10 Best Free Plant Identifier Apps for iPhone
Updated November 8, 2026 · written by AppHunt
A plant identifier app compares your photo with millions of labeled pictures and suggests the likeliest species, usually with a confidence score and a few lookalikes. The photo matters more than the app: a sharp close-up of a flower, leaf or bark beats a distant shot of a whole shrub. Every app below lets you identify plants without paying and with no trial running out. Three come from science and nonprofit projects and sell nothing; the rest are commercial apps that run ads, cap free scans or charge for care extras. They also differ in focus: wild plants, houseplants or trees.
Seek
Seek works through the live camera: point it at a plant and the name firms up on screen, from family down to species, as you get closer. It comes from iNaturalist, the nonprofit, and learns from sightings its community has confirmed. Insects, birds and fungi are covered as well. There is no sign-up and nothing to buy, and badges and challenges keep children interested on a walk.
Good for: Nature walks with kids
Keep in mind: Nothing to buy: no in-app purchases are listed, and the developer says it collects no user data unless you sign in to iNaturalist (US App Store, November 8, 2026; may change). Recent reviews praise it for costing nothing, but several say it often stops at a broad group such as "dicots" instead of naming the species, and one reports camera focus trouble on a newer iPhone.
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Greg
Greg is made for houseplants. A photo tells it the species, and it also judges the size of the pot and how far the plant stands from a window, then turns that into a watering plan for your home. A community of growers answers questions, which is why the app is rated 17+. You can identify plants without paying; the subscription is for the watering tools.
Good for: Naming houseplants and planning their watering
Keep in mind: The developer says scanning a plant is free. SUPER Greg, $29.99 a year after a 7-day trial, adds exact watering amounts, watering reminders, the indoor light gauge and seasonal care updates; listed in-app prices run from $1.99 to $49.99, with lifetime access at $29.99 (US App Store, November 8, 2026; may change). 2026 reviews object to paying for reminders, and several say it got some plants wrong.
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iplant
About as simple as plant ID gets: snap a picture or pick one from your camera roll, and iplant offers its best guesses, saving every lookup in a history you can search later. It has no care plans, reminders or account. The app has not changed since August 2021, and it pays for itself with ads that reviewers say appear around each search.
Good for: A quick name without signing up for anything
Keep in mind: Identifying is free with ads; the only purchase listed is ad removal at $3.99 (US App Store, November 8, 2026; may change). The developer doesn't describe the free version in words. Last updated August 2021. A December 2024 review says results had stopped appearing in English, a June 2026 review asks for fewer ads, and 2023 reviewers called it accurate and free.
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PlantNet
Pl@ntNet is a citizen-science project led by French research bodies. You photograph a flower, leaf, fruit or bark, say which part it is, and get likely species ranked by match, filtered by the regional flora you choose. It shines on wild plants, from roadside weeds to ferns, and your sightings can be checked by other users and go to scientists studying biodiversity.
Good for: Wild plants, weeds and plants on hikes
Keep in mind: No in-app purchases are listed, so identification costs nothing (US App Store, November 8, 2026; may change). The developer says wild plants matter more to the project than garden and house plants, and that shots of several parts give better results. Reviews call it the best free option; some in 2026 report crashes or upload errors, and one notes there is no care advice.
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Plant Identifier (FAMO)
A plant identifier with a care sheet attached. Take or upload a photo and it gives common and Latin names, where the plant comes from, its hardiness zone, whether it is toxic to people, pets or livestock, and how to water and feed it. A separate tree mode and a disease check for sick leaves come with it, and the app runs on ads.
Good for: Free ID plus toxicity and care info
Keep in mind: No in-app purchases are listed (US App Store, November 8, 2026; may change), and the developer doesn't say how the app is paid for; reviews describe it as free with ads, and some find the ads constant. Several 2026 reviews say identifications were wrong, while others praise it as quick and costing nothing. Updated November 4, 2026.
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Tree Identifier AI
Aimed at trees rather than houseplants. Photograph the leaves, bark or the whole tree and it returns the species, followed by a care sheet on light, water and soil, a toxicity check for children and pets, and a health diagnosis if the tree looks unwell. An AI chat takes follow-up questions. Most 2026 reviewers say it is quick and gets their trees right.
Good for: Naming trees in a yard or park
Keep in mind: The listing doesn't say what is free. It sells Pro at $2.99 to $5.99 a month, $5.99 a week or $9.99 a year, plus a $19.99 lifetime unlock (US App Store, November 8, 2026; may change). Reviews from 2025 and 2026 call it free with no ads; one reviewer who bought lifetime access says it misnamed every tree tried. The same developer also makes a general plant identifier.
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Forest Tree Identifier
Half field guide, half camera tool. Next to photo ID by leaf, bark, bud or flower, you can narrow trees down by leaf shape and region, or flowers by petal count and color, browse the native trees of over 160 countries, and compare species side by side. Finds go into favorites and collections. It has been in the store since 2017 and still gets updates.
Good for: Browsing and comparing trees by region
Keep in mind: The developer says identifying trees from photos is unlimited and free, and no in-app purchases are listed (US App Store, November 8, 2026; may change). Reviews are poor, though: several from 2025 and 2026 say it named the wrong tree, one mentions screens in other languages, and a 2024 review describes a paid scanner offer that the listing no longer shows.
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Flora Incognita
A research app from scientists in Ilmenau and Jena, Germany, that specializes in wild plants and can often name one before it blooms. You take close shots of a few parts, such as the flower, leaf and bark, then read a species profile. Finds are kept in a list and on a map and feed conservation research. US reviewers note the profiles are written with Europe in mind.
Good for: Wild plants, even before they flower
Keep in mind: Free for good, says the developer: the app has no ads, nothing to upgrade to and nothing to subscribe to, and no in-app purchases are listed (US App Store, November 8, 2026; may change). It is funded by German public research money. 2026 reviews are almost all five stars; one US reviewer says the descriptions often don't match American conditions.
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PlantMe
A light app, under 7 MB, that keeps to the basics. Photograph a plant to get its name and a profile with toxicity, growing conditions, care and even culinary uses, shown in your own language. It can suggest a good spot for a plant from the sunlight where you live, and plants you identify are saved to a collection with watering and feeding reminders.
Good for: A small app with no fees
Keep in mind: No in-app purchases are listed and the description names no price (US App Store, November 8, 2026; may change). Last updated April 2025. Reviewers like that it has no monthly fee, while 2024 reviews report crashes when opening a plant's details and one mentions being blocked at sign-up.
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Plant Identifier – Care Guide
Plant ID and houseplant upkeep in one app. Point the camera at a leaf, flower or stem for matches with confidence scores and similar species, or at a sick plant for a diagnosis of spots, root rot or pests. Watering schedules shift with your local weather, and a growth journal tracks how tall the plant gets and how many leaves it has, with photos over time.
Good for: A few free scans a day for houseplants
Keep in mind: The developer says the free plan gives 3 AI scans a day, unlimited plants and the full care and watering features; Pro raises that to 50 scans a day and adds advanced diagnosis. Listed in-app prices run from $4.99 to $39.99 a year (US App Store, November 8, 2026; may change). Its US reviews mostly date from 2021 to 2024, when it was a watering app.
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Questions and answers
Is there a free plant identifier app with no subscription?
Yes. Seek by iNaturalist, PlantNet and Flora Incognita come from a nonprofit and from research institutes; they list no in-app purchases, show no ads and never ask you to subscribe. PlantMe, Forest Tree Identifier and FAMO's Plant Identifier also list nothing to buy, though the FAMO app shows ads, and iplant is free with ads that $3.99 removes. Many better-known apps, including PictureThis, PlantSnap, Plantum and PlantIn, lead with a trial that turns into a paid plan, so read the screen before you tap Continue.
How do plant identification apps work, and how accurate are they?
You take a photo, and a model trained on millions of labeled plant pictures returns the closest matches, usually with a score for each. Seek also uses your rough location, and PlantNet lets you pick a regional flora, so nearby species rank higher. Accuracy depends mostly on the picture: a sharp, close shot of a flower or leaf works far better than a whole bush from across the yard, and photos of several parts help more. Common garden and wild plants are usually named correctly; treat seedlings, rare plants and lookalikes as a starting point, and never eat a wild plant on an app's word.
Is PictureThis free?
Only to download. Its listing doesn't say what you can do without paying, and it sells PictureThis Pro, mostly at $39.99, with $7.99 and $3.99 options and a $49.99 family plan (US App Store, November 8, 2026; may change). Recent US reviews describe a free trial that became a $40 charge, and one says the app couldn't be used without paying, while another says the free service was enough. Because the developer does not say identification is free, PictureThis is not on this list.
Can I identify a plant on iPhone without an app?
Yes. The Photos app has Visual Look Up built in on iOS 15 and later (iPhone XS and newer): open a picture of a plant, and if the info button shows a small leaf, tap it and choose Look Up Plant to see suggested species. It works on photos you have already taken and costs nothing, and Visual Intelligence on recent iPhones does the same from the camera. Lens in the Google app also recognizes plants. These give a name and web links but no care guides, regional filters or record of your finds, which is what dedicated apps add.
Do free plant identifier apps limit how many plants you can scan?
Most on this list don't. Seek, PlantNet, Flora Incognita and the apps with nothing to buy let you identify as often as you like, and Forest Tree Identifier's developer calls its photo ID unlimited. The exception is Plant Identifier – Care Guide, which allows 3 AI scans a day on its free plan and 50 on Pro. Apps that cap you at one or two scans before a paywall, or only while a trial runs, were left out.
What is the best plant identification app?
It depends on what you're looking at. For wild plants on walks and hikes, Flora Incognita and PlantNet are built by scientists and ask for photos of several parts; Seek is the friendliest for children. For houseplants, Greg ties the name to a watering plan. For trees, Tree Identifier AI is the most-rated tree app here. All of them make mistakes, so when it matters, check the answer in a second app.
How is the list ordered?
Places 1–10 are ordered by the number of ratings each app has in the US App Store, one app per developer. Only apps made mainly for identifying plants from a photo, and that let you do it for free with no time limit, qualify; trial-only apps and apps that ask for a subscription before showing a result are left out. The count shows how many people use an app, not which one is most accurate. No app of ours is on this list.