Home Outside vs Plan-a-Garden
Compare these garden design tools head-to-head. See which one fits your needs — or discover why gardeners choose Arden instead.
Feature matrix
Home Outside
Home Outside is a mobile landscape design app created by a professional landscape architect, offering a palette-based approach to garden planning.
- Designed by a landscape architect
- Quick sketch-style layouts
- Simple palette system
- No AI or photo-based design
- No plant database
- Paid only
- No 3D visualization
- Limited updates
Plan-a-Garden
Plan-a-Garden by Better Homes & Gardens is a free browser-based garden planner with pre-set backgrounds and a library of drag-and-drop plants.
- Completely free
- Simple 3D scene builder
- Trusted BHG brand
- No account required
- No AI features
- Cannot use your own photo
- Pre-set backgrounds only
- Limited plant selection
Plan-a-Garden edges ahead at 3/8 features; Home Outside sits at 1/8. Neither one does AI-Powered Design, Climate Zones, Seasonal Planning, Photo-to-Design — those come standard in Arden. For what it's worth, Arden hits 8/8 with the photo-in, design-out workflow and climate-matched plants — and it's free.
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Which is better, Home Outside or Plan-a-Garden?
Both have their thing. Home Outside is good at designed by a landscape architect; Plan-a-Garden is good at completely free. If you want to take a photo of your yard and see a garden on it, Arden does that in one step and it's free.
02 Are either of them free?
Home Outside is paid. Plan-a-Garden also has a free tier. Arden is free to download — no credit card needed.
03 Which has better previews?
Home Outside doesn't do 3D. Plan-a-Garden supports 3D rendering. Arden skips the 3D step and renders straight onto your yard photo — what you see is what your space looks like.
04 Is there a simpler option than both?
Arden. Photo of your yard, pick a style, see the result. 20+ garden styles, climate-matched plant picks, free on iOS and Android.
Related Searches
Try Arden free and see your garden reimagined
Download Arden free — see your garden transformed in seconds.
No credit card. No signup. Just results.
Scan to download
Point your phone camera at a code
