PictureThis alternatives, matched to why you're looking

What PictureThis costs, checked on 2026-10-21

The US listing's In-App Purchases row showed ten entries: PictureThis Pro at $39.99 (seven times), $7.99 and $3.99, and a PictureThis Family Plan at $49.99. The listing doesn't say which billing period each price covers, and Apple shows at most ten rows, so treat this as a range rather than a plan list. Its subscription terms mention a free trial "if offered", and the separate Subscriptions section shows PictureThis Pro with a free trial. The PictureThis website has a "Try for Free" button but no prices. The purchase screen inside the app is where the exact plan and period appear; check it before the trial ends.

How we compared

We make Tree Identifier. We compared the alternatives on what each app documents about itself: its US App Store listing (price, In-App Purchases list, description), its website and its help pages, all read on 2026-10-21. We did not use the other apps or run lab tests. For accuracy we cite published studies only and never an app's claims about itself. The criteria: cost, what the app identifies, offline use, account, Android and web, and whether a person or a confidence level backs the answer. Ratings are quoted as "N ratings, average X, US App Store, checked 2026-10-21". Where an app's pages say nothing, we say "not documented", never "no". We publish no accuracy figure for Tree Identifier, because none has been measured independently.

Free alternatives: Seek, Pl@ntNet and iNaturalist

• Seek by iNaturalist (30,912 ratings, average 4.75, US App Store, checked 2026-10-21). Free, no account, "designed to be safe for children", identifies live through the camera without a connection, and keeps your records on your device. The trade-off, per iNaturalist: its model is generally older than the one iNaturalist uses online. Best for families, hikes and anyone who wants nothing to pay and nothing to sign up for.
• Pl@ntNet, listed as PlantNet (7,049 ratings, average 4.59, US App Store, checked 2026-10-21). Free, run by four French research institutes, with a website and an Android app. You tag each photo by plant part, and you can send several photos of one plant. Its offline mode works on the mobile app after a download that needs an account. Best for people who switch between phone and computer, or between iPhone and Android.
• iNaturalist (706 ratings, average 4.08, US App Store, checked 2026-10-21, for the redesigned app). Free and non-profit. The AI makes a suggestion and the community can confirm or correct it, which no fully automated app offers. In the Rutgers study, iNaturalist came second of six apps, behind PictureThis, naming the genus from 92.27% of leaf photos. Best when you want a second opinion from people.

Built in: Apple Visual Look Up and Google Lens

On an iPhone with iOS 15 or later, open a tree photo in Photos and tap the Info button, then the leaf icon. Apple says results come "from Siri Knowledge and the web". Google Lens does the same in the free Google app and also works on Android and in Chrome on a computer. Both are generalists (animals, landmarks, text), free, and fine for a quick name. The University of Maryland Extension included both in a test of nine apps on 90 pasture-plant photos; PictureThis came first there with 94% right on the first suggestion.

Trees-only alternatives

If houseplants don't interest you, a trees-only app keeps results focused on trees.

• Forest Tree Identifier (821 ratings, average 4.1, US App Store, checked 2026-10-21): free with no in-app purchases on its US listing. Identify from a photo or step through leaves, flowers, bark, buds and twigs, with filters by leaf shape and region. An Android version is listed on its developer's site. Needs iOS 18.6 or later.
• Tree Identifier: Bark Scanner (no ratings yet; released 2026-10-05): built to identify trees from bark alone, for bare winter trunks. Its listing says every result carries a confidence level and that it shows look-alikes and how to tell them apart. Premium Weekly $2.99 or Premium Yearly $19.99 on its US listing, checked 2026-10-21.
• Tree Identifier (ours), listed as Tree Identifier AI: ID Trees (2,889 ratings, average 4.81, US App Store, checked 2026-10-21). One photo of a leaf, the bark, a flower, fruit or the whole tree returns the common and scientific names, origin, growing conditions and key traits. You can ask follow-up questions under each result, chat with an AI tree expert, fill in a 138-species Collection and see your located finds on a Tree Map. It is free to download with optional in-app purchases. Its gaps: iPhone only (it runs on iPad in iPhone layout), it needs an internet connection, and it shows no confidence score, no alternative species and no look-alike list. Pick it only if those three don't matter to you; the full side-by-side is on PictureThis vs Tree Identifier.

A 15-minute test before you switch

Don't cancel anything on the strength of a web page. Take five photos of a tree whose name you know for certain (a tagged park tree is ideal): a sunlit leaf, the bark at chest height, a twig, a fruit or cone, and the whole tree. Run them through PictureThis and through the alternative you are considering. Score each answer for the right genus and the right species, and note whether the app shows other candidates when it is unsure. If the alternative gets the genus right as often as PictureThis does on your trees, switching costs you little. The best tree identification apps page explains the test in more detail.

When to stay with PictureThis

Stay if you also look after houseplants or a garden and use the care reminders, diagnosis and expert chat; if your household uses phones on both iPhone and Android, since PictureThis runs on both and lists a Family Plan; or if you simply want the app that did best in the published tree test. None of the alternatives above matches all of that in one app.