Comparison

SkyDrift vs My Aviary Forest

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

SkyDrift4 screens
My Aviary Forest4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
SkyDrift versus My Aviary Forest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSkyDriftMy Aviary Forest
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (30 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings30 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.416.4
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB119 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperFreeze Tag, Inc.Hans Gonzembach

Customer experience

SkyDrift

All ratings30 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

My Aviary Forest

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

11 purchases

SkyDrift

One-time11
  • Lapis Mariner$0.99
  • 500 Coins$0.99
  • Emerald Voyager$1.99
Show 8 more
  • 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
4 purchases

My Aviary Forest

One-time4
  • Pouch of Rocks$0.99
  • Bag of Rocks$4.99
  • Crate of Rocks$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Boulder of Rocks$19.99

Questions

Is SkyDrift free?
SkyDrift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is My Aviary Forest free?
My Aviary Forest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SkyDrift or My Aviary Forest?
My Aviary Forest is rated higher. SkyDrift averages 4.8 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while My Aviary Forest averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do SkyDrift or My Aviary Forest have ads?
Neither SkyDrift nor My Aviary Forest shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SkyDrift or My Aviary Forest?
SkyDrift ships an update every 6 days, and My Aviary Forest every 2 days. Most recently, SkyDrift was updated on October 25, 2026 and My Aviary Forest on October 21, 2026.

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