What Is the Best Free Plant App With AI Identification?
Three leaves have gone brown at the edges and you do not know whether that is water, light, or something worth worrying about. You want an answer now. What you do not want, before you get one, is to make an account, hand over a card, and start a trial you will have to remember to cancel.
That is the moment Hari's free tier is built for. Photograph a plant to have it identified, or photograph the bad leaf and ask Plant Doctor what is wrong, with the reasoning behind the answer. They are two separate tools drawing on the same three AI photo scans a month. Ten Plant Doctor follow-up questions come with them, six plants get species-specific watering reminders, and none of it asks you to sign up. Nothing expires either, because there is no trial: Hari Pro is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, and you only meet it if you decide you want it.
Below: what each of six plant apps gives you for free, what each one costs, and where Hari is genuinely not the answer. Every competitor line comes from that vendor's own App Store listing, help center, or website.
Is there a free plant app with AI identification and diagnosis?
Free AI plant identification is not the rare part, so it is the floor of this category rather than the thing that separates one app from another. Greg's own listing invites you to scan any plant for free. Pl@ntNet recognises about 20,000 species and carries no in-app purchases at all. Both of those are on the table below, priced and described in their own vendors' words, because a free-tier page that hid them would not be worth reading.
The rare part is the second half. Greg's page lists Diagnose, and the mechanism its description names is community troubleshooting: turn to more veteran growers for answers. Pl@ntNet's listing describes species identification and a citizen-science project whose observations the community reviews, and it does not describe diagnosis or reminders. Planta's own help center lists Plant Identification and Dr. Planta together among the features you have to be a paid subscriber to use, in an article stamped July 2024, and a current article describes signing up with Apple, Google, or email as the first thing a new Planta user does. Blossom and PictureThis both have diagnosis, and neither publishes what its iPhone free tier contains, so those cells stay empty below instead of being filled in with a guess.
What Hari gives away is both halves out of one allowance. Photograph a plant to name it, or photograph a sick one for a likely diagnosis with the reasoning behind it: three AI photo scans a month either way, ten Plant Doctor follow-up questions, six plants tracked with species-specific watering reminders, and no sign-up. That is a combination, not a superlative. Two of the free tiers on this page are undisclosed by the people who make them, so nobody honest gets to say "only".
- 6 plants, with no account to create.
- 3 AI photo scans a month, and identification and Plant Doctor draw on the same three.
- 10 Plant Doctor follow-up messages a month.
- Species-specific watering reminders for 100+ houseplants.
- Streaks, XP, and 40+ badges.
- Pet-safety information in every plant profile.
- Reminders that keep working with no signal.
That list is Hari's free tier, not a trial of it. Identification and Plant Doctor run on Hari's servers, so those photos leave the phone; your collection, schedules, and reminders stay on it and work with no signal.
What to judge a free plant app on
Five practical criteria for choosing a plant-care app, ordered the way somebody with a sick plant actually meets them. The table below judges every app against these and nothing else.
Can you identify the plant without paying
Photographing a plant to find out what it is has become the cheapest thing in this category. Several apps do it for nothing. That makes it the floor, not the differentiator.
Can you find out what is wrong with it without paying
This is the harder half. Naming a plant and diagnosing a sick one are the same photo and the same moment, but they are rarely the same price. Some listings do not describe diagnosis at all. Some put it behind a subscription.
What it costs you to walk in the door
An account, an email address, a card on file, a trial with a cancel date. Every one of those is a cost even when the price is zero.
Whether anything makes you actually water the plant
A notification you swipe away is not accountability. Streaks, progress, and a real person who can nudge you are.
A price you can read in one line
A stated monthly and annual number, and a straight answer on whether there is a trial. Printed here for every app, not just ours.
What each app gives you for free
A cell reads "not stated" when that vendor does not publish the answer. That is a gap in what they tell you, not a claim about what their app does, and we would rather leave it blank than fill it in.
| Feature |  Hari(our app) | Greg | Planta | PictureThis | Blossom | Pl@ntNet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI plant identification on the free tier | Yes. 3 AI photo scans a month, shared with diagnosis. | Free identification, in its own words: “Scan any plant (for free!)”. | Paid, per Planta’s own help center, in an article stamped July 2024 that lists Plant Identification as a paid-subscriber feature. | Not stated for iPhone. Its FAQ answer about free scans is scoped to Android and earned by sharing the app. | Not stated. A Free Plan exists, and no Blossom source says what is in it. | Free identification across about 20,000 species, in its own words: “identify plants simply by photographing them”. |
| AI diagnosis of a sick plant on the free tier | Yes. Plant Doctor runs off those same 3 scans, plus 10 follow-up messages a month. | Greg’s page lists Diagnose. Its description describes community troubleshooting from veteran growers. | Paid. Dr. Planta, its diagnosis feature, sits on that same July 2024 paid-subscriber list. | Has diagnosis, listed as Plant Disease Auto Diagnose & Cure. Free-tier access is not stated. | Not stated. Unlimited disease identification is listed as a Premium feature. | Its listing describes photo identification of species. It does not describe a diagnosis feature. |
| Sign-up needed to start | No account needed to start. | Not stated in the listing. | Account required. Sign up with Apple, Google, or email, per a help-center article updated September 2026. | No user-created account required, per its own FAQ. | Not stated in the listing. | Its site puts creating an account under Participate and Contribute. It does not state that identifying needs one. |
| Plants you can track for free | 6 plants. | Not stated in the listing. | Not stated in any Planta source we could check. | Not stated. | Not stated in any Blossom source we could check. | Its listing does not describe keeping a personal plant collection. It describes photographing plants and contributing observations the community reviews. |
| Species-specific watering reminders | Species-specific schedules for 100+ houseplants, free. | Schedules from species, pot, and home. Precision Watering sits under the paid tier. | Its July 2024 help-center article puts care schedules “other than watering” behind the subscription. | Care instructions and watering schedules are listed. | Care reminders are listed. Unlimited reminders are Premium. | Its listing does not mention watering or reminders. It describes identification and a citizen-science project whose photos scientists analyse. |
| What makes you actually do it | Streaks, XP, and 40+ badges, free. Friend nudges on Pro. | A public community feed, where its listing says veteran growers answer questions. Its listing does not describe streaks or badges. | A plant journal, and an invite so family or friends can help while you are away. | Not stated in the listing. | Plant collections and a wishlist are listed. | Its listing describes contributing observations, review by the community, and a species photo gallery your observation may join. |
| Pet-safety information | Yes, across the 100+ plant library. | Not stated in the listing. | Not stated in the listing. | Toxic Plant Warning listed. | Pet safety is listed as a search filter. | Not stated. |
| Free trial | No free trial. | 7 day trial, stated in the listing. | Its July 2024 help-center article answers the free-trial question by describing free limited access instead. | The listing mentions a free trial “if offered”, without a length. | 3 days, per Blossom’s own checkout. | No trial is stated. Its App Store page lists a price of Free and no in-app purchases. |
| Platform | iPhone, iOS 18 or later. | iPhone, iOS 16 or later. Also on Apple Vision. | iPhone, iOS 18 or later. Also on Apple Vision and Google Play. | iPhone and iPad, iOS 15 or later. | iPhone, iOS 15.4 or later. | iPhone, iPad, and Mac, iOS 15.1 or later. |
AI plant identification on the free tier
AI diagnosis of a sick plant on the free tier
Sign-up needed to start
Plants you can track for free
Species-specific watering reminders
What makes you actually do it
Pet-safety information
Free trial
Platform
We make Hari at Covelo Tech, so we are biased. Hari's cells are first-party facts about our own build. Every other cell was read from that vendor's own App Store listing, help center, or website, with no accuracy, quality, or popularity claims and no rating counts. Where a vendor publishes nothing on a point, the cell says so rather than filling the gap in with a No. One caveat we will name: the Planta help-center article that lists identification and Dr. Planta as paid features is stamped July 2024, so it is Planta's own statement but not a recent one, while the article describing its sign-up options was updated September 2026. Features change, so check before you subscribe.
What these apps cost
Hari's price is $4.99 a month, or $29.99 a year, which is about $2.50 a month. There is no free trial, which cuts both ways: nothing to cancel, and nothing free that expires. Here is what everyone else on this page charges, so you can see the number rather than the word "premium".
US App Store listings, checked September 3, 2026. Prices change, verify before you subscribe.
Apple lists the ten most popular in-app purchases for an app, so a rival’s figures below are a range across those ten and not necessarily its whole price list. Hari has only two, which is why Hari shows one price instead of a range.
| App | Price in the US | Free trial |
|---|---|---|
| Hari(our app) | $4.99 a month, or $29.99 a yearThe year works out to about $2.50 a month. | No free trial. |
| Greg | $29.99 a yearGreg states this figure in its own listing. | 7 day trial, stated in the listing. |
| Planta | $7.99 and $9.99 for one month, $17.99 to $47.99 for twelve monthsPremium plans among the ten Apple lists. | Its July 2024 help-center article answers the free-trial question by describing free limited access instead. |
| PictureThis | Pro from $3.99 to $39.99, Family Plan $49.99The listing does not say which billing period each price covers. | The listing mentions a free trial “if offered”, without a length. |
| Blossom | $5.99 for one month, $59.99 to $79.99 for one yearPlus weekly plans at $4.99 and $7.99, both named as carrying a free trial. | 3 days, per Blossom’s own checkout. |
| Pl@ntNet | FreeNo in-app purchases appear on its App Store page at all. | No trial is stated. Its App Store page lists a price of Free and no in-app purchases. |
Two things worth saying plainly. Greg's own listing states $29.99 a year, the same yearly figure as Hari, so "the cheap one" is not an argument either of us gets to make. And Hari having no trial is not the same as rivals having no free way in: Greg states a 7 day trial, Blossom's checkout offers 3 days, and PictureThis refers to a trial without naming a length. What Hari offers instead is a free tier that does not run out.
What Makes Hari Different
Three structural differences, not three adjectives.
Friends who can nudge you
Add friends by @username, see each other's streaks, and send a push notification when a plant is overdue. Private nudges between people who know each other, not posts to a feed. Hari Pro.
Two tools, one allowance
Identification and Plant Doctor diagnosis are separate tools that draw on the same 3 free scans a month. Name a plant you brought home, or ask what is wrong with one that has gone off and get reasoning and a confidence score, without having to decide in advance which one you needed. Pro unlocks the full treatment plan.
A free tier you can live on
6 plants, no sign-up, reminders that work with no signal, XP, 40+ badges, and streaks that multiply it. Free is the product here, not a countdown: there is no trial, so there is nothing to cancel and nothing that expires.
Where Hari does not fit
Three cases where Hari is not an option at all, whatever the table says:
- You are on Android. Hari is iPhone only and there is no Android build.
- You want it on iPad. Hari is an iPhone app.
- You are on iOS 17 or earlier. Hari needs iOS 18 or later.
Try Hari free: 6 plants, no sign-up needed.
Free on iPhone, with AI identification and Plant Doctor diagnosis included. Pro is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, about $2.50 a month on the yearly plan, and there is no trial to cancel.
Common questions
The questions people actually type, answered in the first sentence.
Free AI plant identification is not rare, so on its own it does not separate these apps. The harder thing to get for free is the second half: an AI diagnosis of a plant that is already sick. Hari couples the two on iPhone out of one free allowance, 3 AI photo scans a month covering identification and Plant Doctor diagnosis, plus 10 Doctor follow-up messages, 6 plants, and species-specific watering reminders, with no account to create. The rest of the free-identification landscape, from the vendors' own sources: Greg's listing invites you to scan any plant for free, and Pl@ntNet identifies about 20,000 species with no in-app purchases at all. Planta's help center lists Plant Identification as a paid-subscriber feature in an article stamped July 2024. Blossom and PictureThis both identify plants and neither publishes what its iPhone free tier includes.
Hari's Plant Doctor does this on iPhone inside the free tier: photograph the leaf, describe what you are seeing, and get a likely diagnosis with a confidence score and the reasoning behind it. Free covers 3 AI photo scans a month, shared between identification and diagnosis, and 10 Doctor follow-up messages a month. Pro unlocks the full step-by-step treatment plan. Among the apps on this page, Greg's page lists Diagnose and its description describes community troubleshooting from veteran growers, Pl@ntNet's listing describes species identification and citizen-science contribution and does not describe a diagnosis feature, and Planta's own help center lists Dr. Planta as a paid-subscriber feature in an article stamped July 2024. Blossom and PictureThis both have diagnosis, and neither publishes what its free tier includes. Plant Doctor is guidance, not a substitute for a professional.
Hari's free tier is not a countdown. There is no trial to cancel, because there is no trial: 6 plants, species-specific watering reminders for 100+ houseplants, 3 AI photo scans a month for identification or a Plant Doctor diagnosis, 10 Doctor follow-up messages, streaks, XP, and 40+ badges, all at no cost and with no account. If 6 plants is your whole collection you never have to pay anything. Hari Pro is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year in the US if you want unlimited plants, higher AI limits, full treatment plans, cloud sync, and friend nudges. Pl@ntNet is the other app here with nothing to buy: its App Store page carries no in-app purchases at all. Its listing describes photo identification of about 20,000 species plus a citizen-science project, and it does not mention watering, reminders, or tracking a collection.
Hari asks for no sign-up to start. Download it, add plants, and the collection, schedules, and reminders live on the phone and work with no signal. PictureThis says the same thing in its own FAQ: signing up is not mandatory, and it assigns a device account automatically. Planta is the clear contrast on this page: its help center describes signing up with Apple, Google, or email as the first thing a new user does. On Hari an account only comes into it for Pro cloud sync and friends.
It depends on which job you are hiring the app for. If the job is keeping plants you already own alive, judge them on five things: whether you can identify a plant without paying, whether you can find out what is wrong with a sick one without paying, what walking in the door costs you in accounts and trials, whether anything makes you actually water the plant, and whether the price is a stated number. Hari is built for that job on iPhone: 6 plants free with no account, photo identification and Plant Doctor diagnosis as two tools drawing on one free allowance of 3 scans a month, species-specific schedules for 100+ houseplants, streaks and 40+ badges, and Pro friends who can nudge you. Hari is iPhone only, iOS 18 or later, so on Android it is not an option at all.
Hari is free for 6 plants with no account required, and the reminders keep working offline. Free also includes 3 AI photo scans a month, usable for plant identification or a Plant Doctor diagnosis, plus 10 Doctor follow-up messages, XP, 40+ badges, and streaks. The free tier is the product, not a timed demo: there is no free trial to forget to cancel, because Pro is a plain $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year.
There is no single cheapest plant care app, because the apps on this page do not all cost money in the same way and two of them do not publish a single current price at all. Here is the landscape. Hari costs nothing for 6 plants, with no account and no trial, and Hari Pro is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year in the US, which is about $2.50 a month. Greg's own listing states $29.99 a year, the same yearly figure as Hari, and offers a 7 day trial. Prices for Planta, Blossom, and PictureThis are printed on this page as the ranges Apple lists, because none of the three states a single current price we could verify. Pl@ntNet's App Store page carries no in-app purchases at all; its listing describes photo identification and a citizen-science project, and does not mention watering, reminders, or tracking a collection. All of it was checked on September 3, 2026, and prices change, so verify on the App Store before you subscribe.
Hari keeps your plant collection, watering schedules, and reminders on the device, with no account required, and they work with no signal. Identification and Plant Doctor are the online part: the photo, question, and relevant plant context you submit are sent to Hari's servers and an AI provider to get an answer, so that step is not on-device. Photos are transmitted for transient processing and are not used to train Covelo Tech models.
Hari Pro has a dedicated friend-nudge system: create a @username, add friends, see each other's plant collections and watering streaks, and send a nudge notification when a friend's plants are overdue for water. These are private nudges between people who added each other, not posts to a public feed.
Yes. Hari has a full gamification system built into the free tier. Earn XP every time you water a plant, level up through ranks from Sprout to Forest Guardian, unlock 40+ achievement badges, and build consecutive-day streaks that multiply your XP.
Hari displays pet-safety information across its 100+ plant library. Each plant profile clearly marks whether it is toxic to cats, dogs, or other pets, and you can browse the library to find pet-safe options before buying a new plant. PictureThis lists a Toxic Plant Warning feature, and Blossom lists pet safety as a search filter.
Ready to Keep Your Plants Alive?
Hari is free on iPhone. 6 plants, no sign-up, species-specific reminders, and 3 AI photo scans a month shared between identification and a Plant Doctor diagnosis. Pro adds unlimited plants, higher AI limits, full treatment plans, cloud sync, and friend nudges for $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year.
iOS 18+ · Free to start · Made by Covelo Tech