Why people leave PictureThis

Three reasons come up repeatedly in App Store reviews, Reddit threads (r/apps, r/gardening), and support forums:

The usual complaints

  • Surprise charges. PictureThis uses a 7-day free trial that auto-rolls to an annual paid subscription (~US$30-40). Users frequently describe being charged after forgetting to cancel, or thinking they had cancelled when they had only deleted the app.
  • Cancellation friction. Cancellation happens through Apple/Google subscription settings, not inside the PictureThis app. Users who expect an in-app cancel button get frustrated — especially if they are already unhappy about being charged.
  • Generic care advice. PictureThis is world-class at identification but its care schedules are static. They do not respond to local weather or climate. A tomato plant in Melbourne in July gets the same advice as the same plant in Darwin in January.

If any of those sound familiar, the question is not whether to leave — it is what to switch to. Your answer depends on what you actually need.

The five alternatives, ranked

Ranked by overall fit for most users considering leaving PictureThis. Change the question ("I garden in Australia", "I only want a free identifier", "I mostly grow indoor plants") and the top choice changes — see the per-app sections.

1

SteadGrow

Free tier · Australian-owned · Launching 2026

Purpose-built for Australian gardens. Uses Bureau of Meteorology forecasts to tune watering, feeding, and frost-protection advice to real conditions. Maps property zones (sun, shade, microclimates). Covers all five Australian climate zones. The anti-PictureThis on pricing: genuinely free tier, no credit card required to start, one-tap cancellation of any future paid tier, zero third-party ad trackers.

Best for: Australian gardeners who want weather-aware, climate-specific care advice with honest pricing. Full SteadGrow vs PictureThis comparison.
2

PlantNet

Fully free · Research non-profit · Live since 2013

The closest free equivalent to PictureThis as a pure identifier. Developed by a consortium of French research institutes (CIRAD, INRA, INRIA, IRD). No ads, no subscriptions, no dark patterns. Identification is strong for common species and improves through user contributions. Does not provide care schedules, disease diagnosis, or weather integration — it is purely an ID app.

Best for: Users who only wanted PictureThis for identifications and are fine pairing with a separate care app or doing care research manually.
3

iNaturalist

Fully free · Non-profit (California Academy of Sciences + Nat Geo)

More than a plant app — iNaturalist covers all wildlife (plants, insects, fungi, birds). For Australian users the database of local observations is particularly rich, and identifications are community-verified. Your observations contribute to actual conservation research. Not a care app — no schedules, no advice — but unmatched for identifying wild or unusual plants encountered on walks or in your yard.

Best for: Wild-plant identification, bush walks, citizen-science contribution.
4

Planta

~$50/yr · Planta Group AB, Sweden · Live since 2018

Arguably the best UX in the category. Beautiful interface, thoughtful reminders, and a genuinely helpful light-meter that uses your phone camera to measure lux for indoor plants. Care model accounts for temperature, which is better than PictureThis's static schedules. Downside: the paywall is aggressive — most core features (care schedules beyond basic reminders, disease diagnosis, identification) require Premium at around US$50/year.

Best for: Indoor-plant enthusiasts who want polished UX and are willing to pay.
5

Flora Incognita

Fully free · Research project (TU Ilmenau + Max Planck)

Research-backed identification app focused primarily on Central European flora. Well-designed, ad-free, academically rigorous. For Australian users, value is limited because most training data is European species. If you are travelling in Europe or want a research-grade second opinion on identification, it is excellent.

Best for: European travel, research-grade second-opinion IDs.

How to cancel PictureThis first

The step most users get wrong: cancellation happens in your App Store or Google Play subscription settings, NOT inside the PictureThis app. Deleting the app does NOT cancel the subscription.

iOS (iPhone / iPad)

  1. Open Settings
  2. Tap your Apple ID at the top
  3. Tap Subscriptions
  4. Tap PictureThis
  5. Tap Cancel Subscription

Android (Google Play)

  1. Open the Google Play Store app
  2. Tap your profile icon (top right)
  3. Tap Payments and subscriptions > Subscriptions
  4. Tap PictureThis
  5. Tap Cancel subscription

If you were charged and want a refund

Both Apple and Google allow refund requests for subscription charges, particularly if you cancelled soon after a surprise charge. Apple: reportaproblem.apple.com. Google: in the Play Store, open the receipt email and tap "Report a problem". Be specific and honest about the reason — Apple and Google both have discretion and often grant refunds for genuine auto-renewal mistakes.

Can I move my plant library?

PictureThis does not offer a direct export of your plant library. The most practical migration path is to re-identify your plants in the new app — usually faster than it sounds. Most home gardeners have 5-20 core plants they regularly check on, not hundreds. A new identification takes under a minute per plant.

Your plant photos remain in your phone's camera roll regardless of which app you use. That is where the actual record lives — the app is just organisation on top.

Common questions

Why do people switch from PictureThis?

The three most common reasons: surprise charges after the 7-day free trial auto-renews to a paid subscription; difficulty cancelling the subscription (cancellation is through the App Store or Play Store, not in the app); and generic care advice that does not respond to local weather or growing conditions. Users looking for honest pricing, weather-aware care, or a simple free identifier usually look elsewhere.

Is there a free alternative to PictureThis?

Yes. PlantNet is fully free, research-backed, and accurate for plant identification — the closest direct free alternative. SteadGrow launches with a genuinely free tier focused on Australian gardening. iNaturalist is also fully free and particularly strong for wild-plant IDs. Flora Incognita is free but weaker outside European species.

How do I cancel my PictureThis subscription?

Cancellation is through the App Store or Google Play subscription settings — not inside the PictureThis app itself. On iOS: Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions > PictureThis > Cancel. On Android: Google Play Store > Profile > Payments and subscriptions > Subscriptions > PictureThis > Cancel. If you were charged after forgetting to cancel, request a refund through the same store — Apple and Google both allow it.

Can I move my plant library from PictureThis to another app?

PictureThis does not offer a direct export of your plant library. The most practical migration path is to re-identify your plants in the new app — usually faster than it sounds, since most users have 5-20 core plants, not hundreds. Your plant photos remain in your phone's camera roll regardless of which app you use.

Which PictureThis alternative is best for Australian gardens?

SteadGrow is purpose-built for Australian conditions — it uses Bureau of Meteorology forecasts, covers all five AU climate zones, and includes Australian-relevant plants and pests. PictureThis and most alternatives do not integrate local weather or Australian climate modelling, giving the same advice whether you are in Darwin or Hobart.