What is the best bird identification app for iPhone?

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab, S tier, ranked #1 of 10, rated 4.9 by 113,835 people.

Which bird identification apps are free?

9 of 10 are free to download: Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab (S), Birdbuddy: ID & Collect Birds (S), Bird Sounds Identifier Call ID (S), Bird Identifier: BirdScope (S) and more. 5 of them sell in-app purchases. 2 report no in-app purchases.

Which bird identification app has the best App Store rating?

Sibley Birds 2nd Edition at 4.9 from 2,884 ratings.

AppTierList › All lists › Bird Identification

Best Bird Identification Apps for iPhone (2026)

10 apps ranked S through F · Updated 2026-10-19 · Ranked by AppTierList, computed, never sold · JSON

Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab is the top-ranked of 10 bird identification apps on iPhone, at S tier with 4.9/5 from 113,835 ratings.

1
Merlin Bird ID by Cornell LabS
Free · ★ 4.9 · 113,835 ratings · score 97
2
Birdbuddy: ID & Collect BirdsS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 61,977 ratings · score 95
3
Bird Sounds Identifier Call IDS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 14,128 ratings · score 93
4
Bird Identifier: BirdScopeS
Free download · ★ 4.7 · 2,979 ratings · score 92
5
Picture Bird: Bird identifierA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 40,482 ratings · score 89

What belongs in this list

Find out what species a bird is from a photo, sound or description.

Not here: a general plant or animal identifier alone; a bird photo gallery alone; a bird wallpaper pack alone; a general chatbot that could be sent a photo alone; a bird-watching log with no identification alone

How we pick

For this list we ask the App Store the same searches a person would, in several countries, and keep every app it returns. A model reads each app's listing and rejects the ones that only mention the use case. Every app that stays is scored out of 100 from four parts, each 0 to 100 and averaged with no weights: its App Store rating, how many people rated it, where the App Store itself ranks it for this list's searches, and how recently its current version shipped. An app showing Apple's Editors' Choice badge gets a fifth part of 100, which can only lift its score. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier. Read the full method →

None at D yet

Compare every app

1
Merlin Bird ID by Cornell LabS
Free · ★ 4.9 · 113,835 ratings · score 97 · best in class
2
Birdbuddy: ID & Collect BirdsS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 61,977 ratings · score 95 · best in class
3
Bird Sounds Identifier Call IDS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 14,128 ratings · score 93 · best in class
4
Bird Identifier: BirdScopeS
Free download · ★ 4.7 · 2,979 ratings · score 92 · best in class
5
Picture Bird: Bird identifierA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 40,482 ratings · score 89 · excellent
6
Audubon Bird GuideA
Free · ★ 4.3 · 4,524 ratings · score 88 · excellent
7
Smart Bird ID: Identify BirdsA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 16,815 ratings · score 85 · excellent
8
iBird Pro Guide to BirdsB
Free + IAP · ★ 4.3 · 6,938 ratings · score 78 · good
9
Birda - Bird Watching, BirdingC
Free download · ★ 4.7 · 2,295 ratings · score 67 · situational · provisional
10
Sibley Birds 2nd EditionF
$19.99 · ★ 4.9 · 2,884 ratings · score 49 · avoid · provisional

New in the last 30 days

Questions people ask

What is the best bird identification app for iPhone?: Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab, S tier, ranked #1 of 10, rated 4.9 by 113,835 people.
Which bird identification apps are free?: 9 of 10 are free to download: Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab (S), Birdbuddy: ID & Collect Birds (S), Bird Sounds Identifier Call ID (S), Bird Identifier: BirdScope (S) and more. 5 of them sell in-app purchases. 2 report no in-app purchases.
Which bird identification app has the best App Store rating?: Sibley Birds 2nd Edition at 4.9 from 2,884 ratings.
How many bird identification apps reach S or A tier?: 7 of 10. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier.