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Education · head to head

PictureThis vs Seek by iNaturalist

PictureThis logo

PictureThis

Education

Commercial plant identification app with a short free trial that converts to an annual subscription

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Seek by iNaturalist logo

Seek by iNaturalist

Education

Free nonprofit wildlife and plant identification app built to be safe for children

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Seek by iNaturalist has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: PictureThis the free trial converts to a paid annual subscription automatically, and a documented pattern of user complaints describes unexpected charges when the trial was not cancelled in time.; Seek by iNaturalist identification quality depends on how well iNaturalist community data covers a given region, so obscure or under-photographed species can be misidentified.
  • They diverge on capability: PictureThis covers Plant identification, Seek by iNaturalist covers Offline identification.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PictureThis and Seek by iNaturalist actually diverge.

Attributes where PictureThis and Seek by iNaturalist differ
AttributePictureThisSeek by iNaturalist
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPer year, sold via a short free trial that auto-renewsFree, no ads and no in-app purchases
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: platforms (iOS, Android), 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 PictureThis

  • Plant identification
  • Disease diagnosis
  • Care reminders
  • Plant care library
  • Toxicity warnings
  • My Garden tracking

Only in Seek by iNaturalist

  • Offline identification
  • No account required
  • Child-safe design
  • Species badges
  • Broad coverage
  • Community-trained model

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

PictureThis

  • A gardener who wants ongoing care reminders and disease diagnosis, not just a one-off identificationnot Seek by iNaturalist
  • Someone willing to pay for a more polished interface than the free nonprofit alternativesnot Seek by iNaturalist
  • A plant owner who wants toxicity warnings for pets and childrennot Seek by iNaturalist
  • A buyer who reads the trial terms carefully and sets a reminder to cancel before it convertsnot Seek by iNaturalist

Seek by iNaturalist

  • A parent wanting a nature app for a child without accounts, chat or data collection concernsnot PictureThis
  • A hiker in an area with no signal who needs offline plant or insect identificationnot PictureThis
  • A teacher running an outdoor nature scavenger hunt with a classnot PictureThis
  • Anyone who wants broad wildlife identification without paying a subscriptionnot PictureThis

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

PictureThis

  • The free trial converts to a paid annual subscription automatically, and a documented pattern of user complaints describes unexpected charges when the trial was not cancelled in time.
  • Cancellation has to be done through App Store or Play Store account settings, not by deleting the app, which catches users off guard.
  • It solves the same core identification problem that Seek, PlantNet and Merlin solve for free, so the paid tier is competing against genuinely free options for the same task.
  • Care guidance for uncommon or exotic species is criticised as generic rather than specific.
  • Being a commercial product from a company that publishes near-identical identification apps for other categories, its plant-specific depth is not obviously deeper than a dedicated botanical tool.

Seek by iNaturalist

  • Identification quality depends on how well iNaturalist community data covers a given region, so obscure or under-photographed species can be misidentified.
  • It lacks the deep plant care guidance that commercial apps like PictureThis provide, since it is an identification tool, not a gardening assistant.
  • Observations made in Seek are not automatically added to the iNaturalist research database unless separately uploaded, which surprises some users expecting automatic contribution.
  • The offline model download is a meaningful app size, which matters on devices with limited storage.
  • Because there are no accounts, there is no cross-device sync of identification history.

Pricing, plan by plan

PictureThis

On request
  • PictureThis Annual$39.99/year
    • Unlimited plant identifications
    • Disease diagnosis
    • Care reminders and guides

Seek by iNaturalist

Free
  • SeekFree
    • Full identification for plants, insects and animals
    • Offline identification once models are downloaded
    • No account required

Which should you pick?

Choose PictureThis if

  • You need plant identification.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want disease diagnosis.
PictureThis review

Choose Seek by iNaturalist if

  • You need offline identification.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want no account required.
Seek by iNaturalist review

Questions people ask

Is PictureThis or Seek by iNaturalist better?
Neither clearly leads. PictureThis starts at On request and Seek by iNaturalist at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PictureThis or Seek by iNaturalist?
Seek by iNaturalist has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for PictureThis and Free for Seek by iNaturalist.
Does PictureThis or Seek by iNaturalist run on more platforms?
Both run on iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Seek by iNaturalist for free?
Yes. Seek by iNaturalist has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PictureThis starts at On request.
What is PictureThis best used for?
PictureThis is most often used for a gardener who wants ongoing care reminders and disease diagnosis, not just a one-off identification, someone willing to pay for a more polished interface than the free nonprofit alternatives, a plant owner who wants toxicity warnings for pets and children, a buyer who reads the trial terms carefully and sets a reminder to cancel before it converts. Of those, a gardener who wants ongoing care reminders and disease diagnosis, not just a one-off identification and someone willing to pay for a more polished interface than the free nonprofit alternatives are not what Seek by iNaturalist is typically brought in for.
What can PictureThis do that Seek by iNaturalist cannot?
PictureThis covers Plant identification, Disease diagnosis, Care reminders, Plant care library. Seek by iNaturalist covers Offline identification, No account required, Child-safe design, Species badges.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PictureThis: Is there a free version?

A limited free tier exists with restricted identifications and ads; full use requires the paid subscription.

Seek by iNaturalist: Is Seek really free?

Yes, entirely, with no ads or in-app purchases, run by the nonprofit iNaturalist.

PictureThis: How long is the free trial and does it auto-renew?

The trial is typically about seven days and auto-renews into the annual subscription unless cancelled beforehand through your App Store or Play Store settings.

Seek by iNaturalist: Do I need an account?

No, Seek works fully without an account, which is a deliberate choice to make it safe for children.

PictureThis: Is PictureThis the same as PlantNet or Seek?

No. PlantNet and Seek are free nonprofit identification tools; PictureThis is a commercial subscription product with more built-in care features.

Seek by iNaturalist: Does Seek feed the iNaturalist research database?

Not automatically. You have to choose to upload an observation to iNaturalist.org for it to become part of the research record.

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