The Best 4 Indoor Herb Gardens for Fresh Herbs Year-Round

Confession: I do not have a green thumb. Years ago, a coworker shamed me when they found out I didn’t have any plants in my home. So, the following weekend, my husband and I went to the local plant shop and told the clerk, “We’d like a plant we can’t kill.” It lasted about a month before it died. 

But indoor herb gardens are supposed to be impossible ot mess up, and if anyone can put that claim to the test, it's me. I love fresh herbs, but I rarely use the entire clamshell or bundle of store-bought herbs before they go bad. Indoor herb gardens offer a solution, allowing you to harvest the herbs you need—and only the amount you need—year-round. After reviewing indoor gardens a few years ago, I fell in love with the AeroGarden Harvest Elite. I recently tested a handful of new competitors, and while I found some great new options, the Elite still reigns supreme.

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Indoor Herb Garden

AeroGarden Harvest Elite

$120 $65 at Amazon View on Aerogarden.com

AeroGarden is the leader in indoor herb gardens. And the AeroGarden Harvest Elite is a standout. Setup was easy, and the digital screen tells you how long ago you started your garden as well as when to add more water or plant food. It also featured a variety of options for different types of plants and a “vacation mode” that uses less water and light when you're away for extended periods.

Another Great Indoor Herb Garden

iDOO 12 Pods Indoor Herb Garden Kit

$100 at Amazon View on Walmart View on Home Depot

The iDoo Hydroponic Growing System requires you to add seeds to the individual pods. Though this is more work (other models come with seeds), it allows you to customize the herb garden with whatever herbs you want to grow. Herbs germinated quickly and grew fast under the iDoo's light.

The Best Indoor Herb Garden for Beginners

ēdn SmallGarden

$200 $130 at Amazon View on Apple View on Edntech.com

The EDN has handsome wood panels and makes growing indoor herbs easy. Plant food was built into the pre-seeded pods, and all I needed to do was add water.

The Best Small Indoor Herb Garden

Click & Grow The Smart Garden 3

$100 at Amazon $100 at Sur La Table $100 at Nordstrom

The Click & Grow Herb Garden was a sleek, compact three-pod system that was easy to set up and took up little space on my countertop. Like the EDN garden, plant food was already in the pods, so I just needed to pop the pre-seeded pods into the unit and add water.

The Tests

• Herb Test: I set up each indoor herb garden, following the manufacturer's instructions, and took note of the user experience of installing, maintaining, and harvesting herbs. I recorded how long it took for the herbs to grow, as well as how easy it was to add water and/or plant food. I made sure to use at least one Genovese basil seed or pod in each unit to compare how the same herb grew in different gardens.
• Cleaning Test: I thoroughly cleaned each unit after an entire grow cycle to see how difficult it was to clean and maintain the garden over long-term use.
• Usability Tests: I evaluated displays, buttons, and how easy it was to know when to water the herbs. I tested any apps that came with units and researched what sort of additional pods or plants were available for each model.

What We Learned

How Do Indoor Herb Gardens Work?

Indoor herb gardens are a great way to grow fresh herbs, vegetables, and even flowers inside. Some gardens, like the EDN Small Garden, Click & Grow, and AeroGarden Harvest Elite, come with pods or cartridges in which seeds are already included. Other gardens, like the iDoo, Ahopegarden, and GardenCube, require you to purchase seeds first and add them yourself.

Once you’ve set up the device, add the pods and water to the unit and plug it in. Some gardens come with nutrients that need to go in the water, while others have nutrients built into the pods or cartridges. All herb gardens have lights, meaning they can be used anywhere indoors, and they don’t need to be placed near a window. Usually, each pod has a dome that helps the seeds to germinate. Once they’ve germinated, remove the dome and watch the herbs grow.

All of the Indoor Herb Gardens Were Easy to Use

Indoor herb gardens are the garden equivalent of a Keurig or Nespresso machine—all you need to do is pop a pod or cartridge in, add water, and plug it in. Most of the herb gardens were easy to set up, though some required more work than others. This might involve adding your own seeds to the sponge, germinating the seeds with a plastic cap over the pod, or adding nutrients to the water.

Maintenance is also fairly laid back, requiring you to just add more water or nutrients as needed. The grow lights cycle on and off with minimal need to manually adjust them. Occasionally, you need to clean the tank to remove algae and other debris, as well as prune the plants and remove overgrown roots. However, the amount of work required is minimal, with some units even alerting you via a flashing button, screen, or app notification when water or plant food is needed.

What’s the Best Size for an Indoor Herb Garden?

One of the great things about having an indoor garden is the ability to have fresh herbs with minimal effort; no sweating, weeding, or bugs. But they’re only useful if they fit in your space. Larger indoor gardens, like the Click & Grow Smart Garden 9, Rise Gardens, and AeroGarden Bounty Elite, have anywhere from nine to 12 slots that allow you to grow different herbs and vegetables. They can vary in size, ranging from 16 to 24 inches in length—a bit larger than a bread box.

But not everyone has room for a large indoor garden. If you have a limited amount of space, you can get a smaller unit, like the Click & Grow 3 Pod Indoor Garden, which takes up minimal room. Its slim footprint is thinner than a loaf of grocery store sandwich bread, and it has three slots for growing herbs.

Grow Light Height Was Important

A lot of the herb gardens I tested had adjustable lights that I could move up and down, depending on how tall the vegetation grew. This was important because the taller the plant, the higher you need to adjust the lights. Most of my favorite herb gardens offered this option, including the iDoo and the AeroGarden Harvest Elite. Both had a telescopic arm that allowed me to raise the light. The Click & Grow had arm extensions I could add in. 

The only winning herb garden that had a fixed light height was the EDN SmallGarden. The light was strong enough to germinate and sprout the seeds, but also tall enough to allow the herb to grow abundantly. The lack of adjustment made it beginner-friendly, as there was one less modification needed during the growth cycle.

No Indoor Herb Garden Was Foolproof

When I mentioned that herb gardens were foolproof, I meant practically foolproof. Because plants are living things, there are often variables outside human and machine control. Almost all of the seeds sprouted in the herb gardens I tested, but a few didn’t. This could be because of user error, like planting quick-growing herbs (like parsley or dill) next to slower-growing herbs like rosemary. The faster-growing herbs hogged the light, casting shadows and making the slower-growing plants wither and die.

Other environmental factors, like placing the unit too close to an open window, or near a hot environment like the stove or oven, could cause a growing failure. And if you use your own seeds (as opposed to ones that come with the kit), it’s possible the seeds may not be viable. Old seeds or improperly stored seeds don’t always germinate. Some companies, like Click & Grow, EDN, and Aerogarden, guarantee that their pre-seeded pods will grow. If they don’t germinate, contact their customer support for further details on how to get your pod replaced.

What's the Difference Between Hydroponic and Soil-Based Indoor Gardens?

Soil-based indoor gardens grow herbs and plants the same way they do in outdoor gardens: The seed is supported in the soil, which acts as a conduit for water. A hydroponic garden uses water without the soil! The plants will either live in nutrient-rich water or be surrounded by fibers and soil above the water system. In both cases, you'll need to supplement their nutrients with artificial sunlight, like grow lamps. All of the indoor gardens I tested come with grow lights.

The Criteria: What to Look for in an Indoor Herb Garden

The best indoor herb gardens have simple setups, germinate seeds quickly, grow fast, and are relatively easy to maintain and clean up. It's also nice if they tell you when to prune and where to place herbs for best success. (For example, fast-growing herbs shouldn't be right next to slow-growing herbs or they'll block the light, killing the slower plants.) Indoor gardens should have adjustable-height lights or be fixed to the right height so the plants have enough light to germinate and grow without crowding the light. Depending on the size of your home and your lifestyle, look at the herb garden's size and features, like whether you want to plant different seeds, desire a vacation mode, or need a mobile app to remind you to water and feed your garden.

Our Favorite Indoor Herb Gardens

The Best Indoor Herb Garden

AeroGarden Harvest Elite

$120 $65 at Amazon View on Aerogarden.com

What we liked: I tested multiple AeroGardens and found the Harvest Elite to be a happy medium: moderate in size with space for six plants, giving you a variety of herbs without creating a veritable jungle.

Like the other AeroGarden models, the Elite's setup was easy: just drop the provided pods into the openings and add water and plant food. Unlike some of the cheaper models, though, there is a digital display. Once you plug it in, you have to set the clock and choose the mode you want. Each of these modes cycles the lights on for different periods of time. Growing plants like flowers, vegetables, salads, and herbs requires varying amounts of light. You can also set a custom mode, which allows you to turn the lights on and off whenever you want. I found one of the more useful modes to be the vacation mode, which uses less water and only turns the light on for shorter periods, so the plants don’t grow as fast when I am traveling or cooking less.

The digital screen also tells you when you need to add water or plant food, as well as how long it has been since you started the garden. Once a month, you need to clean out the bottom water well to make sure no algae or other undesirable growth is happening. However, this is easily done: The top of the unit comes off, allowing you to empty and wipe out the inside.

What we didn’t like: In late 2024, AeroGarden announced it was shutting down. That’s why I tested more herb gardens! But in early 2025, the company announced it was relaunching. This model is still available, and AeroGarden’s website says it will continue to support all models.

While I found the setup to be easy, there was very little documentation or instructions that came with the garden. Thankfully, there are plenty of YouTube videos and blogs that show you how to use the Harvest Elite and its various settings.

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 10.5 x 6.125 x 11 inches
• Comes with: Pod garden unit with LED grow lights, 6 pod seed kit, grow domes, plant food, power adapter
• Number of pods: 6
• Warranty: 1 year
• Good to know: Guaranteed to germinate; will replace pods if they do not

Another Great Indoor Herb Garden

iDOO 12 Pods Indoor Herb Garden Kit

$100 at Amazon View on Walmart View on Home Depot

What we liked: The iDOO Hydroponics Growing System requires you to purchase seeds from a third-party retailer, nursery, or home improvement shop and “plant” them in the pods, allowing you to grow whatever you want, like herbs, small vegetables, lettuce, or even flowers. This is different from other “plug and grow” gardens, like the Click & Grow or the EDN SmallGarden that come with pre-seeded pods, but it gives you complete control. 

Planting involves adding the seeds to the hole in the middle of the sponge and might require a tiny spoon or tweezers, as seeds can be pretty small (anywhere in size from a black peppercorn down to a poppy seed). Once planted and placed in the garden, small plastic covers are added to each pod to help germinate the seeds. The garden comes with nutrients that you add immediately upon setup. Once the seeds start to sprout, you use the adjustable telescoping arm to move the LED lights up as the herbs grow.

Cleaning the machine was fairly easy, with a drain hole in the back of the unit that allows you to empty the water easily and a top that is easy to remove from the base. Other similar gardens, like the Ahopegarden and Gardencube, both had tops that sat flush to the base, making them slightly difficult to remove. Herbs germinated and grew quickly in the iDoo as well.

What we didn’t like: The iDoo does require you to purchase separate seeds to plant, which means there’s no guarantee they will germinate and grow. I tested the eight-pod version, which isn't unavailable right now, though the 12-pod one is larger but looks otherwise identical.

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 6.3 x 11.8 x 15.4 inches
• Comes with: Pod garden with LED grow lights, plastic pods and grow sponges, grow domes, 2 bottles of plant food, power adapter
• Number of pods: 12
• Warranty: 1 year
• Good to know: No guarantee about germination or sprouting

The Best Indoor Herb Garden for Beginners

ēdn SmallGarden

$200 $130 at Amazon View on Apple View on Edntech.com

What we liked: With a handsome walnut wood base and sleek anodized aluminum arm light, the EDN is one of the nicest-looking indoor gardens. It’s also one of the easiest gardens to set up and use. The kit comes with pre-seeded pods that you pop into the base. Add water and that’s it. Germination domes aren’t even necessary during the initial setup, and the fixed light arm was the right height to both germinate the seeds quickly and grow the herbs.

The unit is controlled by an EDN smartphone app and connects to WiFi. The app allows you to control the light cycle. You can dim or turn off the lights if you like, and it lets you check the water level inside the base. The app can also keep track of what herbs you have in the garden, letting you know when they are mature and can be harvested. Being able to control your indoor garden from your phone is convenient. It was the easiest garden to set up and get going, and the basil grew quickly, germinating in a week, and growing to a point where I could harvest it in three weeks, while other indoor gardens took four or five weeks.

What we didn’t like: The garden requires you to download an iOS app to control it. If you don’t have a mobile device or the app, you can’t use the garden. Furthermore, there is no Google Play version of the app, making this garden suitable only for iPhone and iPad users.

Key Specs 

• Dimensions: 18 x 6 x 11 inches
• Comes with: Pod garden with LED grow lights, 10 pod basil start seed kit, power adapter
• Number of pods: 10
• Warranty: 1 year
• Good to know: Guaranteed to germinate; will replace pods if they do not
  

The Best Small Indoor Herb Garden

Click & Grow The Smart Garden 3

$100 at Amazon $100 at Sur La Table $100 at Nordstrom

What we liked: The Click & Grow Indoor Herb Garden is a slim and modern-looking machine that takes up very little countertop real estate. It has spots for three pods and an adjustable light that comes with two extra arms that extend the light higher as the plants grow. It was one of the easiest gardens to use, requiring just the addition of the pods and water, and plugging it in. There’s no need to add plant food (it’s in the pod soil), and the garden doesn't have any buttons. The minute you plug it in, the Click & Grow is set to turn on for 18 hours and then turn off for six hours, cycling this way until you unplug it.

Cleanup is practically unnecessary. Roots stay within the pod and do not grow into the water. Instead, the pods have a paper stem that sucks up water via the capillary effect, keeping the bottom water reservoir clean and self-watering the seeds and soil. The space where you add water has a floating bobble that lowers as the water is sucked up into the pods and plants, so you know to add water when the bobble is depressed. Otherwise, you just wait until the plants start to grow and then harvest as needed.

What we didn’t like: Because there’s no on and off switch or any other controls, if your home’s power goes out or if you need to unplug the garden to move it, that disruption will start the light cycle all over again at 18 hours.

And because the arms are set at heights of two inches, seven inches, and 12 inches, the plants grow more slowly than other machines. (The further away the light, the less growth.) 

Key Specs

• Dimensions: 12 x 4.75 x 9 inches
• Comes with: Pod garden with LED grow lights, 3 pod seed kit, grow domes, power adapter, 2 additional arm extensions for lights (adding 5 inches per leg)
• Number of pods: 3
• Warranty: 2 years
• Good to know: Guaranteed to germinate; will replace pods if they do not

The Competition

• Veritable Smart Arctic White Indoor Vegetable Garden: The Veritable Smart Indoor Vegetable garden was similar to the Click & Grow with a modern design and a bobble that lowers as the water is sucked up. But the light is initially set relatively high above the plants, and that means the plants germinate and grow very slowly. Worse, some of the seeds didn’t germinate even after 45 days.
• AeroGarden Harvest: AeroGarden Harvest is a slightly cheaper model of the Harvest Elite without a digital display. It’s a good indoor garden, but the digital display on the Harvest Elite allows for customized light modes and a vacation mode.
• AeroGarden Bounty Elite: The Bounty Elite is a much larger indoor garden, capable of growing nine different plants, with a large color digital display and all the capabilities of the Harvest Elite. It’s a great garden for folks who have space and want to grow many plants, but the price is significantly higher than the Harvest Elite.
• AeroGarden Sprout: This small, three-plant Aerogarden works fine, but it felt and looked cheap, with the entire unit made of thick plastic.
• Click & Grow Smart Garden 9: This nine-unit garden was one of the largest indoor gardens I tested. It performed well, but the machine was large and took up a lot of space.
• Rise Gardens Personal Garden and Starter Kit: This larger, eight-unit garden required me to use a separate “nursery” that only has space for four pods. That means you have to germinate the pods at different times, taking twice as long to start up your garden. One of the pre-seeded pods didn’t ever germinate.
• Ahopegarden Indoor Garden Hydroponics Growing System: This indoor garden looked and functioned very similarly to the winning iDoo. However, the instructions were more complicated, requiring me to add nutrients after the seeds germinated, which some folks might not remember to do. One pod did not germinate or sprout. And the top of the unit is flush to the sides, making it hard to remove the top to clean. 
• GardenCube Hydroponics Indoor Growing System: Again, this indoor herb garden looked and functioned like the Ahopegarden and the winning iDoo unit. And like the Ahopegarden unit, instructions were more complicated, requiring me to soak the seeds first, add them to the wet sponge, and then let them germinate before adding the nutrients. One pod did not germinate, and herbs grew slower than similar units. Like the Ahopegarden, the top of the unit sits flush to the sides and makes it difficult to clean.

FAQs

How much light does an indoor herb garden need? 

All of the indoor herb gardens I tested had built-in lights, so there was no need for additional lighting. Some indoor herb gardens have specific colored lights, which are designed to help with plant growth. Other gardens have different settings depending on what you're growing, which are specially designed to help grow flowers, herbs, or fruit.

How do you start an indoor herb garden? 

Each indoor herb garden is different, but most of them have a minimal setup. Typically, they require you to assemble the machine, add the pods into the slots, add water, and plug it in. Some require you to add your own seeds to the pods. Others might need you to add plant food. A few come with additional apps to remind you about watering and adding plant food, and to help you keep track of plant growth. 

Once set up, the maintenance of the herb garden is fairly hands-off. You only need to replenish water or add nutrients as needed, and occasionally clean the water reservoir base.

Which herbs grow well indoors?

There are loads of herbs that you can grow inside, especially when using an indoor herb garden with a built-in grow light, including basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, parsley, chives, tarragon, mint, dill, and sage.

Why We're the Experts

• Irvin Lin is a cookbook author, food blogger, and photographer. He's been writing for Serious Eats since 2022.
• For this review, Irvin tested 12 indoor herb gardens. He spent months with them, evaluating how easy they were to set up and clean. Of course, he also grew oodles of fresh herbs. He currently has a lot of frozen pesto in his freezer.