Microgreens Profit Calculator: How Much Can You Really Make in 2026?

Everyone says microgreens are profitable. But when you ask "how profitable, exactly?" the answers get vague fast. "Great margins." "High-value crop." "You can make thousands a week." None of that helps when you're standing in a hardware store deciding whether to spend $1,200 on shelving and grow lights, wondering if you'll ever make that money back.

This guide is the spreadsheet you wish someone had handed you before you started. We're going to break down every cost—seeds, trays, soil, lights, electricity, labor—and calculate your real profit per tray, per square foot, and per week at three different production scales. No hand-waving. Just numbers.

We'll also show you where the money leaks happen (spoiler: it's almost always unsold inventory), and how growers who use SMS notifications to pre-sell their harvest before cutting it are pulling 20–30% higher effective margins than those who grow first and hope to sell later.

The true cost of growing one tray of microgreens

Before you can calculate profit, you need an honest accounting of what each tray costs you. Most online guides lowball this because they ignore labor and overhead. We won't. Here's what goes into a single standard 10×20 inch tray of microgreens in 2026.

Seeds

Seed cost is your biggest variable expense and it swings wildly by variety. Sunflower seeds run about $3–5 per pound and you need roughly 1–1.5 oz per tray, so $0.50–$1.00 per tray. Pea shoots are similar. Radish seeds are cheaper at $0.30–$0.60 per tray. Broccoli is pricier: seeds cost $20–$40 per pound, but you only need about 1 oz per tray, so roughly $1.25–$2.50 per tray. Buy in bulk (5–25 lb bags) and your per-tray cost drops 20–40%.

Growing medium

Coconut coir, peat-based potting mix, or hemp mats. Coir and peat cost $0.40–$0.80 per tray when bought in compressed bricks. Hemp mats run $0.60–$1.00 per tray but reduce mess and make harvesting easier. Either way, budget $0.50–$0.80 per tray as your baseline.

Trays

Standard 1020 trays cost $1.50–$3.00 each new, but they're reusable for 10–20+ cycles. Amortized cost: $0.10–$0.20 per use. You also need a solid bottom tray (no holes) for watering. Total tray cost per cycle: roughly $0.15–$0.30.

Electricity (lights and climate)

LED grow lights are the standard. A 4-foot LED bar draws about 40–60 watts and covers one shelf of 4 trays. Running 16 hours/day for 10 days costs roughly $0.60–$1.00 per shelf cycle at $0.12/kWh, or $0.15–$0.25 per tray. Add a small fan for air circulation and you're looking at $0.20–$0.30 per tray for electricity.

Water

Microgreens use very little water. A tray needs about 1–2 liters over its full growing cycle. At municipal water rates, this is effectively $0.01–$0.03 per tray. Negligible, but we're being thorough.

Packaging

If you're selling clamshell portions (2–3 oz each), containers cost $0.12–$0.18 each in bulk. One tray typically fills 3–4 clamshells, so $0.40–$0.70 per tray in packaging. Labels add another $0.05–$0.10. Total: $0.50–$0.80 per tray.

Labor

This is the cost most people undercount. Each tray requires roughly 12–18 minutes of labor across its life cycle: seeding (3–4 min), daily watering and checking (1 min/day × 10 days = 10 min), harvesting and packaging (4–5 min). At $20/hour, that's $4.00–$6.00 per tray. Even if you don't "pay" yourself, this is real time with real opportunity cost.

For most growers producing sunflower or pea shoots at moderate volume with bulk seed purchasing, the realistic all-in cost lands around $5–$7 per tray. Broccoli and specialty varieties push closer to $8–$11 per tray because of seed cost.

Revenue and profit margins by variety

Now that you know your costs, let's look at what each variety actually sells for and what your real margin is after every expense. These prices reflect 2026 retail and farmers market rates in North America.

Sunflower shoots are the profit sweet spot for most growers. Low seed cost, high yield (8–12 oz per tray), strong customer demand, and consistently high margins. If you only grow one variety, grow sunflower.

Broccoli has the lowest margin percentage because of expensive seeds, but it commands premium pricing due to the health angle (40x sulforaphane concentration versus mature broccoli). It's worth adding to your lineup once you have a customer base that values nutrition over price.

Amaranth is the hidden gem. Gorgeous magenta color, low seed usage, and restaurants pay $25–35 per tray without blinking because it makes every plate look stunning. The catch: it's slower (12–14 days) and fussier about temperature. Add it once you're comfortable with your growing system.

Scaling from 10 to 50 to 200 trays per week

Here's where things get interesting. Microgreens have significant economies of scale because your fixed costs (lights, shelving, space) spread across more trays as you grow. Let's model three scenarios using a mix of 60% sunflower/pea shoots and 40% radish/broccoli.

Scenario 1: 10 trays/week (Side Hustle)

This is where most people start. One shelving unit, basic LED lights, a corner of your basement or spare room.

At 10 trays/week, startup costs are minimal: one 4-tier shelving unit ($60–$100), four LED bars ($200–$300), trays and supplies ($100–$150). Total: roughly $400–$600. You'll recoup that in 4–6 weeks of selling.

Scenario 2: 50 trays/week (Serious Side Income)

You're now using 3–4 shelving units, growing multiple varieties on a staggered schedule, and selling to 1–2 restaurants plus a weekly market.

Notice the per-tray variable cost drops from $6.00 to $5.50. Bulk seed purchasing, more efficient use of shelf space, and faster seeding routines all contribute. Your average selling price may dip slightly if you're giving restaurants a 10–15% volume discount, but the volume more than compensates.

Scenario 3: 200 trays/week (Full-Time Business)

This is a dedicated growing room (200–400 sq ft), 12–16 shelving units, automated watering, multiple restaurant accounts, market presence, and a subscriber base of 150+ customers.

At 200 trays/week, you've hit the point where this is a legitimate full-time income. Your per-tray variable cost drops further thanks to wholesale seed pricing, more efficient systems, and batch processing. You'll need part-time help for seeding, harvesting, and deliveries—that's factored in above.

Revenue per square foot: why microgreens beat almost everything

Here's the number that makes microgreens special compared to other crops: revenue per square foot per year. A single 10×20 tray occupies 1.4 square feet. On a 4-tier shelf, that same 1.4 sq ft of floor space holds 4 trays. With a 10-day growing cycle, each shelf position produces roughly 36 trays per year.

That means one square foot of floor space (with vertical shelving) generates: 4 positions × 36 cycles × $12 average profit per tray = $1,728 per square foot per year. Compare that to field tomatoes ($5–$15/sq ft), lettuce ($8–$20/sq ft), or even greenhouse crops ($20–$60/sq ft). Microgreens aren't just high-margin—they're high-density.

A 10×10 room (100 sq ft) with 5 shelving units can realistically produce 80 trays per week. At $16–18 average selling price, that's $1,280–$1,440 per week from a space smaller than most bedrooms. No other legal crop comes close on a per-square-foot basis.

Your break-even point and startup costs

Fixed startup costs determine how quickly you start making real profit. Here's what a typical setup costs at each scale:

The break-even math is compelling: even the smallest operation recoups its investment in about a month. Larger operations break even faster because the per-tray profit is higher (scale efficiencies) and the volume is larger. Very few agricultural ventures offer this kind of payback period.

The hidden profit killer: unsold inventory

Every number above assumes you sell 100% of what you grow. In reality, waste is the single biggest threat to your margins. Microgreens have a 5–7 day shelf life. If you grow 50 trays and only sell 40, those 10 unsold trays just wiped out $120–$180 in profit. Worse, you still spent the time and materials growing them.

A 20% waste rate drops your effective margin from 70% to about 55%. At 30% waste, you're barely above 45%. The difference between a wildly profitable microgreen operation and a frustrating break-even hobby usually comes down to sell-through rate.

The solution is to pre-sell before you harvest. The most profitable growers we've seen don't grow first and sell second. They build a subscriber list, send a notification 2–3 days before harvest, and only cut what's already claimed. Unsold greens stay alive on the tray for a few extra days, buying time.

With a tool like Farmzz, you can send an SMS or email to your entire subscriber list in under a minute: "This week's harvest: Sunflower ($18), Pea Shoots ($16), Radish ($14). Reply to reserve yours — pickup Thursday 4–6pm." When 80% of your trays are pre-sold before you even pick up the scissors, waste drops to near zero and your calculated margins become your real margins.

How SMS notifications change the profit equation

Let's put real numbers on the notification advantage. Consider two growers, both producing 50 trays/week of sunflower shoots at $18/tray:

Grower A sells at a Saturday market only. They move 35–40 trays on average, waste 10–15, and net about $350–$420/week in profit after all costs including waste.

Grower B has 200 subscribers. Every Tuesday, they send a 30-second SMS blast: "Fresh sunflower shoots ready Thursday. $18/tray or 3 for $48. Reply to reserve." They pre-sell 35–40 trays by Wednesday, grow only what's reserved plus 5–8 extra for walk-up sales at market. Waste: 2–3 trays. Net profit: $490–$560/week.

That's a $140–$170/week difference, or $7,000–$8,800 more per year—from a 30-second text message sent once a week. The notification doesn't just reduce waste; it creates urgency. Subscribers who get a "limited harvest" text respond faster than someone browsing a market stall.

At your market stand, place a QR code next to your sample tray. Every person who scans it joins your list. Over 8–12 weeks of consistent market presence, a subscriber list of 150–300 people is very achievable. That list becomes your most valuable business asset—more valuable than the shelving, the lights, or even the growing space.

Seven tips to maximize your microgreens profit

1. Buy seeds in bulk. The single easiest way to cut costs. A 25 lb bag of sunflower seeds costs 40–50% less per pound than 1 lb bags. Coordinate with other local growers for group orders if you can't use 25 lbs fast enough.

2. Stagger your planting schedule. Don't seed 50 trays on Monday and have everything ready Friday. Seed 10 trays every day (Mon–Fri) so you have fresh product available throughout the week. This extends your selling window and reduces waste.

3. Offer variety bundles. A "Microgreens Sampler" with 3 clamshells for $15 moves more product than three individual $6 clamshells because it feels like a deal and encourages customers to try new varieties. Bundles also reduce decision fatigue at the market stand.

4. Sell live trays at a premium. Living trays (with roots still in medium) last 2–3 days longer and feel "fresher" to customers. Price them $18–25 versus $14–18 for cut trays. Restaurants especially love live trays because they can harvest to order.

5. Track everything in a spreadsheet. Record seed costs, yields, sell-through rate, and profit per variety every week. After 8 weeks, you'll have clear data on which varieties are actually profitable for your specific market and which ones are eating your margins.

6. Build recurring restaurant orders. One restaurant ordering 8 trays/week at $14/tray (wholesale) is $5,824/year of guaranteed revenue. Three such accounts and you've covered your base costs before you sell a single clamshell at market.

7. Use notifications to create urgency. "Only 12 trays left this week" converts better than "We have microgreens available." Scarcity is real with a perishable crop—use it honestly in your SMS notifications.

Frequently asked questions

How much profit can I make from 10 trays of microgreens per week?

With all-in costs of $5–7 per tray and selling at $16–20, you'll net roughly $100–130 per week, or about $5,000–$6,500 per year. That's 3–4 hours of work weekly. As you scale and reduce per-tray costs, profit per tray increases.

What are the most profitable microgreens to grow?

Sunflower shoots offer the best combination of low cost, high yield, and strong demand. Amaranth has the highest per-tray profit ($17–27) but is harder to grow. For beginners, sunflower and pea shoots are the safest bet for consistent margins of 65–75%.

How much does it cost to start growing microgreens?

A basic 10-tray/week setup costs $400–$600 (shelving, lights, trays, initial supplies). A serious 50-tray setup runs $1,500–$2,000. A full commercial operation at 200 trays/week requires $4,000–$6,000. All three scales typically break even within 3–5 weeks.

How do I reduce waste and increase my sell-through rate?

Pre-sell before you harvest. Build a subscriber list and send notifications 2–3 days before harvest so customers can reserve. Stagger your planting so you're harvesting throughout the week, not all at once. Offer live trays for longer shelf life. Track your sell-through rate weekly and adjust production to match demand.

Is growing microgreens more profitable than other crops?

On a per-square-foot basis, microgreens are among the most profitable crops you can grow. They generate $1,000–$1,700+ per square foot of floor space annually with vertical shelving, compared to $5–$60/sq ft for field and greenhouse crops. The 7–14 day turnaround also means faster cash flow than any seasonal crop.