Some houseplants are gorgeous enough to convince you that crispy edges, dramatic leaf loss, constant humidity monitoring, and a Some houseplants are absolutely worth the extra work. Others make you wonder why you’re fighting for your life over a plant when another one could give you almost the same look with considerably less drama.

That’s where plant dupes come in.

These aren’t exact botanical replacements. Instead, they have a similar growth habit, foliage shape, color, or overall aesthetic. If you love the appearance of a difficult plant but don’t necessarily love caring for it, these seven alternatives are worth considering.

1. String of Hearts → Dischidia ruscifolia

String of Hearts (Ceropegia woodii) is one of the prettiest trailing plants when it’s full. The tiny heart-shaped leaves and long delicate vines make it perfect for shelves and hanging planters.

The problem is getting it to stay full.

Older plants can become sparse near the top, individual vines can get extremely long and thin, and figuring out the right balance between enough light and proper watering isn’t always as effortless as social media makes it look.

Get this instead: Dischidia ruscifolia

Dischidia ruscifolia, commonly called Million Hearts, gives you the same delicate, cascading effect with masses of tiny green leaves.

The leaves are small and heart-shaped, but the growth tends to look denser and more substantial along the vines than String of Hearts.

Why it’s a good dupe: You still get tiny hearts cascading from a shelf or hanging planter, but with a fuller green appearance.

If the little heart-shaped leaves are what attracted you to String of Hearts in the first place, this is one of the closest visual alternatives.

2. String of Pearls → Peperomia ‘Hope’

A mature String of Pearls (Curio rowleyanus) is hard to resist.

Those long strands of perfectly round succulent leaves look incredible cascading over a planter.

They’re also very good at looking fantastic right up until they don’t.

Get this instead: Peperomia ‘Hope’

Peperomia ‘Hope’ provides a similar trailing silhouette but replaces the spherical pearls with small, thick, rounded leaves arranged in clusters along slender stems.

A mature Hope can become surprisingly impressive, developing dozens of long vines that spill over the edge of a planter.

Why it’s a good dupe: Both plants give you small, succulent-like foliage on long cascading stems. Peperomia Hope just gives you a little more leaf to work with.

It isn’t an exact visual match, but it fills the same role beautifully.

3. Monstera deliciosa → Mini Monstera

There’s a reason Monstera deliciosa became one of the most recognizable houseplants in the world.

Mature leaves can become enormous and develop dramatic splits and internal fenestrations.

That’s also the problem.

A happy Monstera eventually needs space.

Get this instead: Mini Monstera

Despite its common name, Mini Monstera (Rhaphidophora tetrasperma) isn’t actually a Monstera.

But visually, the comparison makes sense.

Its compact leaves develop dramatic cuts from the outer margins, producing that recognizable tropical split-leaf effect on a much smaller plant.

Give it a plank or pole and it can develop into an impressive vertical climber.

Why it’s a good dupe: You get split foliage and climbing growth without having 28-inch Monstera leaves reaching across your living room.

For smaller spaces, I’d seriously consider the Mini Monstera.

4. Fiddle Leaf Fig → Ficus Audrey

Fiddle Leaf Figs (Ficus lyrata) make incredible statement plants.

A mature specimen can become a legitimate indoor tree with a woody trunk and huge violin-shaped leaves.

They’re also notorious for reacting dramatically to changes in their environment.

Get this instead: Ficus Audrey

Ficus Audrey (Ficus benghalensis) keeps the indoor-tree aesthetic but changes the foliage.

Instead of giant fiddle-shaped leaves, Audrey develops broad oval leaves with prominent pale veins and a beautiful matte, slightly velvety appearance.

Over time, it can develop the same branching tree-like structure that makes a large Fiddle Leaf Fig so impressive.

Why it’s a good dupe: You’re not really duplicating the leaf. You’re duplicating the look of a substantial indoor tree.

And if that’s what you wanted from the Fiddle Leaf Fig anyway, Audrey deserves consideration.

5. Maidenhair Fern → Button Fern

Maidenhair Ferns are gorgeous.

Their delicate dark stems covered in tiny, almost weightless leaflets give them a texture that’s difficult to replicate.

Unfortunately, they’re also very good at turning crispy when their conditions aren’t right.

Get this instead: Button Fern

Button Fern (Pellaea rotundifolia) gives you a similar fine-textured fern aesthetic without trying to imitate the Maidenhair exactly.

Instead of delicate fan-shaped leaflets, it produces small rounded “buttons” arranged along slender dark stems.

The result is still airy, detailed, and distinctly fern-like.

Why it’s a good dupe: If you want a smaller fern with delicate-looking foliage but you’re tired of watching Maidenhair fronds crisp up, Button Fern is a much more practical alternative.

You lose some of the ethereal Maidenhair appearance, but you also lose some of the headache.

6. Variegated Alocasia Frydek → Syngonium ‘Albo Variegatum’

This is probably my favorite swap on the list.

Variegated Alocasia Frydek is spectacular.

You get elongated arrow-shaped leaves, deep velvety green tissue, prominent pale veins, and unpredictable sectors of white, cream, and mint.

And then you have to actually grow an Alocasia.

Get this instead: Syngonium podophyllum ‘Albo Variegatum’

Syngonium Albo gives you a surprising amount of the same visual appeal.

Its arrowhead-shaped leaves develop unpredictable green-and-white variegation ranging from marbling and speckles to huge sectors and dramatic half-moon patterns.

It doesn’t have Frydek’s velvety texture or prominent contrasting veins, but the combination of arrow-shaped foliage + dramatic white variegation makes the comparison work.

And as it matures, you can train it vertically to create an impressive specimen.

Why it’s a good dupe: You retain two of the Frydek Albo’s biggest visual features—arrow-shaped foliage and unpredictable albo variegation—without actually owning another Alocasia.

If I wanted the Frydek Albo aesthetic without the Frydek Albo experience, this is the swap I’d make.

7. Calathea orbifolia → Aglaonema ‘Silver Bay’

Calathea orbifolia (Goeppertia orbifolia) has some of the most beautiful foliage of any houseplant.

Its enormous rounded leaves are covered with broad alternating bands of green and silvery gray-green.

Unfortunately, those giant leaves also provide a lot of surface area on which to display every crispy edge they’re unhappy about.

Get this instead: Aglaonema ‘Silver Bay’

Aglaonema ‘Silver Bay’ gives you the same general green-and-silver color palette in a considerably different—and generally more forgiving—plant.

Its broad elliptical leaves develop large soft silvery-green centers surrounded by irregular deep-green margins.

A mature Silver Bay also becomes surprisingly substantial, producing a full clump of large leaves that can easily function as a statement plant.

Why it’s a good dupe: It doesn’t replicate orbifolia’s stripes or rounded leaf shape. It replicates the lush silver-and-green foliage effect.

If that’s what made you want an orbifolia, Silver Bay may scratch the same itch with considerably less fuss.

A Plant Dupe Doesn’t Have to Look Identical

That’s the important part.

I’m not claiming a Peperomia Hope is secretly a String of Pearls or that a Ficus Audrey looks exactly like a Fiddle Leaf Fig.

A good plant dupe gives you the feature you actually wanted.

Love String of Hearts because you want tiny heart-shaped leaves cascading from a shelf? Try Dischidia ruscifolia.

Want enormous tropical foliage but don’t have room for a mature Monstera? Try Rhaphidophora tetrasperma.

Want the green-and-white drama of a Frydek Albo without another Alocasia? Syngonium Albo might be the answer.

Plant Dupes: Easier Houseplant Alternatives That Give You the Same Look