MNBG vs Filoli
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MNBG
Explore native and canoe Hawaiian plants with this self-guided audio tour. Learn about their cultural, historical, and ecological significance at your own pace. Access plant information via QR codes or alphabetical lookup.
- Self-guided audio tours
- Native and canoe plant information
- Cultural and ecological context
- QR code plant identification
- Alphabetical plant lookup
- 5-acre garden exploration
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This self-guided audio tour helps give context to the native and canoe Hawaiian plants growing at Maui Nui Botanical Gardens in Kahului, Hawaii. Explore the 5-acre Gardens at your own pace to appreciate the plants for their value to Hawaii culture, history, and ecology. Plant I.D. signs have QR codes accessible by the scan and find button or look up plants alphabetically by name. Ethnobotany emphasizes the relationships that exist between people and plants. For example, as foods; as medicines; in divination; in cosmetics; in dyeing; as textiles; in construction; as tools and other household items; as currency; as clothing; in literature; in rituals; and in social life and recreation. Conservation emphasizes the environmental conditions in which each plant thrives and its role in Hawaiian ecology.
Filoli
Discover a historic estate with this app. Explore the grounds using an interactive map, find out about daily events, and learn about seasonal blooms and the estate's history. Enhance your visit with curated content and family activities.
- Interactive map of House, Garden, and trails
- Daily events and interpretive talks
- Seasonal garden bloom information
- Historic staff stories
- Plant identification tools
- Family activity suggestions
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Welcome to Filoli! Our app is packed with useful features to help you discover this beautiful place. - Navigate with the map to explore and learn about the House, Garden, and trails. - Find out what's going on at Filoli today - free interpretive talks, events, and more. - See what's blooming in the Garden this season. - Uncover the stories of historic Filoli staff. - Listen to curated playlists, download digital tools to identify plants, and discover activities to do with your family during your visit.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Filoli at 4.9 against MNBG's 4.0. Filoli also leads on ratings volume (365 vs 1) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). MNBG's advantage is monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Filoli holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Filoli has 365 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
MNBG ships an update every 3 months, Filoli every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MNBG | Filoli |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (1 ratings) | 4.9 (365 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 365 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 140 MB | 98 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Maui Nui Botanical Gardens Inc. | Filoli |
Customer experience
MNBG
Filoli
In-app purchases
MNBG
No in-app purchases
Filoli
No in-app purchases
