Online landscape design service with human designers, full plans, plant lists, and contractor matchmaking.
Real redesign: Rustic front yard. Drag to compare.
Price
$4.99/wk
unlimited designs, or $44.99/yr, cancel anytime
Turnaround
Under 2 minutes
Re-roll as often as you like
Best at
Unlimited iterations on your own photo for $4.99 a week, before you spend a dollar on plants
Yardzen, as it looks today.
Price
$995–$3,495
one-time, per project
Turnaround
5–10 business days
Per design round
Best at
A build-ready plan with a climate-specific plant list and vetted contractors
The short answer
Yardzen wins if you want one finished, build-ready plan from a human designer and have $1,000+ to spend. AI Garden Design wins if you want to explore many styles quickly, iterate dozens of times for under $30, or preview many looks cheaply before committing to a build.
Yardzen is the best-known online landscape design service in the US. You pay a fixed fee, fill out a brief, and a licensed landscape designer delivers a custom 2D plan, 3D renderings, a plant list, and a list of local contractors who can build it. It is a one-time service, not a tool, you get a finished design, not the ability to iterate on your own.
After you choose a package and submit photos and a brief, a Yardzen designer develops your design and delivers it within 5 to 10 business days. Revision rounds depend on the package: none on Essential, one on Classic, two on Signature and Premium. The final deliverable is a presentation-grade package you hand to a contractor for the build.
Every row is a real difference, not a checkbox. Where Yardzen is genuinely stronger, the table says so.
| Feature | AI Garden Design | Yardzen |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Photorealistic AI redesign of your actual photo | Custom plan + 3D rendering + plant list from a human designer |
| Pricing | 3 free designs, then unlimited designs for $4.99 a week or $44.99 a year, commercial use included. Cancel anytime | $995 to $3,495 depending on package |
| Turnaround | Under two minutes per redesign, unlimited reruns on the paid plan | 5 to 10 business days per design round |
| Iterations | Unlimited on the paid plan, from $4.99 a week | 0 to 2 revision rounds depending on package |
| Plant list | Suggested plant guide per style | Full custom plant list specified to your climate and zone |
| Contractor sourcing | Not included | Yes, vetted local contractor matchmaking |
| Permits / site plans | Not included | Not included; some packages add construction documents |
| Entry price | 3 free designs, then $4.99 for a week of unlimited designs | No, pay before any design work begins |
What only a person catches
Yardzen sells finished design packages, not access to a tool. What you are paying a person for is judgement about your climate, your light and your local crews. Here is where that judgement shows up, and where it stops.
The cheapest package is 2D only: a plan view with plants labelled, which is enough for a contractor to quote from and not much help in deciding whether you actually want it. The photorealistic render starts one tier up, so a homeowner who has not made up their mind should look at that tier first.
What every package does include is the part AI cannot do at all: a plant list picked for your climate zone and your light, sourced from nurseries that stock it, plus a shortlist of local contractors who have built Yardzen plans before.
What no package includes is the build. The plan is a document. Installing it runs anywhere from a few thousand for planting to well past $50,000 for hardscaping, decking and lighting, and Yardzen has no control over what your local crews quote.
A plant list for your zone
Species chosen for your climate, sun and soil, from nurseries that actually carry them. An AI render shows plausible plants, not a buyable list.
A layout checked against your yard
A designer works from your measurements and photos, so paths, beds and seating fit the space you actually have rather than the one in the picture.
Contractors who know the plan format
Yardzen hands you local builders who have quoted its plans before, which shortens the bidding round.
Revisions with a person
You can push back on a layout and get a reasoned answer, not just another variation.
The useful way to hold both: a $4.99 week of AI Garden Design Unlimited lets you test dozens of directions on your own photo before you pay for any package. Yardzen costs more and ends with a plan a crew can actually build. Explore first, then pay a human to make it real.
Not renders of someone else's garden. Drag the handle to see the original photo turn into the redesign.
Upload a photo and get a photorealistic redesign in under two minutes. Try as many styles as you like before deciding whether Yardzen is worth it.
Redesign my gardenFor exploring ideas and previewing styles, yes, and far more cheaply. For a build-ready plan with a custom plant list specified to your climate and a vetted local contractor, no. Most users pair the two: use AI Garden Design to lock in the look, then commission Yardzen or a local landscape designer for the build documentation.
Yardzen is typically priced between DIY tools and a local landscape designer, and bundles convenience (online brief, fixed timelines, contractor matching) that a local designer may not. A local designer adds site visit, soil knowledge, and direct accountability. AI Garden Design fits below both as the fastest, lowest-cost option for visualisation and idea exploration.
Yes. A common workflow is to generate three or four AI Garden Design redesigns to clarify the style direction, then submit those as inspiration with the Yardzen brief. It saves the designer time and makes it more likely the first draft hits the brief.
AI Garden Design vs Tilly Design
The online landscape design service acquired by Bower & Branch in 2024, now sold as Design Studio with the plants for sale alongside the plan.
AI Garden Design vs ShrubHub
Heavily advertised online landscape design service selling discounted 3D yard design packages.
AI Garden Design vs Home Outside
Julie Moir Messervy's studio offers online landscape design, though homeoutside.com now sells mainly to garden centers rather than to homeowners.
AI Garden Design vs a Local Landscape Designer
Hiring a local landscape designer for a site visit, custom plan, and ongoing project oversight.
AI Garden Design vs Neighborbrite
Browser-based AI landscape design with a genuinely free tier and a large plant and hardscape library.
If you want the full list of options rather than a head-to-head, the alternatives page covers every tool and service in this category.
All alternatives to Yardzen →