--- title: "Is there an app to identify trees?" url: https://isthereathing.com/an-app-to-identify-trees/ answer: "yes" summary: "Yes. The Woodland Trust Tree ID app is free and built for UK trees, Pl@ntNet is free for plants in general, and the Arbor Day Foundation has an online leaf-based tool that states no price." category: "Identify things" published: 2026-10-11 updated: 2026-10-11 author: "Jack Stovell" publisher: "Adapt Progress Evolve Limited" language: en-GB --- # Is there an app to identify trees? **Answer: yes.** Yes. The Woodland Trust Tree ID app is free and built for UK trees, Pl@ntNet is free for plants in general, and the Arbor Day Foundation has an online leaf-based tool that states no price. (Source: [Woodland Trust Tree ID app](https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/tree-id-app/)) Yes. The Woodland Trust Tree ID app is free and built for UK trees, Pl@ntNet is free for plants in general, and the Arbor Day Foundation has an online tool that identifies trees by their leaves and states no price. Which one suits you depends mostly on where you live and whether you want to use a camera or work through a key. ## The shortlist ### Woodland Trust Tree ID app The Woodland Trust's own app for identifying the UK's native and non-native trees from leaves, bark, twigs, buds, flowers or fruit. - Link: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/tree-id-app/ - Free tier: yes. Free, according to the Woodland Trust's Tree ID page. - Paid from: not checked (free) - Best at: Identifying British trees in any season, using whichever part of the tree you can see. - The catch: It covers the UK's native and common non-native trees, so it is the wrong tool for trees elsewhere. The page does not say how many species it includes. - Platforms: ios, android - Source: [Woodland Trust Tree ID app](https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/tree-id-app/) ### Pl@ntNet A citizen-science project that identifies plants from photos, available as a mobile app and an online version. - Link: https://plantnet.org/en/ - Free tier: yes. The site describes keeping Pl@ntNet open and free to everyone, funded by donations. - Paid from: not checked (free) - Best at: Photo identification across a very large plant database that covers 77 floras, so it is not limited to one country. - The catch: It is a general plant identifier, and its home page does not single out trees or make claims about accuracy. - Platforms: ios, android, web - Source: [Pl@ntNet home page](https://plantnet.org/en/) ### Seek by iNaturalist A camera app from iNaturalist that uses image recognition to identify plants, animals and fungi around you. - Link: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app - Free tier: not verified. Not verified: the Seek page does not state a price. It says no registration is involved and no user data is collected. - Paid from: not checked (not verified) - Best at: Quick identification outdoors with no account; suggestions come from observations made by the iNaturalist community. - The catch: The page says plants and wildlife in general and does not name trees. It also does not state a price, so free is not verified here. - Platforms: ios, android - Source: [Seek by iNaturalist](https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app) ### PictureThis A plant identifier app and website with care guides, disease and toxicity information. - Link: https://www.picturethisai.com/ - Free tier: not verified. Not verified: the home page says 'Try for Free' and does not state what the free version allows. - Paid from: not checked (not verified: no prices on the page we read) - Best at: Plant identification plus care and disease information; its home page shows tree entries such as Norway spruce and mango tree. - The catch: Its home page offers 'Try for Free' and 'Download the App for Free' but gives no subscription prices, so cost is not verified. It is aimed mainly at gardeners and houseplants. - Platforms: web - Source: [PictureThis home page](https://www.picturethisai.com/) ### Arbor Day Foundation tree identification An illustrated, step-by-step online tool for identifying trees by their leaves, organised by region, from the Arbor Day Foundation. - Link: https://www.arborday.org/trees/whatTree/ - Free tier: not verified. Not verified: the page states no price for the online tool and does not say it is free. - Paid from: not checked (not verified: no price stated for the online tool; the printed pocket guide is sold through the shop and no price was seen) - Best at: Working out a tree from its leaves with a guided key rather than a photo, for North American trees. - The catch: It is a website tool, not a photo-recognition app. The page does not describe a mobile app, and its pocket field guide is a printed book sold separately. - Platforms: web - Source: [Arbor Day Foundation: what tree is that?](https://www.arborday.org/trees/whatTree/) ## How they compare ### If you are identifying trees in the UK The Woodland Trust Tree ID app is free and runs on iPhone and Android. It identifies the UK's native and common non-native trees using leaves, bark, twigs, buds, flowers or fruit, so you can use whichever part of the tree you can see at the time of year you are looking. The limit is scope. It covers UK trees, so a tree from another country may not be in it. The Woodland Trust's page does not say how many species it includes, so we cannot tell you how deep the coverage goes. ### If you want a free photo identifier that is not limited to one country Pl@ntNet identifies plants from photos. It has app store links for iOS and Android plus an online version, and its home page lists 84,710 species across 77 floras. It is a citizen science project, and the site asks for donations to keep it open and free to everyone. The trade-off is focus. It is a general plant identifier, and its home page does not single out trees or make claims about accuracy. Check any suggestion it gives you against a description of the tree. ### If you want a no-account app for general nature spotting Seek by iNaturalist is a camera app that uses image recognition to identify plants, animals and fungi around you. Its page says no registration is involved and no user data is collected. It is available on iOS and Android. The page describes plants and wildlife in general and does not name trees. It also does not state a price, so whether it is free is not verified. ### If you are in North America and prefer a leaf key to a photo The Arbor Day Foundation's tree identification tool is an illustrated, step-by-step process for identifying trees by their leaves, organised by region. The page states no price for it, and it suits North American trees. There is no photo recognition. You follow the steps by hand, which takes longer than taking a picture but shows you which features to look at, so it suits people who want to learn the trees. It is a website tool, and the page does not describe a mobile app. ### When paying comes into it The Woodland Trust app and Pl@ntNet are free on the pages we read, and the Arbor Day Foundation page states no price for its online tool, so paying does not look necessary to identify a tree. PictureThis is a plant identifier app and website with care guides, disease and toxicity information, and its home page shows tree entries such as Norway spruce and mango tree. That page offers "Try for Free" and "Download the App for Free" but gives no subscription prices, so its cost is not verified, and it does not say what the free version allows. ## What to watch for The descriptions are narrower than the names suggest. Seek's page covers plants and wildlife in general and never names trees. PictureThis is aimed mainly at gardeners and houseplants, even though its home page shows a few tree entries. Pl@ntNet is a citizen science project that asks for donations to keep it open and free to everyone. The Woodland Trust app is for UK species, so check where your tree is growing before relying on it. The Arbor Day tool is a website, and its pocket field guide is a printed book sold separately, with no price seen. ## How we checked On 2026-10-09 we read the Woodland Trust's Tree ID app page, the Pl@ntNet home page, Seek's page on the iNaturalist site, the PictureThis home page and the Arbor Day Foundation's tree identification page. Seek and PictureThis state no prices on those pages, so their costs are marked not verified. LeafSnap's site was also read, but it gave no price or tree-specific claim, so it is not listed. Nothing was tested hands-on. ## If none of these fit If an app cannot settle it, the Arbor Day Foundation sells a printed pocket guide called What Tree is That?, with step-by-step identification for common North American trees. Whichever tool you use, check its suggestion against a description of the leaf, bark and fruit. If your tree is not the real question, our pages "Is there an app that identifies plants" and "Is there an app for identifying bugs" cover those cases. ## Also typed as - is there an app to identify trees by leaf - is there an app to identify trees for free - is there a free app to identify trees - is there an app to identify trees by photo - is there an app that identifies trees - is there an app to identify trees by their leaves - is there an app that can identify trees ## Related questions - [Is there an app that identifies plants?](https://isthereathing.com/an-app-that-identifies-plants/) - [Is there an app for identifying bugs?](https://isthereathing.com/an-app-for-identifying-bugs/) - [Is there an app for identifying bird calls?](https://isthereathing.com/an-app-for-identifying-bird-calls/) ## Sources - [Woodland Trust Tree ID app](https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/tree-id-app/) (checked 2026-10-09) - [Pl@ntNet home page](https://plantnet.org/en/) (checked 2026-10-09) - [Seek by iNaturalist](https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app) (checked 2026-10-09) - [PictureThis home page](https://www.picturethisai.com/) (checked 2026-10-09) - [Arbor Day Foundation: what tree is that?](https://www.arborday.org/trees/whatTree/) (checked 2026-10-09) ## Questions people ask ### Is there a free app to identify trees? Yes. The Woodland Trust Tree ID app is free for iPhone and Android and covers UK trees. Pl@ntNet describes itself as open and free to everyone and identifies plants from photos. ### Is there an app to identify trees by leaf? The Woodland Trust app identifies UK trees using leaves, bark, twigs, buds, flowers or fruit. The Arbor Day Foundation offers an online step-by-step tool for identifying trees by leaves, organised by region. ### Is there an app to identify trees by photo? Pl@ntNet identifies plants from photos and has app store links for iOS and Android plus an online version. Seek uses your phone camera to identify plants, animals and fungi. ### Is there an app to identify trees in the UK? Yes. The Woodland Trust's Tree ID app is designed to identify the UK's native and common non-native trees and is available for iPhone and Android.