The best houseplants for a complete beginner

27 of 100 species in this database qualify

27 of our 100 species qualify. Inch plant ranks first on lowest difficulty first. Typical prices run $5 to $90.

What this list actually means

Two criteria, both of which matter: easy to keep alive, and easy to actually buy. A perfect beginner plant you have to source from a specialist is not a beginner plant. Everything here scores 2 or better on difficulty and is stocked by ordinary shops.

Ranked by difficulty, rarity, price range usd — lowest difficulty first, restricted to species in general retail. Ordering is derived from database fields and we do not accept payment for placement. Our pre-publish check rejects commission, payout, EPC and CPC as sort fields, so that promise is enforced rather than merely stated.

#	Plant	Light floor	Water	Pet safe	Difficulty	Typical price
1	Inch plant Tradescantia zebrina	Medium	5–9d	No	Easy	$8–20
2	Lucky bamboo Dracaena sanderiana	Low	5–10d	No	Easy	$8–30
3	Ripple peperomia Peperomia caperata	Low	7–14d	Yes	Easy	$8–25
4	Pothos Epipremnum aureum	Low	7–14d	No	Easy	$10–25
5	Spider plant Chlorophytum comosum	Medium	7–10d	Yes	Easy	$10–25
6	Heartleaf philodendron Philodendron hederaceum	Low	7–12d	No	Easy	$10–30
7	Aloe vera Aloe vera	Bright indirect	14–28d	No	Easy	$10–30
8	Arrowhead vine Syngonium podophyllum	Low	6–11d	No	Easy	$10–30
9	Snake plant Dracaena trifasciata	Low	14–21d	No	Easy	$15–45
10	Polka dot plant Hypoestes phyllostachya	Medium	4–7d	Yes	Easy	$5–15
11	Flaming Katy Kalanchoe blossfeldiana	Bright indirect	9–16d	No	Easy	$6–20
12	Purple shamrock Oxalis triangularis	Medium	6–11d	No	Easy	$8–25
13	Jade plant Crassula ovata	Bright indirect	14–28d	No	Easy	$10–45
14	Watermelon peperomia Peperomia argyreia	Medium	7–14d	Yes	Easy	$10–30
15	Christmas cactus Schlumbergera truncata	Medium	7–14d	Yes	Easy	$12–35
16	Peace lily Spathiphyllum wallisii	Low	5–7d	No	Easy	$15–40
17	Moth orchid Phalaenopsis amabilis	Medium	5–10d	Yes	Easy	$15–50
18	Dumb cane Dieffenbachia seguine	Low	7–12d	No	Easy	$15–50
19	Bird’s nest fern Asplenium nidus	Low	4–9d	Yes	Easy	$15–45
20	Scarlet star Guzmania lingulata	Medium	7–14d	Yes	Easy	$15–40
21	Swiss cheese vine Monstera adansonii	Medium	6–11d	No	Easy	$18–55
22	Swiss cheese plant Monstera deliciosa	Medium	7–10d	No	Easy	$20–60
23	Rubber plant Ficus elastica	Medium	7–14d	No	Easy	$20–70
24	Dwarf umbrella tree Heptapleurum arboricola	Medium	7–14d	No	Easy	$20–70
25	Corn plant Dracaena fragrans	Low	10–18d	No	Easy	$25–80
26	Dragon tree Dracaena marginata	Low	10–18d	No	Easy	$25–80
27	Tree philodendron Philodendron bipinnatifidum	Medium	7–12d	No	Easy	$25–90

Prices are hand-verified ranges, not live figures, and move with pot size more than anything else. No affiliate links appear on this page because we have no merchant relationships yet; when that changes, disclosure appears before the first one.

Why inch plant tops the list

Scores 1 of 5: roots in water in under a week and grows in almost any light. It goes bald at the base, so it is restarted from cuttings rather than saved. It takes medium light as a floor and water every 5–9 days, and it is stocked almost everywhere at $8–20.

Full entry for inch plant — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority we consulted, and propagation.

Commonly recommended for this, and shouldn't be

Every one of these is sold everywhere and appears on other lists for this purpose. Each fails on a field in our own database, stated below.

Boston fern Nephrolepis exaltata

scores 4 of 5 and is sold everywhere as an easy plant — nothing about its light or soil is demanding, but it drops fronds within days in dry indoor air and never fully recovers from drying out once..
Florist’s cyclamen Cyclamen persicum

scores 4 of 5 and is sold everywhere as an easy plant — it wants cool nights most homes do not have, and water poured into the crown rots the tuber. It is not dying when it yellows in spring, it is going dormant..
String of pearls Curio rowleyanus

scores 4 of 5 and is sold everywhere as an easy plant — it looks unkillable and is not. The shallow roots rot within days in a deep wet pot, and by the time the strand shrivels the roots are already gone..
African mask plant Alocasia × mortfontanensis

scores 4 of 5 and is sold everywhere as an easy plant — it demands high humidity, warmth and steady moisture at once, and it goes fully dormant if any of them slip. A leafless tuber in winter is usually resting rather than dead..

None of these are bad plants. They are bad plants for this, and the difference is the whole point of the list. Buying one for the wrong spot is the commonest way people conclude they cannot keep houseplants.

Other lists

Every list →

Sources

This database's own care records for the 27 species listed — light floor, watering interval, humidity, difficulty and mature size are the fields the ranking uses. Each species entry cites its own authorities.
ASPCA Animal Poison Control — toxicity classification, cited per species on each entry
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox — poison severity where published
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families
Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder — cultivation and pest records

Compiled and edited by Tony Valcarcel · 2026-09-12
Ranking is derived from database fields. We do not accept payment for placement, and the pre-publish check rejects payout as a sort field. How this is sourced.