Comparison

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab vs HelloCrowd

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

Head to head
About

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab

Instantly identify birds by sight or sound. This app uses advanced machine learning and a vast database of bird sightings, sounds, and photos to help you discover and learn about avian species worldwide. Track your sightings and explore birds in your region.

Highlights
  • Identify birds by photo
  • Identify birds by sound
  • Answer simple questions for ID
  • Explore birds by region
  • Personalized Bird of the Day
  • Track personal sightings
  • View range maps and sounds
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

What's that bird? Ask Merlin—the world’s leading app for birds. Just like magic, Merlin Bird ID will help you solve the mystery. Merlin helps you identify birds you see and hear. Merlin is unlike any other bird app—it's powered by eBird, the world’s largest database of bird sightings, sounds, and photos. Merlin offers four fun ways to identify birds. Answer a few simple questions, upload a photo, record a singing bird, or explore birds in a region. Whether you’re curious about a bird you’ve seen once or you’re hoping to identify every bird you can find, the answers are waiting for you with this free app from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology. WHY YOU’LL LOVE MERLIN • Expert ID tips, range maps, photos, and sounds help you learn about the birds you spot and build birding skills. • Discover a new bird species each day with your own personalized Bird of the Day • Get customized lists of birds you can find where you live or travel - anywhere in the world! • Keep track of your sightings—build your personal list of the birds you find MACHINE LEARNING MAGIC • Powered by Visipedia, Merlin Sound ID and Photo ID uses machine learning to identify birds in photos and sounds. Merlin learns to recognize bird species based on training sets of millions of photos and sounds collected by birders at eBird.org, archived in the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. • Merlin delivers the most accurate results thanks to experienced birders, who curate and annotate sightings, photos, and sounds, who are the true magic behind Merlin. AMAZING CONTENT • Merlin has bird photos, songs, and calls, and identification help for anywhere in the world, including Mexico, Costa Rica, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, Australia, Korea, Japan, China, and more. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s mission is to interpret and conserve the Earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds and nature. We are able to offer Merlin for free thanks to the generosity of Cornell Lab members, supporters, and citizen-science contributors.

About

HelloCrowd

This mobile event app keeps attendees informed and engaged with tools like live polling, Q&A, and a detailed agenda. It provides comprehensive information on sessions, speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors, facilitating networking and event navigation.

Highlights
  • Event Feed
  • Live Polling
  • Session Q&A
  • Push Messaging
  • Multi-track Agenda
  • Attendee & Speaker Lists
  • Exhibitor Information
Features
Read full description

Explore our fantastic new Mobile Event App, with great engaging tools to keep you informed and up-to-date with the event. App Features: - Event Feed, Live Polling, Session Q&A, Push Messaging, Contact Swaps - Info Booth (General Information Pertaining to your Event) - Multi-track Agenda (A detailed easy to navigate multi-track agenda) - Attendees (A list of event attendees with individual details) - Speakers (A list of speakers with individual details) - Sponsors (A list of sponsors, in categories, with individual details) - Exhibitors (A list of exhibitors with individual details and directions to their stand)

Screenshots

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab4 screens
HelloCrowd3 screens

Verdict

The call

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab and HelloCrowd both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 74% of Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab's written reviews are positive against 0% of HelloCrowd's. Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab also leads on ratings volume (114K vs 29) and chart position (#19 vs unranked). HelloCrowd's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab against 4.9 for HelloCrowd. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab has 114K ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 74% of Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab's written reviews are positive against 0% of HelloCrowd's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab ships an update every 3 weeks, HelloCrowd every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab versus HelloCrowd: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMerlin Bird ID by Cornell LabHelloCrowd
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (114K ratings)4.9 (29 ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.3% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings114K — better29
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#19 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size318 MB77 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperCornell UniversityHelloCrowd

Customer experience

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab

All ratings113,908 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.0%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews2,031 reviews
Positive74.3%
Neutral7.2%
Negative18.5%

HelloCrowd

All ratings29 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Sound ID not working in some cases
  • Inability to download bird packs due to storage issues
  • Repeated email confirmation requests
  • Incorrect bird identifications in certain locations
  • Inability to edit or delete past sightings

Requested features

7 requests
  • Allow manual addition of birds to life list
  • Improve search functionality to find specific birds
  • Add more bird packs for underrepresented regions
  • Improve sound ID accuracy and reliability
  • Provide option to save recordings without location
Show 2 more
  • Add more details and filters to bird information
  • Improve user interface for better navigation

HelloCrowd

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab

No in-app purchases

None

HelloCrowd

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab free?
Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HelloCrowd free?
HelloCrowd is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab or HelloCrowd?
HelloCrowd is rated higher. Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab averages 4.9 out of 5 from 114K ratings, while HelloCrowd averages 4.9 from 29 ratings.
Do Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab or HelloCrowd have ads?
Neither Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab nor HelloCrowd shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab or HelloCrowd?
Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab ships an update every 3 weeks, and HelloCrowd every 4 weeks. Most recently, Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab was updated on November 8, 2026 and HelloCrowd on November 6, 2026.

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