Getting to know the plants around us is a refreshing hobby to keep us engaged and connect with nature. Whether it is a visit to your nearest botanical garden or a walk at your nearby park, there must have been instances where you spot a unique plant or flower and are left clueless about its name and species. Well, not anymore. In this guide, we have handpicked the 10 best plant identifier apps you can use to recognize the plants near you.
Best Plant Identifier Apps (2022)
There are many free plant identification apps available in the market, and we have also included paid apps that provide accurate and faster recognition. Moreover, if you’re someone with a passion for gardening, you might want to go the extra mile and want an app that offers tips on how to take care of your plants. We have apps for your needs on this list as well.
1. PlantNet
PlantNet is a plant identifier app capable of recognizing over 20,000 plant species in the world. You can use the PlantNet app to identify flowering plants, trees, grasses, conifers, ferns, vines, wild salads, and even cacti. It’s worth mentioning that PlantNet’s database is crowdsourced, and you can contribute too.
When you scan any plant with PlantNet, the app recognizes it and shows results along with a metric of confidence in accuracy. The results also have the common name and botanical name of the plant, catering to the needs of both regular users and botanists.
Pros Cons Identifies over 20,000 species Some results could be incorrect Crowdsourced database with option to contribute Get background information about plants
Pricing: Free
Availability: Android, iOS
Download PlantNet (Android, iOS)
2. Seek by iNaturalist
Seek is another app you can use to recognize plants. All you need to do is install the app, open the camera viewfinder, and point the camera at the plant. The app will automatically identify and give you context about the plant including the taxonomy and seasonality. I also like the fact that the app shows you similar species to explore in case the plant you want to grow is not available in your region.
Backed by iNaturalist, a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, Seek is a must-have plant identifier app for all plant lovers.
Pros Cons Exceptional accuracy Lags on low-end devices Detailed insights No cloud sync to transfer data Friendly interface
Pricing: Free
Availability: Android, iOS
Download Seek by iNaturalist (Android, iOS)
3. PlantSnap
Boasting a massive catalog, PlantSnap is another app worth checking out. Being capabile of identifying over 600,000 types of plants, PlantSnap is one of the leading plant identifier apps available on iPhone and Android phones. In addition to identifying plants, flowers, trees, succulents, mushrooms, and cacti, you can use the app to learn how to grow and properly take care of your plants.
With the app’s Explore tab, you can discover the existence of identified plants anywhere in the world too. Moreover, you also get access to PlantSnap’s vibrant community with over 50 million users across over 200 countries. PlantSnap is probably the best plant identifier app with fast recognition and reliable accuracy.
Tip: Use PlantSnap Integration to Identify Plants on Snapchat
If you are a Snapchat user, you can also use PlantSnap’s Snapchat Lens to identify plants right from the Snapchat camera. This is a neat Snapchat trick you can use when you are in the middle of snapping or texting friends.
Pros Cons Visually pleasing interface Just 5 daily plant ids in the free version Reliable and accurate with vast database Web version requires premium subscription Snapchat integration
Pricing: Limited free trial; Offers in-app purchases
Availability: Android, iOS
Download PlantSnap (Android, iOS)
4. LeafSnap
Apart from being an excellent app to identify plants, LeafSnap doubles as a reminder app to take care of your plants. As a result, you can create tasks to water, add fertilizer, prune, or harvest your plants. You also get tips that will help you grow plants better.
Speaking of plant identification, you can press the “Identify” button on the app’s home screen to capture a plant’s picture. Within a few seconds, the app will recognize the plant for you and show the botanical name, common name, genus, and plant family.
Pros Cons Free unlimited plant IDs Too many ads Vast database Plant care tips and reminders
Pricing: Free; Offers in-app purchases
Availability: Android, iOS
Download LeafSnap (Android, iOS)
5. PictureThis
PictureThis is also an option you could consider when looking for an app to identify plants. The company claims that PictureThis is capable of identifying over 17,000 plant species with 98% accuracy. What I like about PictureThis is that it shows if the identified plant is toxic to pets like cats and dogs.
Although PictureThis isn’t available in all regions including India, you can sideload the app from APKMirror or follow our install Android apps not available in your country guide.
Pros Cons Shows pet toxicity details Not available in all regions Plant diagnosis Plant care reminders
Pricing: Free; Offers in-app purchases
Availability: Android, iOS
Download PictureThis (Android, iOS)
6. Blossom – Plant Care Guide
Blossom is a plant identifier app that doesn’t compromise on design. The app looks visually pleasing and is packed with features to help you get the most out of it. Like LeafSnap, Blossom positions itself as a complete solution for all your plant-related needs.
With Blossom, you can identify plants, set reminders to nurture them, learn how to care for them, and organize all your plants in the in-app garden. While the free version is sufficient for most people, you get added perks like unlimited plant identification, reminders, and a light meter to measure the light levels in the premium subscription.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Clean interface | Limited database |
| Plant diagnosis | |
| Measure light intensity | |
| Unlimited plant identification |
Pricing: Free; Offers in-app purchases
Availability: Android, iOS
Download Blossom (Android, iOS)
7. NatureID – Plant Identification
Capable of recognizing over 10,000 plants with up to 95% accuracy, NatureID is our next pick. What makes NatureID unique is its ability to recognize mushrooms. I also like how the app lets you measure the height, width, and volume of pots and chat with experts for professional advice on caring for your plants. The good things about NatureID don’t end there.
In addition to all these features, you can also use the app to diagnose your plant for diseases and set up reminders. Overall, NatureID is a feature-rich app you should check out for treating your plants right.
Pros Cons Contact botanists Pricey subscription Plant diagnosis Measure pot volume
Pricing: Limited free trial; Offers in-app purchases
Availability: Android, iOS
Download NatureID (Android, iOS)
8. Flora Incognita
Developed by scientists from the Technical University of Ilmenau and the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena, Flora Incognita is an app that lets you identify plants for free without ads. The app is available to use for free because it is part of a scientific research project that aims to improve nature conservation. Furthermore, it was awarded as an official project of the UN Decade of Biodiversity. As far as the accuracy goes, the researchers promise over 90% accuracy with the app.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Identify plants for free without ads | Not always accurate in our testing |
| Clean interface | |
| Detailed insights |
Pricing: Free
Availability: Android, iOS
Download Flora Incognita (Android, iOS)
9. iplant – Plant Identifier
As the name suggests, iplant is an iPhone-only app for identifying plants. With this easy-to-use app, you can capture and identify plants and flowers. Alongside identifying new plants, you also get the option to identify plant images you have saved in gallery, perfect for times when you want to track down plants from the last botanical garden visit. If you are looking for a plant identification app that’s made with iPhones in mind, iplant is the way to go.
Pros Cons Easy to use No Android app Identify plants from the gallery Wikipedia integration
Pricing: Free
Availability: iOS
Download iplant – Plant Identifier (iOS)
10. What’s that flower?
As you might have guessed already, What’s that flower is an app that exclusively focuses on identifying flowers. However, there’s a twist. Instead of identifying a plant or flower based on a sample image, What’s that flower relies on your memory to identify the flower. The app also asks you several characteristics of the flower, including its color, habitats, number of petals, and more. The options are then narrowed down until you find the closest match. While the efficiency of this app relies on your memory, it’s an interesting app to track down a flower and have some fun in the process.
Pros Cons Identify flowers without photo Can’t identify plants Engaging experience Can’t scan flowers Use memory to identify flowers
Pricing: Free; Offers in-app purchases
Availability: Android, iOS
Download What’s that flower? (Android, iOS)
Bonus: Google Lens and Visual Lookup
If you don’t want to install a separate app for identifying apps, you can use your Android phone’s Google Lens or iPhone’s Visual Lookup features instead. All you have to do is point the viewfinder at the plant and tap the shutter button to search. It will then perform an image search and show you reliable results.
Easily Scan Plants with these Plant Identification Apps
So, those are the best plant identifier apps we found for Android and iOS. We hope you found these apps helpful to enhance your plant vocabulary. If you have been using an app that’s not mentioned in the list, feel free to let us know in the comments, and we will give it a shot. Meanwhile, if you’re someone who is not finding time for such hobbies, we highly recommend checking our list of apps to focus on work to be more productive and our tips to overcome phone addiction.
I’m trying to find useful plant on my backyard.
I’m to find an useful plant in my garden.