# HiveBloom vs Plantastico

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Plantastico at none against HiveBloom's 4. Plantastico also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and review sentiment (100% vs 88%). HiveBloom's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (287 vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. HiveBloom sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Plantastico asks for nothing beyond the download.

Plantastico holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HiveBloom has 287 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of HiveBloom's written reviews are positive against 100% of Plantastico's.

HiveBloom ships an update fortnightly, Plantastico every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on August 27, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | HiveBloom | Plantastico |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (287 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hivebloom/id1490920620/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plantastico/id1661901952/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **287** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 88.2% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 93 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Martin Fuhry](https://appshunter.io/developer/1490920619) | [David Sadler](https://appshunter.io/developer/1661901954) |

## What reviewers say

### HiveBloom

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hivebloom/id1490920620)

This app simplifies beekeeping by providing a digital journal for managing your hives. It helps you track colonies, record inspections, and stay organized, with features like cloud syncing and weather-based reminders. The free version supports up to two hives.

**Highlights:** Free management for up to 2 hives, Unlimited hive inspections, Apiary mapping and organization, Detailed hive health tracking, Cloud backup and syncing, Weather-based inspection reminders, Offline functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| HiveBloom Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| HiveBloom Monthly Subscription | $5.99 | per month |
| HiveBloom Yearly | $17.99 | per year |
| HiveBloom Yearly Subscription | $59.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use and navigate
- 👍 Intuitive design
- 👍 Excellent for tracking hives
- 👍 Comprehensive record-keeping options
- 👍 Voice note taker feature

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Lack of response from support
- 🐛 Paywall/cost concerns
- 🐛 Missing financial management feature
- 🐛 No Spanish version available
- 🐛 Issues with data loss after trial

**Reported bugs**

- Technical issue with no support response
- Lost all entries and data after free trial
- Issues with reloading records after phone death (resolved by support)
- Harvest feature issue (resolved by support)

**Requested features**

- Ability to share notes/inspections read-only
- Summary views for varroa counts, hive weights, gentleness over time
- Line graphs for data visualization
- Financial management features (recording sales, units)
- Ability to modify dates to be in the past


### Plantastico

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plantastico/id1661901952)

Easily manage your plant care with custom reminders for watering, fertilizing, and more. Create profiles for each plant and log completed tasks to automatically reschedule future care.

**Highlights:** Customizable plant care reminders, Individual plant profiles, Automatic rescheduling of tasks, Task logging, Timely notifications

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is HiveBloom free?

HiveBloom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Plantastico free?

Plantastico is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, HiveBloom or Plantastico?

Plantastico is rated higher. HiveBloom averages 4.8 out of 5 from 287 ratings, while Plantastico averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do HiveBloom or Plantastico have ads?

Neither HiveBloom nor Plantastico shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, HiveBloom or Plantastico?

HiveBloom ships an update fortnightly, and Plantastico every 3 months. Most recently, HiveBloom was updated on August 27, 2026 and Plantastico on June 11, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*