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Greenhouse ROI Calculator.
Greenhouse ROI Calculator
Build the spreadsheet you should have built first. Capital + operating costs vs revenue, payback period, simple NPV. Honest projections, not vendor brochures.
Crop-by-crop revenue/sqft reference
| Crop type | Revenue / sq ft / year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lettuce / leafy (multi-crop) | $10-25 | 8-12 cycles/yr; high turn; tight margin |
| Tomato / cucumber / pepper (commercial) | $15-30 | Long-cycle indeterminate; needs trellis |
| Microgreens | $30-100+ | 10-day turn × ~30 cycles/yr; labor-intensive |
| Strawberry (vertical / hydroponic) | $15-25 | Day-neutral cultivars; premium pricing |
| Cut flowers (specialty) | $15-40 | Direct-market; high labor |
| Herbs (basil, mint, etc.) | $15-35 | Year-round demand; restaurant accounts |
| Cannabis | $100-300 | Where legal; commodity prices declining; capital-intensive |
| Bedding / nursery plants | $8-15 | Spring-only intense season; seasonal labor |
| Field-equivalent crops (peppers, etc., wholesale) | $3-8 | If not premium, hard to justify glass |
What the math hides
- Owner labor is rarely costed honestly. If you pay yourself $0/hr, the greenhouse looks profitable. Cost it at $20/hr (or your alternative-employment rate) and many small-scale greenhouses are negative-NPV.
- Yield estimates are vendor-optimistic. "5 lb tomato per sqft" assumes ideal conditions. Real first-year yields are typically 50-70% of that.
- Pricing assumes you can sell. The bottleneck for most small greenhouses isn't growing — it's selling. Have your customer base before building.
- Hidden costs: permits, soil tests, water connection, electrical service, road improvements, insurance riders. Add 20-30% to capital.
- Climate matters. Same greenhouse heats 5× more in Vermont than Florida. Same electricity costs differ 3×. Local quotes only.
- Existing infrastructure tilts the math. If you already have utilities at the site, capital is half. If not, infrastructure can equal greenhouse cost.
Free under CC BY 4.0. Cite as "OAT Greenhouse ROI Calculator (openagriculturetechnology.com)". Methodology adapted from extension publications and small-farm enterprise budgeting.