Comparison

iObs vs NL

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

Head to head
About

iObs

Record and submit observations of wildlife, including birds, mammals, and plants, directly from the field. Utilize real-time location and time, with offline capabilities. Upload your data to participating online portals when connected.

Highlights
  • Record observations in the field
  • Use current time and location
  • Offline mode available
  • Upload data to online portals
  • Supports birds, mammals, plants, etc.
Features
Read full description

iObs is an application that can be used worldwide for entering and uploading observations of birds, mammals, plants, etc. directly from the field. You can use current time and location. You can use the app in off-line mode. When on-line, you can upload all data to your personal account on participating portal sites. Currently these are waarneming.nl, waarnemingen.be and observation.org.

About

NL

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Everyone in the Netherlands must always be able to receive an NL-Alert and NL-Alert must be clear to everyone. The NL-Alert app helps with this. The app has been specially developed for people who are regularly near the border with Germany or Belgium and therefore do not always receive NL-Alerts. The NL-Alert app is also for people with a visual or hearing impairment, which means that it is not always clear who receives a NL-Alert. 1. People who are often close to the border Their mobile phone may sometimes be connected to a German or Belgian cell tower. Those transmission towers do not send out an NL-Alert. With the NL-Alert app you will still receive the NL-Alert via your mobile internet connection. To receive messages data roaming must be available and allowed. 2. People who are hearing impaired or deaf It can be difficult for them to notice that an NL Alert has been sent. The app offers special accessibility features to help them with this. 3. People who are visually impaired or blind An NL-Alert is sometimes unclear to them. The app offers special accessibility features that make NL-Alert clearer.

Screenshots

iObs4 screens
NL4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: iObs at none against NL's shown. iObs also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 5 months) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). On price, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iObs ships an update monthly, NL every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
iObs versus NL: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriObsNL
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.3 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperObservation InternationalPolitie

In-app purchases

None

iObs

No in-app purchases

None

NL

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iObs free?
iObs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NL free?
NL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do iObs or NL have ads?
NL shows ads; iObs does not.
Which is updated more often, iObs or NL?
iObs ships an update monthly, and NL every 5 months. Most recently, iObs was updated on October 10, 2026 and NL on October 14, 2026.

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