Chinese evergreen vs Chinese money plant

Aglaonema commutatum · Pilea peperomioides

Pet safety: Chinese money plant is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Chinese evergreen is toxic (insoluble calcium oxalates). If the two are sold under the same name, a mislabelled plant is a genuine risk in a house with animals.

Why these two get mixed up

Chinese money plant is recorded here as a pet-safe alternative to Chinese evergreen, so the question is usually whether the swap is actually a fair one.

Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum) — **Chinese evergreen** — Aglaonema commutatum. Photograph by Kurt Stüber [1], Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA 3.0.

Chinese money plant (Pilea peperomioides) — **Chinese money plant** — Pilea peperomioides. Photograph by Husky, Wikimedia Commons , CC0.

	Chinese evergreen	Chinese money plant
Scientific name	Aglaonema commutatum	Pilea peperomioides
Family	Araceae	Urticaceae
Light floor	Low	Medium
Water	9–16 days	6–11 days
Humidity floor	40%	40%
Mature height	12–36 in	8–18 in
Habit	upright	upright
Growth rate	slow	fast
Difficulty	Easy	Easy
Toxic to pets	Yes	No
Typical price	$15–60	$12–35

Highlighted cells are where the two actually differ. Everything else they share.

The differences that matter

Pet safety

This is the difference that matters most. Chinese money plant is listed non-toxic to cats and dogs; Chinese evergreen is toxic (insoluble calcium oxalates). If the two are sold under the same name, a mislabelled plant is a genuine risk in a house with animals.

Light

Chinese evergreen tolerates low light; Chinese money plant needs medium as a floor. Put the second in the first's spot and it stretches and declines.

Not even related

Chinese evergreen is Araceae, Chinese money plant is Urticaceae. They share a shop label and nothing else — different families, different continents, different care.

Which should you buy?

With a cat or dog in the house, take Chinese money plant. The other is toxic, and if the shop label is wrong you will not know which you have brought home.
In a dim room, take Chinese evergreen.
If you forget to water, take Chinese evergreen, which goes 12 days between drinks.
If it is your first plant, take Chinese evergreen, at 1 of 5.
For a small shelf, take Chinese money plant, which stops around 18 inches.

Full entries

Chinese evergreen — care fields with sources, toxicity with every authority consulted, propagation and diagnosis. Chinese money plant — the same.

Sources

This database's own care records for Aglaonema commutatum and Pilea peperomioides — every figure compared above.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Plants of the World Online — accepted names and families for Aglaonema commutatum and Pilea peperomioides
ASPCA Animal Poison Control — toxicity classification for both, cited on each species entry
Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, individually credited and licensed above

Compiled and edited by Tony Valcarcel · 2026-09-12
Every comparison above is drawn from a recorded field. Where the honest distinguisher is visual we show both photographs rather than describing a leaf we have no field for. How this is sourced.