Most people buying their first hydroponic garden are choosing between two things: the AeroGarden Bounty Basic and the AeroGarden Harvest. That’s basically the whole decision tree. Smaller budget or tighter counter space? You’re looking at the Harvest family. Want more pods and a bigger light? You’re probably eyeing the Bounty. But the pod count isn’t the only thing separating them, and in any honest AeroGarden Bounty vs Harvest comparison, the pricing structure is where things get genuinely complicated, because these units don’t always land in different price brackets the way you’d expect.
Let me explain what I mean.
What you’re actually choosing between
The AeroGarden Bounty Basic buy on Amazon runs around $180. It holds 9 pods, has a 30W LED grow light, a digital screen that tracks stats and gives you reminders, and a vacation mode for when you’re traveling. The light arm adjusts up to 24 inches, which matters a lot once your basil starts getting ambitious.
The Harvest side of the family has three versions. The AeroGarden Harvest Elite Stainless buy on Amazon is also around $180 and holds 6 pods with a 20W light. The standard Harvest (Black) buy on Amazon sits below it at a lower price point, same 6-pod setup. And then there’s the AeroGarden Harvest Lite buy on Amazon , which runs about $69 and is the stripped-down entry point: 6 pods, indicator lights instead of a digital display, no vacation mode listed anywhere in the specs.
So you’ve got a $69 option and two $180 options. That’s a strange spread.
AeroGarden Bounty Basic vs Harvest: where the pod count actually matters
Nine pods versus six. That sounds like a bigger difference than it usually is in practice.
For herbs, I’d argue six pods is plenty. I’ve had a 9-pod setup running with basil, mint, parsley, chives, thyme, dill, and two cherry tomato plants going at once, and honestly? The mint tried to eat everything. More pods just means more opportunities for one aggressive plant to crowd out the others. If you’re planning a pure herb garden, six pods is probably fine.
Where 9 pods actually makes a difference is if you want to mix plant types. Grow some herbs on one side and a couple of compact veggie varieties on the other. The Bounty’s larger water bowl and grow deck are built for that kind of setup, and the 30W light versus the Harvest Elite’s 20W genuinely shows when you’re growing anything that needs more intensity. Tomatoes, peppers, larger leafy plants. The Bounty is the better choice for those.
But if you’re a beginner who just wants fresh basil and maybe some cilantro, the extra pods are mostly noise. You’re not going to fill 9 pods right away and you probably don’t want to maintain that many plants at once while you’re still learning. I didn’t. I started with the Harvest and was glad for the smaller footprint.
The same-price problem: AeroGarden Bounty Basic vs Harvest Elite
This is the part that frustrates me. The Bounty Basic and the Harvest Elite Stainless are both sitting at roughly $180 at most retailers right now. And the Harvest Elite is the prettier unit. The stainless steel finish is noticeably nicer than the standard plastic black, and it’s more compact if counter space is your priority.
But it’s also 6 pods with a 20W light. At the same price as a 9-pod, 30W unit. That’s a hard sell.
The Harvest Elite makes sense if you specifically want the stainless look and you’re okay with the smaller capacity. It’s a style buy more than a performance buy. I know some people are going to buy it anyway because it looks good and their kitchen is already full of stainless appliances, and that’s a fine reason. But if you’re comparing specs on a spreadsheet, the Bounty Basic wins that matchup easily.
The Harvest Elite’s 4.2-star average from over 7,000 reviews is slightly lower than the Bounty Basic’s 4.5 from about 4,900. Not a huge gap, but it tracks with what I’ve seen in the forums: people who buy the Elite at Bounty prices tend to feel the pinch later when they realize they’re running fewer pods for the same cost.
The Harvest Lite: the one that actually competes differently
The Harvest Lite is the unit people underestimate. Under $75, 6 pods, cream finish, simple indicator lights. No digital display, no vacation mode in the listed specs. It’s the most basic version of this whole lineup.
And for certain people, it’s the right choice. Dorm rooms, small offices, someone who’s never grown anything hydroponically and wants to try it before committing. The Harvest Lite has over 21,000 reviews at 4.4 stars, which suggests a lot of people are getting what they expected from it.
I’d also say the indicator light system is actually less intimidating than a control panel if you’re completely new to this. There’s less to learn. Add water when the light tells you. Add nutrients on schedule. That’s it.
The one thing I’d flag: the Harvest Lite’s light is described as “energy-efficient” and detachable, which is nice, but the product doesn’t list a wattage. So I can’t tell you how it compares to the 20W in the Harvest Elite. If you’re planning to grow anything that needs more light intensity than herbs and compact lettuce, I’d be cautious. Lettuce tip burn in particular can be a headache with underpowered lights (there’s a longer post on that here if you want to go down that rabbit hole).
Verdict matrix
Here’s how I’d cut this for different situations. I’ve seen comparison tables in every other article on this topic and most of them are too complicated, so this is just the plain version:
Get the Harvest Lite if you’re brand new to hydroponics, your counter space is limited, and you want to try growing herbs without spending more than $70. It’s a good starter unit and the price is low enough that you won’t feel burned if it turns out indoor growing isn’t for you.
Get the Harvest or Harvest Elite if you have a specific reason to want the smaller footprint (under a cabinet, tight shelf, etc.) or you want the stainless steel look and that matters more to you than pod count. Just don’t buy the Elite at $180 if the Bounty Basic is the same price that week, check both.
Get the Bounty Basic if you want to grow more than herbs, you want a more powerful light, and you’re okay with the larger footprint. It’s the better long-term unit for anyone who’s past the beginner stage or who knows they want to grow tomatoes or peppers. The 30W light and 9 pods give you more room to experiment.
Skip the Harvest Elite at Bounty prices. If they’re the same price, there’s no good argument for 6 pods and 20W over 9 pods and 30W unless aesthetics are the whole point.
One thing nobody talks about: refill costs
Every AeroGarden unit locks you into the same pod refill ecosystem. That cost is the same whether you have 6 pods or 9. But filling 9 pods more frequently adds up faster. Over a year, the Bounty owner is spending more on pods than the Harvest owner, all else being equal.
You can use third-party pods and your own seeds, which I’ve done. It takes a little more fiddling but it works, and it cuts the ongoing cost a lot. Either way, factor that in before you decide the Bounty is dramatically better value. The upfront price gap is one thing. The pod prices are another.
The honest answer for most beginners is: start with the Harvest Lite or the standard Harvest, grow some basil, see if you like it. You can always upgrade. I went the other direction and bought the bigger unit first, which worked out, but I also had to rearrange half my kitchen shelf to make it fit, and my partner still mentions the light glow at 10pm when the timer hasn’t switched off yet. Start smaller if you’re not sure.