PlantSnap - identify plants Reviews

by Joeseabass

Worst app ever. I took perfect pictures several times from multiple angles I have never once gotten a proper result. I clicked submit to be identified...... they want to charge me to use PlantSnap . 🤔 you are suspect. I proceeded to do a simple google search with a simple description. Boom 💥 popped up with the correct results on the 1st try. I do not recommend PlantSnap don’t waste your $.

This is my updated review after developers response. PlantSnap is still garbage 🗑. I am reading between the lines with your response now because you don’t object the the fact that if you paid for PlantSnap it would work better. Therefore you are a scam app. I tried so many times to work with PlantSnap. I even tried it on layup plants that a 3 year old could identify and they still got it wrong. Very suspect practices going on over at plant snap.

by Nerdwolff

I was excited to first use PlantSnap and even looked at tutorials to try and get it to identify plants better but in the end I have to agree with almost everyone else and say that PlantSnap doesn’t work as it should even when “used properly” the developer team just copies and pastes responses to the reviews and are very passive aggressive, and claim to be here to help but in reality they just want to appear like they are ready to help, but in fact have no desire to fix their mediocre identification app OR to help people “properly use” PlantSnap , they are all about appearances and want to give the illusion that they are doing -anything- the bad reviews are right, and if you take a look at the developer responses to them, you’ll see a pattern of rude deflection without tackling any real issues it’s basically just “our app works, you’re not using it right, we can’t help you use it right if you don’t taaalk to us” well people have tried, left their reviews, and done their part, the only problem left is the actual developers not thinking they did any wrong and telling others it’s their fault. PlantSnap and the makers are NOT EVEN WORTH THE TIME. Move along to ‘picture this’ at least that one can’t identify simple herbs.

by Scjrobin

I tried to get PlantSnap to identify 5 different plants, even though I knew what they were. PlantSnap got them all WRONG!!!
UPDATE: I was sent an email with developer response to my review, saying that "tens of millions of people use this app every day with great success" & "to frame the photo properly" & "Do you want to update your review?" So this is my update.
I have used 2 other plant identifier apps, taking snapshots all in the same way. PlantSnap was the only one that identifies incorrectly. The other 2 apps (Plant Identify & Picture This) were exactly correct on the identification of the plant (on 5 different plants). Because I already knew what the plants were. And that was just a test on the accuracy of the apps. I took the same exact snapshot for each app.
Maybe PlantSnap should be updated in order to work better?

by Dkim568

I was excited to see an app to detect plants and identify them appropriately. Now, I understand the challenges in designing the algorithms to correctly identify shapes of the foliage, leaf pattern, veins, etc, which is why it provides a list of similar plants. Cool, I can sort through the list.
The problems:
1. PlantSnap has never been able to detect any plants aside from those that are obvious. I wouldn’t waste my money on upgrading based on how terribly PlantSnap functions.
2. The free version is a joke, full of ads and restrictions - don’t waste your time.
3. When attempting to use PlantSnap today, it was only full of errors and could not detect the plant. Once the list showed up, there were no photos or additional information on the plants and I had to resort to Google to try to find photos and info of the plants on the list.
4. App saves all images to my photos. I’m assuming there’s a setting to prevent this but not going to waste any more time on PlantSnap. I don’t want every single photo saved to my phone. Ask me if I want to save the photo instead of automatically saving it.
5. An app like this should have capability for self-learning so every user helps eventually add new plants to the database. I’ve given PlantSnap the benefit of the doubt for quite a few months and it hasn’t improved even a bit. If anything, it’s gotten worse.
Deleting PlantSnap . Great idea, poor execution.

by BummedinKY

I live in the Midwest and have been wanting to begin a photographic project to catalog and identify wildflowers, trees, bushes, etc. around my rural property. I am no botanist, so need help in plant identification. My landscaping plants have come from a local nursery, so I have nothing exotic. Well, I saw PlantSnap and was very excited. It was just what I was looking for, plant ID and the ability to receive more information on each plant.

Well, I have tried it on approximately 25 plants. It has identified TWO correctly. It identified my recently-purchased birch trees as POISON IVY! My sister-in-law is quite knowledgeable and has helped me. And, of course, I know what I have purchased from the local nurseries, so I am confident in saying that PlantSnap results have not been accurate. In most cases, the suggestions have not even a faint resemblance to the actual plant! And it’s not the quality of the photos!!! They are crystal clear. PlantSnap has been a total disappointment. I don’t know how others are having such success. I, for one, find it useless.

by DK441

Update: I use PlantSnap every now and then to see if it can help identify a plant but most times it’s wrong and searching on google usually gives me a lot better results. I stick to what I said. PlantSnap is decent, DECENT, at best and doesn’t deserve anything above two stars. As for the developers of PlantSnap, they DO NOT take constructive criticism from consumers well. In turn they rather leave passive aggressive comments instead of improving their sub par app. All of us from the plant community appreciate your efforts but we’d rather not hear back until your app is in working market condition. Appreciate your feedback but again... NEXT.

Another update: If you see any positive feedback for PlantSnap, more than likely it was made by the developer. The reviews that state PlantSnap works, are clearly just the developer trying to put good reviews to outweigh the bad. Don’t waste your time with it, trust all the bad reviews.... PlantSnap is terrible at identifying. I use PlantSnap ‘PICTURE THIS’, isn’t the best but does a heck of a lot better job at identifying than Plant Snap.

by Will Jared Matthews

I spend a lot of time hiking and learning new plants. I enjoy learning about wild edibles and wildflowers among other things. I also enjoy learning about the need to prioritize the preservation of wildlife habitat. PlantSnap sounds like a good idea. However PlantSnap has completely failed. For example I have just recently taken clear photos of blooming common chickweed and the abundant golden ragwort. PlantSnap does not correctly identify either. Moreover it provides a list of potential alternatives that are also incorrect. PlantSnap does nothing to promote the Id of wild invasives such as garlic mustard that are ruining the ecosystem. PlantSnap sends lots of emails soliciting upgrades to the fee version. This is not surprising considering that the free version does not work at all. Do not bother with PlantSnap and do yourself a favor and read Peterson’s wild edible plants books and Rachel Carson’s A Silent Spring.

by Jasmin3dragon

There is not very good accuracy on PlantSnap. Even in the example photos for search results, there are some pictures included which are clearly a different type of plant. For example pictures of blackberry as examples of a thimbleberry. I encountered this on several different plant example picture sets.
One way they could improve results is to select a latitude and longitude for where a picture was located and use that to weight the results. For example reduce the probability that a plant pictured in Oregon is one that is native to a tropical region like Hawaii.
Another way to improve is to allow users to set the rough size of the plant: tree, bush, plant, ground cover. I took a picture of a part of a tree to get closer up detail on its flowers and leaves and it was identified as a ground cover.
Also the recommendations about growing the plant are not specialized and say: check the light requirements of the plant. Instead of telling you its light requirements.

by Cat. Addict

Although I am pleased with the design of PlantSnap only getting like four snaps before I have to wait eight hours to get more is absurd. I mean I shouldn’t have to pay just to get unlimited snaps. Then what’s the point of PlantSnap ? Also, of course I don’t expect PlantSnap to be 100% accurate 100% of the time, but I took a snap of my cilantro and it said it was a green snowdrop or a banana tree (bananas are herbs but I’ll put that aside). What? First of all, those two have nothing in common other than they are both plants. Second of all, it’s clearly a coriandrum (cilantro)! So I really hope the developers fix that or I’m getting a new, better app to find plants.

Edit: Ok, first of all, I accidentally snapped my tv when I meant to do it on a plant next to it and I was hoping PlantSnap would say that there was no plant identified or whatnot, but it said it was a Tropicana rose. Uhh, I think not. So that was pretty dumb. Anyway, things are pretty much the same with PlantSnap I still use it every now and then but I don’t exactly like it.

by SilverShoelaces

I installed PlantSnap because I couldn't find a way to identify a plant that was given to me by Googling it. It did eventually work--the mystery plant is called diffenbachia--but it took multiple attempts to get that far, and PlantSnap incessantly reminded me all the while that I only have a limited number of free snaps before I would have to pay. PlantSnap was completely unable to identify my bamboo. I can't give it one star, because it works (eventually), but I can't justify any more than two because of all the bloat (that useless tutorial did not help me take better photos and was a complete waste of time) and the frustration in getting the pictures taken successfully. There's something very irritating about PlantSnap circling leaves, inviting me to explore them, returning zero relevant results, and then ticking down my remaining number of free pictures, all before I've pressed the picture button.

by NC Yogi

I really wanted to love PlantSnap. I did a lot of research comparing plant identification apps and it seemed to have the best reviews. I’m starting a clinical herbalism course and wanted a fast way to easily identify common plants. I have submitted many over the last month+ to have one of the experts identify (because nothing close to it showed up in the results from the photo). I’ve also sent at least one support request asking for help to get PlantSnap to be more accurate and try to find out how to get experts to respond to the requests to help identify and have not received a response. So as hopeful as I was (even recommending it to people 1 day after purchasing), I can say that I would no longer recommend and that I am disappointed in the support/responsiveness and ability to corrected identify a plant. I’ve also watched the tutorial videos to give tips on how to take photos, but it didn’t change my results. Hope others have better experiences than me. If support people read this, could you make a request or explain to me why experts aren’t responding to my questions? Thank you!

by TyDanie

I bought PlantSnap for the entire year because I fell in love with the way it used to be. After this update I do not enjoy using it at all before I was able to scan a plant and it pulled it up now I have to take multiple pictures of the plant because it’s not registering, I used to love how once I scan the picture it brought up a paragraph about the plant the species of the plant now the different sections are making this interface a little confusing and. I used to love using PlantSnap on my walks because it made it enjoyable how simple and fast it was now with this new complex update I honestly feel like it was very unnecessary because you guys had a beautiful clean well organized app why fix what wasn’t broken.? I wish there was a way I could revert it back to what I actually paid for.

by Rowan-h

I was kinda let down while using PlantSnap even though it’s pretty simple the mechanics are slightly difficult. there’s a bit of *lagging* when it comes to scrolling or just trying to use PlantSnap in general. the features are pretty *limited* to where you can only take *10 pictures every 5 hours* and *ads* pop up from time to time. you can also choose to pay a monthly fee of $2 or a 1 time fee to unlock everything which is about $25. it’s also a struggle that it takes a *few tries for it to actually identify and plant correctly* which leads to you using up the majority of your tries. I hope to see some sort of improvement to when it comes to helping consumers and a nice feature I think should be added on are instructions on how to care for said plant and what region its mainly found in.

by Out Of Ballpark

Way too inaccurate for it to be considered as anything serious to work with. First, the “free” version allows you only 10 tries a day. Not bad, I thought. But when I had to try 3 times to identify a simple house palm plant, and 2 tries to identify a fishtail palm (it can’t get any easier to identify a tree than a fishtail palm due to its unique leaves), I realized that on just 2 plants I wasted 5 of my 10 wishes! Plus 1 rose and 1 Narcissus, 7 out of 10 tries gone in 10 minutes! Meanwhile, the ads did not miss a beat. Talk about bombardment. So, if you’re going for a hike, curb your enthusiasm or cough up $15 a year!
They simply put a beta version out to make some money with the ads and lure in the users with a loose purse. Not worth the frustration of trial and error,...error,...error!

by Murphyc7

People give me house plants. Some arrive identified, some I can identify, and some are mysteries. I was hoping to solve the mysteries.

I went online and read reviews of plant ID apps, and this one sounded like it was the right one with 600,000 species, and an easy interface. That wasn’t my experience.

I started with some common succulents. Unfortunately PlantSnap failed miserably. So, I gave it something easy. Success! It correctly identified aloe. Not really a victory. So, I moved on to more tropical plants. PlantSnap did great, and was able to identify all of them with a little effort.

A big issue is that PlantSnap appears to crash every time I decline an identification, and occasionally when I save an identification. To keep it working I had to force close PlantSnap every time and launch it again.

Then, the lawn care ad that is disguised as more information on the photographed plant was very annoying.

The monthly subscription is pushed fairly hard. I was browsing the features of PlantSnap , and almost gave up because of how often I was redirected to a page to sign up for premium service. I hadn’t even figured out the free app, and I was irritated by the premium upgrade.

I did identify a mystery plant that has eluded identification for 17 years, a great success. Yet, PlantSnap still failed to meet my expectations.

by Slumbertime101

I'm going to continue to use this and reserve final judgment until later. However, at least half of the suggested identifications do not appear correct to me. And, this includes both the primary recommendations and all of the alternates. Unfortunately, since I am relying on PlantSnap to identify the plants for me, I can't be 100% sure that what I am assessing as incorrect are not just normal variations in the plant appearance. I certainly understand the limitations of image-recognition technology and do not fault PlantSnap developers for my experience so far. Perhaps I am just snapping rather obscure plants. In any event, I will return later to update this review and my rating if my ongoing experience warrants that.

by Sly-1028

I had the same idea for PlantSnap to snap and I’d flora &fauna back with iPhone 3 and so glad that others had it too to make it possible. Been using PlantSnap for a few days and it’s great, some times some IDs get mess up even if you follow the instructions but it’s definitely not broken like some people have been committing and like any computers recognition software there’s never always 100% but if you take another pic of a different sister flower or leaf you’ll get it at least 9/10 times what your looking for.
An ideas to make it more interactive is to have & earn badges that you can collect when you find and snap different species and maybe even colors. kind of like a Pokédex style.

by Buddy14309888

I docked a star for rarely getting the plant correct as the first option but usually having it on the list of other options somewhere down the line. More on that and the reason for the second star I docked. One identification told me my plant (my fault for not knowing my own plants 😅) was a zamioculcas zamiifolia. But then I found in a google search my specific ZZ is a zenzi. So I searched zenzi in PlantSnap and found that it’s not anywhere in PlantSnap . So while this is an excellent start and well worth the $1 a month (first 3 months) some more info needs to be entered from the farmer’s almanac. 😁
Actually I’m gonna add another star because it is super helpful. Eh. To hell with it! 5 stars! Hahaha I’m a push over! PlantSnap is amazing actually. I wouldn’t know what I had in front of me without it. Fair’s fair. Thanks so much!

by Oscarstopstosmelltheroses

As a certified plant freak, I love to spend my time wandering the lands observing different buds, blooms and leaves. The problem was I didn’t know what most of them were and found it hard to keep a clean record of all the ones I loved and would like to plant or research one day. Now I have found my ultimate tool!!! I am so excited about PlantSnap. I purchased the premium service so I could look at the snaps taken around the world and I can’t stop looking and learning! So worth it. Thank you for creating this wonderful database for all us plant freaks out there. This will continue to be an invaluable tool for me as a sustainable design and landscape architecture grad student.

by Kaykay61496

I’ve had pictures it couldn’t identify, but I’ve had plenty it has identified.
I believe the only reason it may not pull up what you are looking for is the image of the plant isn’t being identified correctly on our part while taking the picture.
Was very amazed after searching on google for a tree near my home, couldn’t find it, and pulled PlantSnap out and gave it another chance, it identified it immediately!
Not a very common tree, and it had an amazing image and a ton of background info on it.

by Winter'sBerry

I never leave reviews but I’ve used PlantSnap a ew times and although it identified my plant halfway (it didn’t really identify the plant to be honest) I felt like it was a scam or some foreign organization trying to obtain my information. In this day and age you can’t be too careful so I chose to delete PlantSnap . The instructional video in a foreign language the way they send you an email with multiple links urging you to click them and the title of the email saying PLEASE READ in all caps... what app does this?! None that I’ve seen. However I have seen these in the warning video that my company sends out about internet scammers... so hey if I were you I would use another plant app this one just seems too sketchy and it doesn’t even work perfectly.

by AnnG918

PlantSnap is fairly intuitive and easy to use. I find the limit on the number of pictures you can take on the free app super obnoxious since it’s full of ads and that is generally where apps differ between free and premium.

But the biggest issues is that it is not identifying trees correctly. For many of them, the options listed would have very little similarities (other than having green leaves). And then a pop up would appear suggesting you look at the tutorials, which I did - they were, essentially, useless. Anyone using PlantSnap to the point where that pop up would have appeared would have already grasped the fundamentals shown in the tutorial videos.

Punchline: really glad I didn’t pay for the premium app.

by Baruch Simcha Rosenberg

This is a fantastic app, and for those with a little patience, an incredible resource. Because of the diversity in nature, it is naive to expect any app to look at a picture and identify a plant species with 100% accuracy; however, I have had incredible success by changing the angles of my pictures and taking a little extra time to scroll through the result options.

I loved the temporary campaign that ran during Mother’s Day that identified the endangered plant species and would be thrilled if that became a permanent feature.

by SleepySnail

I‘ve had a garden that I started recently with a packet of wildflowers. When the flowers finally sprouted, I had no idea what it was. The back of the packet had a list of what it might be, but none of the pictures online matched; I was worried I’d been growing a weed of sorts this whole time. When I got PlantSnap, it gave me an accurate identification on the first try. I’ve never been more satisfied with an app’s work. It’s nice to know how to properly care for my new Zinnias ❤️

by Burbby

PlantSnap works great. I had a “weed” that I couldn’t identify and I took a picture in this app and it identified it as Little HogWeed. The first time I tried to identify it in this app it didn’t work because I had pulled a stem off the weed and took the picture of it laying on a concrete slab. It misidentified it. But then I took a picture of the complete plant and it worked great. My neighbor is a Master Gardener and he couldn’t identify it. If at first you don’t get accurate results, maybe it’s how your taking the picture. Great App!