Almanac Garden Planner Alternatives (Real Limits Compared)
Almanac Garden Planner is a solid choice, but people look for alternatives because of the fine print: Free for a 7-day trial with no credit card required, and you can print and keep that first plan forever; after 7 days continued access (saving, editing, reminders) requires a subscription that starts at $35/year auto-renewing. On top of that, no permanent free tier; it's a paid subscription after the trial. Strong options to compare include GrowVeg Garden Planner, VegPlotter, and GARDENA myGarden Planner. Below we line up the real free limits of each — what it exports, what it watermarks, and which platforms it runs on — so you switch for the right reason.
Alternatives at a glance
GrowVeg Garden Planner
Free trial onlyFree for a 7-day trial with no payment details required, and you can create and print one plan to keep; after that, full access (saving, reminders, journal) costs $35/year auto-renewing, with multi-year and gift options also sold.
VegPlotter
Free, with limitsThe free tier is permanent and genuinely usable: unlimited garden layouts of any size plus up to 20 plantings per planning year with rotation warnings and task lists; only unlimited plantings, custom plants, the photo journal, and sharing require Essentials ($24.99/yr) or Advanced ($39.99/yr).
GARDENA myGarden Planner
Truly freeThe whole planner is free with no subscription: draw and save unlimited garden layouts and download a sprinkler plan; the only commercial angle is that the auto-generated irrigation shopping list recommends GARDENA's own sprinkler products.
Switch to one of these if…
Each card leads with its pricing and free-tier reality — pick the one whose limits you can live with.
GrowVeg Garden Planner
Free trial onlyFree for a 7-day trial with no payment details required, and you can create and print one plan to keep; after that, full access (saving, reminders, journal) costs $35/year auto-renewing, with multi-year and gift options also sold.
VegPlotter
Free, with limitsThe free tier is permanent and genuinely usable: unlimited garden layouts of any size plus up to 20 plantings per planning year with rotation warnings and task lists; only unlimited plantings, custom plants, the photo journal, and sharing require Essentials ($24.99/yr) or Advanced ($39.99/yr).
GARDENA myGarden Planner
Truly freeThe whole planner is free with no subscription: draw and save unlimited garden layouts and download a sprinkler plan; the only commercial angle is that the auto-generated irrigation shopping list recommends GARDENA's own sprinkler products.