How the free tiers really compare
| On the free plan | Grown Like A Pro | Microgreen Tracker1 |
|---|---|---|
| Active trays | 8 | 2 |
| Credit card required | No | No |
| Expires | Never | Never |
| Watering reminders | Yes | Yes |
| Full crop library | Full library on free | Full library on free |
| Phone app you can install | Native Android app on Google Play. iOS is in App Store review, not available yet | Web app you add to your home screen. No Apple App Store or Google Play listing2 |
| Free trial of a paid plan | 30 days, annual plans only. Card taken up front, nothing charged until day 30 | None of any kind2 |
| Ask a question, get an answer | Not on free. Glappy AI starts at Solo, $3/mo | Help articles & guides |
| Cost to run 8 trays | $0 | $3.95/mo, free tier stops at 2 |
1 Microgreen Tracker details from information published on microgreentracker.com, reviewed . Their free plan includes the full crop library, and as of so does ours: the old 5 variety cap on GLAP Free is gone. Verify current details with them directly. 2 Checked against microgreentracker.com on : Microgreen Tracker offers no free trial of any kind on any tier, and has no listing in either the Apple App Store or Google Play. It is a browser-based progressive web app you add to your home screen. Both statements describe that date only.
Here's the thing nobody tells beginners:
You are not going to fail because you forgot to write down what you planted. You're going to fail because on day six something looked wrong, you weren't sure what it was, and by the time you'd finished reading three forum threads the tray was gone.
So when you're picking a first app, how much of what you're paying for is remembering things, and how much of it is knowing things? Because you already own a notebook. You don't own the second one.
What actually matters at 8 trays
Not paying yet
Eight free trays is a working rotation, something harvesting while something else is still under blackout. Two is one tray in the dark and one in the light, and no succession at all. Double the trays for the same $0.
Help at the moment of panic
Photograph the fuzzy tray and get told whether it's mold or root hairs. This one thing saves more beginner trays than every other feature combined.
It's on your actual phone
On Android, a real installable app you open with a thumb at 7am rather than a browser tab you have to go find. You'll water twice a day for years and that friction compounds. Straight with you on the other half: our iOS app is still in App Store review, so on an iPhone today you use the web app, same as Microgreen Tracker. A pinned web app is a perfectly reasonable way to work and some growers prefer it.
Room to not start over
If the hobby turns into a farmers-market table, the orders, invoicing and client tools are already there. You upgrade a plan instead of migrating your history somewhere else.
Our recommendation for beginners
Start on Grown Like A Pro's free tier. Eight trays, no card, and on Android a real installable app rather than a browser tab. That is four times the trays Microgreen Tracker gives away, and it costs nothing to find out whether you like this. If you are on an iPhone, use the web app for now. Ours is in App Store review and we are not guessing at a date.
Consider Microgreen Tracker if you want the widest crop library on a free plan or you specifically prefer a stripped-back, browser-only interface. Their Simple Mode is a fair choice for that, and a progressive web app has real advantages: nothing to install, updates the moment they ship, and it works on any phone including iPhone.
And genuinely: try both. They're free. Here's our 12-point test →
Beginner questions
What is the best free microgreen tracking app?
For most home growers, Grown Like A Pro. Its free tier covers 8 active trays with no credit card, four times what Microgreen Tracker allows. Microgreen Tracker's free tier covers 2 active trays but includes their full crop library. Both free tiers are permanent.
Is Grown Like A Pro too advanced for a home grower?
No. The free tier shows a simple tray-and-reminder workflow; the commercial tools such as invoicing, CRM and delivery routing only appear on the higher paid plans. Home growers can use it for years without seeing them.
How many trays can I track for free?
Eight active trays on Grown Like A Pro's free plan, and two on Microgreen Tracker's, per pricing published August 7, 2026.
Can I install either one as a real app on my phone?
Grown Like A Pro has a native Android app on Google Play. Our iOS app is in App Store review and is not available yet, so on an iPhone you use the web app at app.grownlikeapro.com. Microgreen Tracker is a browser-based progressive web app that you add to your home screen; checked on August 17, 2026 it has no listing in either the Apple App Store or Google Play. A progressive web app is not a downgrade in itself, there is nothing to install and updates are instant, so if that suits how you work the difference here is smaller than it looks.
Does either one let me trial a paid plan free?
Grown Like A Pro does. The trial runs 30 days and is available on annual plans only. A card is collected when the trial starts, nothing is charged until day 30, and if you cancel before day 30 you pay nothing. Microgreen Tracker offers no free trial of any kind, checked against microgreentracker.com on August 17, 2026. Their free plan is permanent though, so you can use the product at 2 active trays without paying anything. As a beginner you probably do not need either: both free tiers are permanent, and ours takes no card at all.
Do I even need an app to grow microgreens?
You can absolutely do one or two trays with a notebook. The reason most beginners don't is that the free tier costs nothing and quietly removes the three mistakes that kill early trays: watering on the wrong day, pulling blackout too soon, and not spotting a problem while it is still fixable. There is no version of this where waiting makes you better at it.
Keep comparing
Eight free trays. No card. Nothing to cancel.
Plant one tonight and ask Glappy why your last one went leggy.
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