Plantum (formerly NatureID) is a capable app. It identifies a large catalogue of plants, diagnoses disease from a photo, and — unusually — lets you request a written consultation from a professional botanist. So why do so many people search for an alternative? Usually one of two reasons: the paywall or the missing back-and-forth. Plantum's free tier lets you identify plants but caps health diagnosis, and the tools most people actually want — the light meter, pot meter, water calculator and detailed diagnostics — sit behind Plantum Premium, which runs roughly $20–30 per year depending on your region and any promotion, after a short free trial.
Below is an honest comparison. We build and ship one of these apps (Growli), so we have skin in the game — but the goal here is to help you pick the right tool, and we'll tell you plainly where each competitor wins.
Plantum alternatives at a glance
| App | Best for | Price | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growli | Conversational AI care + diagnosis + pet safety | Free | iOS, Android |
| PictureThis | Raw plant identification | ~$39.99/year | iOS, Android |
| Greg | Free community feed + care tracking | Free (optional paid tier) | iOS, Android |
| Planta | Polished care scheduling & light meter | ~$35.99/year | iOS, Android |
| Plantum (the app you're replacing) | ID plus botanist consultations | ~$20–30/year | iOS, Android |
The 4 best alternatives to Plantum
1. Growli — best free all-rounder
Growli is an AI gardening assistant that combines the three things people usually cobble together from separate apps: photo identification, leaf-based problem diagnosis, and a genuine back-and-forth chat about your specific plant. Snap a photo, get a species match, then ask follow-up questions in plain English — "why are the lower leaves yellowing?" — and get a reasoned answer rather than a generic care card. It also sends care reminders, frost alerts and a daily plan.
Two things set it apart from Plantum. First, it's free on iOS and Android — no paywall on identification or diagnosis, and no per-diagnosis cap. Second, it carries ASPCA-cited pet-safety data across a roughly 11,700-species care library, so you can check whether a plant is toxic to cats or dogs before you buy it. It's also UK-localized to RHS guidance, which most US-built apps aren't. It holds a 4.6 App Store rating with 7,000+ growers.
Pros: free; conversational AI; symptom diagnosis; strong pet-safety data; UK/RHS localization. Cons: newer and smaller community than Greg; no human-botanist consultation feature like Plantum's.
Start with our best plant care app roundup for the full category, or jump straight to the pet-safe plant hub if a cat or dog shares your home.
2. PictureThis — best for identification only
If your main use for Plantum is pointing your phone at an unknown plant and getting a fast, confident species name, PictureThis is the market leader by catalogue size and is often cited among the most accurate on clear leaf photos. It also offers care tips and disease info, but identification is where it shines.
Pros: very large species database; fast, accurate ID; polished onboarding; 24/7 expert chat. Cons: a subscription of roughly $39.99/year — pricier than Plantum — with a free trial that auto-converts if you forget to cancel; ongoing care features are thinner than a dedicated care app. See our best plant identifier app comparison for the full ID-app field.
3. Greg — best for a free community
Greg has built the strongest social layer of any plant app: an active in-app feed where growers post problems and get crowd-sourced advice. Its plant identification, unlimited collection tracking and community access are free, which makes it an easy swap if Plantum's paywall is your only complaint. Precision watering, smart reminders and its light gauge sit on an optional paid tier (around $29.99/year).
Pros: genuinely generous free tier; the best community; clean watering schedules. Cons: advice quality varies (it's crowd-sourced, not expert-reviewed); diagnosis is less structured than a dedicated AI tool.
4. Planta — best for polished care scheduling
Planta is the care-scheduling specialist. Its smart algorithms weigh species, pot size and local weather to time watering, fertilizing, misting and repotting, and it includes a light meter and a "Dr. Planta" diagnosis flow. If you liked Plantum's care tools but wanted them more organized, Planta is the upgrade — for a price.
Pros: beautifully organized care interface; excellent light meter; weather-aware schedules. Cons: most useful features, including plant ID and diagnosis, are behind Planta Premium at about $35.99/year; the free tier is largely watering reminders. See our best gardening app roundup for how it compares beyond houseplants.
How to choose
Be honest about your bottleneck. If your plants keep dying and you don't know why, prioritize diagnosis and conversational help — that's Growli's wedge, and you don't pay for it. If you mostly need to name mystery plants on walks, an ID specialist like PictureThis is the tighter fit. If you love scrolling other people's plants, Greg's community is unmatched. And if what you valued in Plantum was the polished care scheduling, Planta does that better than anyone — provided you don't mind another annual subscription.
The one thing worth stressing: identification is now a commodity across all of these apps. In 2026 the real differentiator is what happens after the species name comes back — whether the app can reason about your specific plant, warn you if it's toxic to your pet, and adjust to your actual growing conditions. Plantum's edge is its large ID library plus the option to escalate to a human botanist; Growli's edge is free conversational care, structured diagnosis and pet-safety data. Browse the full plant care library to see the depth of care guidance either way.
Related articles
- Best plant care app 2026 — the full category ranked — where every app in this guide fits
- Best plant identifier app 2026 — tested and ranked — if identification is your main need
- Best gardening app 2026 — reminders, journals and planners — beyond houseplants
- Pet-safe plant hub — ASPCA-cited toxicity for cats and dogs
- Plant care library — care guides across our species catalogue
Reviewed and updated by the Growli editorial team. For questions about anything here, open Growli and ask — or email hello@getgrowli.app.
Frequently asked questions
Is Plantum free?
Plantum is free to download and lets you identify plants without paying, but it caps free health diagnosis and puts its care tools — the light meter, pot meter, water calculator and detailed diagnostics — behind Plantum Premium. That subscription runs roughly $20 to $30 per year depending on region and promotion, usually after a short free trial. If you want an app with no paywall on identification or diagnosis, Growli is free on iOS and Android.
Is Plantum the same as NatureID?
Yes. Plantum is the rebranded version of NatureID — the developer renamed the app while keeping the same core plant identification, disease diagnosis and care features. If you used NatureID in the past, Plantum is its direct continuation, now with an expanded species catalogue and additional professional tools like the light meter and botanist consultations.
Is Plantum accurate?
Plantum is generally accurate for identification, scoring highly in independent 2026 comparisons of leaf-photo recognition, and it advertises a large species catalogue. Accuracy still drops on blurry photos, unusual angles or bark and roots, which is true of every AI plant app. For borderline cases, Plantum lets you escalate to a professional botanist, and other apps such as PictureThis are also strong on clear leaf images.
What is the best free alternative to Plantum?
Growli is the strongest free alternative: it combines photo identification, leaf-based problem diagnosis and conversational AI chat with care reminders and ASPCA-cited pet-safety data, all with no paywall on iOS and Android. Greg is the best free option if you specifically want a community feed. Most other apps, including PictureThis and Planta, gate their strongest features behind a paid subscription.
Does Plantum have a plant-care chat like ChatGPT?
Plantum offers structured care guides and the option to request a written consultation from a professional botanist, which typically returns advice within a few days. It is not a real-time conversational assistant. If you want to ask free-form follow-up questions about your specific plant and get an instant reasoned answer, Growli's conversational AI is built for exactly that back-and-forth.
Which plant app is best for pet owners?
Growli is the strongest choice for pet owners because it carries ASPCA-cited toxicity data across roughly 11,700 species, so you can check whether a plant is toxic to cats or dogs before buying it. You can browse the same data on our pet-safe plant hub. Most other apps, including Plantum, mention toxicity only in passing rather than as structured, sourced data.