Comparison

Plant Tycoon ® vs Viridi

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Plant Tycoon ®

Nurture a virtual greenhouse, breeding and cross-breeding plants to discover rare species and solve a genetic puzzle. Manage your plants' health, sell creations to fund research, and customize your garden. This simulation game offers a persistent world and real-time gameplay.

Highlights
  • Breed and cross-breed plants
  • Discover rare and magic plant species
  • Manage plant health and growth
  • Sell plants to fund research
  • Customize virtual garden
  • Collectible insects
  • Genetic puzzle solving
Features
Read full description

Plant Tycoon® is a gardening sim game where you nurture plants and experiment with increasingly rare and valuable species. The object is to breed and cross breed plants until you find the 6 Magic Plants of Isola and solve the genetic puzzle. You start with limited cash, a handful of seeds, some soil and water. Grow plants, organize and harvest seeds, monitor your plants' health, age and maturity, and protect your plants from dehydration and infestations. Sell some of your creations to fund your research, buy better supplies to use in your Nursery, and purchase ornaments to customize your virtual garden. This is the same best-selling Mac and Windows game, now in a universal app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, so you can take your greenhouse full of plants with you wherever you go! More about Plant Tycoon * There are many approaches to solving the game, with over 500 different species of plants to discover. * Inhabited by a wide variety of collectible insects to catch and display. * There are dozens of different seeds to experiment with. * Gorgeous artwork with detailed, dynamically-generated plants. * You can prune your plants to customize the look of your creations. * It's a genetic puzzle: discover which combinations will create the 6 Magic Plants. * It's a simulation game: grow virtual plants in a persistent world. * It’s a virtual pet: care for your plants in your own virtual greenhouse. * It’s a tycoon game: test your business skills and horticultural skills at the same time! * The built-in snapshot feature allows you to capture photos of your favorite plants in various display settings. * Experience real-time game play, with new surprises every time you turn on the game! Visit our Official Plant Tycoon site at www.PlantTycoon.com for instructions, strategy guides, and much more!

About

Viridi

Cultivate a virtual succulent garden that grows in real-time. This app offers a peaceful escape, allowing you to name, care for, and even encourage your plants to flower. It's a forgiving simulation that teaches mindful moments through plant nurturing.

Highlights
  • Real-time succulent growth
  • Plant watering and care simulation
  • Name and customize plants
  • Plants can flower
  • In-game nursery for new plants
  • Weekly free seeding
Features
Read full description

Nurture a small pot of succulents that grow in real time. Viridi is a safe haven, a place you can return to for a moment of peace and quiet whenever, and wherever you need it. While not fully realistic (they're very forgiving), your succulents will require some maintenance and can die from over- or under-watering. Name your favorite plants, give them special care and attention, and they might even flower for you. Viridi is free to try and comes with your choice of plant assortment. If you think it has a place in your life, you can buy your favorite plants from the in-game nursery for just a few cents a piece. Remember to visit the nursery occasionally for your weekly free seeding! -- "Designed to be the ideal happy place game ... Viridi is a primer, a simulation, and a love letter to this branch of botany, all rolled into one" - Fast Company "Yes, you do need an ultra-zen video game about growing succulents ... tending to these digital plants offers a seriously calming experience" - The Huffington Post "The most chilled out and peaceful game I've ever seen" - Upworthy "In addition to learning about real-life varieties of succulents, what you are learning when you play games of this type is how to create a quiet, mindful moment in your day using unusual tools" - National Geographic

Screenshots

Plant Tycoon ®4 screens
Viridi4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Viridi at 4.5 against Plant Tycoon ®'s 3.1. Viridi also leads on review sentiment (70% vs 39%) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 19 months). Plant Tycoon ®'s advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Plant Tycoon ® sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Viridi sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Viridi holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 293 and 1K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Plant Tycoon ®'s written reviews are positive against 70% of Viridi's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Plant Tycoon ® ships an update every 19 months, Viridi every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Plant Tycoon ® versus Viridi: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlant Tycoon ®Viridi
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (293 ratings)4.5 (1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews38.7% of reviews70.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2931K — better
Update frequencyEvery 19 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB120 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLDW Software, LLCBadru LLC

Customer experience

Plant Tycoon ®

All ratings292 ratings
Positive47.9%
Neutral9.9%
Negative42.1%
Written reviews305 reviews
Positive38.7%
Neutral18.0%
Negative43.3%

Viridi

All ratings1,040 ratings
Positive85.5%
Neutral6.0%
Negative8.6%
Written reviews401 reviews
Positive70.1%
Neutral12.0%
Negative18.0%

User reviews

Plant Tycoon ®

From 293 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌱 Relaxing and calming gameplay
  • 🔍 Interesting plant breeding mechanics
  • 🕰️ Ability to adjust game speed
  • 🤖 Nostalgic for fans of the original PC version

Room to improve

  • 💰 Excessive reliance on in-app purchases (plant bucks)
  • 🔒 Inability to earn plant bucks through gameplay
  • 🌱 Slow progression without purchasing plant bucks
  • 🐛 Buggy and unresponsive controls (clipping, etc.)
  • 🌱 Plants die too quickly without premium soil

Viridi

From 1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌱 Relaxing and calming experience
  • 🌿 Beautiful graphics and music
  • 🐌 Cute snail companion
  • 📆 Plants grow in real-time
  • 🎶 Soothing background music

Room to improve

  • 🔀 Buggy navigation and controls
  • 💰 Limited free content, requires purchases
  • 🌱 Plants sometimes regress in growth
  • 🔍 Lack of clear instructions

Bugs and requests

Plant Tycoon ®

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game resets progress after in-app purchases
  • Crashes and freezes, especially when handling magic plants
  • Nursery sales not registering correctly

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to earn plant bucks through gameplay (e.g. watching ads, completing challenges)
  • Option to purchase the full game upfront without in-app purchases
  • Plant catalog/encyclopedia to track discovered species
  • Increased seed storage capacity
  • Faster growth rates for plants
Show 1 more
  • More frequent updates and new content

Viridi

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when watering certain plants
  • Plants randomly reset to earlier growth stages
  • Purchased items not properly saved or restored

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more free plants and pots
  • Implement weather-based watering needs
  • Allow multiple pots to be grown simultaneously
  • Add more interactive elements (e.g. bugs, diseases)

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Plant Tycoon ®

One-time3
  • 10 Plant Bucks$0.99
  • 60 Plant Bucks$4.99
  • 150 Plant Bucks$9.99
12 purchases

Viridi

One-time12
  • Aeonium (5)$0.99
  • Agave macroacantha (3)$0.99
  • Haworthia attenuata (10)$0.99
Show 9 more
  • Lithops optica 'Rubra' (10)$0.99
  • Pachyphytum hookeri (10)$0.99
  • Pachyphytum oviferum (5)$0.99
  • Sedum morganianum (2)$0.99
  • Senecio rowleyanus (2)$0.99
  • Senecio serpens (5)$0.99
  • Random seedlings (9)$0.99
  • Fish Skellie to the Cat House$2.99
  • Key to the Apartment$4.99

Questions

Is Plant Tycoon ® free?
Plant Tycoon ® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Viridi free?
Viridi is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Plant Tycoon ® or Viridi?
Viridi is rated higher. Plant Tycoon ® averages 3.1 out of 5 from 293 ratings, while Viridi averages 4.5 from 1K ratings.
Do Plant Tycoon ® or Viridi have ads?
Neither Plant Tycoon ® nor Viridi shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Plant Tycoon ® or Viridi?
Plant Tycoon ® ships an update every 19 months, and Viridi every 4 months. Most recently, Plant Tycoon ® was updated on October 27, 2026 and Viridi on November 1, 2026.

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