless. TERRAIN & PATHS Sculpt your island with 3 levels of grassland, water, rocks, and sand using adjustable brush sizes. Lay down 9 types of paths β€” dirt, sand, stone, brick, dark dirt, arcane, wood, and 2 custom styles β€” to build your ideal road network. BUILDINGS & STRUCTURES Place 50+ buildings and structures including houses, shops, museums, town halls, airports, bridges, and stairs. Every building shows its precise grid footprint for accurate placement. TREES & FLOWERS Bring your island to life with 14 tree types (broadleaf, pine, fruit, bamboo, and more) and 50+ flower varieties including bushes, shrubs, and reeds. Drag to batch-plant for quick landscaping. PRECISION GRID Work on a detailed 112Γ—96 grid with labeled blocks (1–7 columns, A–F rows). Zoom in to reveal fine cell-level gridlines for pixel-perfect placement. FULL EDIT CONTROL Select, move, and delete any placed object with a single tap. Undo and redo up to 50 steps. Each category has its own dedicated eraser, plus a global terrain eraser to restore original land. SAVE & HISTORY Auto-saves every 60 seconds so you never lose progress. Name and manage multiple map designs. Duplicate, rename, or delete saved maps anytime. HD EXPORT Export your finished map as a high-resolution image with gridlines directly to your photo library β€” perfect for sharing your plans with friends. BILINGUAL SUPPORT Full Chinese and English interface. Switch languages anytime in Settings. Whether you're a seasoned island architect or just getting started, Island Designer gives you everything you need to visualize and create the perfect island layout.

Screenshots

Birder Diary4 screens
Island Designer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Birder Diary at Free against Island Designer's $5.99. Island Designer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Birder Diary is free to download; Island Designer costs $5.99 up front. Birder Diary sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Island Designer asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Birder Diary ships an update every 2 weeks, Island Designer fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 6 level
Birder Diary versus Island Designer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBirder DiaryIsland Designer
PriceFree β€” better$5.99
Positive reviewsβ€”50.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks β€” betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
Monetizationβ€”Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size216 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer周 ηŽ‹ηͺ θ΄Ύ

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Birder Diary

Subscriptions2
  • PRO Monthly$2.991 Month
  • PRO Annual7 Days trial$19.991 Year
None

Island Designer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Birder Diary free?
Birder Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Island Designer free?
Island Designer costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Birder Diary or Island Designer have ads?
Neither Birder Diary nor Island Designer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Birder Diary or Island Designer?
Birder Diary ships an update every 2 weeks, and Island Designer fortnightly. Most recently, Birder Diary was updated on October 24, 2026 and Island Designer on October 31, 2026.

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