Almost every first conversation about hydroponics starts with the same question: "How much will it cost?" The honest answer is a range, because a rooftop kit in Pune and a ground-level net house near Nashik are very different projects. This article gives you indicative ranges for one common starting point, a 500-plant NFT unit under a shade net, and shows how to read the numbers before you spend.
All figures below are general industry ranges seen in India. They are not quotes and not promises. Get at least three local quotes before you buy anything.
What a 500-plant unit looks like
A 500-plant leafy greens unit is a typical "first commercial" size. It usually means:
- About 200–300 sq ft of growing area, in one or two tiers
- NFT (nutrient film technique) channels with net cups
- One main tank of 300–500 litres, with a main pump and a spare
- A shade-net house with insect-net sides to protect the crop from heat, rain and pests
- A small power backup, because NFT roots dry quickly if the pump stops
If you want to compare systems before deciding, read our article on NFT vs DWC.
Setup cost: the one-time spend
Here is how the money usually splits for 500 plants. Ranges are in rupees.
| Item | Indicative range (₹) |
|---|---|
| NFT channels, end caps, stands and plumbing | 40,000 – 90,000 |
| Shade-net structure (GI frame, shade net, insect net) | 30,000 – 80,000 |
| Tank, main pump and spare pump | 8,000 – 20,000 |
| Nursery trays, net cups, growing media | 4,000 – 10,000 |
| EC and pH meters, calibration solutions, starter nutrients | 3,000 – 8,000 |
| Electricals, timer, fans, inverter or battery backup | 10,000 – 30,000 |
| RO unit (only if your water needs it) | 0 – 25,000 |
| Installation, transport, miscellaneous | 5,000 – 15,000 |
| Indicative total | about 1,00,000 – 2,80,000 |
A ready-made kit with a bought-in structure and a bigger backup often lands near ₹1.7–1.8 lakh. The big swing factors are the structure, the backup and whether you need an RO unit.
A lean DIY build: about ₹1.23 lakh
You can land near the low end if you build it yourself. This is the version we use for the worked example below, and it rests on four choices: DIY or PVC NFT channels instead of ready-made ones, a simple shade-net structure on an existing roof, a smaller backup (a timer and a small inverter and battery rather than a large system), and an RO unit only if your water test says you need one.
| Item | Lean DIY build (₹) |
|---|---|
| DIY / PVC NFT channels, stands, plumbing (₹85 per plant) | 42,500 |
| Simple shade-net structure on an existing roof (₹65 per plant) | 32,500 |
| Tank, main pump and spare pump | 14,000 |
| Nursery trays, net cups, growing media | 7,000 |
| EC and pH meters, starter nutrients | 5,000 |
| Electricals, timer, fans, small backup | 14,000 |
| RO unit (only if your water needs it) | 0 |
| DIY installation, transport, miscellaneous | 8,000 |
| Total | about 1,23,000 |
That is roughly ₹51,000 less than a ₹1.74 lakh ready-made kit. The trade-off is your own time and skill, and no installer to call when something fails. It only works on a roof that is sound and can take the load.
Two warnings about comparing quotes:
- Many "500-plant kits" leave things out. A kit price may exclude the structure, the RO unit, the backup and the spare pump. Compare line by line, not by headline price.
- Cheapest is rarely cheapest. Thin channels, weak pumps and flimsy stands cost you in replacements and lost crops. Where you can, look at Made in India pumps, timers and meters with local service support, because a broken part on a Sunday is a bigger problem than a ₹500 saving.
Running cost: the monthly spend
Once the unit is built, the monthly bill for the same 500 plants usually looks like this:
| Item | Indicative range (₹ per month) |
|---|---|
| Nutrients and pH chemicals | 800 – 2,000 |
| Seeds | 500 – 1,500 |
| Growing media and net cup replacement | 300 – 800 |
| Electricity (a 40–100 W pump running 24 hours, plus fans) | 300 – 1,200 |
| Packaging and labels | 500 – 2,000 |
| Delivery and transport | 500 – 2,000 |
| Labour (your own time up to a part-time helper) | 0 – 8,000 |
| Water, RO maintenance, miscellaneous | 300 – 1,000 |
| Indicative total | about 3,200 – 18,500 |
The largest line is usually labour. If you do the work yourself, your running cost may be only a few thousand rupees a month. If you pay a helper, it can easily double. Be honest about this: your own time is not free if you could earn money elsewhere.
What can you earn from 500 plants?
Let us use round numbers. Say 85% of plants are saleable, each loose-leaf lettuce head weighs about 150 g, and you run 8 cycles a year. That is roughly 510 kg of lettuce a year. Keep the costs the same, a lean DIY setup of about ₹1,23,000 and a running cost of about ₹7,600 a month, and change only the selling price:
| A: Wholesale | B: Retail + hotel/restaurant mix | |
|---|---|---|
| Average selling price | ₹150 per kg | ₹300 per kg |
| Revenue per month | ₹6,375 | ₹12,750 |
| Profit per month | −₹1,258 (a loss) | ₹5,117 |
| Payback on ₹1,23,000 setup | Not reached | about 24 months |
| For comparison: payback on a ₹1,74,000 ready-made kit | Not reached | about 34 months |
Read that carefully. At wholesale prices, this unit loses money every month and never pays back. The break-even price, where profit is zero, is about ₹180 per kg, whatever the setup cost. For a payback of about two years you need an average of roughly ₹300 per kg, which is Scenario B. Build it cheaply and Scenario B pays back in about 24 months. Buy a ready-made kit and the same sales take about 34 months.
Scenario B is a target, not a given. Retail prices for lettuce commonly run ₹250–450 per kg and hotel and restaurant prices ₹150–300 per kg, so a ₹300 average needs most of your volume to go direct, for example half your kilos at about ₹400 in packs to homes and half at about ₹200 to restaurants. It also assumes you sell every saleable kilo. A 500-plant unit is a good learning project, and a decent side income if you control your selling price. At wholesale prices, it is not a business on its own.
How to improve the economics
If the numbers look thin, these are the usual levers:
- Sell direct. Housing societies, WhatsApp groups and weekly subscription boxes pay far better than wholesale.
- Grow a mix. Add higher-value crops such as basil and kale next to lettuce, and sell mixed boxes.
- Keep losses low. Every plant lost to tipburn, root rot or heat is revenue you do not get. Saleable percentage matters as much as price.
- Scale in stages. Fixed costs such as the structure, backup and delivery are spread across more plants at 1,000–2,000 plants. Prove your yields and buyers at 500 first.
- Find buyers before you build. Three to five regular customers who have said yes are worth more than any spreadsheet.
A simple way to plan
Before you pay a single advance:
- Write down the number of plants you want to start with.
- Collect three quotes and list every line item, including structure, backup and RO.
- Decide who will do the daily work and what that time is worth.
- Estimate a selling price you can really achieve, and the number of customers you already have.
- Put all of it into a cost sheet and change one number at a time to see what moves profit most.
If profit only works at an unrealistic price, change the plan, not the spreadsheet.
The bottom line
A small hydroponic leafy greens unit in India typically costs somewhere between ₹1 lakh and ₹2.8 lakh to set up for 500 plants (about ₹1.23 lakh for a lean DIY build), and ₹3,000 to ₹18,500 a month to run, depending on structure, backup, labour and how you sell. With the lean DIY build, the same unit loses money at a wholesale price of ₹150 per kg and pays back in about two years at a blended ₹300 per kg. So whether it works depends mostly on the price you actually get and how few plants you lose. Be conservative, get local quotes, and find your buyers first.
These are indicative ranges for general information only. They are not financial advice or a guarantee of income. See the Disclaimer.