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Unleash the magical powers of your phone by pointing its camera at a plant and finding out which plant it is
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Updated on January 5, 2023
Reviewed by
Michael Barton Heine Jr
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Reviewed byMichael Barton Heine Jr
Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years' experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries.
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Stop being bewildered by the plant you are staring at. These seven apps will identify the plant you are looking at and most will even give you pretty detailed information about it.
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Overall Best Plant Identification App: Plantsnap
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What We Like
Simple to use interface.
Highly accurate.
Community features.
What We Don't Like
Some of the best features aren't free.
Still doesn't beat expert knowledge.
Limits placed on how many free snaps you can use.
If there's only room in your life for one 'name that plant' app, PlantSnap is the one. It's very simple to use with a neat tutorial guiding you through the paces. Its accuracy level is pretty good even if it occasionally makes the odd misstep that a professional gardener would avoid. Quick and easy to use, its only true downside is that you'll need to pay to be able to use it frequently and to unlock certain other features such as the ability to view other people's snaps. It's worth it though.
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02
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Most Accurate Plant Identification App: LeafSnap
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What We Like
Simple to use.
Very accurate.
Attractive interface.
What We Don't Like
Intrusive ads.
Grammatical errors in places.
Less information than some apps.
LeafSnap performed admirably in our tests, generally proving to be the most accurate Plant ID app out of all the ones we tried. That comes at a small cost with a lot of very intrusive video ads that encourage you to upgrade to the premium build of the app, but it's worth it for such good results. If it also included extra information on plants besides existing Wikipedia knowledge, it'd be the best of the bunch. As it stands, it's still well worth using.
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03
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Best App for Plant Care and Identification: PictureThis
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What We Like
Extensive amount of knowledge.
High accuracy.
Teaches you how to care for plants.
What We Don't Like
Overly keen for you to subscribe.
Almost too much information for some users.
Limited free plant identification on free plan.
PictureThis is a fantastically comprehensive plant identification app. It takes seconds to identify plants before giving you a near overwhelming amount of information on it and how best to care for it. For some users, it'll be excessive but for those keen to cultivate their green space, it's a huge help. It even identifies if a plant is toxic and warns you accordingly. Bear in mind, you'll need to subscribe if you plan on using it for any length of time. Keen gardeners will be happy to do so as its near encyclopedic knowledge is very useful.
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04
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Best Location Aware Plant Identification App: PlantNet
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What We Like
Extensive amount of different plants to look at.
Ideally suited for worldwide plant identification.
Attractive interface.
What We Don't Like
Need to sign up to get the most from it.
Submitted entries require users to 'validate' authenticity.
Occasionally inaccurate.
Designed with a worldwide appeal to it, PlantNet immediately presents you with images of plants from all the different continents. You can submit your own right down to the location by quickly snapping a photo and waiting for the app to identify the plant. While the app is reasonably accurate, spotting other people's entries can have some issues with the need for the community to validate how authentic the results are. Still, it's a fascinating insight into the green world and not just your local surroundings.
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05
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Simplest Plant ID App: iPlant
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What We Like
Highly accurate identification.
Offers Wikipedia links to tell you more.
Simple and straightforward.
What We Don't Like
Not the fastest of apps.
iOS only.
Few typos within the app.
Skipping past the need for community features or anything too complex, iPlant gets right to the point - snap a photo of a plant and it'll (eventually) tell you what it is. It's very accurate too providing you with a Wikipedia link and more to learn more about it. It's just unfortunate then that it's a little slow on the uptake when uploading photos, and it's only available for iOS.
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06
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Best Community Focused Plant Identification App: Garden Answers
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What We Like
Community features allow you to ask experts.
Fast identification.
Can discover plants near you.
What We Don't Like
Requires sign up.
Not quite instant setup.
Dated interface.
If you don't mind signing up to a new community, Garden Answers is a great way to get in touch with horticultural experts, discover exciting plants near you, as well as identify plants around your garden and surroundings. The interface feels a little dated by modern standards but ads aren't too intrusive and Garden Answers tells you the basics about each plant without overwhelming you with too much detail. Being able to connect to like-minded souls is a nice extra touch too.
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07
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Best Plant and Insect Identification App: Seek
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What We Like
Gamification features.
Identifies more than just plants.
Extensive community features.
What We Don't Like
No plant care information.
Pictures need to be quite clear to be identified.
Gamification features could be stronger.
Want to turn plant identification into a game? Seek does that almost feeling like a form of Pokemon Go. It even allows you to identify bugs and other insects you might see in your garden. In all cases, you need to take fairly good photos for it to identify accurately, but it's worth taking that extra time when you gain new badges and achievements for doing so. If it had a little more information on plants and leaned into its gaming side more so, it'd be the ultimate plant identification app.
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