The best houseplants for low light

35 of 100 species in this database qualify

35 of our 100 species qualify. Snake plant ranks first on lowest light floor first. Typical prices run $6 to $250.

What this list actually means

Low light means a north window, or five feet back from an east one — a room you can read in without a lamp on a grey day. It does not mean a windowless bathroom, and nothing on this list will grow in one. Every plant here tolerates low light. None of them prefer it, and all of them grow faster nearer a window.

Ranked by light min, difficulty, water interval days — lowest light floor first, then least demanding. 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	Snake plant Dracaena trifasciata	Low	14–21d	No	Easy	$15–45
2	Pothos Epipremnum aureum	Low	7–14d	No	Easy	$10–25
3	ZZ plant Zamioculcas zamiifolia	Low	14–21d	No	Easy	$18–40
4	Cast iron plant Aspidistra elatior	Low	10–14d	Yes	Easy	$25–60
5	Heartleaf philodendron Philodendron hederaceum	Low	7–12d	No	Easy	$10–30
6	Chinese evergreen Aglaonema commutatum	Low	9–16d	No	Easy	$15–60
7	Arrowhead vine Syngonium podophyllum	Low	6–11d	No	Easy	$10–30
8	Lucky bamboo Dracaena sanderiana	Low	5–10d	No	Easy	$8–30
9	Kentia palm Howea forsteriana	Low	8–14d	Yes	Easy	$60–250
10	Lady palm Rhapis excelsa	Low	8–14d	Yes	Easy	$50–200
11	Satin pothos Scindapsus pictus	Low	7–12d	No	Easy	$15–45
12	Dragon tail plant Epipremnum pinnatum	Low	7–12d	No	Easy	$15–50
13	Ripple peperomia Peperomia caperata	Low	7–14d	Yes	Easy	$8–25
14	Peace lily Spathiphyllum wallisii	Low	5–7d	No	Easy	$15–40
15	Parlor palm Chamaedorea elegans	Low	7–10d	Yes	Easy	$20–50
16	Corn plant Dracaena fragrans	Low	10–18d	No	Easy	$25–80
17	Dumb cane Dieffenbachia seguine	Low	7–12d	No	Easy	$15–50
18	Dragon tree Dracaena marginata	Low	10–18d	No	Easy	$25–80
19	Bird’s nest fern Asplenium nidus	Low	4–9d	Yes	Easy	$15–45
20	Bamboo palm Chamaedorea seifrizii	Low	7–12d	Yes	Easy	$30–100
21	Blue star fern Phlebodium aureum	Low	5–10d	Yes	Easy	$18–50
22	Strawberry begonia Saxifraga stolonifera	Low	5–10d	Yes	Easy	$8–22
23	Prayer plant Maranta leuconeura	Low	4–8d	Yes	Moderate	$12–35
24	English ivy Hedera helix	Low	6–11d	No	Moderate	$8–25
25	Nerve plant Fittonia albivenis	Low	3–6d	Yes	Moderate	$6–18
26	Rattlesnake plant Goeppertia lancifolia	Low	4–8d	Yes	Moderate	$15–45
27	Rabbit’s foot fern Davallia fejeensis	Low	4–9d	Yes	Moderate	$20–55
28	Table fern Pteris cretica	Low	3–7d	Yes	Moderate	$12–35
29	Baby’s tears Soleirolia soleirolii	Low	2–6d	Yes	Moderate	$6–18
30	Boston fern Nephrolepis exaltata	Low	3–6d	Yes	Demanding	$15–40
31	Calathea orbifolia Goeppertia orbifolia	Low	4–8d	Yes	Demanding	$20–60
32	Triostar stromanthe Stromanthe sanguinea	Low	4–8d	Yes	Demanding	$20–55
33	Caladium Caladium bicolor	Low	4–9d	No	Demanding	$8–25
34	Rex begonia Begonia rex	Low	5–10d	No	Demanding	$12–40
35	Maidenhair fern Adiantum raddianum	Low	2–5d	Yes	Difficult	$12–30

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 snake plant tops the list

Survives low light and weeks without water. The only real failure mode is overwatering. It takes low light as a floor and water every 14–21 days, and it is stocked almost everywhere at $15–45.

Full entry for snake 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.

Aloe vera Aloe vera

needs bright-indirect light as a floor. A south or west window within two feet of the glass. Grown dimmer, the leaves flop outward instead of standing up. In a dim corner it stretches instead of growing.
Jade plant Crassula ovata

needs bright-indirect light as a floor. A south or west window, within two feet of the glass. Any further and the stems stretch and the leaves lose their red edge. In a dim corner it stretches instead of growing.
Flaming Katy Kalanchoe blossfeldiana

needs bright-indirect light as a floor. A south or east window within two feet. It reblooms only after about six weeks of fourteen-hour nights. In a dim corner it stretches instead of growing.
Mexican snowball Echeveria elegans

needs bright-indirect light as a floor. A south window within a foot of the glass. Anything less and the rosette stretches into a tower within weeks. In a dim corner it stretches instead of growing.

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 35 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.