Comparison

The Garden Guide vs IMSS Chicago

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Personalized tour content
  • Interactive location-aware map
  • Exclusive historical content
  • Artifact discovery alerts
  • Self-guided tours
Read 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

The Garden Guide4 screens
IMSS Chicago4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
The Garden Guide versus IMSS Chicago: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Garden GuideIMSS Chicago
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (14 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB59 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperChicago Horticultural SocietyEncurate Mobile Technology, LLC

Customer experience

The Garden Guide

All ratings13 ratings
Positive69.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative30.8%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral7.1%
Negative28.6%

IMSS Chicago

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

The Garden Guide

No in-app purchases

None

IMSS Chicago

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Garden Guide free?
The Garden Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is IMSS Chicago free?
IMSS Chicago is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The Garden Guide or IMSS Chicago?
IMSS Chicago is rated higher. The Garden Guide averages 3.7 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while IMSS Chicago averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do The Garden Guide or IMSS Chicago have ads?
Neither The Garden Guide nor IMSS Chicago shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Garden Guide or IMSS Chicago?
The Garden Guide ships an update every 7 months, and IMSS Chicago every 2 months. Most recently, The Garden Guide was updated on November 1, 2026 and IMSS Chicago on November 2, 2026.

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