Free plant identification apps, and what "free" means in each

What each app charged on 2026-10-21

Read from each app's US App Store listing (the price line under the name, the Subscriptions shelf and the In-App Purchases rows in the Information section). Prices are US dollars, verbatim; Apple shows at most 10 rows and repeats names. "Not stated" means the listing, website or FAQ we read doesn't say, not "no".

Two things stand out. "Free Plant Identifier" has the word free in its name and seven paid rows on its listing. And a "Free Trial" label on the Subscriptions shelf means a paid subscription starts when the trial ends: PictureThis's listing says a subscription "automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period".

How we compared

We read each app's US App Store listing on 2026-10-21: the price line under the name, the Subscriptions shelf, the In-App Purchases rows and the description. Where a listing was silent on accounts or ads, we read the maker's own FAQ or help pages, linked above. We did not install the paid apps, start trials or test identification quality, and we don't rank apps on this page. Apple's rows don't say which price is weekly, yearly or an introductory offer unless the row's name does, so we print them as Apple shows them and never compute a "cheapest plan". Prices differ by country and change often; the listing on the day you read this is the one that counts. Accuracy is a separate question, covered in our guide to how accurate plant identification apps are.

Free to download, with a trial that converts

The paid apps follow one pattern: a free download, a screen that offers a trial, and an auto-renewing subscription behind it. Of the 2026-10-21 listings we read, PictureThis, PlantIn and Planta showed a "Free Trial" label on their Subscriptions shelf; none of the three states the trial's length on the listing. PictureThis's FAQ describes a free Android allowance of "at least 4 IDs each day"; its pages don't describe the iPhone free tier.

If you start a trial, set a reminder for the day before it ends. Apple says to cancel a subscription at least 24 hours before a trial ends if you don't want it to renew (Settings, your name, Subscriptions), and deleting the app cancels nothing. Our PictureThis alternatives page walks through cancelling and asking Apple for a refund step by step; the steps are the same for every App Store subscription.

Where Plant Identifier fits, and where it doesn't

Plant Identifier (listed as AI Plant Identifier Flower App) is free to download. The current App Store version, 1.0.6, shows no paywall or usage counter, and its US listing showed no In-App Purchases row on 2026-10-21. It needs no account. One photo returns the plant's common and scientific name, and the same photo can go through Diagnose (a health check with a severity badge the AI writes), Toxicology notes for people, dogs and cats, a Care Guide, Light and a Water Calculator estimate, with follow-up questions under each result.

The honest catch: the developer may add paid features in a later version, so we don't promise it stays free. If "never pays, never will" is your rule, pick one of the four science apps.

Where it is not the pick:

• No connection. Plant Identifier sends your photo to a cloud AI model and needs the internet. Seek and Pl@ntNet's downloaded model work without one.
• Android or a browser. It is iPhone only. Pl@ntNet has Android and web versions; Google Lens runs on Android and in Chrome.
• A second opinion from people. iNaturalist's community reviews observations; Plant Identifier's answers come from AI only.
• Several photos or a ranked list. It identifies from one photo and shows one species, with no list of alternatives. Pl@ntNet takes several organs and ranks its suggestions.

Which free option to start with

• A wildflower on a walk, with no signal: Seek, or Pl@ntNet with its offline model downloaded before you leave.
• Wild plants in Central Europe: Flora Incognita.
• You want a person to confirm it: iNaturalist.
• A plant in a photo you already took on iPhone: Visual Look Up, no install.
• One quick name on Android or a laptop: Google Lens.
• A houseplant you want to name, check for problems and ask about, on iPhone: Plant Identifier, free to download today.

If you are leaving a paid app over its subscription, the PictureThis alternatives page linked above matches each reason people leave to a replacement.