Compared by Tree Identifier's makers
Seek vs iNaturalist
Both are free and come from the same nonprofit. Seek is the private, offline, kid-safe camera; iNaturalist is the community where people check your sightings. Here is how to pick.
Written by the makers of Tree Identifier, which appears here only as a third option. We compared what Seek and iNaturalist document on their App Store listings and iNaturalist's help pages; we did not use or lab-test either app. How we compared · Where the other app is the better pick
In short
Seek vs iNaturalist comes down to privacy versus people. Seek by iNaturalist needs no account, keeps your records on your phone and identifies without an internet connection, which suits children and walks without signal. iNaturalist shares your observations publicly so other naturalists can confirm them, and uses its newest model when online. Both are free, with no in-app purchases on their US listings (checked 2026-10-21).
- Disclosure: we make Tree Identifier, a separate paid-upgrade app covered in its own marked section. Seek and iNaturalist facts come from their listings and iNaturalist's help pages, checked 2026-10-21.
- Seek for kids, privacy and no signal; iNaturalist when you want a person to confirm the name or your sightings to count as science data.
- iNaturalist says Seek's on-device model is generally older than the one iNaturalist uses online.
Seek and iNaturalist come from the same nonprofit, iNaturalist, and both cost nothing. They are built for different people. Seek is a private, on-device camera that gives you a name and a badge. iNaturalist is a global community where your photo becomes a public observation that others can confirm. We make a third app, Tree Identifier, so it sits in its own marked section at the end and is kept out of the verdicts.
Pick by situation
Pick Seek if…
- A child will use it. iNaturalist's help describes Seek as "designed to be safe for children", with no account required.
- You want your sightings to stay on your phone. The same help article says "the data you record does not leave your device", and Seek's US listing says it "does not collect any user data by default".
- You walk where there is no signal. iNaturalist says Seek "does not require an internet connection to work".
- You like goals. Seek awards badges for observing different kinds of species and for taking part in challenges, per its US listing.
Pick iNaturalist if…
- You want a person to confirm the name. Observations are reviewed by "a global community of knowledgeable nature-lovers" (listing). For a tricky tree, a confirmation from someone who knows the local flora is worth more than any model.
- You want your sightings to count for science. Observations are recorded as publicly available biodiversity data.
- You want the newest model. Online, iNaturalist uses "the most recently released Computer Vision model"; iNaturalist says Seek's is "generally going to be older".
- You also use a computer. iNaturalist has a full website; Seek is an app only.
Pick iNaturalist Classic if…
You already use iNaturalist and add observations to Traditional Projects. iNaturalist's help says the redesigned app did not include that at launch. Everyone else: the Classic listing itself recommends the new app.
Where the other app is the better pick
Both apps do things Tree Identifier cannot. Seek identifies with no internet connection, needs no account, keeps your records on your device and costs nothing, with no in-app purchases on its US listing; Tree Identifier needs a connection for every identification and sells a Pro upgrade. iNaturalist puts real people behind the answer: a global community reviews observations, and in the 2022 Rutgers study of 55 tree species it came second of six apps, naming the genus from 92.27% of leaf photos. Tree Identifier has no human review and no published test.
Facts checked October 21, 2026
Side by side
From each app's US App Store listing and iNaturalist's help pages, checked 2026-10-21. "Not documented" means the pages we read say nothing.
| Seek by iNaturalist | iNaturalist (new app) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price on the US listing | Free, no in-app purchases | Free, no in-app purchases |
| Account | Not required; optional sign-in to post | Accounts are for people 13 or older; needed to share observations |
| Without a connection | Identifies on the device | AI camera still shows suggestions; online it tries a more accurate identification |
| Who checks the answer | The model only | The model, then the community |
| Where your records go | Stay on your device unless you sign in and post | Shared publicly as observations |
| Model | Generally older than iNaturalist's online model | Newest model when online |
| Devices | iPhone and iPad (iOS 15.1+), Android | iPhone only on the App Store (iOS 15.1+); a separate Android app; website |
| What it identifies | Plants, animals and fungi | Plants, animals and fungi |
| US ratings | 30,912, average 4.75 | 706, average 4.08 (the older Classic listing: 4,726, average 4.58) |
The new iNaturalist app's low rating count reflects a listing first released in September 2024; the Classic listing, from 2011, carries the older ratings.
How we compared
We make Tree Identifier, so read this as written by an interested party, even though our app is neither of the two. Facts about Seek and iNaturalist come from their US App Store listings (description, price, privacy label, compatibility, ratings), Seek's Google Play listing, and iNaturalist's help centre, all read on 2026-10-21. We did not use either app for this page. For accuracy we cite only published third-party tests. Where a page is silent, the table says "not documented", never "no".
What the published tests found
No published test of tree identification includes Seek, so the evidence is indirect.
- Trees, iNaturalist only. The Rutgers study of 55 New Jersey tree species, with app versions from 2020, ranked iNaturalist second of six apps. It named the genus from 92.27% of leaf photos and the species from 69.55%; from bark, 48.18% and 31.82%.
- Pasture plants, both apps. In the University of Maryland Extension test (updated November 2025) on 90 photos of 30 pasture and hayfield plants, iNaturalist named 79% correctly on its first suggestion. Seek was not given a percentage in the text; on the article's bar chart of average scores (4 = top suggestion right), Seek sits near 2 and iNaturalist near 3.6.
- British wild plants, Seek only. In Hamlyn Jones's 2020 test of nine apps, Seek's first suggestion was right to species 35% of the time and right at least to genus 55% of the time.
The pattern fits what iNaturalist says itself: Seek trades some accuracy for working on the device. If you use Seek and get a doubtful name for a tree, iNaturalist with a connection is the natural second check. The guide to how accurate tree identification apps are explains what these tests can and cannot tell you.
Using them together on a tree walk
Many families use both. Seek on the walk, with no signal and no account, to get a quick name and keep a child interested; iNaturalist at home, posting the best photo of the leaves, bark and any fruit so someone can confirm it. For ideas on making tree walks work for children, see tree identification for kids.
Two habits make either app more reliable on trees: photograph a single leaf in good light against the sky or the ground, and add the bark and any fruit or buds as separate photos. Both apps lean on the leaf.
A third option: Tree Identifier (ours)
This section is about our own app; weigh it accordingly. Tree Identifier, listed as Tree Identifier AI: ID Trees, is an iPhone app built around trees. One photo returns the common and scientific names, origin, growing conditions and key traits, with a follow-up chat under each result and an AI Tree Expert tab for longer questions. Finds fill a 138-species tree Collection and, with location allowed, a Tree Map. It needs no account and is free to download with optional in-app purchases (Tree Identifier Pro, $2.99 to $19.99 on its US listing, 2026-10-21).
Next to Seek and iNaturalist it falls short in clear ways: it needs an internet connection, it has no community to confirm a name, it shows no confidence score or alternative species, it does not run on Android, and it has no published test. If you want free, offline or human-checked identification, stay with Seek or iNaturalist. The best tree identification apps page groups every option by situation.
What a photo can't settle
- No published test has measured Seek on trees; the comparisons here come from a test of pasture plants and a 2020 test of British wild plants.
Questions people ask
Is Seek the same as iNaturalist?
No. Both are made by iNaturalist, a nonprofit, and Seek's image recognition is based on observations submitted to iNaturalist. But Seek is a separate app: no account, records stay on your device, and identification works without a connection. iNaturalist is a community where observations are shared publicly and reviewed by other people.
Which is more accurate, Seek or iNaturalist?
iNaturalist, as far as published tests and iNaturalist itself say. Its help notes that Seek's model is generally older than the current online one, and in a University of Maryland Extension test on pasture plants iNaturalist scored clearly higher than Seek. No published tree test includes Seek.
Do I need an account for Seek or iNaturalist?
Seek needs no account; you can optionally sign in with an iNaturalist account (13 or older, or with a parent's permission) to post observations. iNaturalist accounts are for people 13 or older and are how observations get shared and reviewed.
Are Seek and iNaturalist free?
Yes. iNaturalist's help says both are completely free to use, with no subscriptions or paywalls, and neither US listing shows in-app purchases (checked 2026-10-21). The same help page warns that commercial look-alike apps advertise on searches for iNaturalist, so check the seller is iNaturalist.
What is iNaturalist Classic?
The original iNaturalist iPhone app, still on the App Store. iNaturalist's help says the redesigned app lacked adding observations to Traditional Projects at launch, which Classic still does. The Classic listing itself recommends the new app for the best experience.
Sources
- What is the difference between iNaturalist and Seek by iNaturalist? — iNaturalist Help
- Is iNaturalist free? Are there any subscription costs to use it? — iNaturalist Help
- How to make an observation with the iNaturalist iPhone app — iNaturalist Help
- Why is this app only available for iPhones? — iNaturalist Help
- Seek by iNaturalist (US App Store listing) — Apple App Store (seller: iNaturalist)
- An Analysis of the Accuracy of Photo-Based Plant Identification Applications on Fifty-Five Tree Species (Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 48(1): 27–43, 2022) — International Society of Arboriculture (Schmidt, Casario, Zipse and Grabosky, Rutgers University)
- Snap It or Scrap It: Putting Plant ID Apps to the Test — University of Maryland Extension (Amanda Grev)
- What plant is that? Tests of automated image recognition apps for plant identification on plants from the British flora (AoB PLANTS 12(6), 2020) — Oxford University Press (Hamlyn G. Jones)