3 Best Gardening Apps for Kids That Get Them Outside

The short version: The best gardening apps for kids are the ones that get them outside to look at real things. Seek is best for identifying plants, bugs, birds and other wildlife. Percy, the garden journal that remembers, is best for getting them involved in the gardening itself and enjoying it together. They say what they notice, Percy remembers all of it, and over a season it becomes a family garden record in their own words. Snappit is worth a look if your kid is motivated by scavenger hunts and collectible cards.

I'd rather a kid stand in the real garden than tend a pretend one. That rule narrows the available app list fast. The ones worth your time direct kids toward real plants and real bugs, and they work with a grown-up standing next to them. There are three apps that fit, and I should say right away that I make one of them.

Last checked: October 8, 2026. Apps change quickly, so if something here is out of date, let me know.

What makes a good gardening app for kids?

A good gardening app for kids should:

• send them outside rather than keep them staring at the screen
• be easy to use with a parent
• avoid chat, ads, and unnecessary social features
• encourage them to notice by making observation feel rewarding
• tolerate uncertainty instead of pretending every identification is perfect
• help the child remember what they found

1. Seek: the best app for "what is that?"

Seek is made by iNaturalist, and it's free. Point the camera at a plant or a bug and Seek tries to name it on the spot. Kids earn badges for what they find and can take on challenges, which suits any kid who likes a collection. Seek doesn't collect personal information and doesn't require an account, which makes it especially useful with kids.

Common Sense Media rates Seek 8+, though younger kids can still use it easily with a grown-up. It won't identify everything perfectly, and that's a good lesson in itself: sometimes the right answer in nature really is "I'm not sure."

2. Percy: best for enjoying the garden together (and remembering it)

Most "gardening apps for kids" are actually nature-discovery apps. They help kids notice, identify, collect, and learn about the living things around them. Percy is different because it helps a child take part in the garden itself, alongside you: noticing what changed, what was planted, what went wrong, and what happened over the season. Then Percy does the remembering, so the two of you can get on with the garden.

Percy isn't a kids' app. I built it for grown-ups who keep a garden journal, and kids borrow it. What makes it work with kids is that it doesn't ask them to learn a child-specific interface. Your kid just holds a button like a walkie-talkie and says what they see, so nobody has to type or spell. They say, "The cucumber is getting spiky." Percy shows the note on the screen so you can check it together (you read it back to them, they nod gravely), and they tap save. It goes into the Nest with the date and the weather already attached. A child can notice something, say it out loud, and get back to the worms.

The garden's visitors go in the journal too. They can share the bees, butterflies and worms that came to visit. Or the larger visitors, like the day we found a deer in the garden. It's a good lesson on who else shares your garden.

Your kids can take a photo of an unfamiliar plant or bug and ask Percy, "What is this?" Percy will share its name, whether it's a friend to the garden, and a bit about what they should know. They can save that too, so the name stays in the record instead of vanishing by dinner.

Meanwhile, Percy quietly handles the grown-up part. It knows where you garden, answers your questions with your climate and your garden's history in mind, and gives you a heads-up in the app before a frost. So the pumpkin everyone has been checking on every morning has a fair shot at making it to Halloween.

Because it's a journal for the whole garden, it works as a family app. Percy accounts are for grown-ups; kids use it on your phone, with you nearby. Your first full growing season is free, then $39 a year.

Over a season, those little observations become a family garden record: first tomato, first monarch, first pumpkin turning orange, first time the peas got eaten by something before anyone else got to them. Percy keeps it in the Nest, organized by plant with your photos, and it reads more like a family album than a database. It becomes a keepsake of the season you spent in the garden together, through your child's eyes and in their own words. At the end of the season, Percy writes it up as a Migration Report, your garden's year in review, with a digital edition you can download and keep. The first ones arrive in January 2027. Percy remembers it, so you can just enjoy the garden with them.

3. Snappit: one I haven't tried yet

Snappit is one I haven't tested myself yet, so I'm not ranking it above the others. But on paper it fits this list well. It's built specifically for families, with identification for plants, bugs, birds and animals, and every find becomes a collectible card. It has nature scavenger hunts, it's designed for ages 4+, it has no ads, chat or social feed, and finds stay in your family's private collection. It's free to download, with an optional subscription.

Using them together

These apps do different jobs, so they work well side by side. Seek answers "what is that caterpillar?" Percy writes down that it was munching all the dill on a Tuesday in August. Seek helps a child name the world. Percy helps them remember their place in it.

Which one to start with

If your kid mostly asks "what is that?", start with Seek. If you want to get them involved in the act of gardening together, start with Percy. If they love collecting and challenges, Snappit may be the better hook.

And if you're not sure, take one phone into the garden and see which question they ask first.

One important safety note: identification is educational, not permission to touch or taste. Kids should avoid handling unknown plants, berries, mushrooms, insects, or spiders until an adult knows what they are.

Frequently asked questions

Are there gardening apps for kids that aren't games? Yes. Seek identifies real plants and wildlife from the camera, Percy keeps a garden journal kids can just talk to, and Snappit turns real-world finds into collectible cards. All three only work if the kid is outside looking at something real.

What age can kids use plant ID apps? Common Sense Media rates Seek 8+, and younger kids can use it with a grown-up. Snappit is designed for ages 4+. Percy accounts are for grown-ups, but kids of any age can use it on your phone, and it's a great way to get them interested and involved in gardening.

Are plant ID apps safe for kids? Seek doesn't require an account or collect personal information, and Snappit has no ads, chat or social feed. The bigger safety point is offline: a name from an app isn't permission to touch or taste. Unknown berries, leaves and mushrooms stay a grown-up question.

What's a good garden journal for kids? Percy works well because kids don't have to type or spell. They say what they notice, and Percy keeps it with the date. Here's more on using Percy as a garden journal with kids.