Planting Season vs GrowVeg
GrowVeg is a well regarded vegetable garden planner, and the Almanac Garden Planner is built on it and sold at the same prices. Here is how it compares with Planting Season for gardeners in the US.
Prices checked on the official sites on 14 September 2026, in US dollars. Plans change, so check before you buy.
| Planting Season | GrowVeg | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free tier, $4.99 a month, $44.95 a year, or $129 once for lifetime access | $35 a year auto renewing, $50 for one year, or $85 for two years |
| Free tier | Yes, one garden bed, never expires | No, a 7 day trial |
| Lifetime option | Yes, $129 once | Not offered |
| Scope | Vegetables, fruit trees, poultry, bees, compost, worms and preserving | Vegetable garden planning |
| Fruit tree care | Pruning windows and chill hours | Not offered |
| Planting dates from | 18 US regions, plus frost dates by zip code | Your nearest weather station |
| Works offline | Yes, once installed | No, runs in the browser |
| Succession planting and shopping list | Not yet | Yes |
Two tools with different jobs
GrowVeg does one job well. You draw your beds, it checks spacing and rotation, and it builds a planting calendar from the weather station nearest to you. If a vegetable plan on a desktop screen is what you are after, it is a good planner.
Planting Season starts from the same place, the beds, and then keeps going into the rest of the property.
A vegetable planner, or the whole homestead
The same app carries your fruit trees, with pruning windows and a chill hours check before you buy a variety, your chickens, ducks and quail, your hives, your compost and worm farm, and your preserving. If your garden is four raised beds, that breadth may not matter. If it is a backyard homestead, it replaces several apps and a notebook.
Pricing, and what you keep
GrowVeg costs $35 a year on auto renewal, $50 for a single year, or $85 for two years, with a 7 day trial and no free tier. On a plain yearly subscription GrowVeg is the cheaper of the two: three years is $105, against $134.85 for three years of Planting Season.
The difference is in the other two options. Planting Season has a free tier that never expires, and a $129 lifetime licence that you pay once. GrowVeg has neither, so the planner stops when the subscription does.
Works in the garden with no signal
Planting Season installs from the browser and keeps working offline, so it opens at the back fence with no reception and syncs when you are back in range. GrowVeg runs in the browser and needs a connection.
Where GrowVeg is stronger
- A much bigger catalog. Hundreds of crops and thousands of varieties, against 215 plants in Planting Season.
- Finer dates. Planting dates from your nearest weather station, where Planting Season uses 18 regions plus the zip code frost lookup.
- Planning depth. Succession planting and a shopping list with quantities, which Planting Season does not have yet.
If a large variety catalog and station level dates matter more to you than fruit trees, animals and offline use, GrowVeg is the better fit.
Frequently asked questions
Is GrowVeg the same as the Almanac Garden Planner?
The Almanac Garden Planner is built on the GrowVeg planner and sold at the same prices: $35 a year on auto renewal, $50 for one year, or $85 for two. Planting Season is a separate app with a free tier and a lifetime option.
How much does GrowVeg cost?
GrowVeg is $35 a year on auto renewal, $50 for a single year, or $85 for two years, with a 7 day trial and no free tier or lifetime plan (checked 14 September 2026). Planting Season is free for one bed, then $4.99 a month, $44.95 a year, or $129 once.
Does GrowVeg work offline?
No. GrowVeg runs in the browser and needs an internet connection. Planting Season works offline once installed.
What is the main difference between Planting Season and GrowVeg?
Scope and how you pay. GrowVeg is a dedicated vegetable planner with a large catalog and weather station dates. Planting Season covers the vegetable beds plus fruit trees, poultry, bees, compost and preserving, works offline, and has a free tier and a one time lifetime option.
Try Planting Season free
Start with one garden bed, free for good. Pro is free for 14 days with no card needed.
Open the app →