The 10 Best Indoor Smart Gardens of 2023, Tested and Reviewed
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Your fruits and veggies can flourish all year long
The Spruce / Joy Kim
Fact checked by Yoona Wagener
You don't need a green thumb to grow fruits and veggies at home, year-round. An indoor smart garden allows you to grow fresh food anywhere from a grassy suburb to a city filled with skyscrapers. With one of these intuitive, plant-friendly appliances, you don't have to worry about your backyard's climate, a watering schedule, or if your sprouts are getting enough (or too much) of the right type of light.
Smart gardens take care of the specifics by "using a mix of red, white, and blue LEDs on a cycle to mimic natural light and boost growth," says Fiona Jenkins, MyJobQuote gardening expert. "Some have settings to adjust the lighting mix to specifically help vegetables, flowers, or fruit." Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities allow you to be a hands-on gardener even if you're not getting your hands dirty, by giving you the ability to make adjustments from an app on your phone.
We tested and researched dozens of indoor smart gardens to find the most user-friendly ones for your brand-new, in-home garden. Some are more spacious than others, so you can plant a leafier vegetable or a variety of produce, or use a hydroponic growing system (water-focused) versus an aeroponic (air-focused) one. The best one for you will have the settings, space, and versatility you need for your garden to thrive.
Save Today
You can dig into the world of indoor smart gardens for a lot less, because our "best features" pick the AeroGarden Bounty Elite, is currently 31% off on Amazon. We tested the AeroGarden Bounty Basic—a more basic model that was easy to set up and doesn't have smart features—and it's also currently 47% off on Amazon.
Best Overall: Click & Grow The Smart Garden 9 Pro
What We Like
Automatically waters your plants
Intuitive and helpful app
Comes with nine pods
What We Don't Like
Slow early growth cycles
Extension arms sold separately
The Click & Grow Smart Garden 9 PRO is an affordable, compact way to grow herbs, salad greens, or flowers with minimal effort. It holds nine seed pods, and you can extend its 13-watt LED light arm to increase the grow height up to 23.2 inches. (However, you need to buy these extension arms separately, which adds to the cost.) To make growing even easier, the Click & Grow automatically waters your plants, and its 1-gallon tank will last about two to three weeks, on average.
The accompanying Click & Grow app is intuitive and provides a huge amount of information about the plants and their growing habits, as well as water and light controls and alerts. Instead of using a classic hydroponic system, Click & Grow gardens use Capillary Precision Irrigation (CPI). CPI technology helps control moisture in the soil by doling out water and nutrients at certain intervals that are best for the plants. An automated timer controls the lights, which you can preset to go on and off in line with sunlight. The grow light schedule is also adjustable in the app, or you can use hand gestures to turn these lights on and off.
While we didn't test this specific model, we did test the Click & Grow The Smart Garden 3 for three months. In the kit, we found three basil pods and a system that was incredibly easy to set up. We did wish that the smart garden came with more indicators; the water level indicator is particularly easy to miss, though the basil was thriving after the initial growth spurt occurred. We thought it looked the healthiest and tastiest compared to other options we tested. Ultimately, The Smart Garden 3 proved to be a gardener's in-home BFF, and a smart garden you could set up on a kitchen countertop for basic, no-nonsense gardening.
In comparison, the Click & Grow Smart Garden 9 PRO is certainly larger and more involved, coming with nine plant pods: three tomato, three basil, and three green lettuce. But, it offers the same easy app experience—making it a versatile and user-friendly choice for most.
Price at time of publish: $290
Dimensions: 23.6 x 7.5 x 15.8 inches | System Type: Capillary Precision Irrigation (CPI) | Grow Lights: 13-watt LEDs | Connectivity: Bluetooth
Best Budget: VIVOSUN Z206 Wifi Control Smart Garden
What We Like
Extendable arm
Built-in fans keep flies and other insects at bay
Observation window
What We Don't Like
Chunky design
Temperamental Wi-Fi connection
The VIVOSUN Z206 growing system is the most affordable way to get a smart garden without sacrificing advanced features. The 21-watt LED grow light arm extends to a maximum height of 21.3 inches. Fans, fitted alongside the light, mimic wind to discourage flies or other bugs in the area from gathering and also disperse heat.
The 7-liter water tank has an observation window, allowing you to check levels manually or via the app. Having such a large tank means the water will last around a month, although it does make the VIVOSUN hydroponic growing system a little bulky. In our experience, the Wi-Fi was temperamental, and we often had to re-pair our phone to the system. However, the technical difficulties didn’t seem to impact the plants.
Price at time of publish: $90
Dimensions: 13.8 x 10 x 21.3 inches | System Type: Hydroponic | Grow Lights: 21-watt LEDs | Connectivity: Wi-Fi
Best Splurge: Natufia Smart Garden
What We Like
Integrated design
Automatic climate control
Grows 32 plants at one time
What We Don't Like
Not suitable for small spaces
Not suitable for beginners
The Natufia Smart Garden is a great indoor garden for serious and seasoned green-thumbed enthusiasts. Its large, vertical growing chamber integrates with your kitchen cupboards and appliances. It houses a nursery for seedlings at the bottom of the unit, and when these seedlings reach a certain level of maturity, you can move them into the main chamber.
From here, you can grow 32 different plants at one time. The Natufia Smart system constantly monitors the water levels, humidity, and temperature, helping create the optimum climate for your plants to thrive. It does this alongside time-release nutrients and pH tanks. Plus, thanks to Wi-Fi connectivity, you can monitor all of your buds via the touchscreen or app on your phone. While this system is a true investment that's not suited to all spaces, gardening levels, or budgets, the full-spectrum LED lights and hydroponic system is just right for those looking to dig deeper into their existing hobby. Just know: you must reserve your unit first. A hefty $1,000 down payment is required, but refundable if you change your mind. If you want to go through with it, this down payment is also applied to the final retail price. The retail price includes the unit, and not delivery, installation, or sales tax.
Price at time of publish: $9,995, $1,000 reservation fee (which can be applied to retail price)
Dimensions: 23.3 x 23.2 x 79.5 | System Type: Hydroponic | Grow Lights: Full-spectrum LEDs | Connectivity: Wi-Fi
Best Vertical: Gardyn Home Kit 2.0
What We Like
Grows 30 plants at one time
Remote monitoring
Good value
What We Don't Like
Can only be used with Gardyn seed pods
AI features only available via subscription
With the Gardyn 2.0 Vertical Indoor Garden, you can grow up to 30 plants in spaces as small as 2 square feet, thanks to the smart garden's height-friendly design. Two rows of 60-watt LED lights, each fitted with 15 pods, extend vertically out of the 6-gallon water tank. These pods hold individual Gardyn yCubes growing pots that contain your seeds. You can buy yCubes in a variety of options or purchase empty ones to put your own seeds in.
Sensors inside the tank monitor water levels, temperature, and humidity. You can also view the readings on the Gardyn app, where you get alerts when the system needs attention. Two cameras also let you remotely check in on the progress of your plants. Though, you do need a membership if you want more monitoring assistance from Gardyn’s AI assistant Kelby. However, this subscription provides plant coaching from Kelby and 10 yCubes to use toward a selection of over 50 plants a month.
We tested the Gardyn 3.0 Indoor Garden & Vertical Garden Planter, which is the newest version of this indoor garden. The difference? The Gardyn 3.0 is supposedly easier to set up, thanks to a streamlined design that is not dependent on tools or screws. In our experience, the planter still took around 15 to 20 minutes to set up, which isn't terrible, but the improved LED light strips proved to be the trickiest part. Nonetheless, our plants thrived, even though we weren't able to access all of the membership features. Gardyn fans in a very active Facebook group noted that the membership features are worth it, though, despite the extra cost. Ultimately, we recommend the Gardyn 2.0 because it costs significantly less than the Gardyn 3.0, so you can potentially splurge on the membership.
Price at time of publish: $595
Dimensions: 24 x 12 inches x 64 inches | System Type: Hybriponic | Grow Lights: 60-watt LEDs | Connectivity: Wi-Fi
The 10 Best Grow Lights of 2023, Tested and Reviewed
Best for Small Spaces: ēdn SmallGarden
What We Like
Time-release plant food
LED grow lights can act as a desk lamp
Good value
What We Don't Like
Not suited for third-party seeds
Only works with iOS
The Edn SmallGarden combines style with substance and ease of use. Its soft-gray handle and wooden base, which houses a row of 9-watt LED lights, resembles a miniature flower bed. Its compact size is big enough to accommodate ten soilless, biodegradable SeedPods, but small enough to fit on desktops. The lights are soft enough to double as a lamp, too.
Due to the unique size and shape of SeedPods and how they slowly release nutrients with each watering, it’s not possible to use third-party seeds in this hydroponic garden. The tracking features on the Edn iOS app—which let you monitor water levels, adjust the light, and watch which plants are growing in which pods—are also only accurate when used with SeedPods. Unfortunately, there is no Android app yet. Notably, the indoor smart garden comes with 10 basil pods, though, to get you started, and there are 18 different options on the Edn site of other pods you can buy and try. Plus, this compact garden comes at a low price compared to the others on this list.
Price at time of publish: $200
Dimensions: 16 x 6 x 11 inches | System Type: Hydroponics | Grow Lights: 9-watt LEDs | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Apple HomeKit, Siri
Best Features: AeroGarden Bounty Elite
What We Like
Powerful lights mimic full spectrum of sunlight
App, voice, and touchscreen controls
Extendable lamp arm
What We Don't Like
Only grows nine plants at a time
Not suitable for third-party seeds
Large, heavy design
With dimmable, 50-watt LEDs that mimic the full spectrum of light from sunrise to sunset, the AeroGarden Bounty Elite provides conditions to grow plants up to five times faster than in soil. It only has space for nine plants, but thanks to an extendable lamp arm, it offers a growth height of 24 inches. This allowance makes it well-suited to growing tall plants such as tomatoes and bell peppers.
You can monitor and control the Bounty Elite from the AeroGarden app and via any Amazon Alexa-compatible device. You can use voice commands to check your garden’s status or turn its lights on or off. The touchscreen built into the unit also shows water levels and grow times, alongside access to light controls and garden tips. If you opt for this indoor smart garden, simply be aware that you can't use third-party seeds and the design of it is also quite large and heavy. You'll want to place it in its forever home.
We tested the more simple version of this planter, the AeroGarden Bounty Basic. The Bounty Basic comes at a much lower price, but is not a smart model. It doesn't have Wi-Fi connectivity or a touchscreen, eliminating all kinds of features for those who want a more hands-on experience. We did love that setup took only about five minutes as a result, and that the appliance was really self-sufficient. It's a great model for beginners. However, if you're a more expert-level gardener or want a smart indoor garden, opt for the Bounty Elite.
Price at time of publish: $430
Dimensions: 17.25 inches x 11.25 inches x 34 inches | System Type: Hydroponic | Grow Lights: 50-watt dimmable LEDs | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Amazon Alexa
The Best Tomato Cages for Your Garden
Best Design: AVA Byte Automated Indoor Garden
What We Like
AI-powered growing light
Multiple smart sensors and cameras
Inspired by NASA technology
What We Don't Like
Temperamental Alexa connection
As a former Good Design Award winner, the AVA Byte is a sleek, compact countertop garden. It uses what it calls a plant-specific extendable growing light. This light uses AI to adjust its spectrum and intensity based on what you’ve planted and the growth stage. The brand claims NASA technology used on the International Space Station’s garden is the inspiration for this functionality.
This model includes humidity and water-level sensors in the base and a high-definition camera, for recording plant growth and checking in on your garden via the app when you’re away from home. This app flags any issues, offers tips, and sends harvest alerts. You can also ask Alexa to check in on your plants, although this connection often dropped out during testing.
Price at time of publish: $399
Dimensions: 21.7 x 7.4 inches x 18.5 inches | System Type: Hydroponics | Grow Lights: 31-watt LEDs | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Alexa, Google Assistant
Best for Beginners: Rise Gardens Personal Garden and Starter Kit
What We Like
Helpful instructions included
Modular design
Can receive notifications for watering
What We Don't Like
Lacks style
Only fits up to 8 plants
The Rise Gardens growing system is not as compact or as stylish as other smart gardens on this list, but it’s a great choice for indoor gardening beginners. It takes no more than 10 minutes to get set up, and the app, as well as the booklet included in the box, offers the most helpful detail and growing advice of any we’ve used—without overwhelming the user.
You get notifications when it’s time to add water or nutrients, and you can monitor pH levels and adjust the schedule of the built-in 60-watt LED grow lights via your phone. Rise Gardens are modular and the Personal Garden is the smallest option, with space for eight seed pods. However, if you want to expand, you can then add more modules, vertically, to grow up to 12 plants at one time.
Price at time of publish: $350
Dimensions: 18 x 11 x 16 inches | System Type: Hydroponics | Grow Lights: 60-watt LEDs | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Alexa
Best for Herbs: iDOO 7 Pods Mini Hydroponics Growing System
What We Like
Highly customizable controls
Fan disperses heat and keeps bugs away
Good value
What We Don't Like
Connection issues
Bulky design
You can grow almost anything in the iDOO Hydroponics Growing System—from veggies to fruits and flowers. We’ve had the most success using it to grow an herb garden. Even if the outer casing is a little on the bulky side, it offers enough root space for the herbs to flourish and enough growth space for you to harvest 12 different batches at a time.
Its extendable arm allows you to adjust the height (up to 14.5 inches) depending on the types of herbs or other seeds planted. Alongside its 22-watt grow light is a fan that helps disperse heat, increases pollination, and keeps bugs at bay. You can monitor and control all of these features via the app. In our first-hand experience with this model, we struggled to get connected to Wi-Fi at first, but once connected, it was stable.
Price at time of publish: $80
Dimensions: 13.8 x 10.24 x 13.39 inches | System Type: Hydroponics | Grow Lights: 22-watt LEDs | Connectivity: Wi-Fi
The 8 Best Herb Garden Kits of 2023
Best for Microgreens: Modern Sprout Smart Growhouse
What We Like
Greater control over features
Suitable for all seeds
Three LED light levels
What We Don't Like
Manual watering
Limited planting space
If you’re interested in growing microgreens, we recommend the Modern Sprout Smart Growhouse. Microgreens are relatively easy to grow indoors, but they do require specific water and light levels. The payoff is young, leafy greens full of nutrients on tap. To give you greater control over these conditions, the Smart Growhouse offers three, full-spectrum, LED light levels—partial shade, partial sun, and full sun.
The app allows you to control the light level, which means you can introduce delicate seedlings to less light at the start, before gradually increasing intensity as they mature. In this way, it mimics the light and shade a plant may receive outside. Instead of seed pods, the watertight planter holds pots where you can plant any seeds of your choice. The Growhouse doesn’t have an automatic watering tank, so you need to water plants manually—but this helps prevent overwatering.
Price at time of publish: $239
Dimensions: 16.5 x 5.5 x 15.8 inches | System Type: Hydroponics | Grow Lights: Full-spectrum dimmable LEDs | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Alexa
Final Verdict
For an indoor smart garden, the Click & Grow Smart Garden 9 PRO is our top pick because it's both versatile and user-friendly. During testing, we enjoyed the Click & Grow The Smart Garden 3. It had an easy to use app and was great for no-nonsense gardening. The PRO offers the same app, while additionally providing some more advanced features. We like how it comes with nine pods and can also automatically water your plants. If you want to spend less, try the VIVOSUN Z206 system. You can enjoy an observation window and built-in fans that keep pests at bay, all for a lower price.
How We Tested the Indoor Smart Gardens
We tested several indoor gardens (smart or not) at home, each over several months. During our tests, we took notes on the setup of each garden, evaluated the clarity of the provided instructions, and documented any connection issues we faced. We compared what is included with each garden system and tried out the different features like automatic watering, LED light adjusting, and in-app gardening guidance.
While using a garden, we noted growth rates, the noise level of the appliance when it's running and watering your plant, and the final product quality. To wrap testing, we considered the ease of use, ease of cleaning, and value of the indoor gardens, so we can recommend the very best picks for beginners and experts alike.
What to Look for in an Indoor Smart Garden
Growing System
Instead of using soil, most indoor smart gardens use a growing system known as hydroponics. Instead of soil, plants grow in pods that contain water-based, nutrient-rich solutions. By putting the roots in direct contact with the nutrients they need, they mature up to five times faster than traditional growing methods.
Other types of growing systems are available, including aeroponics, hybriponics, and Capillary Precision Irrigation (CPI). With aeroponics, the water and nutrients are aerated and circulate vertically. Hybriponics is Gardyn’s proprietary system which combines the aeroponics circulation method with hydroponic solutions. CPI technology was developed by Click & Grow and is an irrigation method that helps control moisture in the soil, distributing water and nutrients in mediated amounts at specific times. You can find CPI technology in our "best overall" indoor smart garden, the Click & Grow Smart Garden 9 PRO.
Size
Most indoor smart gardens will fit on a shelf, countertop, or windowsill. As a result, they typically measure around 10 to 20 inches long and up to 20 inches high. Vertical gardens—including our "best vertical" pick, the Gardyn 2.0 Vertical Indoor Garden—maximize space by growing vertically. A growing number of mini gardens are also on the market—such as Edn's SmallGarden, our "best for small spaces" pick—that cram a lot of tech into a small frame and are best suited for the tightest of spaces.
"Indoor smart gardens are usually quite small, but that doesn't mean you can't grow much in them," notes Fiona Jenkins, MyJobQuote gardening expert. If you're hoping to grow taller plants, like tomatoes and bell peppers, you will need extra headroom, so look for indoor smart gardens with extendable grow light arms or tall designs, such as our "best smart features" pick, the AeroGarden Bounty Elite.
Control Options
All of the smart indoor gardens we researched have both hands-on and hands-off experience to allow you to control the grow lights schedule via a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth-connected app. Some gardens and accompanying apps let you set which spectrum and intensity of light you use at different times of the day. Others give you greater control over the release of nutrients and water. Gardens with built-in sensors and cameras allow you to check in on your plants remotely, and you can control those that are Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant-compatible via your voice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a smart garden?
A smart garden is an appliance that uses technology (including apps), growing systems (such as hydroponics or smart irrigation setups), and LEDs that mimic the sun to help monitor, automate, and improve plant growth with little expertise from the grower.
“The LED lighting works in combination with the watering and feeding systems to boost growth, so plants are more likely to grow and grow quickly,” says Jenkins. The idea is to make it easier to successfully grow herbs, microgreens, soft fruits, flowers, and more while saving time, space, and overall effort. “Even in a basic model there’s usually a mix of automatic and user-friendly functions, so even if you’re not green-fingered or are quite forgetful, your plants should still survive,” says Jenkins.
Is an indoor garden worth it?
“An indoor garden is worth it if you like the idea of growing your own food, but don’t have much time or space to do it,” says Jenkins. “People who like their gadgets will also find an indoor smart garden entertaining to use.” However, Jenkins warns that indoor gardens with smart features can be pricey and require a power source to operate. “Plus, you only get a small amount of growing space, so they’re not for everyone,” adds Jenkins. Ultimately, a more experienced garden may enjoy an outdoor setup over an indoor one.
What can you grow in an indoor smart garden?
Despite their often compact size and limited capacity, you can grow a wide variety of plants in an indoor smart garden. This list includes “herbs, leafy greens, soft fruits, and compact vegetable plants such as cherry tomatoes,” according to Jenkins. You can also grow flowers in smart gardens. The only limit that comes into play is many smart garden manufacturers don't allow third-party seeds, meaning you’re restricted to planting only the seeds they sell.
Why Trust The Spruce?
Victoria Woollaston is a freelance science, technology, and lifestyle editor with more than a decade’s experience testing and reviewing consumer products. She’s had first-hand experience using a range of both indoor and outdoor smart gardens and grows herbs and vegetables for her family.
To learn more about the different types of indoor smart gardens, including which specifications are most important, Woollaston spoke with MyJobQuote gardening expert Fiona Jenkins. Using her expert insights, she narrowed down the best indoor smart gardens to those that suit most living spaces and people with a range of gardening experience and budgets. Each one offers Wi-Fi or Bluetooth compatibility at a minimum, and comes with an accompanying app that offers remote control over the lights and other features.
Marisa Viglione is the senior commerce editor for appliances, cleaning, organization, and home tech for The Spruce. She contributed testing insights to this piece, and wrote about our experience with several of the products we recommend—and ones adjacent to them.
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