app comparison
How Much Is the RHS Grow App? Cost and Free Tier 2026
RHS Grow is £5.99 a month or £39.99 a year per the RHS's own page, with a free tier underneath. The subscription is separate from RHS membership.
Most pages that answer this question get one of two things wrong: they treat the app as an RHS member benefit, or they quote the price of RHS membership instead of the price of the app. Both are wrong, and the confusion is understandable, because the Royal Horticultural Society sells more than one thing and the app subscription is not bundled with membership.
We make Growli, a competing app, so read this with that in mind. Every figure here comes from the RHS's own page or the GB App Store listing, and we say where each one was read.
How we compared. RHS Grow's subscription price is the figure printed on the RHS's own RHS Grow page, read 29 July 2026. The App Store tiers and the rating come from the GB Apple listing, read the same day. Competitor prices come from each app's own GB listing on the same date. We have not run a hands-on test of the app.
So, plainly.
The price
| Plan | Cost |
|---|---|
| Free tier | Funded by the RHS; no subscription needed |
| Monthly | £5.99 |
| Annual | £39.99 |
Per the RHS's own page, read 29 July 2026. The subscription begins with a free trial.
At £39.99 a year, RHS Grow is the dearest of the mainstream plant apps in the UK apart from Blossom: above PictureThis Pro (£34.99), Growli Plus (£34.99), Planta Premium (£32.99 for 12 months) and PlantIn (£29.99). It is also the one with the Royal Horticultural Society behind it, which is the trade you are making.
One oddity worth knowing before you tap subscribe
The GB App Store listing shows more tiers than the RHS's page mentions: a "Supporter" product at £3.99, £5.99, £34.99 and £39.99, and a plain tier at £3.99 and £29.99, without stating what period any of them covers.
We cannot tell you what those are, because Apple does not say and the RHS's page does not list them. The honest advice: £39.99 a year and £5.99 a month are the figures to plan around, but read what your own paywall actually offers before agreeing to it. You may be shown something cheaper.
Is RHS Grow free? There is a free tier
Yes. RHS Grow has a free tier, funded by the RHS, and it does not depend on a subscription or on RHS membership.
What that free tier includes, and what moves behind the subscription, is set out on the RHS's own page. We have not re-read that list for this update, so rather than repeat an older reading we would send you there: check the RHS Grow page for the current split before deciding whether the paid tier is worth it to you.
Either way, the free tier is the place to start. It costs nothing, and you can decide about the subscription later.
Do I need RHS membership? No
The RHS states that RHS Grow's subscription is separate from RHS membership. Three consequences follow:
- Anyone can use RHS Grow, member or not. You do not need to join the RHS.
- RHS membership does not stand in for the app subscription. If you want the paid tier, you pay the £5.99 a month or £39.99 a year for it.
- Subscribing to the app is not RHS membership. The two are separate products, bought separately.
Some pages quote an RHS membership price as though it were the app's price. The two are unrelated numbers. We made a version of that mistake on three of our own pages until July 2026 and corrected it.
Is it worth £39.99?
That depends on what you grow and where.
Yes, if: you garden outdoors in Britain and want the Royal Horticultural Society's own app. Nothing else in the category has the RHS behind it.
Probably not, if: you mostly want photo identification and nothing else. PictureThis claims over 400,000 species on its listing at £34.99 a year, and PlantNet is free with no in-app purchases listed and describes about 20,000 species.
Try the free tier first, either way. It costs nothing, and the subscription can wait.
Where Growli sits, since we build one of these
We are not going to pretend to be neutral about our own app, so here is the plain version.
Growli Plus is £34.99 a year, five pounds under RHS Grow's annual price, or £6.99 a month, with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan. Our free tier does not expire: the garden plan, weather-timed daily care tasks, frost warnings ahead of cold nights, and step-by-step growing guides all cost nothing. Photo plant identification, photo diagnosis with a treatment plan and unlimited chat are the paid part. If identification alone is what you need and you want it free, PlantNet charges for nothing at all.
What Growli's listing describes that we would point to: care plans timed to your local weather, frost alerts, a pet-safety check for cats and dogs, a light meter, and a chat that remembers every plant you own. We are not the Royal Horticultural Society, which is a real advantage they have and we do not. Rated 4.8 from 165 ratings on the UK App Store, read 22 October 2026; RHS Grow is rated 4.7 from about 5,900.
Many UK gardeners are best served by RHS Grow's free tier plus one app that does the daily work. That is a genuinely good combination and it is what we would tell a friend.
Full breakdown on our pricing page, and every UK app price side by side in how much plant apps cost in the UK.
How we checked
RHS Grow's subscription price comes from the RHS's own RHS Grow page, read on 29 July 2026. The App Store tier list and the 4.7 rating from about 5,900 ratings come from the GB Apple listing, read the same day. Competitor prices come from each app's own GB listing on the same date, and competitor features from each app's App Store description, read 22 October 2026.
Prices change. If you are reading this well after July 2026, treat it as a starting point and check your own store.
Related articles
- How much do plant apps cost in the UK? 10 verified — every GB price read from its own App Store listing
- RHS Grow vs PictureThis — which suits UK gardens? — the RHS's app against the biggest catalogue
- Best free plant apps UK 2026 — 4 that stay free — including RHS Grow's free tier
- Best plant care app UK 2026 — free and paid compared — the full UK field
- Growli vs RHS Grow — where we differ from the official app
- UK RHS hardiness ratings explained — what H1a to H7 actually mean
Prices read from the RHS's own page and the GB App Store on 29 July 2026. Written and maintained by the Growli editorial team. If something has changed, email hello@getgrowli.app and we will correct it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the RHS Grow app cost?
£5.99 a month or £39.99 a year, per the RHS's own page, after a free trial. There is also a free tier funded by the RHS. Read 29 July 2026. Note that the GB App Store listing additionally shows £3.99, £29.99 and £34.99 tiers without saying what period they cover, so check what your own paywall offers; you may be shown something cheaper than the published price.
Is the RHS Grow app free?
There is a free tier, funded by the Royal Horticultural Society, that does not need a subscription or RHS membership. The RHS's own page sets out which features are free and which need the £5.99-a-month or £39.99-a-year subscription; we have not re-read that list for this update, so check it there before you decide.
Is RHS Grow free for RHS members?
The RHS states that RHS Grow's subscription is separate from RHS membership, and this is the most common misunderstanding about it. Membership does not stand in for the app subscription, and subscribing to the app is not membership. Anyone can use RHS Grow whether they are a member or not, and anyone who wants the paid tier pays the same £5.99 a month or £39.99 a year.
Do I need to be an RHS member to use RHS Grow?
No. The free tier is open to everyone, and the RHS says the subscription is separate from membership, so non-members can subscribe too. If you joined the RHS expecting the app's paid tier to be included and found it asking you to pay, that is why: the two are separate products.
Is RHS Grow worth paying for?
It is worth it if you garden outdoors in Britain and want the Royal Horticultural Society's own app; nothing else in the category has the RHS behind it. It is less compelling if you only want photo identification, where PictureThis claims over 400,000 species at £34.99 a year and PlantNet is free with no in-app purchases listed. Start with the free tier and decide about the subscription later.
How does RHS Grow compare on price to other UK plant apps?
It is the dearest of the mainstream options apart from Blossom. Annual plans on the GB App Store as of 29 July 2026: PlantIn £29.99, Planta £32.99 for 12 months, PictureThis Pro £34.99, Growli Plus £34.99, RHS Grow £39.99. Blossom runs from £59.99 to £79.00 a year (read 1 August 2026). PlantNet and Seek are free. SUPER Greg lists products from £3.49 to £49.99 without publishing durations, so no honest annual figure exists for it. The mainstream paid field sits within about ten pounds a year of itself, so price is a poor way to choose between them.