The Garden Guide vs DPPL Mobile
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
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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.
DPPL Mobile
Manage your library account, renew borrowed items, and search the catalog. Access digital content, discover library events, and receive personalized recommendations. The app also features a digital library card for convenient checkouts.
- Renew items
- Manage account
- Search catalog
- Access digital content
- Find library events
- Digital library card
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Renew items, manage your account, search the catalog, get digital content, find library events, and get personalized recommendations. Try out the new Des Plaines Public Library app, with faster load times and an added library card feature. Store your card in the app for easier checkouts in person. Still haven’t registered for a library card? Come to our downtown Des Plaines location to register today! Your library card from any Illinois public library may also be registered here to check out materials from our consortium of area libraries. Electronic materials require a Des Plaines Public Library card. See our website for more info, https://dppl.org/patron-services/get-a-library-card
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: DPPL Mobile at 4.0 against The Garden Guide's 3.6. DPPL Mobile also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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.
DPPL Mobile holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of The Garden Guide's written reviews are positive against 67% of DPPL Mobile's.
The Garden Guide ships an update every 7 months, DPPL Mobile every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Garden Guide | DPPL Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (13 ratings) | 4.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.3% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 13 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 6 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chicago Horticultural Society | Des Plaines Public Library |
Customer experience
The Garden Guide
DPPL Mobile
In-app purchases
The Garden Guide
No in-app purchases
DPPL Mobile
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Garden Guide free?
Is DPPL Mobile free?
Which has better reviews, The Garden Guide or DPPL Mobile?
Do The Garden Guide or DPPL Mobile have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Garden Guide or DPPL Mobile?
Other comparisons
