Companion birds are some of the most popular pets worldwide, just behind cats and dogs.

The two most popular companion birds people adopt out of any other type of bird are cockatiels and budgies

Both budgies and cockatiels make amazing pets, one is not objectively better than the other.

They have their differences and similarities but at the end of the day, it really comes down to your personal preference.

This article is designed for those thinking of adopting a companion bird and not sure of which one they want.

If you’re new to bird care, you’ll probably narrow it down to either a cockatiel or a budgie.

My goal in this article is to help you decide which of these two birds suit you best.

In no way am I trying to steer you in either direction, my aim is to create a fully unbiased comparison of both birds to give you an idea of how they’re similar and how they’re different.

Without further discussion, let’s compare!

Cockatiel Vs Budgie: Care & Maintenance

No matter which bird you choose, both require lots of time, effort, and attention for them to thrive and be happy.

Both birds thrive off of social interactions with their flock members, which include you.

Playtime and social interaction are essential for both of these birds.

They both have similar diets made up of pellets, vegetables, seeds, and fruits.

For both birds, you will need to do the following chores at least once a week:

• Bathe them

• Wash their cage

• Buy them new toys

• Prepare vegetables

These weekly chores are on top of the daily chores which include:

• Replacing cage liner

• Replacing food and water bowls

• Training them

Don’t choose one bird expecting it to be easier than the other, both cockatiels and budgies are high-maintenance pets.

There is one difference between the two when it comes to caring requirements…

Cockatiels will need a slightly larger cage than budgies, therefore the initial setup for a cockatiel could be a bit more expensive than budgies.

If you’re stuck for a cage, I recommend viewing this one on Amazon.

It can comfortably house up to 3 budgies or 2 cockatiels which is a pretty good-sized cage.

Learn how to set up an EPIC cockatiel cage.

Cockatiel Vs Budgie: Mess

Both budgies and cockatiels are highly skilled in the art of mess-making.

Eating food, playing with toys, and flying around are all going to cause a mess in your house.

Although budgies are messy, cockatiels are much worse…

Cockatiels have lots of fluff and dander that come off their bodies and into the air.

They fluff up like this all the time:

Just look at all that dust!

Budgies don’t produce as much fluff as cockatiels, so if you have allergies or respiratory issues, a budgie might suit you better than a dusty cockatiel.

Read this to learn how to keep a tidy house with messy birds.

If you use the tips found in the linked post, the mess caused by birds won’t be as hard to deal with.

Lifespan

Budgies and cockatiels have very different lifespans.

Cockatiels can live up to 30 years old in captivity while budgies will typically live for only 5 – 10 years.

This means you’ll need to make a much longer commitment if you adopt a cockatiel.

If you don’t think you’d be able to look after a bird for 30 years, a budgie might be better for you.

Learn more about cockatiel lifespan info here…

Cockatiel Vs Budgie: Personality & Behaviour

Cockatiels and budgies are both highly intelligent and social birds, they can both create strong and affectionate bonds with their dedicated owners.

Both birds, if properly socialized, enjoy hands-on interactions with their owners.

If they haven’t been socialized, they can be very skittish and scared around humans.

When they are fully tamed, cockatiels and budgies will show completely different personalities.

Your bird choice will likely be based on what personality you prefer most.

Cockatiels are more “chill” than budgies in terms of how they act around their humans.

When I say “chill”, I mean cockatiels are happy sitting on your shoulder and whistling some tunes throughout the day.

Budgies are completely different.

Inside the cage, budgies may seem calm, but outside the cage, they will be hyper and zipping around the room like flies.

Budgies seem to have a lot more energy than cockatiels.

Although cockatiels are very active, they couldn’t keep up with the activity level of a hyperactive budgie.

Which bird matches your activity level? Could you keep up with a budgie?

Cockatiel Vs Budgie: Appearance

Here is a cockatiel:

And here is a budgie:

Both of these birds can vary greatly in colour.

Cockatiels can easily be differentiated from budgies by their crest and slightly larger size.

They also have red spots on their cheeks that budgies do not have.

It’s quite easy to tell the two birds apart once you know their key characteristics.

Cockatiel Vs Budgie: Size

As mentioned, cockatiels are slightly larger than budgies.

More specifically, cockatiels grow to 30 – 35cm and weigh around 90 grams.

Budgies on the other hand only grow to 20 – 25cm and weigh around 45 grams.

Fun Fact: There are two breeds of budgies that differentiate in size, there’s the smaller Australian budgie, and then there’s the larger English budgie.

Here’s an image on Reddit that shows the size difference.

The English budgies are almost as big as cockatiels, but not quite.

Cockatiel Vs Budgie: Noise

Both parakeets and cockatiels have the ability to cause their owners headaches with their noise.

Budgies, especially in flocks, are known to vocalize for hours with their flock mates.

Although it’s often relatively quiet vocalization, it’s continuous.

Here’s what a budgie sounds like:

Cockatiels, in contrast, are a lot louder than budgies.

However, they don’t scream continuously unless there is a problem, cockatiels only vocalize when they’re expressing feelings such as happiness to their flock mates.

When it comes to noise volume, cockatiels are the winner.

But when it comes to noise frequency and how long they vocalize, budgies take the cake.

Here’s what a cockatiel flock call sounds like:

Whichever one you prefer, you’ll likely still be annoyed at times by the noise they make.

It’s not a good idea to adopt one expecting it to be quieter than the other, as I mentioned, they can both cause a headache when they want to.

Cockatiel Vs Budgie: Talking/Speaking

The ability to talk clearly is something most aspiring parrot owners wish for their birds.

I mean, who wouldn’t want a bird who can mimic everything you say? It’s extremely fun and entertaining!

Budgies can talk way better than cockatiels, hands down.

Although cockatiels can somewhat mimic what you say, budgies are much clearer and can pick up words faster.

Cockatiels prefer to whistle tunes than speak words:

Budgies can also whistle if taught, but most people teach them to talk instead of whistle.

When it comes to their talking ability, budgies can rival bigger birds such as African greys who are known to be the best talkers.

A budgie’s speaking ability is backed up by their extensive memory…

This extensive memory can allow them to remember and mimic a vocabulary of over 1000 words.

In fact, a budgie holds the world record for “the bird with the largest vocabulary”

That world record is actually 1,728 words, now THAT’S a chatty budgie.

This is also a chatty budgie:

However, just because they can mimic words doesn’t necessarily make them the better bird for you.

Some would argue (me included) that a whistling bird is just as entertaining as a talking bird.

Cockatiel Vs Budgie: Training/Taming

Both parakeets and cockatiels are highly intelligent and can be taught commands.

You can teach these birds a huge variety of different tricks using voice commands and gestures.

The most useful command you can teach both these birds is the “step-up” command, where you ask them to step up onto your finger.

Both of these birds can learn this command and it’s not that hard for the trainer to teach.

However, before ANY training can begin, the parrot needs to be tamed.

They actually need to trust you before wanting to learn anything from you.

Hand-tamed birds are usually no problem taming as they were born and raised in human hands.

Pet shop and rescue parrots are usually skittish and will take a lot longer to tame.

I’m not saying this to discourage you from adopting from a pet shop or rescue centre, my cockatiel was adopted from a pet shop that priced him at 25$, he was really skittish at first and now he’s affectionate, loving, trusting, and can learn commands.

Budgies are typically more nervous than cockatiels due to their smaller size.

Taming and building trust often takes longer with budgies.

With enough love, effort, and patience, any bird can learn to trust humans and become affectionate companions.

Which Parrot Suits YOU Best?

With the mentioned similarities and differences in mind, you should almost be able to come to a firm conclusion as to which bird is best suited for you.

If you’re still not sure, just keep reading as we’re about to discuss what bird is right for specifically YOU…

Who Budgies Fit Better With

Having shorter lifespans than cockatiels, budgies might be a better fit if you don’t think you can make a 25+ year commitment to a cockatiel.

Budgies are still a huge commitment, just not a long one.

Budgies are smaller than cockatiels, which means their minimum size cage requirement is also smaller.

You could save money and house space on a smaller cage and they’ll still thrive and be happy.

However, you should always go as big as you can with bird cages to give them the most space possible.

The bigger the cage, the happier the bird.

Budgies just seem to do better in smaller spaces.

You also might find a budgie to be better for you if you have respiratory problems.

Cockatiels have a lot of dust dander that can worsen respiratory issues, budgies are a lot less dusty and pose less risk to existing respiratory problems.

Who Cockatiels Fit Better With

Different from budgies, cockatiels are long-time companions that can live up to 30 years.

If you have the time and dedication, cockatiels make great long-time companions.

Cockatiels are a lot calmer than the hyperactive and playful budgies, but of course, cockatiels are very energetic at times but they mostly want to hang out and preen while perching on your shoulder.

Their chill nature makes them an ideal pet if you work or study from home.

Budgies are very distracting, cockatiels on the other hand will just chill out and preen on your shoulder while you work… most of the time.

They can be your little supervisors.

Cockatiels are best suited for those who have lots of space and free time to give them attention as they can be very clingy and attention-seeking.

More space is required for cockatiels as they are slightly taller than budgies.

Both budgies and cockatiels also do better in pairs or small flocks.

Conclusion

Beginner bird owners will typically narrow their first bird down to either a cockatiel or budgie.

Their small size and relatively low maintenance (compared to other bird) makes them ideal first pets for those who can take proper care of them.

One bird is not objectively better or worse than the other, it really comes down to personal preference.

After reading this comparison, I’m hoping you’ve made a decision on whether you should adopt a cockatiel or a budgie.

Or perhaps you’ve decided against a bird altogether.

Before adopting any bird, keep in mind that they are lots of effort and are very time-consuming.

If you have other large commitments such as school or work, adopting a bird might not be the best idea right now.

Unless you have more people willing to work with the bird while you’re away, it’s best to wait until you have more free time before committing to one.

A common thing people do is adopt a bird and realize they don’t actually have the time to care for it.

These birds often get rehomed because they’re too much work.

It’s best to wait until you are 100% certain you can care for one before you adopt.

Hopefully, this comparison has been helpful.

By the way…

If you think another bird might suit you better than a cockatiel or a budgie, take a look at this list of 16 best pet birds.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockatiel
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budgerigar
• https://birdsofparadise.org/bops-birds-learn.html
• https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/cockatiels-make-great-pets/
• https://www.thesprucepets.com/budgies-1236736#
• https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/species/budgie-parakeet/
• https://www.petfoodindustry.com/articles/