Comparison

Mosquito Alert vs GLOBE Observer

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

Head to head
About

Mosquito Alert

Contribute to global mosquito research by reporting observations, breeding sites, and bites. Help scientists understand mosquito ecology and disease transmission. Validate photos from other users and learn to identify species.

Highlights
  • Report mosquito observations
  • Identify breeding sites
  • Record mosquito bites
  • Validate participant photos
  • Learn mosquito identification
  • View public observation map
Features
Read full description

Join the world's largest mosquito surveillance network. Contribute to the study and monitoring of invasive mosquitoes and mosquitoes of epidemiological interest with the Mosquito Alert app. With it you will be able to report mosquito observations, mosquito breeding sites, and keep a record of mosquito bites. By sharing your observations, you will be providing information that scientists can use in their research to better understand the ecology of mosquitoes, disease transmission, and provide data to improve their management. Mosquito Alert is a citizen science project coordinated by several public research centers, CEAB-CSIC, UPF and CREAF, whose objective is to study, monitor and fight against the spread of disease-carrying mosquitoes. What can you do with the app? -Notify the presence of mosquitoes: -Identify their breeding places in your area -Notify when you receive a bite -Validate the photos of other participants A community of more than 50 international expert entomologists will validate the photos you send to the platform, thus being able to learn to identify the mosquito species of health interest. All observations are made public on the Mosquito Alert map website, where they can be viewed and downloaded, as well as exploring the models developed from the contributions of the participants. Your contributions are very useful for science! The Mosquito Alert app is available in more than 17 European languages: Spanish, Catalan, English, Albanian, German, Bulgarian, Croatian, Dutch, French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Luxembourgish, Macedonian, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Slovenian, Turkish . ---------------------------------------------- For more information, visit http://www.mosquitoalert.com/en/ or follow us on social networks: Twitter @Mosquito_Alert ----------------------------------------------

About

GLOBE Observer

Contribute to real scientific research by making environmental observations. Document clouds, mosquito habitats, land cover, and trees using your mobile device. Your data supports scientists worldwide, including NASA and NOAA.

Highlights
  • Make environmental observations
  • Document clouds
  • Map mosquito habitats
  • Record land cover
  • Measure tree height
  • Contribute to scientific research
Features
Read full description

The GLOBE Observer app enables you to make observations of your environment. GLOBE Observer is the app of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. The GLOBE Program is an international science and education program that provides students and people of all ages worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. By using the GLOBE Observer app, you contribute scientific data to your community, students and scientists worldwide, including researchers at NASA, NOAA, and other science research institutions. GLOBE Observer allows all users to contribute observations of clouds, mosquito habitats, land cover, and trees. Trained and certified users can also use the app to submit additional environmental measurements from all GLOBE protocols. GLOBE Clouds allows observers to make regular observations of Earth’s cloud cover and compare them to satellite observations. With GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper, users locate mosquito habitats, observe and identify mosquito larvae, and reduce the potential threat of mosquito borne disease. GLOBE Land Cover is designed to allow users to document what is on the land (trees, grass, buildings, etc.). GLOBE Trees asks users to estimate a tree’s height by taking pictures of trees with their device and answering a few questions. Additional capabilities may be added. Visit us at https://www.globe.gov and https://observer.globe.gov.

Screenshots

Mosquito Alert4 screens
GLOBE Observer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mosquito Alert at 3.7 against GLOBE Observer's 3.1. GLOBE Observer's advantage is review sentiment (34% vs 0%) and ratings volume (86 vs 7). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Mosquito Alert holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GLOBE Observer has 86 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 0% of Mosquito Alert's written reviews are positive against 34% of GLOBE Observer's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Mosquito Alert versus GLOBE Observer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMosquito AlertGLOBE Observer
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (7 ratings) — better3.1 (86 ratings)
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews33.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings786 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJohn PalmerNASA

Customer experience

Mosquito Alert

All ratings7 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

GLOBE Observer

All ratings86 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral7.0%
Negative43.0%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive33.9%
Neutral18.6%
Negative47.5%

Bugs and requests

Mosquito Alert

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

GLOBE Observer

Reported bugs

39 issues
  • Checking for updates loop
  • 504 error on account creation
  • Fails after step 5 in account creation
  • Robot verification loop
  • App crashes on opening
Show 34 more
  • Observations not submitting (error exclamation mark)
  • Interminable in-app required update
  • Errors in data entry, observations not sending/deleting
  • Invalid password errors
  • Cloud observation chart images disappear
  • No reply from support
  • App doesn't open on iPhone
  • Won't update
  • Logged out, wrong password, account locked
  • Data lost after system crash
  • Cloud ID chart not loading properly
  • Observations keep loading forever
  • iPhone stuck on installing updates
  • App crashes and never fully loads
  • Can't get photos to upload
  • User interface poorly designed
  • No observations shown when there are
  • No way to export data
  • App is forever 'installing updates'
  • Camera portion of data collection quit working
  • No way to submit a report from 'Pictures'
  • Compass won't calibrate
  • Photo feature locks screen
  • No button to take photo
  • App crashes if location is not set
  • Updates take too long
  • Photo submission portal hopeless
  • Native camera app has no prompts to submit photos
  • 'Done' button does nothing
  • 401 unknown error when sending reports
  • App goes bonkers when attaching photo
  • Screen flickers rapidly when attaching photo
  • Cannot get out of camera within app
  • Whirring wheel for update in progress for hours

Requested features

8 requests
  • Improve UI/UX design
  • Add dark mode
  • Better translation
  • Notifications for satellite flyovers
  • Integrate with WorldView or Google Earth
Show 3 more
  • More explanation/examples for cloud types
  • Export data in spreadsheet/GPS format
  • Allow users to contribute design improvements

In-app purchases

None

Mosquito Alert

No in-app purchases

None

GLOBE Observer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mosquito Alert free?
Mosquito Alert is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is GLOBE Observer free?
GLOBE Observer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mosquito Alert or GLOBE Observer?
Mosquito Alert is rated higher. Mosquito Alert averages 3.7 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while GLOBE Observer averages 3.1 from 86 ratings.
Do Mosquito Alert or GLOBE Observer have ads?
Neither Mosquito Alert nor GLOBE Observer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mosquito Alert or GLOBE Observer?
Mosquito Alert ships an update every 2 months, and GLOBE Observer every 2 months. Most recently, Mosquito Alert was updated on October 3, 2026 and GLOBE Observer on October 8, 2026.

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