Comparisons Head to head
Plantalya vs PictureThis: which one to pick
PictureThis identifies fast and wide. Plantalya identifies, then tells you what to do next, with sourced guides. An honest, criterion-by-criterion comparison.
In short
Our take
To name an unfamiliar plant spotted on a walk, either app does the job, and PictureThis's sheer database size gives it an edge on rare or wild species. To keep the plants you already own alive, we'd point you to Plantalya, because the advice is specific to that plant, sourced, and readable outside the app too. Plenty of people we hear from use PictureThis to identify and then come to Plantalya to actually take care of what they found.
PictureThis is one of the best-known plant identification apps, made by Glority Global Group Ltd. Point your camera at a plant, and it names it. Plantalya starts from the same gesture, but what we actually built is what comes after: a care guide for that specific plant, written from sources you can check, in your language.
We're not going to pretend these are equivalent products. They overlap on identification and diverge on everything after it. Here's where each one is actually strong.
The two apps, side by side
- PictureThis very large database (400,000+ species claimed)
- Plantalya Care guides cite ASPCA for toxicity
- PictureThis Listed on the App Store as "consult our botanists"
- PictureThis Partial — browsable plant library, but pushes hard toward the app
- Plantalya 503 plants, 10 languages
How we compare
We compare what can be checked: the features each app publicly documents, what its free tier actually includes, and the price shown on its own store listing. We do not measure identification accuracy, because we have no way to test it fairly, and we never publish a percentage we cannot reproduce.
Plantalya is our own app, so this page is not neutral and we will not pretend it is. What we can promise: no money changes hands with the apps compared here, there are no affiliate links, and nothing on this page was paid for.
Where PictureThis is ahead
Volume and speed. Its recognition database is enormous, including wild and rare species, and naming a plant is nearly instant. If your question stops at "what is this plant called," it's a genuinely good tool, and one of the most polished identification apps on the market. Its weed-identification and light-tracking features go further than what we offer.
Where Plantalya is ahead
On what happens after the name. Knowing a species doesn't keep it alive — a good guide does. Every Plantalya plant page lays out light, watering, soil, temperature, hardiness and toxicity, each figure traced to a source: the Royal Horticultural Society, university extension services, Kew's Plants of the World Online, GBIF, or the ASPCA. You can read it on the web, without creating an account, and find the same plant again in the app. Take a look at our Monstera deliciosa guide to see what we mean — arguably one of the plants people search for identification the most.
We also built dedicated tools around two specific questions: which houseplants are safe around pets, and what's actually wrong with a sick plant.
What we haven't verified
PictureThis's App Store listing mentions "consultation with our botanists" as a chat feature. We couldn't confirm from official sources whether every conversation is answered by a human or sometimes by an automated assistant — independent reports we found disagree with each other. We're not going to guess, so we simply don't compare that feature here.
Pricing on both apps is genuinely hard to pin down: App Store listings show several price tiers for PictureThis (weekly, yearly, family plan) that shift with promotions, and we're not going to publish a single number as if it were fixed. Check the current price directly on the store before deciding — it changes.
On pricing, honestly
Both apps are free to download with in-app purchases; neither is simply "free." PictureThis lists several PictureThis Pro tiers plus a Family Plan on the App Store, and Plantalya lists four "Premium Access" tiers. Exact amounts move with promotions and region, so treat any number you see today as a snapshot, not a guarantee for tomorrow.
Frequently asked questions
Is PictureThis free?
It's free to download, with in-app purchases required for most features — App Store listings show several PictureThis Pro price tiers and a Family Plan option, which change with promotions.
Does Plantalya work without a subscription?
The app is free to download with in-app purchases (App Store listing, four tiers from €3.99 to €34.99). The web encyclopedia — 503 plant guides in 10 languages — is free to read without an account or app install.
Can I use both?
Yes. Identify with one, care for the plant with the other — many people do exactly that.
Try Plantalya yourself
The fastest way to settle a comparison is to install both and keep the one you actually open.
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