Comparison

eBird vs Costa Rica Birds Basic

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

Head to head
About

eBird

Easily record bird sightings in the field and contribute to a global database for scientific research and conservation. This app offers offline functionality, customized checklists, and GPS-enabled location plotting.

Highlights
  • Record bird observations globally
  • Global taxonomy and local common names
  • Location and time-based checklists
  • Rare species flagging
  • Offline functionality
  • GPS location plotting
  • Trip and day list tracking
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

eBird Mobile makes it easy to record the birds you see in the field, and seamlessly link these observations with eBird--a global online database of bird records used by hundreds of thousands of birders around the world. This free resource makes it easy to keep track of what you see, while making your data openly available for scientific research, education, and conservation. eBird Mobile is the only app that passes information directly from the iOS device to your eBird account on the web. Features - Enter bird observations from any location around the world. - Full global taxonomy based on The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. - Common names available in local languages (e.g., Portuguese names in Brazil or in Portugal). - Checklists customized for your location and time of year, showing most likely species based on eBird data. - Rare species flagged during data entry and on the checklist. - "Record as you go" functionality for incremental list keeping and counting while birding. - GPS enabled location plotting to ensure accuracy. - Map tools that enable selecting from hundreds of thousands of eBird "Hotspots." - Full offline functionality, enabling use in places with limited or no Internet connection. - Trip and Day list functionality that makes it easy to keep track of your species list on a particular outing. - Support for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. - Entire app translated to German, Mandarin, French, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Turkish, and Dutch.

About

Costa Rica Birds Basic

A field guide to common Costa Rican birds, featuring images, vocalizations, and detailed descriptions. It includes search filters, personal lists, and note-taking capabilities, with options to record GPS and email sightings.

Highlights
  • Bird identification with images and vocalizations
  • Range maps and detailed descriptions
  • Comprehensive search and filtering
  • Personalized target lists
  • Note-taking with GPS recording
  • Similar species comparison
Features
Read full description

Field guide for Costa Rica showing 360 of the most spectacular and commonly encountered bird species. -Images for each species. -Vocalizations for most. -Range maps, descriptions, field marks, and other information for all. NO ADVERTISEMEMTS. FREE UPGRADES. Additional features include: -Comprehensive SEARCH filter -Search by name -Sorting options -Make target lists -Check as seen, heard, or unseen/heard -Personal notes -Camera, email notes and photos. -Similar Species feature allows quick comparison of field sightings New, improved note keeping, including note filtering, recording GPS position, and emailing 1 or a batch of notes in eBird format. 'Which Bird is it?' Record and photo bird, email to us for help in identification

Screenshots

eBird4 screens
Costa Rica Birds Basic1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Costa Rica Birds Basic at 100% against eBird's 37%. Costa Rica Birds Basic also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.8) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 18.0). eBird's advantage is price (Free vs $2.99) and ratings volume (830 vs 3). On update cadence, ads, 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

eBird is free to download; Costa Rica Birds Basic costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Costa Rica Birds Basic holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: eBird has 830 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 37% of eBird's written reviews are positive against 100% of Costa Rica Birds Basic's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
eBird versus Costa Rica Birds Basic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametereBirdCosta Rica Birds Basic
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating3.8 (830 ratings)4.3 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews37.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings830 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank#152 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size81 MB265 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCornell UniversityPatrick ODonnell

Customer experience

eBird

All ratings824 ratings
Positive67.6%
Neutral9.7%
Negative22.7%
Written reviews369 reviews
Positive37.1%
Neutral18.2%
Negative44.7%

Costa Rica Birds Basic

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

eBird

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes when trying to start a new checklist
  • Inability to log in or access account
  • Inconsistent behavior with bird pack downloads
  • Checklist data not syncing across devices
  • Explore feature not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to upload photos and audio directly in the app
  • Implement alphabetical sorting for checklists
  • Improve syncing between app and website
  • Add more advanced filtering and search options
  • Provide offline access to bird information

Costa Rica Birds Basic

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

eBird

No in-app purchases

None

Costa Rica Birds Basic

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is eBird free?
eBird is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Costa Rica Birds Basic free?
Costa Rica Birds Basic costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, eBird or Costa Rica Birds Basic?
Costa Rica Birds Basic is rated higher. eBird averages 3.8 out of 5 from 830 ratings, while Costa Rica Birds Basic averages 4.3 from 3 ratings.
Do eBird or Costa Rica Birds Basic have ads?
Neither eBird nor Costa Rica Birds Basic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, eBird or Costa Rica Birds Basic?
eBird ships an update every 2 months, and Costa Rica Birds Basic every 2 months. Most recently, eBird was updated on November 10, 2026 and Costa Rica Birds Basic on November 2, 2026.

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