NatureTech tools

Hydroponic System ROI Calculator

See when your system pays for itself, and what it saves you after 5 and 10 years, at current US supermarket prices.

What you spent to start

Total spentEverything: system, EC and pH meters, grow light, first seeds.

Grow light (optional)

Power and hours a dayLeave at 0 if you grow in the sun.

What you will grow

No crops yet. Add what you plan to grow.

Plants: 0. About 4 plants of a crop feed a family of four.

Months a year you grow

9 months

Your garden pays for itself in

add your crops

Ahead after 5 years$0

Ahead after 10 years$0

Store value of your harvest, per growing month$0 Running costs, per year$0 Spent to start$0

How we calculate this

Each crop's value is what you no longer buy at the store. With 4 plants, a crop replaces about one store item a week, so each plant is worth a quarter of that item every week you harvest. Leafy greens and herbs give a first harvest about three weeks after planting, fruiting crops after about six weeks, and the same plants keep producing for the rest of the season. If you take a break during the year, you plant again and wait those weeks once more. Running costs cover nutrients, pH adjusters, the electricity of a standard 28-watt pump running all day, a new pump every year and a small buffer, plus the electricity of a grow light if you enter one, at the US average price of 18.56 cents per kilowatt-hour. Store prices and costs both rise 3% a year, close to how lettuce and prices in general have moved since 1980.

Store prices from the USDA and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, from the eight latest weekly reports up to October 24, 2026; arugula and basil from a national grocer. An estimate, not a promise: your harvest and prices will differ.

Disclaimer: This calculator gives an estimate for planning only. Your results depend on what you grow, how much you harvest, and the prices and electricity rates where you live. It is not a guarantee of savings and not financial advice.

Want to see how we worked it out? Read Does Hydroponics Pay for Itself? We Ran the Numbers for 10 Years.