This growth study is concerned with the structural compatibility of perovskite BaTiO3 on garnet substrates Gd3Ga5O12 and Y3Fe5O12. Thin films (200 and 500 nm nominal thickness) have been deposited by pulsed laser deposition on the low-index orientations (100), (110) and (111) of Gd3Ga5O12 single crystal substrates, as well as on a selection of Y3Fe5O12 surfaces. The perovskite growth on the garnet (100) orientation exhibits good crystallinity as observed as higher X-ray diffraction intensities, (110)/(101) preferential growth and weak “rectangle-on-cube” in-plane epitaxy of the BaTiO3 thin film. In contrast to that for growth on the (110) and (111) garnet substrates only polycrystalline BaTiO3 thin films are observed. For X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, a scheme is presented for chemical analysis of a BaTiO3 bulk and a surface component, and quantification of the surface concentration of the films is presented. A surface contamination of Bi traces seems to affect the strain on the BaTiO3(110) reflex.