Best Tally Counter for Nature & Hobbies

What makes a great field counting app?

When someone searches "best bird counting app" or "knitting row counter online", they need a tool that works where their hobby happens — often outdoors, often offline. A hobby-worthy counter should offer:

• Multiple named counters — track different species, rows, stitches, or catch types simultaneously. A birder might count cardinals, blue jays, and chickadees in a single session.
• Offline PWA — forests, lakeshores, and living rooms during a power outage all share one trait: no reliable internet. The counter must work entirely offline.
• Categories & grouping — organize counters by species family, project, fishing spot, or garden bed. Structure makes data useful.
• Quick-add buttons — tap to add +1 for common items without navigating menus. Speed matters when a flock flies over.
• Undo — a miscount in the field is easy to make and hard to notice later. One-tap undo keeps data clean.
• CSV / Excel export — download your counts for personal records, eBird submissions, knitting pattern notes, or fishing logs.
• Dark mode for early mornings — birders start before dawn, and anglers fish at dusk. A bright white screen spooks wildlife and ruins night vision.

Field counting features — compared across 5 apps

We tested the five general-purpose online tally counters from our main comparison for hobby and field use: multi-category counting, offline reliability, data export, and usability in outdoor conditions.

The verdict

Best bird watching counter app — species tallies for birders

Bird watching is fundamentally a counting activity. Whether you're doing a backyard feeder count for Project FeederWatch, a Christmas Bird Count transect, or simply logging species on a morning walk, you need to track multiple species simultaneously and export the data afterward. Traditional birders carry a field notebook, but fumbling with a pencil while a mixed flock passes overhead means missed identifications.

DigitalTallyCounter.com is ideal for birders. Create a named counter for each species you expect to see, organize them into categories (raptors, waterfowl, songbirds), and tap as you identify. The quick-add interface lets you record a sighting in under a second. When a surprise species appears, add a new counter on the fly without disrupting your existing counts. At the end of the session, export to CSV for your personal life list, eBird submission, or citizen science project.

The offline PWA mode is non-negotiable for birding. Nature preserves, forest trails, and remote wetlands rarely have cell coverage. DigitalTallyCounter.com works entirely offline once installed on your phone, and the dark mode prevents your screen from disturbing birds (or fellow birders) during dawn chorus counts.

Best knitting row counter — never lose your place in a pattern

Every knitter knows the frustration: you set down your project to answer the door, come back, and can't remember if you're on row 47 or 48. A row counter solves this, but a mechanical counter only tracks one number. Complex patterns need multiple counters — one for the current row, one for pattern repeats, one for the total stitch count in a section.

DigitalTallyCounter.com handles this beautifully. Create named counters for "Row," "Pattern Repeat," and "Section" within a single project category. The undo button is a lifesaver when you accidentally tap twice, and the app saves your counts automatically — close the browser, reopen it tomorrow, and your row count is exactly where you left it. The offline PWA means it works on planes, in waiting rooms, and anywhere else you knit.

For crocheters counting stitches per round, or cross-stitchers tracking completed sections, the same multi-counter approach works perfectly. Export your session data to CSV if you want to note how many rows you complete per hour — useful for estimating project completion dates.

Best fishing catch logger — track your catches per trip

Serious anglers track their catches by species, size, and location to identify patterns over time. Which lake produces more bass in spring? Are trout counts declining at your favorite stream? A tally counter with categories and export turns a casual fishing habit into a personal dataset that reveals your best spots and seasonal trends.

With DigitalTallyCounter.com, create counters named by species ("Largemouth Bass," "Rainbow Trout," "Bluegill") and group them by location or trip date. Tap each time you land a fish. The offline PWA mode is essential — boat docks and riverbanks are not known for their Wi-Fi. At the end of the season, export your entire catch history to CSV and analyze it to your heart's content.

Tally-Counter.net can handle basic catch counting with its category and export features. It lacks offline mode — a real limitation on the water — but for anglers who want to log catches after returning home, the free CSV export provides a simple way to digitize the day's tally.