The Garden Guide vs IMSS Chicago
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Garden Guide
Explore the Chicago Botanic Garden with this app. Discover plants, find your way around, and learn about the garden's features through tours and audio guides. It's a helpful companion for both visitors and home gardeners.
- Navigate 385 acres and 26 gardens
- Discover plant information by name, color, or characteristics
- Access walking tours and audio guides
- Pin favorite locations
- Track seasonal blooms
- Personal garden docent
Read full descriptionHide full description
When your question is: “How do I find…” Your answer is: The Garden Guide Packed with information about the Chicago Botanic Garden, our app is the perfect companion as you navigate, discover, learn about, and explore all 385 acres, 26 gardens, 4 natural areas, and our outstanding collection of 2.6 million plants. Get to know the Garden with the help of our Walking Tours and Audio Guides. Or, be your own guide--set out on your own and pin your favorite places. Discover what’s in bloom year round and locate any plant on the grounds by its name, color, or characteristics. Think of it as your personal garden docent--whether you’re visiting the Garden grounds or working in your own backyard.
IMSS Chicago
Explore hidden areas and artifacts within a historic mansion with this museum's mobile app. Discover personalized tour content, an interactive location-aware map, and exclusive historical details and photos.
- Personalized tour content
- Interactive location-aware map
- Exclusive historical content
- Artifact discovery alerts
- Self-guided tours
Read full descriptionHide full description
Have you ever wondered what’s in the secret hallways and small rooms in this historic mansion? With the mobile app for The International Museum of Surgical Science you can find out! Our app allows you to choose self-guided tours, utilize an interactive map and more all while enjoying the museum at your own pace. As you walk around the museum simply keep your phone where you can feel it vibrate and this app will alert you of artifacts and spaces that match your interests! The International Museum of Surgical Science mobile application features include: -Personalized Tour Content: choose your own areas of interest. Want to know more about the remarkable woman that built the mansion? Or maybe you’re interested in the architectural details of the space; just choose what you’re most excited about and the app will deliver the details! -Interactive Map: with the interactive map, easily find out practical information like the location of restrooms and exits simply by tapping: “Where is the…?”. The location-aware map will show you your location and where you want to go. Locate the artifacts you’re interested in and add them to your ‘Likes’ page to review and explore later! -Exclusive App Content: explore the history of the family that lived in the mansion, details and photos of artifacts in the surgical collection, and more exclusive content that is available only in the mobile application!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: IMSS Chicago at 5.0 against The Garden Guide's 3.7. IMSS Chicago also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 64%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months). The Garden Guide's advantage is ratings volume (14 vs 3). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
IMSS Chicago holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of The Garden Guide's written reviews are positive against 100% of IMSS Chicago's.
The Garden Guide ships an update every 7 months, IMSS Chicago every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Garden Guide | IMSS Chicago |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (14 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Chicago Horticultural Society | Encurate Mobile Technology, LLC |
Customer experience
The Garden Guide
IMSS Chicago
In-app purchases
The Garden Guide
No in-app purchases
IMSS Chicago
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Garden Guide free?
Is IMSS Chicago free?
Which has better reviews, The Garden Guide or IMSS Chicago?
Do The Garden Guide or IMSS Chicago have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Garden Guide or IMSS Chicago?
Other comparisons















