Some links in this post are affiliate links. I get a small cut if you buy, but it doesn’t cost you anything extra.
The price gap is the first thing anyone notices. The iDOO 12-pod sits under $80. The AeroGarden Harvest runs $100–$130 depending on where you catch it. That’s not nothing, especially when you’re buying a hydro kit for the first time and you genuinely don’t know yet if you’ll stick with it.
So the real question isn’t which one is “better” in some abstract sense. It’s whether the extra money buys you something you’ll actually notice.
Short answer: sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on what you’re growing and how seriously you’re taking this.
The hardware, side by side
The iDOO 7-pod buy on Amazon is the entry point if you’re just dipping a toe in, smaller footprint, fewer pods, fine for a windowsill situation. But the fair comparison is really the iDOO 12-pod buy on Amazon against the AeroGarden Harvest buy on Amazon or its updated version, the Harvest 2.0 buy on Amazon , since those are the ones most people are actually choosing between.
On paper, iDOO wins the specs race. Twelve pods versus six, a built-in fan (which matters more than people think), WiFi and app control on the 12-pod model, and the arm adjusts up to 11.3 inches. For under $80, that’s a lot of unit.
AeroGarden counters with… six pods. That’s it. No fan, no WiFi on the base Harvest, smaller grow area. On a spec sheet it looks like a clear loss.
But specs don’t tell the whole story here, and I’d be doing you a disservice if I pretended they did.
The light situation
This is where the gap actually shows up in the plants.
AeroGarden’s LEDs get consistently strong reviews for spectrum quality. Growers report faster germination and denser herb growth compared to similarly-priced competitors, and that tracks with what I’ve seen. The Harvest has been refined over multiple generations. They know what they’re doing with the light.
iDOO’s LED panel is adequate. Your basil will grow. But a few growers report that herbs tend to get a little leggy over time, especially in the 12-pod model where the light has to spread across a wider surface area. The arm only adjusts to 11.3 inches max, which gets tight once basil or mint really takes off.
It’s not a catastrophic difference for beginners. But if you’re growing anything that needs strong, consistent light, tomatoes, peppers, anything that isn’t a leafy herb, AeroGarden’s light quality is going to matter more as the weeks go on.
Pump system and water circulation
AeroGarden pumps nutrient water up to each individual pod. iDOO circulates the tank. Both work, but the per-pod delivery in AeroGarden setups tends to get better root aeration, especially at the edges of the unit where tank circulation can be weaker.
For herbs and lettuce, this is a minor point. For longer grows or anything with a bigger root mass, it becomes more relevant.
The pod ecosystem problem
Okay, this is the thing that actually drives me a little crazy about the iDOO side of this comparison.
iDOO doesn’t have a first-party seed pod catalog worth speaking of. You’re either buying generic third-party pods, buying blank sponges and sourcing your own seeds, or doing some version of DIY. That’s fine if you’re already a hydro person who has nutrient solution on hand and knows what sponge sizes fit. But for someone who just wants to plug in a kit and grow herbs? It adds friction.
AeroGarden’s seed pod catalog is the opposite situation. There are dozens of kits, herbs, salad greens, peppers, cherry tomatoes, flowers. They sell nutrients, replacement pods, everything. The pod prices are genuinely annoying (a 6-pod herb kit runs you around $15-20, which adds up fast), but at least the ecosystem exists. You can also use third-party pods or DIY with AeroGarden systems pretty easily, so you’re not locked in.
The pod prices being a ripoff is a real grievance. But the availability of official kits is a real advantage for beginners who don’t want to figure out nutrient ratios on week one.
Real-world grow results
Sometime last spring I had both a budget competitor and my AeroGarden Harvest running at the same time on my shelf. I was doing a side-by-side with basil and a mixed lettuce blend. The kitchen was kind of a mess at the time because we were in the middle of reorganizing and I had nowhere else to put anything, so the whole setup felt more chaotic than usual.
The lettuce was honestly pretty comparable in both systems for the first few weeks. After that, the AeroGarden edged ahead, fuller leaves, less tip burn, which I’ve written about separately because tip burn is its own rabbit hole (see how to grow lettuce in an AeroGarden without tip burn if you’re already dealing with that). The basil in the budget unit grew fine but got a bit stretched by week six or seven.
Could’ve been the light. Could’ve been the nutrients I was using. I’m genuinely not sure it was a fair test because of the kitchen chaos, so take that for what it’s worth.
The fan thing
The iDOO 12-pod has a built-in fan. AeroGarden Harvest does not.
Air circulation matters for indoor herbs, it strengthens stems and can reduce mold and mildew issues in humid environments. AeroGarden’s omission of a fan is a real design gap, and you’ll see people on Reddit recommending you point a small desk fan at your setup. Which works, but it’s a workaround for something iDOO just… built in.
If you end up ignoring the fan situation entirely and then wonder why your mint is getting weird or your basil has soft stems, I cannot help you. That’s on you. I did the same thing my first year.
App and smart features
The iDOO 12-pod has WiFi and an app. The AeroGarden Harvest does not, app connectivity is reserved for their pricier Bounty models.
The iDOO app is functional. It’s not slick, but you can check on your garden remotely, get reminders, and adjust settings. For under $80, having that at all is impressive.
This only matters if you actually use it. If you’re the type to forget to top up the water (hi, same), app reminders are genuinely useful. If you’re attentive, you’ll never open the app.
Verdict matrix
| Category | iDOO 12-pod | AeroGarden Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ✅ Under $80 | ❌ $100–$130 |
| Pod count | ✅ 12 pods | ❌ 6 pods |
| LED quality | ❌ Adequate | ✅ Strong |
| Built-in fan | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| App/WiFi | ✅ Yes (12-pod) | ❌ No (base Harvest) |
| Seed ecosystem | ❌ Third-party/DIY | ✅ Extensive catalog |
| Pump system | ❌ Tank circulation | ✅ Per-pod delivery |
| Build quality | ❌ Plasticky feel | ✅ More refined |
| Long-term reliability | ❓ Mixed reports | ✅ Established track record |
Build quality and long-term reliability
The iDOO units feel like what they are: budget hardware. The plastic has some flex to it. The reviews are generally positive for the first several months, but there are enough reports of pump issues and lights dying around the one-year mark that I’d treat it as a starter unit, not a forever unit.
AeroGarden has been making these things long enough that the Harvest-level units have a pretty solid track record. Not bulletproof, you’ll find complaints about any product if you look, but the baseline reliability is better.
Who should buy which one
Get the iDOO 12-pod if you’re genuinely not sure whether you’ll stick with indoor growing, you want more pods for the money, or you’ve grown hydroponically before and don’t mind sourcing your own pods and nutrients. It’s also a better pick if counter space is tight but you still want a real harvest, twelve pods of lettuce is a lot of salad.
Get the AeroGarden Harvest or Harvest 2.0 if you’re planning to grow consistently for a year or more, you want to just buy an official seed kit and not think about it, or you’ve killed plants before and want a system that’s been refined specifically to be forgiving. The light quality is genuinely better, and for herbs especially that compounds over time.
The Harvest 2.0 is worth the small premium over the original Harvest if you’re buying new, it’s the updated version and you might as well start with the current iteration.
One honest caveat: if you’re leaning toward AeroGarden specifically for lettuce, do yourself a favor and read up on tip burn before you start. It’s common in any indoor system, but there are easy fixes.
The price gap is real. So is the light quality gap. Which one matters more to you is actually a pretty reliable guide to which system you should buy.