SkyDrift vs My Aviary Forest
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SkyDrift
Pilot a hot air balloon across the globe using real-world wind patterns. Explore destinations, collect artifacts, and track your journeys. This game offers a peaceful, background experience with no pressure or competition.
- Drift across live, real-world wind patterns
- Launch from anywhere to anywhere on Earth
- Build a hangar of unique balloons
- Track flights in a detailed logbook
- Collect achievements and find artifacts
- Quiet, background gameplay experience
- Optional social sharing with friends
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All wind, no engines. Skydrift is a quiet little game of the air. You launch a hot air balloon from where you actually stand, pick a destination anywhere on Earth (a friend's hometown, a peak you've always wanted to see, the other side of the world) and let real world wind carry you there. There's no throttle. There's no boost button. Just you, your balloon, and the weather that's happening right now. WHAT YOU'LL DO • Drift across live, real world wind patterns • Launch from anywhere on Earth to anywhere on Earth • Build a hangar of balloons, each with their own character • Earn points for distance, coins for the shop • Track every flight in your logbook with routes, reroutes, and the long way around • Collect achievements as you drift further • Launch from anywhere on Earth to anywhere on Earth • Build a hangar of balloons, each with their own character • Earn points for distance, coins for the shop • Earn points for distance, coins for the shop • Earn points for distance, coins for the shop • Track every flight in your logbook with routes, reroutes, and the long way around • Collect achievements as you drift further • Find artifacts. Curious things picked up along the way. QUIET BY DESIGN Skydrift is built to live in the background of your day. Set a course on the bus. Check the wind at lunch. Touch down before bed. No grinding, no shouting notifications, no fake urgency. Just the small, satisfying pleasure of watching weather move you somewhere. WITH FRIENDS, OR ALONE Compare logbooks, share a destination, or keep your skies entirely your own. There's no PvP, no leaderboards screaming at you. Just shared appreciation for the long way around. Come drift.
My Aviary Forest
Identify birds by their song and bring them to your personal forest. Discover thousands of species, build unique habitats, and track your sightings. Engage with daily challenges and learn to recognize birds by ear.
- Real bird identification by sound
- On-device processing for privacy
- Build and decorate a personal forest
- Birdex with real songs and looks
- Daily bird identification challenges
- View global sightings on a living globe
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Somewhere outside your window, a bird is singing. Wouldn't you like to know who? Tap the big button, and The Aviary listens with you. In moments, the singer is identified — right on your phone — and then something amazing happens: that very bird flies into your own little forest to stay. EVERY BIRD YOU HEAR BECOMES A FRIEND • Real bird identification by sound, for thousands of species worldwide — powered by BirdNET, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology • Works entirely on your device: your recordings never leave your phone • Each bird you discover moves into the habitat it really lives in — meadow, wetland, sandy shore, and more A FOREST THAT GROWS WITH YOU • Decorate your world, expand your backyard, and watch your birds sing, hop, and go about their little lives • Keep a Birdex of everyone you've met, with their real songs and true-to-life looks • Take on the Daily Challenge and learn to recognize birds by ear • See your sightings — and the world's — on a living globe • Rare visitor? The app knows which birds are unusual for your area and celebrates the special ones. Your neighborhood is full of songs you've been walking past your whole life. Come meet the neighbors.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: My Aviary Forest at 100% against SkyDrift's 75%. My Aviary Forest also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 days). SkyDrift's advantage is ratings volume (30 vs 5) and device support (3 vs 1). 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
Both are free to download. SkyDrift sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and My Aviary Forest sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
My Aviary Forest holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SkyDrift has 30 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of SkyDrift's written reviews are positive against 100% of My Aviary Forest's.
SkyDrift ships an update every 6 days, My Aviary Forest every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SkyDrift | My Aviary Forest |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (30 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 30 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 59 MB | 119 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Freeze Tag, Inc. | Hans Gonzembach |
Customer experience
SkyDrift
My Aviary Forest
In-app purchases
SkyDrift
- Lapis Mariner$0.99
- 500 Coins$0.99
- Emerald Voyager$1.99
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- 1,500 Coins$2.99
- Phoenix Ascendant$4.99
- 4,000 Coins$6.99
- Aurora Mythos$7.99
- 10,000 Coins$9.99
- Celestial Index$9.99
- 25,000 Coins$19.99
- 75,000 Coins$49.99
My Aviary Forest
- Pouch of Rocks$0.99
- Bag of Rocks$4.99
- Crate of Rocks$9.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Boulder of Rocks$19.99
Questions
Is SkyDrift free?
Is My Aviary Forest free?
Which has better reviews, SkyDrift or My Aviary Forest?
Do SkyDrift or My Aviary Forest have ads?
Which is updated more often, SkyDrift or My Aviary Forest?
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