Alkas vs. Seek by iNaturalist
Seek gives you instant species identification. Alkas teaches you to identify species without needing an app. Different goals, different tools.
The short version
Seek is a kid-friendly nature identification app from the iNaturalist team. Point your camera at a plant, bird, or insect and the AI tells you what it is. No account needed, no data shared - it's private by design and great for getting families outside.
But Seek doesn't teach you to identify species on your own. You point, it answers, and five minutes later you've forgotten the name. There are no study tools, no review sessions, no way to build lasting knowledge from your discoveries.
Alkas is the next step. Instead of identifying species for you, it teaches you to identify them yourself using spaced repetition - the same technique that helps medical students memorize thousands of terms. Study 15 minutes a day and you'll start recognizing species before reaching for your phone.
Instant answers vs. lasting knowledge
Seek: AI identifies for you
Point your camera at a species and get an instant identification. Collect badges for how many species you've scanned. The experience feels like a real-life Pokédex - exciting in the moment.
But the knowledge doesn't stick. Without any reinforcement, you'll forget most identifications within a day. Seek is designed for discovery, not retention.
Alkas: You learn to identify
Alkas shows you a species photo and asks: what is it? Cards you struggle with appear more often. Cards you know space out to weeks, then months. Each session builds on the last.
After a few weeks of 10-minute daily sessions, you'll recognize dozens of species in the field. The knowledge is yours - no app needed in the moment.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Alkas | Seek by iNaturalist |
|---|---|---|
| Core purpose | Learn to identify species yourself through spaced repetition | Instant AI species identification - point your camera and get an answer |
| Learning method | Spaced repetition flashcards (FSRS algorithm) with mastery tracking | No learning tools - AI identifies for you each time |
| Species coverage | 152,000+ species across US and Canada | Global - uses iNaturalist's computer vision model |
| Account required | Yes (free) | No - open the app and start identifying |
| Data backup | Cloud-synced to your account | None - observations stored on device only, lost on phone change |
| Study decks | Custom decks by region, park, taxa, season, or traits | Not available |
| Gamification | Daily streaks, study analytics, mastery progression (new → learning → mastered) | Species count badges across 9 taxa categories |
| Community features | Photo contributions, trait voting, shared decks | None - solo experience by design |
| Privacy | Account-based, cloud-synced progress | COPPA-compliant, no data collection, kid-safe |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
From scanning to studying
Seek is great at sparking curiosity. You scan a flower, learn it's a Trillium, and feel a moment of connection with the natural world. But a week later, you see the same flower and draw a blank.
Alkas turns those moments of curiosity into lasting knowledge. Create a deck for your region, and the species you keep encountering become part of your daily study. Spaced repetition schedules each review right before you'd forget - so the Trillium stays with you.
The data backup problem
One of the most common complaints about Seek is data loss. Observations are stored only on your device. Get a new phone and everything disappears - every species you've scanned, every badge you've earned. There's no cloud sync, no export, no backup.
Alkas stores your progress in the cloud. Your study streaks, mastery levels, and deck configurations are safe. Log in from any device and pick up where you left off.
Two tools, one workflow
Seek and Alkas aren't competitors - they're different steps in the same journey. Use Seek to discover species in the field. Use Alkas to remember them. If you also log observations on iNaturalist, eBird, Merlin, or Audubon Bird Guide, you can import that data into Alkas and study the species you've encountered.
iNaturalist (the team behind Seek) has confirmed that study and flashcard features are "not something iNat is planning on developing." Seek will stay focused on identification. Alkas fills the learning gap.
Beyond badges: meaningful progress
Seek's gamification is built around counts - scan 25 birds, earn a badge. It motivates you to go outside and look, which is genuinely valuable. But it doesn't measure whether you're actually learning.
Alkas tracks real learning progress. Each species moves from "new" to "learning" to "mastered" as you prove you can identify it over increasing intervals. Your study analytics show exactly which species you know cold and which ones still trip you up.
Naturalists want to learn, not just scan
"When I travel, it would be great to be able to learn the local biota before I get there."
"I enjoy making IDs to test my skills, but it would be nice to be able to do that on items that are already research grade without knowing what they are."
"What I had wanted, in order to prepare for those trips, was a birding game that would teach me the species we'd need to learn. Such things do not exist, unless you want to construct them."
"We've all been in that situation where we thumb through our field guide on the plane with a naive sense of confidence, only to be completely overloaded with unfamiliar identification challenges."
When Seek by iNaturalist is better
- - You want instant identification in the field - point and get an answer
- - You're looking for a kid-safe app with no account or data collection
- - You want casual nature discovery without commitment to studying
- - You need offline identification without internet access
When Alkas is better
- + You want to actually memorize species and identify them without an app
- + You want structured daily study with proven learning science
- + You want progress that's backed up and synced across devices
- + You want to study specific regions, parks, or trips
- + You want community-curated traits and photos optimized for learning
- + You want to track real mastery, not just species counts
Remember what you discover
Turn fleeting identifications into lasting knowledge. Free.
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