iScape Review – How it works, cost & more

When it comes to apps that you can use for landscaping gardens, iScape is one of the most popular options on the market.

It’s similar to many other AI and augmented reality apps of its kind, and the good news is that you can download the free version to test it out first.

So, you can take a snap of your garden, then use the app to add in objects and features to your garden to get an idea of what it’ll look like.

We took the app for a spin to see how it compared to the best garden design apps on the market.

iScape Review

When using iScape, you can quickly add into trees, pathways and other plants into your garden plan to see what it would look like.

And when you upgrade to the premium version of the app, you’ll then get access to a much larger plant library with more archives and images for you to access.

However, if you’re working solo the free version should be enough to let you get started with garden design.

It’s a fun app to use, and it’s not necessary for you to be a professional to try it out and see what you could do with your garden. iScape provides you with two options that are both simple to use.

Firstly there is the basic option that allows you to overlay design features and elements you want to add to your garden onto your photograph, that is just a still image.

The next option is the more immersive AI function that renders your garden in real-time as you walk around the area, you can add in your features as you go.

It uses the camera on your apple device to capture data about your surroundings and then applies an augmented reality tool to bring your landscape designs to life in front of you.

You then can walk around your garden and see what each part of it would look like, you can drag and drop new things in and out of the frame if you change your mind and use the landscape design tools as part of your walkthrough experience.

There is a library of plants, trees, flowers and shrubs as well as accessories and other objects you can add to your garden, though it isn’t as extensive as Plantsnap.

There is also information on each species to get the best out of your soil and climate, this will help you make the correct decisions for planting things that will typically last the longest and grow the best in your garden.

Professional landscapers can add their designs and photographs of their designs for the library to give you some ideas of what will work well together, and give you the knowledge of basic landscaping if you are completely new to it. Adding your own images is a must for any serious landscape design software.

You can use the mirror, copy and clone options to put the same thing in other parts of your design to allow for symmetry and ease of use thus saving you time.

Although the free version is limited and only allows you to use ten layers in total it is really good for first time landscapers, the pro version is much more malleable and allows you to do what you want within the confines of the app.

Pros and Cons

Generally, iScape is a pretty useful tool that holds its own with most other landscape design software within a similar price range.

It’s a great app – but it’s not perfect. So, let’s look at a few pros and cons of the app itself.

Pros

Graphics Quality: The graphics quality is excellent, it works from what you have in real life, it isn’t a computer-generated basic image, so it feels very much like it would in real life.

Drag and Drop: The drag and drop interface useful for professionals and home users is easy to use as an interface and allows you to quickly change things in and out to see what you like best.

Immersive AI experience: Augmented reality is an actual interactive feature, you can walk around your garden to see your design rather than moving just your phone. This gives it more authenticity and is something you don’t see in other apps of this type making it one of the best available for professionals in particular.

Cons

Availability: One of the main issues with iScape is that it is only available on iPhone and iPad and Apple products. If you only have access to Android devices then you would have to find an equivalent, but this app is one of the best but it isn’t available for Android at the minute.

Paid and Free versions: As with anything free, there are limits, so if you have more grandiose ideas for your landscaping projects and you want better quality to add on to your garden you will need to upgrade your app to the premium version.

If you are willing to pay for the upgrades then it would probably be advisable you invest in some professional landscaping software to get more out of your designs. There are various options when it comes to landscape design software, like SmartDraw.

Features

Landscape Business Tools: This app isn’t a gimmick, you can use it even as a professional landscaper. You can create a design and send it to a client along with a quote and your business information at any time.

Visualise: You can set up your garden with things you want to see, take away things and see what your garden will look like instead of working from your head, you can bring to life your dream garden.

Design: You can use augmented reality to blend the virtual and the actual to create what you want to see.

Share: You can share your designs with others so they can see your inspiration.

Buy: You can buy the products you add to your garden in real life, making it basically a one-stop-shop for your landscaping needs. Meaning what you create really can become real life for you.

Common Questions about iScape

Conclusion

iScape is a really good landscaping app, it’s great for ‘Do it Yourself-ers’ and professionals alike. The $30 per month price is a little steep though.

You would be better off investing in some professional landscaping technology for the price of this app. However, the free version gives you a great base to look at what you want and get a general idea of how to layout your garden for outdoor living.

The major downfall with this app is its availability on different platforms, it is an Apple product and they are notorious for keeping it in the family, but I couldn’t even get it on Mac, as you can see in the picture above.

It makes sense because you can’t walk around your garden with your Mac, but you could with an iMac, and really they could still give the basic features for Mac and iMac so you can upload still images of your garden to play around with.

Hopefully, it will be on Android sooner rather than later. But until then iOS users have a really great thing with iScape, it is probably one of the best non-professional pieces of software for landscaping I have seen on the market.

Although the price versus the product? It doesn’t really seem worth it if you are going to pay a subscription.