What it gives you daily
Bird Buddy
RoundSeveral photographs a day, with the species named. 41 correct out of 46.
Click & Grow Smart Garden 9
Something green to look at, and herbs to cut every few weeks.
Head to Head
Camera bird feeder vs. indoor herb garden
Two ways of giving somebody something living to look after through a northern winter, judged on running cost, setup and what each actually produces day to day.
The verdict
Bird Buddy wins
The feeder wins because it produces events and the herb garden produces basil. Both are pleasant. Only one of them makes a phone buzz with a photograph of a cardinal that gets forwarded to three people. For someone who is home a lot, that difference is the whole gift.
How we compared these
Assessed from published specifications, pricing and terms read in September 2026, plus published reviews and customer reports.
5 rounds
Round by round
Each round is one thing that actually decides the choice. The overall winner is not always the one that wins the most rounds — some rounds matter more, and we say which.
Running cost
Bird Buddy
RoundNothing, on the free plan. Clips are kept seven days, which is enough.
Click & Grow Smart Garden 9
$19 a pod set plus about $3 a month of electricity. Over a year the herbs cost more than the shop.
Setup
Bird Buddy
Twenty minutes, needs wifi at the end of the garden. Do it for them.
Click & Grow Smart Garden 9
RoundTen minutes, plug it in, add water. Anyone can do this alone.
For someone housebound
Bird Buddy
RoundThis is what it is for. A reason to look up, several times a day.
Click & Grow Smart Garden 9
Pleasant, but it does not do anything you have to be there for.
For a flat with no garden
Bird Buddy
Unusable. A window box is not enough.
Click & Grow Smart Garden 9
RoundDesigned for exactly this, and the reason it is on our apartment lists.
In fairness to the runner-up
When you should choose the Click & Grow Smart Garden 9 instead
Buy the herb garden if there is no garden, no balcony, or no wifi that reaches outdoors. Buy a year of pods with it so the recipient is not quietly handed a running cost they did not agree to.