Education · head to head
Pl@ntNet vs Securly
Pl@ntNet
Education
Free plant identification app run by a consortium of French public research institutes
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Securly
Education
Web filtering, student safety monitoring and device management for K-12 schools
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Pl@ntNet has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Pl@ntNet it offers no plant care guidance, watering reminders or disease diagnosis, unlike commercial apps built around ongoing plant care.; Securly pricing stacks by module and only Filter has rates that surface publicly, so the quoted total for Filter plus Aware plus On-Call is routinely several times the number a district budgeted from the filtering line alone.
- They diverge on capability: Pl@ntNet covers Photo identification, Securly covers Filter.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Pl@ntNet and Securly actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Education).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Pl@ntNet
- Photo identification
- Large species coverage
- Multi-language support
- Community-sourced database
- Regional flora filtering
- Contribution to research
Only in Securly
- Filter
- Aware
- On-Call
- Classroom
- MDM
- Pass
- Home
- Delegated admin
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Pl@ntNet
- A gardener or hiker who wants free plant identification without a subscriptionnot Securly
- A student or researcher wanting a citation-friendly, institutionally-run identification toolnot Securly
- Someone identifying plants outside English-speaking regions who needs one of its 50-plus languagesnot Securly
- A forager wanting a second opinion on a plant before relying solely on one sourcenot Securly
Securly
- A district that must show CIPA compliance for take-home Chromebooks used on home broadband, where network-level filtering does nothingnot Pl@ntNet
- A district whose safeguarding policy requires that a human being reads a self-harm alert within minutes at any hour, including school holidaysnot Pl@ntNet
- A one-to-one iPad programme needing Apple device enrolment, filtering and classroom control from a single agent rather than threenot Pl@ntNet
- A district under pressure from parents who want visibility of what their child does on the school device at home, without the school having to field each request by handnot Pl@ntNet
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Pl@ntNet
- It offers no plant care guidance, watering reminders or disease diagnosis, unlike commercial apps built around ongoing plant care.
- Identification accuracy varies by region depending on how well local flora is represented in the community-submitted training data.
- The interface is more utilitarian than a commercial app, reflecting its research origins rather than consumer product design.
- It should never be relied on alone to determine whether a wild plant or fungus is safe to eat, and the project itself does not claim otherwise.
- Because it is run by a nonprofit research consortium rather than a company, feature development and interface updates move more slowly than a funded commercial competitor.
Securly
- Pricing stacks by module and only Filter has rates that surface publicly, so the quoted total for Filter plus Aware plus On-Call is routinely several times the number a district budgeted from the filtering line alone.
- The safety scanning generates false positives at volume, including song lyrics, creative writing and health-class assignments, and each one consumes counsellor or administrator time that the vendor does not pay for.
- Alerting on student writing is a surveillance decision with real community consequences, and districts that deploy it without an explicit board policy and parent notification have faced local objections after the fact.
- Coverage is strongest on managed Chromebooks; personal devices, non-Chrome browsers and encrypted apps outside the agent leave gaps that the compliance story quietly depends on nobody testing.
- Per-student pricing is charged on enrolment rather than on devices, so a district that issues devices to only some year groups still pays for every student on the roll.
Pricing, plan by plan
Pl@ntNet
Free- Pl@ntNetFree
- Full identification for over 80,000 species
- Available in over 50 languages
- No account required for basic identification
Securly
On request- Filter$undefined/year
- Web filtering on and off network
- Tiered per-student rates that fall as enrolment rises
- Published in some purchasing co-operative catalogues, not on the vendor site
- Aware$undefined/year
- Automated scanning of email, documents and search for safety risk
- Quoted per student, no public rate
- On-Call$undefined/year
- 24/7 human review and escalation of serious alerts
- Quoted per student, priced on top of Aware
- Classroom, MDM and Pass$undefined/year
- Sold as separate per-student modules
- Quoted
Which should you pick?
Choose Pl@ntNet if
- You need photo identification.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on iOS, Android, Web.
- You also want large species coverage.
Choose Securly if
- You need filter.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows.
- You also want aware.
Questions people ask
- Is Pl@ntNet or Securly better?
- Neither clearly leads. Pl@ntNet starts at Free and Securly at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Pl@ntNet or Securly?
- Pl@ntNet has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Pl@ntNet and On request for Securly.
- Does Pl@ntNet or Securly run on more platforms?
- Pl@ntNet runs on iOS, Android, Web. Securly runs on Web, iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows.
- Can I use Pl@ntNet for free?
- Yes. Pl@ntNet has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Securly starts at On request.
- What is Pl@ntNet best used for?
- Pl@ntNet is most often used for a gardener or hiker who wants free plant identification without a subscription, a student or researcher wanting a citation-friendly, institutionally-run identification tool, someone identifying plants outside english-speaking regions who needs one of its 50-plus languages, a forager wanting a second opinion on a plant before relying solely on one source. Of those, a gardener or hiker who wants free plant identification without a subscription and a student or researcher wanting a citation-friendly, institutionally-run identification tool are not what Securly is typically brought in for.
- What can Pl@ntNet do that Securly cannot?
- Pl@ntNet covers Photo identification, Large species coverage, Multi-language support, Community-sourced database. Securly covers Filter, Aware, On-Call, Classroom.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Pl@ntNet: Is Pl@ntNet free?
Yes, entirely free with no ads or in-app purchases, run by a consortium of French public research institutes.
Securly: Does Securly publish pricing?
Not on its own site. Tiered per-student rates for Filter appear in some US purchasing co-operative catalogues, falling as enrolment rises, but Aware, On-Call, Classroom, MDM and Pass are quoted.
Pl@ntNet: How accurate is it?
Accuracy varies by region and species depending on how much community-submitted photo data exists for that flora, but it is generally strong for well-represented regions.
Securly: What is the difference between Aware and On-Call?
Aware is the automated detection that produces alerts. On-Call is the staffed service that reads the serious ones out of hours and phones your escalation contacts. Buying Aware alone leaves the triage with your own staff.
Pl@ntNet: Can I use it to check if a plant is safe to eat?
No. It is an identification aid, not a safety tool, and should not be relied on alone for foraging decisions.
Securly: Does it filter on home internet?
Yes, filtering follows the managed device rather than the network, which is the point for take-home Chromebook programmes.
Securly: Is student data used for anything else?
Securly signs the US Student Privacy Pledge and district data processing agreements; check the specific DPA rather than the marketing page, since scanning scope and retention are negotiated terms.
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