# Penn Mobile vs Birdathon

Penn Mobile and Birdathon both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Birdathon's written reviews are positive against 53% of Penn Mobile's. Penn Mobile's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, rating, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Birdathon sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Penn Mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Penn Mobile against 4.7 for Birdathon. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Penn Mobile has 410 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 53% of Penn Mobile's written reviews are positive against 100% of Birdathon's.

Penn Mobile ships an update every 4 weeks, Birdathon every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Penn Mobile | Birdathon |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (410 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penn-mobile/id944829399/reviews) | **[4.7 (15 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birdathon/id1211977440/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **410** | 15 |
| Positive reviews | 52.6% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 weeks** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 31 MB | 192 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **16.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [University of Pennsylvania](https://appshunter.io/developer/437910363) | [Barry Langdon-Lassagne](https://appshunter.io/developer/730758814) |

## What reviewers say

### Penn Mobile

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/penn-mobile/id944829399)

Streamline your campus experience with essential tools for student life. Access study room bookings, dining hall menus and hours, course schedules, and laundry machine availability. Quickly find fitness facility hours and emergency services.

**Highlights:** Study room booking, Dining hall hours and menus, Course schedule access, Laundry machine availability, Fitness facility hours, Emergency services access

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Very useful app for students
- 👍 Great interface
- 👍 Helpful for freshman/new students
- 👍 Convenient for dining hall menus
- 👍 Consolidates many student services

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Unable to log in
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 API connection issues
- 🐛 Data unavailable
- 🐛 App won't open

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to log in after Duo pop-up
- Cannot load dining halls or retail dining
- Unable to log in with PennKey
- App does not open after recent update
- App prompts to log in every time

**Requested features**

- Include fitness center hours
- Include building directory of campus
- Fix API connection issues
- Update app for better stability
- Fix login bugs


### Birdathon

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birdathon/id1211977440)

This app helps birdwatchers create and organize detailed checklists of their observations. It automatically records time and location, allowing for easy editing and customization. Users can visualize their sightings on maps, add field notes, and export data for sharing or further analysis.

**Highlights:** Observation-centric checklists, Automatic time and location recording, Customizable maps with boundary overlays, Field notes for additional observations, Multiple checklist sorting options, Data export to CSV and other formats, Create checklist templates

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Good Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Great Tip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Amazing Tip | $2.99 | one-time |
| Incredible Tip | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Penn Mobile free?

Penn Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Birdathon free?

Birdathon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Penn Mobile or Birdathon?

Birdathon is rated higher. Penn Mobile averages 4.6 out of 5 from 410 ratings, while Birdathon averages 4.7 from 15 ratings.

### Do Penn Mobile or Birdathon have ads?

Neither Penn Mobile nor Birdathon shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Penn Mobile or Birdathon?

Penn Mobile ships an update every 4 weeks, and Birdathon every 4 months. Most recently, Penn Mobile was updated on September 8, 2026 and Birdathon on September 19, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*