Eight weeks is long enough to know which countertop garden you’d actually want to keep and which one you’d quietly donate. I ran basil, mint, and cilantro through all three of these systems starting sometime last fall, right around when we were rearranging the kitchen and the counter situation was already chaotic. Not ideal timing. But I got real numbers out of it, and I have a genuine opinion now, which is what this post is about.
The short version: iDOO wins on price, AeroGarden wins on everything else, and Click & Grow is fine but I wouldn’t buy it again. Let me explain all of that.
What you’re actually comparing here
These three brands do the same basic thing, hold seed pods over water, shine lights on them, grow herbs without soil, but they’re aimed at slightly different people and the ongoing costs are wildly different. That ongoing cost thing is what most comparison posts skip over, and it’s the part that matters most if you’re planning to use this longer than two months.
The units I ran:
- iDOO 12-Pod buy on Amazon , around $50-60 depending on sales
- AeroGarden Harvest buy on Amazon , around $100
- Click & Grow Smart Garden 9, around $130
And I want to mention the AeroGarden Harvest Lite buy on Amazon here too, because at ~$69 it’s relevant to anyone who finds the full Harvest a bit steep. Same 6-pod capacity, simpler aesthetic (that cream finish is genuinely nice-looking), and it strips out some features to hit that lower price point. More on it in a second.
Setup
The iDOO took maybe 15 minutes and genuinely surprised me. Fill the reservoir, drop in the pods, plug it in, set the timer. The built-in fan is a nice touch, most budget systems skip that entirely, and air circulation matters more than beginners expect. You’re going to ignore the fan advice and then wonder why you have tip burn. I know because I did the same thing on my first grow.
AeroGarden Harvest setup is nearly identical in time, but the guided light schedule and the water/feed indicator light make it slightly more beginner-proof. You don’t have to remember when to add nutrients, the thing tells you. That’s not flashy, but if you’re new to this, it genuinely matters.
Click & Grow was the fastest setup of the three, maybe 10 minutes. Pod design is clever. But the trade-off is you’re fully locked into their proprietary pods, which brings me to the part I keep getting annoyed about.
Pod cost over time, the part nobody talks about clearly enough
This is where the real comparison lives.
| System | Pod count | Proprietary pods? | Approx. pod cost | Open to 3rd party? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iDOO 12-Pod | 12 | No | ~$0.50-1.00 DIY | Yes |
| AeroGarden Harvest | 6 | Semi | ~$3-5 per pod | Partial |
| Click & Grow Smart Garden 9 | 9 | Yes | ~$3-6 per pod | No |
The iDOO is the winner here by a wide margin. You can use generic net cups and your own seeds, I’ve done it with a 50-pack of basil seeds from a garden store and a bag of hydroton. Total cost for a full replant was maybe $4. AeroGarden pods are pricier, but AeroGarden does sell a “Grow Anything” kit that lets you use your own seeds, which I appreciate. It’s a partial out.
Click & Grow pods are a ripoff and everyone who’s been using the system for more than a few months eventually figures this out. You’re paying for convenience, and the selection is limited. There’s no real workaround.
Herb yield after 8 weeks
Basil was my main test plant because it grows fast enough to show real differences.
The iDOO surprised me here. With 12 pods, I had basil coming in hard by week four, and by week eight I was harvesting about twice a week. The light isn’t the strongest I’ve ever grown under, and I did notice the plants were reaching a bit toward the end before I adjusted the height. Adjustable up to 11.3 inches, which is fine for herbs but you’d be pushing it with anything that wants to get tall.
The AeroGarden Harvest was more consistent. Fewer pods (6 vs 12), but the plants were stockier and the growth felt steadier week to week. Less stretching, better branching. I think the light panel is better calibrated for the pod count. At week eight, my basil was genuinely lush in a way that the iDOO plants weren’t quite matching individually, even if the iDOO had more total volume.
Click & Grow basil was the slowest. Good plant health, no complaints there, but I wasn’t getting meaningful harvests until week five. The light cycle isn’t adjustable, which is the limitation. What you get is what you get.
Cilantro was a mess in all three systems, honestly. I don’t know if it’s just a difficult herb for hydroponics or if I was doing something wrong. Mint absolutely exploded in the iDOO, to the point where I had to cut it back aggressively to keep it from taking over the pods next to it.
Build quality and the long-term ownership question
The AeroGarden Harvest feels like it’s built to last. I’ve had my main AeroGarden for two and a half years and it still works the same as day one. That’s real.
The iDOO is decent for the price. Plastic feels a little thinner, and I’ve seen a few posts on the hydro subreddits mentioning pump issues after extended use. My unit has been fine so far, but I’m also not counting on it to last three years. The bigger concern I keep seeing flagged, and I think it’s a legitimate one, is the proprietary light panel. If the LED dies, you’re not swapping in a replacement from the hardware store. You’re buying a new unit. That’s not a small thing.
Click & Grow build quality is actually solid. Better physical construction than iDOO. But the pod lock-in offsets that for me.
The Harvest Lite question
The AeroGarden Harvest Lite buy on Amazon is worth thinking about if the full Harvest is out of your budget. At around $69, it gets you the same 6-pod capacity and the same basic light timer system. What you give up: a few of the smarter features, and you’re buying seed pod kits separately.
The cream finish is genuinely pretty, for whatever that’s worth. My partner, who has complained approximately one hundred times about the blue glow of my main AeroGarden at night, actually said this one looked nice. That’s not nothing. If it was going to sit on a kitchen counter rather than my dedicated grow shelf, I’d probably go for the Lite over the standard Harvest.
The 4.4 stars across over 21,000 reviews isn’t an accident. It’s a good product.
Who should buy what
You want to run a lot of herbs and you’re comfortable tinkering with your own seeds and nutrients: get the iDOO. The 12-pod capacity is genuinely useful, the open pod system saves you real money over time, and $50-60 is a reasonable entry point. Just know you’re trading some build quality and possibly some longevity.
You want the most reliable, well-supported system with the best grow results and you don’t mind paying more: AeroGarden Harvest. The ecosystem isn’t perfect and the proprietary pods cost more than they should, but this is the one I’d trust to keep working in two years.
You’re buying this as a gift and want something that looks nice and requires zero thinking: Click & Grow. It’s not the value winner, it’s not the yield winner, but it’s dead simple and it won’t intimidate someone who’s never grown anything before.
The Harvest Lite is the buy I’d make if I were starting fresh today on a tighter budget and didn’t need more than 6 pods. Strong light, reliable brand, lower price, and honestly the better-looking unit.
One thing I’ll say: if you go with iDOO, do yourself a favor and don’t cheap out on nutrients. I’ve had yellowing leaves with General Hydroponics Flora Series at full strength, 1/4 dose works much better for basil, and I imagine the same goes for most herbs in a smaller reservoir system. Start weak and work up. You can always add more; you can’t un-yellow a leaf.
Some links in this post are affiliate links. I get a small cut if you buy, but it doesn’t cost you anything extra.
