Which is the Best Aerogarden for You? Quiz, Rankings & Buying Guide

It’s not always easy to get started with gardening because of the time commitment and lack of outdoor space.

Aerogarden indoor gardens solve this problem by providing an indoor garden that grows plants in water instead of soil, so you don’t need any outdoor space or a green thumb! And the really nice, modern design can blend into almost any kitchen.

But there are so many models to choose from, so which of these Aerogarden systems are best for your situation?

Every Aerogarden comes with non-GMO Seeds.

	Sprout	Harvest	Bounty	Farm
Pods	3	6	9	12-24
Grow Height	10 inches	12-18 inches	12-24 inches	12-36 inches
Wifi & Mobile App	No	No	Yes	Yes
Vacation Mode	No	No	Yes	Yes
Cost	$69	$129-$199	$275-$395	$559-$839
Current Price	Check Price	Check Price	Check Price	Check Price

Aerogarden Categories

There are 4 main “categories” in the Aerogarden family. Within those 4 categories, there are multiple models. Let’s walk through each and explain the differences between each.

Aerogarden Sprout

The Aerogarden Sprout is the only model that actually stands on its own. There aren’t upgrades, and the only other version of this is the two colors it comes in.

You can either get the Aerogarden Sprout in white or black plastic.

The Sprout is a great option for newer growers, or someone who hasn’t used an Aerogarden system before. You can still grow up to 3 plants, but since the lights only raise up to around 10 inches, it’s going to be challenging to grow some taller plants like tomatoes.

The Sprout will remind you when you need to add plant food by lighting up the top of the Aerogarden.

If you’re looking for a more “all-in-one” solution that will remind you to add water as well, you will want to upgrade to the Harvest family or above.

Aerogarden Harvest Family

With the Aerogarden Harvest family of gardens, you can grow up to 6 plants at once – that’s double what you get with the Aerogarden Sprout.

Within the Harvest Family, you have a few options to choose from:

If you have the extra money to spend on getting a better version of your garden, then the Harvest might be the right choice.

The Harvest family of Aerogarden’s improves on the Sprout by adding more pods, a taller grow height, and better reminders for both water level and adding plant food.

You can also get a nicer body made of stainless steel, instead of the cheaper plastic the Sprout comes with. This is a great option if your kitchen appliances are stainless steel and you don’t want your garden to stick out like a sore thumb.

Harvest 360 Models

The 360 designation on some of the Harvest models is related to the shape of the body. Instead of being oblong in shape, the 360 models are more circular. Other than that, the rest of the Aerogarden is the same.

For example, the Harvest Elite and the Harvest Elite 360 are the same, except for the shape. You’ll still get the same color choices, the same number of pods, and the same grow height.

Harvest Slim

The Harvest Elite and the Harvest Elite Slim are the same except for the shape. The Slim models come in at around 4.5 inches wide vs the typical 6.25 inches of the other Harvest models.

The Aerogarden Harvest Elite models do come with a vacation mode, as well, which I discuss more below in the Bounty family section.

Related: Comparison of the Aerogarden Harvest vs Aerogarden Harvest Elite

Aerogarden Bounty Family

The Aerogarden Bounty is where things get really interesting in my opinion. The Bounty family adds 9 seed pods, WiFi capabilities, the mobile app, and vacation mode.

WiFi & Mobile App

The Aerogarden Bounty models come with the ability for you to get water and nutrient reminders via your mobile phone. You just download the Aerogarden app, link it to your garden, and allow push notifications. Your phone will alert you when it’s time to add nutrients, water, and more.

You can also go in and check on your garden from anywhere to see how it’s doing – and if your spouse remembered to water your plants while you were away 🙂

Vacation Mode

If you travel quite a bit, you’re going to LOVE vacation mode. You can see how much people love this feature by reading some of the comments of an Aerogarden Bounty model.

Vacation mode lets you tell your Aerogarden that you won’t be home for at least a few days, and it will automatically change the light schedule for your plants. Instead of keeping the lights on for most of the day, it will just give the plants enough light to survive, instead of being in a rapid growth stage.

This helps make sure the plants don’t use up all the water while you’re gone and end up drying out and dying. Giving them less light means they won’t need as much water, and in turn they will survive without you there for up to 2 weeks. This will also slow plant growth so you won’t miss the “perfect” harvesting time for your fresh herbs and vegetables.

The Aerogarden Bounty Elite models come with a stainless steel finish as well to match your other appliances if that’s important to you.

Related: Comparison of the Bounty Basic vs Aerogarden Bounty Elite

Aerogarden Farm Family

If you’re a professional Aerogarden user, or want to grow a lot more plants at once, the Farm family might be the best Aerogarden models for you.

The Aerogarden Farm models give you up to 12-24 seed pods to grow at one time.

These Aerogarden models are much larger than the typical ones, and are built for growing a lot more plants at once. The Farm 24XL even includes two separate panels of full spectrum LED lights, so you can grow herbs on the left, and then later on plant a gourmet herb seed kit the right. You can raise and lower the two lights separately, which is great if you like

The Farms are also stackable, so you can stack one on top of the other to save some space.

If you have pets, you might want to consider that some of these models sit on the floor, and thus your dog might eat some of your tomatoes if you don’t keep these out of reach.

The farm models also come with a trellis to help your taller plants grow upward instead of falling over. This is a great option for growing tomatoes in your Aerogarden, as they tend to want to grow sideways instead of vertically.

The Farm XL Models

The XL in the model names designates a higher grow height. For the Farm models, that means a 36 inch grow height vs 24 inches.

What Can You Grow in an Aerogarden?

Every Aerogarden model comes with a starter pack of seed pods for you to choose from. The most common are salad greens, fresh herbs like basil and curly parsley, and tomatoes.

But you can also grow Aerogarden strawberries, lettuce, and more. Once you grow your starter packs, you can order more seed pod kits as well.

Or you can make your own DIY Aerogarden seed pods, which isn’t too difficult, and gives you the ability to grow pretty much anything (as long as the height of your lights is tall enough for that plant). This allows you to use your own seeds and decide which types of plants to grow, whether you want organic or not, etc.

What Else Do You Need to Buy?

Out of the box, Aerogardens have everything you need to grow plants, grow fresh herbs and more.

Eventually, you will need to buy additional items, like more liquid plant food, more seed kits, and some other items to make using your Aerogarden more convenient.

There are tons of Aerogarden hacks and accessories you can buy if you want to get more in depth with your growing. Take for example, the automated watering system:

You can also buy Aerogarden covers for helping with those blinding lights that are turned on for 16+ hours a day.

Which Model is the Best Aerogarden?

As you can see, there are tons of options to choose from. Hopefully this comparison helped you decide on the right indoor herb garden for you.

AeroGarden has been providing fresh, safe food options for over fifteen years and is the market leader for indoor hydroponic growing systems. You can leave practically every aspect of the growth process to the machine and just follow a few simple steps. These really are great for anyone who wants to get into indoor gardening.