12 Fun Apps That Will Turn You into a Nature Expert

Curiosity has its reason for existing, the important thing is not to stop questioning. Nature, space and our environment are filled with amazing things that inspire you to be in awe of things around you. Be it a trail you never took, the butterfly’s species you fell in love with or the star in the sky that twinkled for you. Thankfully there are several apps that will help you identify all of this. Here are our top 12 fun apps that will help you explore nature and feed your curiosity.

1. iNaturalist

iNaturalist is the most widely recommended all-around nature identification app — point your camera at a plant, animal, insect, or fungus and its image recognition suggests likely species, with identifications confirmed by a community of naturalists and scientists. Every observation you log can also feed real biodiversity research, which is what sets it apart from a simple ID tool. It works alongside eBird (already on this list for birds specifically) and has a simpler sibling app, Seek, covered below. iNaturalist is completely free, with no subscription and no in-app purchases.

2. eBird

eBird has an amazing online database which offers information about thousands of birds. This free app works even without a net connection. eBird also tells you how much time you have been birding. Created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this app also allows you to submit images of the birds that you have spotted. With that, you can also record the bird sounds and provides tips for identifying species. This app has been fed over 70 million observations, and as per that analysis, the app offers you an educated guess. This free app is available on Apple and Play Store as well. In essence, it allows you to find birds, keep track of your bird lists, sounds and photos and provides you with a platform to contribute to science and conservation.

3. Leps by Fieldguide

Available for free, Leps by Fieldguide is a crowd-sourced guide that helps you identify leps (butterflies and moths) that come your way whilst your stroll in nature. This app uses image recognition AI. And the outcome is later verified by experts. One of the reviews on the App Store read, “I love the features of this app, It took a few minutes to navigate but once I figured it out it was very easy to work. I think that there should be a way to message other users and create conversations about moths, it would be nice to talk about my passion with other people who share it! Other than the lack of community it’s a pretty good app, it could be a bit more polished but overall I would give it a 4/5. It’s the only app like it out there so it will do :))”

4. Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder

Maybe you are done with all the hiking trails nearby, or there are chances that you are unaware of the trials in your area. Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder helps you find the parks nearest to you with all the fun-filled activities. This app is so fun and popular that Bob Tedeschi from The New York Times said, “Even if it weren’t free, Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder would be well worth downloading.” This app is available for free. Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder mobile App provides information about hiking, bird watching, boating, hunting, fishing, and off-highway driving.

5. Meteor Counter

This app is developed by 3dsun.org. As per studies, approximately 30 meteor showers happen every year that are visible to the human eye. Imagine if we have an idea of when this phenomenon takes place and Meteor Counter does just that. As a part of Education, Meteor Counter provides a news feed and an updated calendrer of the upcoming meteor shower.

6. GoSkyWatch Planetarium

The sky and space are full of magic, and we always yearn to know more about celestial objects. This app helps you to identify and locate stars, planets, comets, galaxies and more. All you need to do is simply point your mobile at the sky and move around. One of the reviews read, D.Schroeder, a University professor: “Powerful and easy to use, with excellent animation and the widest zoom range.” It has touch-free identification, once pointed at the sky there is no need to zoom in as the image pops up directly, it has Gyroscope compass auto calibration and Unique target identification.

7. Digital compass

Digital compass is your friend in need to know whether you are heading in the right direction. This app is not only simple, but it also shows both magnetic and true north. With high precision, the app allows you to find the right direction, bearing, azimuth or degree. This app is built using a gyroscope, magnetometer, accelerator, and gravity. Digital Compass app is free to download, it has in-app purchases too.

8. Mushroom Identify

Not all mushrooms are good, some are poisonous too. The Mushroom Identify app lets you upload the mushroom pic and within seconds you will have all the details of the mushroom. One of the reviews spoke highly of the app, “I’ve been collecting wild mushrooms for 30 years but I haven’t tried an automated identification app before. I tested it on a series of fresh mushrooms that I was certain of. Despite being in the beta stage the photo identifier worked every time. This especially amazed me because there was no reference ruler or size scale in the photos. Nice app!” This app is payable if you want to get into the niche.

9. PeakVisor AR

PeakVisor uses AR and is free to download. It allows you to simply enjoy your trip rather than your time in research. It is your outdoor adventure partner. PeakVisor AR identifies mountains, lets you enjoy scenic hikes with satellite 3D maps, and it teleports you to any location to explore in 3D. In short, as their website says, PeakVisor AR enables you to be a superhero of outdoor navigation with state-of-the-art 3D maps and mountain identification in the palm of your hand!

10. Walkmeter Walking & Hiking GPS

Walkmeter Walking & Hiking GPS is advanced and is designed specifically for hikers, rexercise walkers, runners, and cyclists. It is clean and easy to use. This app also tracks your heart rate, bike speed, etc. It is free to download and has in-app elite upgrades for $9.99. It is available in English, French, German, Italian, and Japanese.

11. Outdooractive

Outdooractive is an app for smartphones and smartwatches. It is made especially for mountaineers, bikers, explorers, families and pretty much all lovers of the outdoors. This app provides over one million premium routes and content from outdoor experts. Here you can plan your route and other activities as well. Most importantly, it allows you to discover the world through their travel guide. The basic app is free, but you can upgrade it for €2.50 per month or Pro+ for €5 per month.

12. AllTrails

AllTrails is an app that is built for everyone to go wild. This app lets you explore casual strolls or trek to the summit with confidence. This app offers 350 + curated trials, and 40 million fellow explorers who have logged in 965 + million km. AllTrails lets you explore the outdoors with AllTrails! Discover hiking, biking, backpacking, and running trails around the world.

A Few More Nature Apps Worth Knowing About

The original list covers solid ground, but a few apps have become genuinely standard recommendations since this post was written — worth knowing about, especially if you want something simpler or more kid-friendly than a couple of the apps above.

13. Seek by iNaturalist

Seek is iNaturalist's simpler sibling app — same image-recognition technology, but instant results with no account, no community upload, and no waiting for verification. Photos stay on the device, which makes it a popular pick for parents who want kids identifying plants and animals without creating an account or uploading anything. It's gamified with badges for finding new species, which keeps younger users coming back.

14. Merlin Bird ID

Merlin, also from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (the same team behind eBird, already on this list), adds something eBird doesn't do as well: sound-based bird identification. Point your phone at birdsong and Merlin will suggest likely matches in real time — useful for birds you can hear but can't see.

15. PictureThis / PlantNet

For plant identification specifically, PictureThis and PlantNet are two of the most commonly recommended options. PictureThis leans toward a polished, care-focused experience (watering reminders, disease diagnosis) and sits behind a subscription; PlantNet is free and research-backed, built by a consortium of scientific institutes, with a more no-frills interface.

16. Google Lens

Most people already have this installed and don't think of it as a nature app, but Google Lens is surprisingly capable at identifying common plants and animals on the spot — a reasonable fallback if you spot something interesting and don't have a specialist app installed.

A safety note on mushroom and foraging apps: identification apps are a helpful starting point, not a substitute for certainty. Misidentifying a wild mushroom or plant can be genuinely dangerous. Never eat something you've found in the wild based solely on an app's identification — cross-check with a field guide or, ideally, an experienced local forager before consuming anything.

Quick Comparison: Which Nature App Fits You

App	Best For	Price
iNaturalist	Community-verified ID, contributing to real science	Free
Seek	Kids, privacy, instant results, no account	Free
eBird	Serious birders, tracking life lists	Free
Merlin Bird ID	Identifying birds by sound	Free
PictureThis	Plant care + identification, polished UX	Subscription
PlantNet	Free, research-backed plant ID	Free
AllTrails	Trail discovery and route planning	Free, paid tier available
Mushroom Identify	Mushroom ID (see safety note above)	Free, in-app purchases

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the single best all-around nature identification app?

iNaturalist is the most commonly recommended all-around app — it identifies plants, animals, and fungi, and every observation you log can contribute to real biodiversity research. If you want something simpler and don't care about the community/citizen-science side, Seek (from the same team) gives instant results with no account needed.

Is it safe to eat mushrooms or plants an app identifies for me?

No app should be your only source of certainty here. Identification apps are a helpful starting point, but misidentifying a wild mushroom or plant can be genuinely dangerous. Always cross-check with a field guide or an experienced forager before eating anything you've found in the wild.

Which app is best for identifying birds by song, not just sight?

Merlin Bird ID, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, specializes in sound-based identification — point your phone at birdsong and it suggests likely matches in real time.

Are these apps free to use?

Most of the core identification apps on this list — iNaturalist, Seek, eBird, Merlin, PlantNet — are free. A few, like PictureThis and Mushroom Identify, offer additional care or premium features behind a subscription or in-app purchase.

What's the best nature app for kids specifically?

Seek by iNaturalist is generally the top recommendation for kids — no account required, photos stay private on the device, and it's gamified with badges that keep younger users engaged with finding new species.

Do these apps work without an internet connection?

It varies by app. eBird is noted for working offline. Most photo-identification apps (iNaturalist, Seek, PictureThis) need a connection to process the image against their database, so it's worth checking an app's offline capability before relying on it deep in an area with no signal.

If You're Building an App in This Space

Nature and outdoor apps are a genuinely fun category to build in — image recognition, GPS/mapping, and community features all show up here in ways that make for interesting technical problems. If you've got an idea for an app along these lines, App-Scoop's mobile app development team builds this kind of consumer app for both iOS and Android. Get in touch and we'll talk through what it would take to build.

Final Thoughts

We know these stats are repetitive, but they don’t lie. There are more than 6.3 billion smartphone users across the world and 88% of mobile time is spent on Apps. By 2023 mobile apps are going to generate over $935 billion in revenue. So, it is always the right decision to come up with mobile apps that will help all. Building nature-related apps will never go in vain because people love to explore. We at App-Scoop have first-hand experience in developing leading apps. Sure, there are several spiritual apps, but users often look out for different apps. And we promise you to deliver just that. If you have an app idea do get in touch with our competent team to get things started.