Monarch SOS vs Project FeederWatch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Monarch SOS
Identify monarch butterflies and their host plants with this comprehensive field guide. Learn about their life cycle, threats, and conservation efforts. Compare look-alike species and stay updated on migration news.
- Monarch identification guide
- Life cycle stages
- Confusing look-alike comparison
- Milkweed species identification
- Conservation efforts information
- Migration news updates
Read full descriptionHide full description
Monarch SOS is a field guide for the public as well as a citizen science reporting app. It is the first monarch app developed by scientists that covers monarch identification in all life cycle stages, confusing look-alikes and numerous milkweed species (monarchs' larval host plants), frequently encountered in North America. Monarch SOS is a valuable tool for learning about monarch butterflies, threats they face and how everyone can help bring back the monarchs by making a few simple lifestyle changes. If viceroy and queen butterflies confuse you, quickly learn the differences in the "Compare" section under each butterfly. Keep up with the latest information on monarch conservation efforts and migration news by checking in daily with What's New? The feed is updated every time you open the app, so you'll always be in the loop!
Project FeederWatch
Easily report bird sightings from your feeder for scientific research. Track your statistics, access past counts, and learn about local feeder birds. Contribute to a large database that aids conservation efforts.
- Report winter bird sightings
- Track sighting statistics
- Access past count archives
- Contribute to bird population database
- Discover best food and feeder types
- Identify and learn about feeder birds
Read full descriptionHide full description
Do you feed birds? You can report what you see for science. Project FeederWatch, a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada, monitors winter feeder-bird populations in North America. The FeederWatch Mobile App is a new way for Project FeederWatch members to contribute their bird counts. Sign in to: •Report birds that visit your count site in winter (US and Canada only) •Track your sighting statistics in real time •Access your archive of past counts from all years •Contribute to North America’s largest database on feeder birds •Find out what food and feeder types work best for the birds overwintering near you •Identify and learn about feeder birds FeederWatch Mobile automatically syncs with the web version for seamless multi-platform support. Your data become immediately available for scientific research, education, and conservation. Thank you for helping birds!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Monarch SOS at 100% against Project FeederWatch's 33%. Monarch SOS also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.0) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Project FeederWatch's advantage is ratings volume (68 vs 18). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Monarch SOS holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 68 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Monarch SOS's written reviews are positive against 33% of Project FeederWatch's.
Monarch SOS ships an update every 5 weeks, Project FeederWatch every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Monarch SOS | Project FeederWatch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (18 ratings) — better | 3.0 (68 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 18 | 68 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 176 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Naturedigger LLC | Cornell University |
Customer experience
Monarch SOS
Project FeederWatch
Bugs and requests
Monarch SOS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Project FeederWatch
Reported bugs
40 issues- Birds saved then disappear
- Counts get lost
- Entries not saved consistently
- Part of data not recorded
- App deletes counts
Show 35 moreShow fewer
- App freezes/hangs regularly
- Connection fails repeatedly
- App is slow to respond
- Opens to a blank black screen
- App doesn't recognize submitted through browser
- Entering total observation doesn't work
- Freezes after entering most data
- Frequent freezes and server problems
- App freezes when coming up
- App freezes frequently on iPad Pro
- Forced to close and reload app
- No way to enter data offline
- App freezes after using for 2 minutes
- Login problem fixed but causes freezing
- Login fails, incorrect password/account not activated
- Cannot alter/fix incorrect bird count
- Cannot delete sightings
- Cannot zero out a bird count
- Account not activated message
- Latest update doesn't work
- Server doesn't want to connect
- App doesn't connect
- Screen goes all black
- Logins become a nightmare for months
- App goes to a totally black screen after appearing to be launching
- Lost bird count due to black screen lock up
- Regularly fails to recognize login
- Zero observations reported initially
- Cannot log in, account not activated
- App doesn't work at all after update
- App directs to log in on website, but still doesn't load data
- Can't enter dates correctly
- App doesn't report a problem with version, but newer version exists
- Repeatedly freezes to the point of needing to power off/on
- Froze if left open too long
Requested features
19 requests- Fix data loss issues
- Improve app stability
- Resolve login problems
- Add offline data entry
- Provide taxonomic sort option
Show 14 moreShow fewer
- Enable data entry by alpha code
- Fix blank black screen on launch
- Allow alteration/deletion of incorrect counts
- Add French language version
- Improve iPad functionality
- Make app more robust for all users
- Ensure consistent data saving
- Fix server connection issues
- Update app more frequently
- Improve user interface for better screen utilization
- Fix issues with switching between apps
- Allow editing of submitted counts
- Improve handling of large counts
- Ensure all species counts are saved
In-app purchases
Monarch SOS
No in-app purchases
Project FeederWatch
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Monarch SOS free?
Is Project FeederWatch free?
Which has better reviews, Monarch SOS or Project FeederWatch?
Do Monarch SOS or Project FeederWatch have ads?
Which is updated more often, Monarch SOS or Project FeederWatch?
Other comparisons
