10 Best Free Garden Planning Tools and Apps (2026)

By the Garden Voila editorial team · Updated October 27, 2026 · How we verify

Most garden regrets start before the first seed goes in: a bed a foot too narrow, tomatoes planted before the last frost, a whole row of lettuce ripening in the same week. A good plan prevents all three, and you no longer have to pay for one. This guide ranks ten free garden planning tools and apps, explains what each one actually does for you, and is upfront about where the free version stops.

A note on bias: Garden Voila is our own site, and we have put it at number one. We list its limits just as we do for every other tool, but you should know where we stand. The other nine are independent products we do not own and have no deal with.

How we ranked these tools

We checked each tool’s own website or app store listing in October 2026. Tools scored higher for a genuinely useful free version (a trial that ends in a week did not count), for planting dates tied to local frost data, for being easy enough to keep using, and for being honest about limits. We favored tools that suit home gardeners working in feet and USDA zones. Features and prices change often, so check the current terms before you sign up.

The 10 best free garden planning tools compared

1. Garden Voila: planning, timing and materials in one place

Garden Voila is free, needs no sign-up to use its tools, and puts more than 40 garden planners and calculators in your browser, in English and Spanish. Its hook is that it joins the three jobs gardeners usually split across different apps: designing the garden, deciding when to plant, and working out what to buy. Start at the garden planner or browse the full tools page.

What you gain:

• Fewer buying mistakes. Calculators for soil, mulch, compost and drip irrigation turn a layout into quantities. A 4 by 8 foot bed filled 11 inches deep, for example, needs about 1.1 cubic yards, or roughly 15 two-cubic-foot bags. The raised bed soil calculator does that math in seconds, and the shopping list generator collects everything into one list.
• Safer planting dates. Frost dates by ZIP code use NOAA records for your nearest weather station and show risk levels. A single average date fails about half of years, so choosing a cautious date protects tender crops like tomatoes.
• Layouts that actually fit. The raised bed planner places crops square by square with typical spacing applied (beds up to 12 by 6 feet), the vegetable garden planner handles plots up to 30 by 20 feet with dates from your frost date, and the layout generator drafts a bed plan from your space and crop list.
• Smarter crop choices. The succession planting planner builds repeat-sowing schedules for a steady harvest, and the companion plant finder explains each pairing and says so when the evidence is thin.
• A plan you can take outside. Request a free printable planting calendar for your ZIP code covering about 25 common vegetables and herbs. This one asks for your email, while the tools themselves do not.

Best for: US gardeners who want layout, dates and shopping quantities without juggling apps.

Limits: plans save in your browser on that device, so there is no account syncing between phone and computer. It is a planner, not a photo journal. Its 3D landscape designer models sun and shade for a simple yard of beds, trees and buildings, but it does not do photo overlays or detailed landscape rendering.

2. VegPlotter: the free crop scheduler

VegPlotter is a browser-based vegetable planner built around a month-by-month approach. You drag beds, paths and structures onto a plan, add plants in the month they go in, and it adjusts timing to your local climate.

• Never miss a sowing. It generates a monthly jobs list for sowing, transplanting and harvesting.
• Protect your soil. Crop rotation warnings flag similar plants in the same spot, which helps limit pests and disease.
• Plan from the garden. It works on phones and tablets, and you can attach notes and photos to your plan.

Best for: gardeners who want rotation and succession handled for them. The free version allows unlimited layouts and up to 40 plantings a year.

Limits: the cap can bite if you grow many varieties. Set your location manually, and expect some metric measurements, since the service has European roots.

3. GardenCAD: best for scaled layouts and sun

GardenCAD is a free browser tool with no account required. Draw beds in any shape on a scaled grid, mark sheds and tree canopies, and see where the shade falls. A Simple mode lets you type your garden’s size and have plants laid out for you.

• Site beds by real light. It models the sun for any date and time at your latitude, so you can check that tomatoes will not end up behind the shed.
• Correct spacing automatically. A plant library supplies mature size, and auto-arrange fills a bed at the right spacing.
• Keep it private. Gardens save in your browser, with optional sync, plus print and export options.

Best for: working out where the sun really falls before you build.

Limits: it estimates hardiness zone and frost dates from latitude alone, so confirm them with a proper frost date lookup.

4. Planter: simple raised-bed planning on a phone

Planter is built for quick planning on a phone with a square-foot style grid. Its free plan, which it describes as free forever, covers one garden, a growing calendar, custom plants and varieties, and a seed box.

• Know how many plants fit. Spacing guidance shows the count before you buy seedlings.
• Stay on schedule. The growing calendar is tied to the garden you build.
• Track your seeds. The seed box keeps a list of the packets you own.

Best for: one raised bed or a small plot you want to sketch in minutes.

Limits: one garden on the free plan. Premium adds unlimited gardens, notes and the web app for $24.99 a year at the time of writing, with a $99.99 lifetime option.

5. Seed to Spoon: guidance as well as a layout

Seed to Spoon pairs a visual planner with planting dates calculated for your location, which makes it a friendly start for new food gardeners.

• Dates without the math. A color-coded calendar shows when to start each plant indoors or outdoors, including an indoor seed starting mode.
• Better beds. The planner flags poor companion pairings as you lay things out.
• Help from a photo. Its Growbot assistant can identify plants and help diagnose problems, and weather alerts warn of frost and heat.

Best for: beginners growing food who want hand-holding.

Limits: the app is free to download with in-app purchases, and premium was listed at $4.99 a month or $46.99 a year. It is linked to a seed retailer, so expect shopping prompts.

6. Gardenize: a garden diary that remembers for you

Gardenize focuses on remembering your garden rather than drawing it. You create records for plants, areas and events, and attach photos and notes.

• Learn from last year. Next spring you can see what you planted where and how it performed.
• Stay on top of tasks. Calendars and to-do lists keep chores in one place.
• Unlimited records for free. The free plan includes unlimited plants, areas and events plus a garden planner.

Best for: keeping a multi-season garden diary.

Limits: more journal than scheduler. The paid Plus plan adds zone-based care advice, iOS plant identification, desktop access and exports, with a 14-day trial offered.

7. Hortisketch: flowers and vegetables in one plan

Hortisketch, from Garden Savvy, lets you drag icons onto a canvas to design gardens that mix flowers, vegetables, herbs and structures.

• Design a mixed border. Ornamentals and edibles sit in the same plan.
• See the season at a glance. An automated growing calendar shows planting, growing, harvesting and blooming dates for what you place.
• Get answers. The free account includes a gardening chatbot for questions and photo-based identification.

Best for: people planning a border that includes both ornamentals and edibles.

Limits: the free account saves one plan with 16 flowers, 20 vegetables and one soil bed, and it works only on a desktop or laptop. Premium was listed at $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year.

8. iScape: see the makeover before you buy

iScape works from a photo of your actual yard, letting you place plants, hardscape and products over it in 2D or 3D.

• Avoid expensive surprises. You can judge how a border, patio or fence will look before spending money.
• Test ideas quickly. Swap plants and materials on the photo instead of imagining them.

Best for: landscape ideas and homeowner visualization.

Limits: the free version is limited and the 2D and 3D design is iOS only. Pro was listed at $29.99 a month or $299.99 a year. It gives no planting dates or spacing schedules, and a photo overlay is not a construction plan, so check drainage and utilities separately.

9. Almanac Planting Calendar: dates in seconds

The Old Farmer’s Almanac planting calendar answers “when should I plant this?” fast. Enter your ZIP code and it shows dates based on your local frost dates.

• Broad coverage. It spans more than 100 vegetables, herbs and fruit.
• Every date in one place. It shows when to start indoors, transplant, direct sow and make your last planting.
• No account. You can look up your dates in under a minute.

Best for: a quick look-up. It also lists moon-favorable dates, a tradition many gardeners enjoy, but rely on the frost-based dates.

Limits: no layout tool, so pair it with a planner. Our what to plant now by ZIP code tool also shows what to sow today.

10. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: the free official reference

It is not an app, but no list of free planning tools is complete without it. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard way to judge which perennials are likely to thrive where you live, based on average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

• Do not lose plants to winter. Check a shrub, fruit tree or perennial against your zone before you buy.
• Authoritative and fast. Search by ZIP code or click the interactive map. Our growing zone finder is another quick option.

Limits: a zone describes winter cold, not when to sow tomatoes. For that you need frost dates, which is why the two are used together.

Worth knowing: GrowVeg

GrowVeg is a popular planner for serious vegetable gardens with bed layouts, rotation and a local planting calendar. It is a paid service with a short free trial rather than a free tool, so it is not on the list, but it is worth a look if you outgrow the options above.

How to choose the right free planner

• Layout: Garden Voila, VegPlotter or GardenCAD, or Planter on a phone.
• Timing: Garden Voila’s frost dates and calendar, VegPlotter, or the Almanac calendar.
• A diary: Gardenize.
• Mixed borders or yard visuals: Hortisketch or iScape.
• Perennials: the USDA hardiness zone map.

Most gardeners combine two: for example GardenCAD for the sun study and Garden Voila for dates and materials. Check the platform first, since some tools are phone-only and Hortisketch needs a computer.

What free tools cannot decide for you

• Frost dates are probabilities. A last frost date is the point by which a given share of years has already had its last freeze, not a promise.
• Enter your location yourself. Some apps guess it from your internet connection.
• Your site is unique. Microclimate, soil and drainage can shift timing, so confirm pH with a soil test and set a budget with a cost estimate.

Frequently asked questions

Photo: fr0ggy5 on Unsplash