iNaturalist & Seek vs PlantIn: Which App to Use and When

The iNaturalist app, the Seek app, and PlantIn answer different questions. iNaturalist and Seek, both free and made by the nonprofit iNaturalist, tell you what a wild plant, animal, or fungus is. PlantIn identifies plants and then helps you care for them with care plans, disease checks, and answers from botanists.

Which one you need depends on what you want to do after you know the name. Below is a side-by-side comparison, what each app does best, which iNaturalist app to download in 2026, and a simple way to use them together. If you just need a name for a plant right now, the PlantIn plant identifier works in the browser, no download needed.

iNaturalist vs Seek vs PlantIn at a Glance

iNaturalist is built for recording nature and sharing it with scientists, Seek for quick, private discovery outdoors, and PlantIn for identifying and looking after the plants you grow.

What Is the iNaturalist App?

The iNaturalist app is a free tool for recording what you see in nature and getting it identified. You take a photo, the app suggests a species, and other members of the community confirm or refine the ID. iNaturalist started in 2008 as a master's project at UC Berkeley, later became a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic Society, and has been an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit since July 2023.

By August 2025 the platform held nearly 300 million observations, and by December 2025 it had more than 5 million registered users. Observations that reach Research Grade are shared with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and over 4,000 research papers have cited iNaturalist data hosted there.

Is the iNaturalist App Free?

Yes. The iNaturalist app is free on iPhone and Android, with no subscription, and the website is free too. You need a free account to post observations and take part in projects; Seek, covered below, works without one.

Which iNaturalist App Is Best: New iNaturalist or iNat Classic?

On iPhone, download the new iNaturalist app. In April 2025, iNaturalist released it on the App Store and renamed the older app iNat Classic, which will eventually be removed from the App Store. You can sign in to the new app with the same account and see all your observations. On Android, the original iNaturalist app is still the one to use; according to the iNaturalist help center, there's no release date yet for the new app on Android.

How to Use the iNaturalist App

1. Create a free account and allow location access, so your observation is tied to a place.
2. Tap the camera, photograph the organism, and add more photos from different angles if you can.
3. Pick one of the suggested IDs, or enter a broader group, such as "plants", if you're unsure.
4. Upload the observation. Community members can add their own IDs.
5. Watch the data quality bar: an observation moves from Casual or Needs ID to Research Grade once enough identifiers agree, and then becomes part of the shared scientific dataset.

What Is the Seek App?

Seek by iNaturalist is a free app that identifies plants, animals, and fungi as you point your camera at them. It was first released in spring 2018 and draws on observations identified by the iNaturalist community. You don't need to register, the Seek app states that no user data is collected, and your precise location is never stored or sent to iNaturalist. That makes it a family-friendly choice for walks with kids.

Seek also turns exploring into a game. It shows species commonly recorded near you, awards badges for finding birds, amphibians, plants, and fungi, moves you up a level as you observe more species, and runs monthly observation challenges.

iNaturalist vs Seek: Key Differences

The two apps share the same nonprofit and the same pool of community-identified observations, but they're made for different moments:

1. Account: iNaturalist needs one to post observations; Seek doesn't.
2. Who sees your finds: iNaturalist observations are shared with the community and can be used in research; Seek observations can stay private.
3. How you identify: iNaturalist gives you an AI suggestion followed by human IDs; Seek gives an instant answer through the camera.
4. Best for: iNaturalist suits people who want to contribute to science and get a second opinion; Seek suits casual walks, students, and kids.

What Is PlantIn?

PlantIn is a plant identification and care app. You photograph a plant and the app names it from a database of more than 17,000 species, then sets up a care plan that reminds you when to water, fertilize, repot, mist, or prune. In the same app you can scan a leaf to diagnose a disease and get treatment tips, identify mushrooms, and send questions to botanists. Two smaller tools help with the basics: a light meter that checks whether a spot gets enough light, and a watering calculator that suggests how much water a pot needs.

Through Ask the Botanist, you describe a problem and a PlantIn botanist, one of a team of more than 50 qualified experts, typically answers within 24 hours. PlantIn works on iPhone, Android, and the web, with your plants synced across devices. So far, people have identified more than 10.5 million plants with PlantIn, saved over 7 million to their collections, and received more than 12,000 botanist consultations.

When an iNaturalist Alternative Helps

iNaturalist and Seek tell you what you found. Some questions start after that, and that's when a care app is the better fit:

1. A houseplant looks unwell. Yellow leaves, spots, or soft stems need a diagnosis, not just a name. The plant disease identifier checks a photo of the affected leaf.
2. Insects on your plants. The pest identifier helps you work out which insect is on your plant.
3. You need a routine. Care plans remind you when to water, fertilize, repot, mist, or prune each plant you add.
4. You want an expert to look. A botanist can review your photos and answer follow-up questions.

For identifying a beetle on a trail, a frog by a pond, or a wildflower you want to log for science, iNaturalist and Seek remain the natural choice.

How to Use iNaturalist and PlantIn Together

The two kinds of apps work well as a pair. Here's a simple routine:

1. Spot an unfamiliar plant on a walk and identify it with Seek or the iNaturalist app.
2. Post it to iNaturalist if you'd like the community to confirm the ID and add it to the scientific record.
3. If you buy the plant or already grow it, add it to PlantIn to get a care plan for your light and season.
4. When something changes, such as spots, wilting, or pests, run a check in PlantIn or send photos to a botanist.

If you're still deciding between identification apps, our comparison of the best plant identification apps covers ten options, and the PlantIn vs PictureThis breakdown compares two care-focused apps side by side.

FAQ

Is PlantIn a good iNaturalist alternative?

Yes, for plants you grow. It identifies a plant from a photo, then keeps going with care reminders, leaf diagnosis, and botanist help. iNaturalist is built for a different job: recording wild species and sharing them with scientists.

Can PlantIn tell me what's wrong with my plant?

Yes. Scan the affected leaf and PlantIn suggests a likely disease and how to treat it. If you're still unsure, Ask the Botanist sends your photos to a PlantIn botanist, who replies by email.

Does PlantIn have real experts?

Yes. PlantIn has a team of more than 50 qualified botanists who answer questions through Ask the Botanist and have handled more than 12,000 consultations.

Is the iNaturalist app free?

Yes. The iNaturalist app and the Seek app are free on iPhone and Android. On iPhone, get the new iNaturalist app rather than iNat Classic.

Should I use iNaturalist, Seek, or PlantIn?

Use PlantIn for the plants you grow and look after. Use iNaturalist when you want to record a wild species for science, and Seek for a quick, private check on a walk. In Reddit threads about plant ID apps, some people say they use two apps side by side, which fits this split.