Comparison

PlantNet vs MU20

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

Head to head
About

PlantNet

Identify plants by taking photos with your smartphone. Contribute to a global citizen science project to understand and preserve plant biodiversity. Recognizes thousands of wild and cultivated species.

Highlights
  • Identify plants by photographing them
  • Citizen science project for biodiversity
  • Supports identification of flowering plants, trees, grasses, and more
  • Recognizes cultivated plants in parks and gardens
  • Filter recognized species by genus or family
  • Map your observations
  • Links to plant factsheets
Features
Read full description

Pl@ntNet is an application that allows you to identify plants simply by photographing them with your smartphone. Very useful when you don't have a botanist on hand! Pl@ntNet is also a great citizen science project: all the plants you photograph are collected and analysed by scientists around the world to better understand the evolution of plant biodiversity and to better preserve it. Pl@ntNet allows you to identify and better understand all kinds of plants living in nature: flowering plants, trees, grasses, conifers, ferns, vines, wild salads, cacti (and many more). Pl@ntNet can also identify a large number of cultivated plants (in parks and gardens) but this is not its primary purpose. We especially need Pl@ntNet’s users to inventory the wild plants, those that you can observe in nature, but also those that grow on the sidewalks of cities or in the middle of your vegetable garden! The more visual information you give to Pl@ntNet about the plant you are observing, the more accurate the identification will be. There are indeed many plants that look alike from afar and it is sometimes small details that distinguish two species of the same genus. Flowers, fruits and leaves are the most characteristic organs of a species and it is them that should be photographed first. But any other detail can be useful, such as thorns, buds or hair on the stem. A photograph of the whole plant is also very useful information, but it is often not sufficient to allow a reliable identification. At present, Pl@ntNet makes it possible to recognize about 20,000 species. We are still a long way from the 360,000 species living on earth, but Pl@ntNet is getting richer every day thanks to the contributions of the most experienced users among you. Don't be afraid to contribute yourself! Your observation will be reviewed by the community and may one day join the photo gallery illustrating the species in the application. The new version of Pl@ntNet released in January 2019 includes many improvements and new features: -The ability to filter recognized species by genus or family. -The differentiated data revision that gives more weight to users who have demonstrated the most skills (in particular the number of species observed, validated by the community). -The re-identification of shared observations, whether yours or those of other users of the application. -The multi-flora identification that allows you to search for the photographed plant in all the flora of the application and not only in the one you have selected. Very useful when you are not sure what flora to look for. -The selection of your favorite floras to access them more quickly. -The navigation at different taxonomic levels in image galleries. -The mapping of your observations. -Links to many factsheets. The web version of the application is also available at the following address: https://identify.plantnet.org/

About

MU20

Read full description

MU20 brings your MU20 community, events, resources and opportunities together in one place. Built for students participating in MU20 programmes and experiences, the app helps you stay connected before, during and after an event. With MU20, you can: • Build your profile and introduce yourself to the community • Discover other students participating in your MU20 experience • Join conversations and share posts through the Forum • Access event resources, documents and preparation material • View important event information and schedules • Keep track of announcements and notifications • Access help and support when you need it • Participate in the MU20 community across your programmes and events MU20 is designed to make everything around your MU20 experience easier to access, while giving you a space to meet people, participate and make more of the opportunities available to you. Some content and features are available only to students enrolled in eligible MU20 programmes and events.

Screenshots

PlantNet4 screens
MU204 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: MU20 at fortnightly against PlantNet's every 2 months. PlantNet's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PlantNet ships an update every 2 months, MU20 fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
PlantNet versus MU20: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlantNetMU20
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (7.1K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews82.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings7.1K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB73 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperCirad-FranceMuniversiti Edcorp Private Limited

Bugs and requests

PlantNet

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes or freezes on some devices
  • Geolocation issues (app thinks user is in wrong location)
  • Inconsistent or missing plant identification results

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more regional/local plant information
  • Improve search and filtering options
  • Provide plant care and usage details
  • Allow users to save and organize identified plants
  • Add a community forum or discussion features

MU20

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

PlantNet

No in-app purchases

None

MU20

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PlantNet free?
PlantNet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MU20 free?
MU20 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PlantNet or MU20 have ads?
Neither PlantNet nor MU20 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PlantNet or MU20?
PlantNet ships an update every 2 months, and MU20 fortnightly. Most recently, PlantNet was updated on October 31, 2026 and MU20 on October 29, 2026.

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