Before the list, the question that narrows it fast:
Are you looking to replace what you have, or looking because something specific is missing?
Because if it's the second one, name the thing. "I can't invoice from it." "It doesn't help me when a tray looks wrong." "I outgrew the tray cap." Whatever it is, that single sentence eliminates about four of the five options below in under a minute, and it stops you switching to something that has the same hole in a different colour.
The options, honestly
1. Grown Like A Pro (ours, judge accordingly)
Best for: growers of any size who want help while they grow, not just a record of it, and anyone who expects to sell at some point.
A native Android app on Google Play plus a full web app; the iOS app is in App Store review and is not available yet. AI photo diagnosis of problem trays, an in-app assistant, Bluetooth temperature/humidity sensors, PPFD light measurement, QR tray scanning, visual rack grids, sprout jar tracking, and the full sales stack, client CRM, invoicing, QuickBooks sync and GPS route optimization. Free tier at 8 active trays and 8 sprout jars, then $3.00 / $12.99 / $19.99 a month, with the top tier unlimited. Figures from the shipping app configuration, .
Where it loses: our crop library is smaller than theirs, harvest analytics and data export do not arrive until $12.99, there is no iPhone app yet, and if you are buying purely on tray capacity per dollar there are cheaper options through the middle of the ladder. We've put the full pricing math here, including the bands where we're beaten.
2. Microgreen Tracker (by On The Grow, LLC)
Best for: growers who want a focused, browser-based tracker and the widest crop library.
A capable, purpose-built tracker: nine grow stages, a library they list at 80 crops and 284 varieties, backward planning from harvest date, succession scheduling, harvest logging with weights and grades, cost-per-tray, barcode labels and scanning, a Simple Mode, dark mode and Spanish support. Their free tier covers 2 active trays; paid tiers run $3.95, $9.95, $19.95 and $39.95 a month for 25, 100, 1,000 and 2,500 active trays, pricing captured , with other feature details as published . Worth knowing before you compare ladders: their paid tiers are identical in features and differ only in tray capacity, which is their own published description of them.
Worth knowing: it's a browser-based progressive web app you add to your home screen rather than a store download, with no listing in either the Apple App Store or Google Play as checked , and there is no free trial of any kind on any tier, checked the same day. Their free tier is permanent, so you can still use the product without paying. As of the review dates above we could not find AI, environment sensors, invoicing, accounting sync or delivery routing described publicly. Full head-to-head →
3. A spreadsheet
Best for: one to three trays, or growers who genuinely enjoy building their own systems.
Free, infinitely flexible, and completely honest about what it is. It will not remind you to water, will not tell you what the fuzz on tray four is, and will quietly become a second job somewhere around tray fifteen. But for a very small grow it's a perfectly respectable answer, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. Our spreadsheet comparison →
4. General farm-management software
Best for: diversified farms where microgreens are one line among many.
Broad-acre and market-garden platforms handle crop planning, sales and labour across many crops. They're built for a different shape of farm, so microgreen specifics, blackout days, tray density, stacking weight, rinse cycles, usually have to be forced into fields that weren't designed for them. If microgreens are your main crop, a purpose-built tool will fit better.
5. Notes app plus phone alarms
Best for: the first month, while you work out whether you even like this.
Perfectly workable for your first week, and it costs nothing. The catch is that it only records what you did, so when a tray goes wrong you have notes instead of an answer. Since the free tiers above also cost nothing and actually help, there is not much reason to stay here for long.
Which one fits you
| If you... | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Grow 1-3 trays for the house | A spreadsheet or notes app | Nothing to justify a subscription yet |
| Grow 4-10 trays and keep losing some | Grown Like A Pro (free) | Free tier plus AI diagnosis when a tray looks wrong |
| Want the biggest crop library, browser only | Microgreen Tracker | 80 crops / 284 varieties on a free tier |
| Buying capacity per dollar, 200 to 1,000 trays | Microgreen Tracker | Their Pro is $19.95 for 1,000 active trays, captured August 17, 2026 |
| Sell at a market, around 25 trays | Grown Like A Pro | $3.00 against $3.95 for the same 25 trays, plus AI and a native Android app |
| Sell at a market, around 100 trays | Either, compare on price | They're about three dollars a month cheaper on outlay; we cover you to 200 and add AI, sensors and invoicing |
| Sell to restaurants, need invoices | Grown Like A Pro | Invoicing, CRM and QuickBooks sync |
| Run 200+ trays or multiple sites | Grown Like A Pro | Unlimited trays at $19.99, plus routing and multi-farm |
| Farm many crops, microgreens are one | General farm software | Breadth matters more than microgreen depth |
What we'd actually tell a friend
Every serious option here has a free tier or a trial. So don't agonise, pick two, run a real grow through both for a fortnight, and keep the one you actually opened at 7am.
We've written the 12-point test we use ourselves, and we've deliberately made it hard enough that we could fail it. Run it on us.
Common questions
What is the best alternative to Microgreen Tracker?
For most growers, Grown Like A Pro. It covers the same tray tracking, planning, harvest logging and cost analytics, then adds native mobile apps, AI photo diagnosis, environment sensors, and the sales stack (CRM, invoicing, QuickBooks, delivery routing). For very small grows a spreadsheet remains a legitimate free alternative, and diversified farms may be better served by general farm-management software.
Is there a free alternative to Microgreen Tracker?
Yes. Grown Like A Pro has a permanently free tier with no credit card required, covering 8 active trays and 8 sprout jars, against Microgreen Tracker's free tier of 2 active trays as published August 17, 2026. A spreadsheet is also free, though it cannot send reminders or diagnose problems.
Which of these alternatives run on a phone rather than a browser?
Of the five options on this page, Grown Like A Pro is the one that publishes a native phone app you download from a store, currently Android on Google Play, with a web version alongside it. Our iOS app is in App Store review and is not available yet, so on an iPhone today you use the web app. Microgreen Tracker and most general farm-management platforms are browser tools, and a spreadsheet or notes app is whatever your phone already runs. If you want an app icon on the home screen and offline-tolerant behaviour in the grow room, that narrows the list quickly, though a pinned progressive web app gets you most of the way there and some growers prefer it.
Which microgreen app works for both hobby and commercial growers?
Grown Like A Pro spans both: a free tier for home growers with no credit card, through to a $19.99/month Pro tier with unlimited trays, clients, orders and farms plus delivery routing and multi-site management. The same account and grow history carries across tiers, so scaling up doesn't mean migrating.
Keep comparing
Shortlist of two. One free afternoon.
Ours starts free with no card. Whatever else is on your list, put it head to head.
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