--- title: "Is there an app for identifying bugs?" url: https://isthereathing.com/an-app-for-identifying-bugs/ answer: "yes" summary: "Yes, and iNaturalist and Seek are free. Treat an app's answer as a suggestion: iNaturalist adds a community of people who review your photo, and the Natural History Museum will look at UK finds by email." category: "Identify things" published: 2026-10-05 updated: 2026-10-05 author: "Jack Stovell" publisher: "Adapt Progress Evolve Limited" language: en-GB --- # Is there an app for identifying bugs? **Answer: yes.** Yes, and iNaturalist and Seek are free. Treat an app's answer as a suggestion: iNaturalist adds a community of people who review your photo, and the Natural History Museum will look at UK finds by email. (Source: [iNaturalist](https://www.inaturalist.org/)) Yes, there are apps for identifying bugs, and iNaturalist and Seek are both free. Treat whatever an app tells you as a suggestion rather than a verdict: iNaturalist adds a community of people who review your photo, and the Natural History Museum will look at UK finds by email. Birds are a different problem, because sometimes you only hear them, and there are free apps that will name a bird from a recording. The same rule applies, so check every result by ear. If you're after [identifying bird calls](/an-app-for-identifying-bird-calls/), that page covers Merlin Bird ID and BirdNET, and which of ChirpOMatic's free and paid tiers differ between iPhone and Android. ## The shortlist ### iNaturalist A free, nonprofit nature app and website that suggests what a plant, animal or insect is, then lets other people review your observation. - Link: https://www.inaturalist.org/ - Free tier: yes. Free, nonprofit, community-powered (iNaturalist); free on the UK App Store. - Paid from: not checked (free) - Best at: Instant suggestions plus crowdsourced identifications from a community the Google Play listing puts at over 400,000 scientists and naturalists. - The catch: Your observation is shared with the community. The new iPhone app is listed as only for iPhone; an older iNaturalist Classic app is still on the App Store. - Platforms: ios, android, web - Source: [iNaturalist](https://www.inaturalist.org/) ### Seek by iNaturalist A free camera app from iNaturalist that suggests what a plant, animal or bug is from your camera view. - Link: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/seek-by-inaturalist/id1353224144 - Free tier: yes. Free; no registration needed and no user data collected by default (UK App Store). - Paid from: not checked (free) - Best at: Free use with no registration, and lists of insects and other species commonly recorded in your area. - The catch: Identifications come from image recognition only; there is no community review unless you sign in with an iNaturalist account. - Platforms: ios, android - Source: [Seek by iNaturalist on the UK App Store](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/seek-by-inaturalist/id1353224144) ### Picture Insect An insect identifier app from Next Vision Limited, free to download with paid Premium subscriptions, plus an insect encyclopedia, bite information and pest tips. - Link: https://www.pictureinsect.com/ - Free tier: not verified. Free to download with in-app purchases; the website says try for free, but the free allowance is not stated. - Paid from: £4.99 per month (Month Premium, UK App Store) (checked 2026-10-02; Yearly Premium £29.99 with a 7 day trial; other in-app purchases run from £2.49 to £69.99, including Quarter Premium £14.99, Month Pro £9.99, eBooks and Nature Education Bundles, with most periods not stated) - Best at: A dedicated insect and spider app with pest detection tips and, on Premium, answers from entomologists. - The catch: The free allowance is not stated; Premium is described as identifying insects without limits. Coverage figures disagree: the UK App Store description says 1000+ species, while its subscription panel and Google Play say 4,000+. - Platforms: ios, android - Source: [Picture Insect on the UK App Store](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/picture-insect-bug-identifier/id1461694973) ### Google Lens Google's visual search: point your camera or use a photo or screenshot to search what you see. - Link: https://search.google/ways-to-search/lens/ - Free tier: not verified. No price stated on Google's Lens page. - Paid from: not checked (not stated on Google's Lens page) - Best at: A quick look with nothing extra to install if you already have the Google app or Chrome. - The catch: A general visual search tool, not an insect app; Google's page gives plants and dogs as examples and does not mention insects. - Platforms: android, ios, chrome - Source: [Google Lens](https://search.google/ways-to-search/lens/) ## How they compare ### If you want a person to check the answer iNaturalist is a free, nonprofit nature app and website. You photograph the bug and get an instant suggestion, and then other people can look at your observation and add their own identifications. The Google Play listing puts that community at over 400,000 scientists and naturalists. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web. The cost is that your observation is shared with the community, which is how the review works. If you would rather keep your garden finds to yourself, that matters. ### If you want it free with no account Seek by iNaturalist is a free camera app that suggests what a plant, animal or bug is from your camera view. It does not require registration and, according to its UK App Store listing, does not collect any user data by default. It also shows lists of insects and other species commonly recorded in your area, so you can see what is likely to be about. What you give up is the people. Seek's identifications come from image recognition alone, so nobody reviews your photo unless you sign in with an iNaturalist account. ### If you are dealing with pests in the house or garden Picture Insect, from Next Vision Limited, is a dedicated insect and spider app. Its Google Play listing offers pest detection and control tips, an insect encyclopedia and a bites reference, which helps when the question is whether you need to do something about it as well as what it is. The catch is money. It is free to download with in-app purchases, and its website says you can try it for free, but the free allowance is not stated. Premium is described as identifying insects without limits. ### If you would rather not install anything new Google Lens is Google's visual search. If you already have the Google app or Chrome, you can point your camera at the bug or use a photo or screenshot, and it also works in Chrome on desktop. Google's Lens page names no price. It is general visual search, not an insect app. Google's own page gives plants and dogs as examples and does not mention insects, so treat it as a quick look rather than a dedicated identifier. ### If you want to record a bug's sound The new iNaturalist app can record sounds as well as photos as an observation for the community to review. It does not say it identifies sounds automatically, so you are handing the recording to people rather than to a machine. We found no automatic insect sound identifier among the apps we checked. ### When paying is worth it The main tension is people against privacy. iNaturalist relies on review by people, so your photo is shared. Seek is private by default but uses image recognition alone. Choose the one whose trade you can live with. Picture Insect's coverage figures disagree. The UK App Store description says it identifies 1000+ species of insects, while the same listing's subscription panel and Google Play say 4,000+. The App Store also claims an identification accuracy rate of 95.28%, a figure from the developer that we could not check. There is also a platform wrinkle. The new iNaturalist app is listed as only for iPhone. The older iNaturalist Classic app, which also runs on iPad, is still listed, though iNaturalist recommends the new one. Paying only comes up with Picture Insect. On the UK App Store, Month Premium is £4.99 and Yearly Premium is £29.99 with a 7 day trial, and other in-app purchases run from £2.49 to £69.99, including a Quarter Premium at £14.99, a Month Pro at £9.99, eBooks and Nature Education Bundles, with most periods not stated. Premium adds identification without limits and answers from entomologists. If you want an expert's answer on a recurring problem, that is what the money buys. For identification alone, iNaturalist and Seek are free. ## What to watch for Picture Insect subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the period ends, according to the UK App Store. If you start the trial, note when it ends. An app is no help with a bad reaction. The NHS says to call 999 if lips, mouth, throat or tongue suddenly swell or breathing is hard after a bite or sting, and to use NHS 111 if symptoms get worse. Do not rely on an app to tell you whether a bite is dangerous. The NHS also says bites and stings are not usually serious and clear in a few days. They can get infected, though, or cause a serious allergic reaction. ## How we checked On 2026-10-02 we read the iNaturalist homepage, the UK App Store and Google Play listings for iNaturalist, Seek and Picture Insect, the iNaturalist Classic App Store listing, the Picture Insect website, Google's Lens page, the Natural History Museum's identify nature page and the NHS page on insect bites and stings. BugGuide blocked our requests, so it is not listed. Nothing was tested hands-on, so this is what those pages say. ## If none of these fit For a UK find, the Natural History Museum's Identification and Advisory Service answers questions about insects. Email photos with a description, where and when you saw it, and its approximate size; a coin in the photo helps with scale. The museum also runs a Facebook identification group if you would rather ask there. ## Also typed as - is there an app for bug sounds - is there an app for insect sounds - is there a website to identify bugs - is there an app that identifies bugs - is there an app that can identify bugs - is there an app to identify bug sounds - is there a website that identifies bugs - is there an app for identifying insects ## Related questions - [Is there an app that identifies plants?](https://isthereathing.com/an-app-that-identifies-plants/) - [Is there an app for identifying bird calls?](https://isthereathing.com/an-app-for-identifying-bird-calls/) ## Sources - [iNaturalist](https://www.inaturalist.org/) (checked 2026-10-02) - [iNaturalist on the UK App Store](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/inaturalist/id6475737561) (checked 2026-10-02) - [iNaturalist on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.inaturalist.android&hl=en_GB&gl=GB) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Seek by iNaturalist on the UK App Store](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/seek-by-inaturalist/id1353224144) (checked 2026-10-02) - [iNaturalist Classic on the UK App Store](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/inaturalist-classic/id421397028) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Picture Insect on the UK App Store](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/picture-insect-bug-identifier/id1461694973) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Picture Insect on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.glority.pictureinsect&hl=en_GB&gl=GB) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Picture Insect website](https://www.pictureinsect.com/) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Google Lens](https://search.google/ways-to-search/lens/) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Natural History Museum: identify nature](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/identify-nature.html) (checked 2026-10-02) - [NHS: insect bites and stings](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/insect-bites-and-stings/) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Seek by iNaturalist on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.inaturalist.seek&hl=en_GB&gl=GB) (checked 2026-10-02) ## Questions people ask ### Is there a free app that identifies insects? Yes. iNaturalist is free and nonprofit, and Seek by iNaturalist is free with no registration. Picture Insect is free to download but sells Premium subscriptions. ### Is there a website that identifies bugs? iNaturalist works on the web, and Google Lens works in Chrome on desktop. In the UK, the Natural History Museum will look at insect photos you email it. ### Is there an app for bug sounds? We found no insect sound identifier among these. The new iNaturalist app lets you record sounds as an observation so other people can help identify it. ### Can an app tell me if a bite is dangerous? Do not rely on one. The NHS says to call 999 if lips, mouth, throat or tongue suddenly swell or breathing is hard, and to use NHS 111 if symptoms get worse.