Do you often walk past plants and wonder what type it is? Do you have a lot of indoor plants or even a whole garden to look after and don’t know exactly what species all your plants are and what care needs they have? An appropriate plant identifier app will tell you what plant is in front of you and some apps have care tips integrated as well.
Plant identification via app requires images of the leaf, overall morphology, or flowers of a plant. The best plant identifier apps are:
- PlantSnap
- PictureThis
- LeafSnap
- Pl@ntNet
- iNaturalist
Find out more in this post about what features each app stands out for and which suits your needs best.
5 Best Plant Identifier Apps: Overview and Features
Let’s start with a simple overview of the best plant identifier apps, giving you the most important info and what main features each includes:
| App Name | Availability | Costs/Upgrade Option | Main Features | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PlantSnap | iOS and Android | 7 Days Free Trial or Premium 19.99$ per year | – Biggest plant database worldwide | https://www.plantsnap.com/ |
| PictureThis | iOS and Android | Free version or Premium 29.99$ per year | – Most accurate plant and disease identifier – Care reminders and tips | https://www.picturethisai.com |
| LeafSnap | iOS and Android | Free version or Premium 25.99$ per year | iOS, Android, and online web version | https://leafsnap.app/ |
| Pl@ntNet | iOS, Android and online web version | For free | – Citizen science base app – Be part of a scientific community – Learn about local biodiversity – Focus on outdoors | https://plantnet.org/en/ |
| iNaturalist | iOS and Android | For free | – Citizen science-based app – Share knowledge and get feedback from the community – Focus on outdoors | https://www.inaturalist.org/ |
Now, let’s get into detail about the features of each of them.
For each app, I also give tips for what type of user I would recommend this app. Keep reading and you’ll find out in a minute which plant identification app suits your needs!
1. PlantSnap – Biggest Worldwide Plant Database
PlantSnap has by far the biggest plant database with more than 600’000 species – about 90% of all known plant species worldwide. The chances that the type of plant you are searching for is not in it are very low. Their database includes all types of plants such as flowers, trees, succulents, orchids, mushrooms, and cacti.
Apart from their very accurate and extensive plant identifier, the app now also integrates features such as gardening tips or care advice for plant species.
This app used to be free until recently, though now the free version has been changed into only 7 free days of trial before you need to pay for the app. It’s a shame they made it payable now. I have used this app for many years and might now consider switching to one that at least gives the option of a free version.
Important Note: The free trial days only work by subscribing to the app. This means that after the trial days, you are automatically charged the annual fee if you don’t cancel the subscription in due time. Make sure to unsubscribe on time!
Pros:
- Stylish and elegant design and interface
- Biggest plant database
- Good app for plant beginners
- Sustainability projects: They plant a tree for each registered user of the app
- Share your identified plants with the community and on the explorer’s map
Cons:
- No free version anymore
- Gardening tips and care advice are not very extensive as of now
Links for download:
Link to developer website: PlantSnap
This app is for you if:
- You want to be sure to find all plants in the database
- You have rare plant species you want to identify
- You are often outdoors or hiking trying to identify plants
- You’re only looking for an identifier and not extensive care tips
- You like elegant designs with decent color schemes
2. PictureThis – Smart AI for Identifying Plants and Diseases
This app is praised as the best plant identifier app with an estimated 98% of accuracy. What’s more, it also contains great plant care options.
What stands out from this app is its incredibly precise AI for plant identification as well as plant disease identification. This makes the app the perfect companion for plant beginners as you can easily identify plant species on the go as well as in your home.
As for the care features, PictureThis has similar ones to the other apps such as individual care reminders, step-by-step instructions, and plant recommendations based on your plant skills level.
What I particularly like about this app is that it’s actually a 2-in-1 app: You don’t need separate apps for plant care and identification. Also, the identifier integrated here is amazing and as I love to freely identify plants when I am out on a walk or in a store, it is good to know you can rely on this app for identifying correctly. Nobody is perfect obviously, but it is truly as accurate as it can get for an app.
Pros:
- Perfect care and identifier app for beginners
- Most accurate plant identifier
- Best disease identifier including tips for treatment
- Simple and easy design for user-friendliness
- 2-in-1: With this app, there’s no need for a separate plant care app
- Good focus on the essentials for plant care: Focus is on the basics of plant care, but these basics are done incredibly well
Cons:
- The plant database in the free version is limited
- Not many more specific care features
Links for download:
Link to developer website: PictureThis AI
This app is for you if:
- You’re a complete plant beginner
- You often feel like identifying plants on walks or strolls
- You want simple but good essential tips on plant care as well
3. LeafSnap – Extensive Leaf Database Made By Experts
LeafSnap has been developed by a team of experts from several Universities and is the most extensive field guide when it comes to identifying plants by their leaves. The app’s database learns from the photos the users upload and it gives in-depth information about the plant species.
There are also several care features included such as a care calendar, helpful reminders for watering, fertilizing, or pruning your indoor plants as well as a journal to keep track of your plants’ development.
With their care features and the extensive plant leaf database made by experts, this app is a good allrounder if you are keen to identify plants wherever you are while at the same time being happy about tips and reminders for your houseplant care.
Pros:
- Simple and user-friendly interface
- Database made by scientists and experts
- Includes good plant care features
Cons:
- The free version comes with ads
- Identification works only with leaves (not flowers or the overall morphology of plants)
- Identification does not work that well for plants without proper foliage such as succulents or cacti
- It is not necessarily the most convenient beginners app
Links for download:
Link to developer website: LeafSnap
This app is for you if:
- You value scientific knowledge and communities
- You are mainly looking to identify plant species with foliage
- You already have some experience with plants
4. Pl@ntNet –
This app is part of a citizen science project on plant biodiversity. As such, it aims for collecting as much data on plants in different geographical regions worldwide to monitor biodiversity changes in the long run.
The more people contribute, the bigger its database grows and the more accurate the plant suggestions are which you get when you upload an image of a plant.
One biodiversity feature of this app is that the information about plants always contains whether it is an invasive species or not, which helps you become more aware of local biodiversity issues and how to help maintain them.
By participating in this project, you support future research and data on the impacts that climate change has on local biodiversities and gain in-depth knowledge on what you as a citizen can do to maintain local biodiversity.
If you are outdoors a lot and are motivated to contribute and share with the PlantNet community, then go for it! It’s for a good purpose and will enrich your own plant knowledge by length.
Pros:
- Public project intended to promote knowledge about plant diversity
- Focus on sharing tips and knowledge to maintain local biodiversity
- Very informative and packed with scientific facts
Cons:
- Interface less user-friendly, more encyclopedia-style packed into an app
- More dedicated to planting outdoors, not very handy for only identifying indoor plants
- No focus on care tips for indoor plants
Links to download:
Link to the project website: Pl@ntNet
This app is for you if:
- You are often outdoors or hiking and try to identify plants
- You are motivated to contribute to maintaining local biodiversity
- You value being part of a public scientific project
- You value in-depth knowledge and information on plants
5. iNaturalist – Identify Plants as a Citizen Scientist
This app is an initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society and is a citizen science project.
It is not the typical plant identification app where you take a photo and get instant feedback on the plant species. Rather, other members of the community such as other citizen scientists, scientists, or experts give feedback on what plant you’ve found.
If you are keen to support a scientific database on the occurrence and distribution of plants in the local environment, then participating in this project is for you. Become a citizen scientist yourself and upload images of plants you identify outside wherever you are and share them with other plant enthusiasts.
As you can guess by now, this app is not necessarily meant for indoor plant care but serves a greater purpose as a community project. If you are only looking for a plant identifier to find out what species your indoor plants are and what care they need, then I’d recommend using one of the other identifier apps.
Pros:
- Provides access to a network of experts, scientists, and plant enthusiasts
- Environmental focus by collecting data on local plants worldwide
- Very informative with in-depth knowledge about plants
Cons:
- Interface less user-friendly, more encyclopedia-style
- Delayed feedback for identification of plants via community
- No focus on care tips and recommendations
Links to download:
Link to the project website: iNaturalist
This app is for you if:
- You are keen on learning more about the plants in your environment
- You value scientific in-depth knowledge and communities
- You are often outdoors or hiking and try to identify plants
- You want to become part of a plant enthusiast community
Extra Tip for iPhone Users: No App Needed With the Integrated Visual Look Up Function
iPhones now come with an integrated function called Visual Look Up that recognizes what’s in a photo you’ve taken. With that function, you might not even need a plant identifier app anymore as your iPhone is already able to do this without any extra app.
Let’s say you have taken a photo of a plant, here’s how you use Apple’s look up function:
- Go to Images
- Click on the photo of the plant you want to identify
- Tap the info button for the photo
- Tap on the “Look Up” bar to start searching
- Visual Look Up presents you with the matching results it found through Siri knowledge and the web
Learn more about the Visual Look up function on Apple’s support site.
Tip: If the information button does not display a star, then the visual look up function is not available yet for that photo.
Related Questions
What Free Plant Care Apps are Best?
The best free plant care apps are:
- Planta
- Blossom
- PictureThis
- Florish
- Gardenia
- Plant Parent
- PlantNote
Read more about the pros and cons of each in this post: 7 Best Free Plant Care Apps and Finding the Right One for You