# Forage - Wild Free Food — See it, identify it, eat it!

> Plant identification app for wild edible foods with location saving. (iPhone/iPad app by Essence Computing.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/forage-wild-free-food/id429622587 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Essence Computing](https://appshunter.io/developer/333177404)
- Category: Food & Drink, Utilities
- Price: $0.99 with in-app purchases
- Rating: 2.30/5 from 3 App Store ratings · 26 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 12.0 · 240 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2011-04-07
- Data updated: 2026-08-26
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/forage-wild-free-food/id429622587/reviews.md

## What is Forage?

Version 3 has a new Search facility that uses Machine Learning to generate possible results. 

You take a photo of a plant you are trying to identify. You submit it to the the Search Engine and it provides possible foods it could be.  Much easier to use than the older search facility.  You can take multiple photos and see all results provided to aid your assessment of what the food is.

How many times have you been out and about in the countryside looked at a plant and wondered was it edible or not?  Well, if you are into the idea of free food then probably quite a lot.  But how many times have you had the foraging guidebook on you?  The answer, if you are me, is never when you see something interesting that you think you know what it is but are not sure.  But, how many times have you had your mobile phone on you?  Probably every time.  And finally after finding that special spot where the item grows how many times have you then been unable to find it again?  Probably quite a lot.  It could be in the middle of a wood or large wasteground.

So what is the solution?  This App that's what.  The App combines a list of the most common wild foods available in the UK (many of these plants grow outside of the UK as well), images of those foods and information about the food such as leaf, flower and stem identification information, habitat, season, uses and most importantly any warnings about the plant.  You can also record the locations of the foods found on the Maps so that you can find them again.

Each food has the following information: Description, Habitat, Season, Uses and Warnings; a minimum of two images to aid in identification; notes to record your information about the food; a set of user specified locations shown on the Map.

Each Food can be identified using the images and the description.  Once identified you can also record the location of the food found.  

Location use the inbuilt GPS or WiFi to locate you on the Map.  Obviously, the GPS can work anywhere whereas WiFi location is less accurate and not always available (especially in the middle of a wood).  Maps require an internet connection and a working data plan.

You can record you own notes about a food in general and you can also record notes about individual saved food locations.

There's also a Search facility to help you identify a food.  You may be looking at a plant with white flowers or a toothed leaf or both.  You can use the Search to look for those foods with white flowers or toothed leaves or white flowers and toothed leaves.  The list of foods changes when you search to show only those that satisfy the search.  Using the right combination of search terms could reveal an exact match.

## Key features

- Photo-based plant identification
- Machine learning search engine
- Detailed plant information (description, habitat, uses, warnings)
- Location saving on map
- User notes for general and specific locations
- UK wild food database

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: $0.99.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Purchase Foods - Pack 1 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Food Pack 2 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Purchase New Food 4 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Purchase Foods 3 | $0.99 | one-time |


## Chart rankings

- #125 in Top Paid · Food & Drink (US App Store)

## Recent user reviews (10 of 26)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/forage-wild-free-food/id429622587/reviews.md

### 1/5 — What in the actual F?!

*2024-10-19*

This is a complete piece of crap app.  Do not waste your $0.99 on it.  Worthless.  Not even basic functionality.  -10 stars

### 5/5 — I don’t know why so much hate

*2024-10-18*

I don’t understand why there’s so much hate for this app, it’s simple, provides enough information for my brain to digest for the wilderness and lets me know what I can eat. Perfect for me at-least.

### 5/5 — Great Foraging App

*2024-03-18*

Ideal as a quick reference when out and about, photos are clear, descriptions or how to prepare or leave alone. I particularly like the Red Banner which contains the words of caution.

### 1/5 — Useless

*2021-09-05*

Don’t waste your money!

### 1/5 — Rip off!!!

*2020-07-18*

It couldn’t even identify bitter melon!  The app also wants to charge you for extra “packs” of 10 plant id’s, each pack is an additional $.99 each!!!  I should have listened to the original reviewer who said it was thin.  Don’t waste your money.  This app is very unintuitive and inflexible.  Uninstalled immediately.

**Developer response:** Thanks for telling me it does not identify a plant that does not even grow properly in the country I am from and that I do not consider a wild food.  I am trying to provide an App that identifies plants that are generally considered weeds and not usually cultivated.  Bitter lemon is cultivated and so in my humble opinion does not belong in my App.

### 1/5 — Deception

*2020-05-09*

Very poor, hardly any plants covered and you have to pay another subscription for very 10 plants or so ............

**Developer response:** I have to charge for all new plants added or I cannot afford to continually update the App.

### 1/5 — Forage

*2019-09-05*

Garbage. Gives about 40 plants and if you want more it’s extra cost. Wish I had never bothered and deleting it from my phone.

**Developer response:** Sorry to hear you do not like the App and think 40 plants is not enough.  I need to charge for additional plants or else I cannot afford to update the App.  It takes considerable time and effort to collate the information for each plant.

### 1/5 — Very thin info

*2019-06-27*

I don’t feel good paying for this. There isn’t much here.

**Developer response:** I don't believe the information provided is thin.  I have included enough information to identify plants when you are out and about.  I could have included reams of information that would have just confused the identification of the plants.

### 4/5 — Needs more plants

*2019-06-06*

Quite good but really needs a lot more plants ! We get more info from YouTube!

**Developer response:** Youtube is good if you know what the plant already is but this app aims to identify plants you don't know.

### 1/5 — Not good

*2019-05-20*

Good idea but overall very disappointing app. Not impressed , would like a refund.

## Frequently asked questions about Forage

### How does Forage identify plants?

Forage uses a Machine Learning-powered search engine. You can submit photos of plants, and the app will generate possible edible food results based on visual input and your search criteria.

### What kind of information does Forage provide about wild foods?

For each wild food, Forage offers a description, habitat details, seasonal information, potential uses, and important warnings. It also includes a minimum of two images to aid in identification.

### Can I save the locations of wild foods I find with Forage?

Yes, Forage allows you to record the locations of foods you find using the built-in GPS or WiFi. These saved locations are displayed on a map, so you can easily find them again.

### Is Forage available on all devices?

Forage is supported on iPhone, iPad, and iPod. It requires an internet connection and a working data plan for map functionality.

### How often is Forage updated?

The latest version of Forage is 3.0.2, which was last updated on December 11, 2022. This indicates regular maintenance and feature additions.

### What is the price of Forage?

Forage is a paid application and costs $0.99. This one-time purchase grants you access to all its features.

### What is the user rating for Forage?

Forage has a rating of 2.3 stars from 3 ratings. This suggests that while some users find value in the app, there may be areas for improvement based on user feedback.

### What age rating does Forage have?

Forage has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for children and adults interested in learning about wild edible plants.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.0.2 — 2022-12-11

Add basic Analytics to improve the App

### 3.0 — 2020-04-09

Add a new Search Function that uses Machine Learning to assess photos of plants to determine what free food they might be. 
Added the ability to swipe images left and right and also tap to see the full image so it can be zoomed.

### 2.0.1 — 2019-06-13

Bug fix for In App Purchasing

### 2.0 — 2019-06-04

Added additional foods. Bug Fixes

### 1.5 — 2016-08-30

Updated the User Interface to a newer style.
Fixed two bugs one to do with Support email and one to do with view Food Location notes

## Apps similar to Forage

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Bello Wild Food](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bello-wild-food/id1316067045) | — | Free | Food & Drink |
| [Spice Lounge Mildenhall](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spice-lounge-mildenhall/id1531746188) | — | Free | Food & Drink |
| [PECORO](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pecoro/id1451027882) | — | Free | Food & Drink |
| [Sharky's Fish & Chips St Ives](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sharkys-fish-and-chips-st-ives/id6745873659) | — | Free | Food & Drink |
| [King Grill & Shawarma.](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/king-grill-and-shawarma/id6670436069) | — | Free | Food & Drink |
| [Kebab Plus](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kebab-plus/id1609654015) | — | Free | Food & Drink |

## More apps by Essence Computing

- [Weight Monitor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/weight-monitor/id333177401)
- [Alcohol Units Calculator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alcohol-units-calculator/id339966988)
- [Depth Of Field Calculator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/depth-of-field-calculator/id356339910)
- [Exposure Calculator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/exposure-calculator/id359149599)
- [Fractions Calculator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fractions-calculator/id365570678)
- [Fractions/Decimals/Fractions](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fractionsdecimalsfractions/id366955739)

All apps by Essence Computing: https://appshunter.io/developer/333177404

## Related topics

[wild food](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/wild-food) · [wild forage finder](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/wild-forage-finder)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*