We’ve been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.

These kits make growing fresh herbs, vegetables and flowers easy.

This article was updated in May 2022 to ensure all picks previously tested by the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab were in stock. We also included additional information about each product and added a new product pick, Veritable, to the list.

If you want to enjoy fresh herbs year-round but don’t have the outdoor space, an indoor herb garden may be the answer: It allows you to grow a few herbs and even plants such as lettuces, vegetables, flowers and more. Indoor gardens can save you from needing to buy fresh or dried herbs at the grocery store, and they might inspire you to try a new recipe, like Lemony Garlic and Herb Pork Tenderloin.

The experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab tested indoor herb garden kits, evaluating ease of use, features such as apps and how well the plants grow. Our top picks include ones we’ve tested or those highly rated and reviewed. Find more details about our picks for the best indoor garden herb kits below.

This hydroponic garden will hold up to six plants and includes a full-spectrum grow light, which, according to the company, mimics the effects of sunlight. No soil is required: It comes with liquid plant nutrients, and there’s an indicator to remind you to fill up the water and add the plant food. We found that it was very easy to set up and compact enough to fit on a window ledge.

The lights are on a timer and stay on for 15 hours. The Aerogarden Harvest claims to grow plants up to six times faster than soil, and when we tested it at home found that lettuce grew so fast it needed to be harvested every few days, which makes it great for someone who uses lettuce frequently. Take note, if the lettuce is left to grow for a long period it may start pressing against the lights and burning.

• Capacity: 6 plants • Dimensions: 6" x 10.5" x 17.4"

This indoor garden kit can hold up to 12 pods at a fraction of the price of some other kits that contain the same number of pods. It’s one of the most popular indoor herb gardens on Amazon with more than 3,300 reviews and a 4.5-star rating. Based on their experience, our experts love that this has a water level window so you never have to guess when it needs water and that it has a simple control panel. It also has an adjustable height LED light panel, fan and a water pump that can turn on and off automatically to circulate the water.

• Capacity: 12 plants • Dimensions: 10.2" x 13.8" x 11.3"

Kitchen Appliances Lab Director Nicole Papantoniou loves this indoor garden: “It’s very easy to set up, holds a lot of plants and the lettuce is so tender and flavorful,” she says. Unlike smaller indoor herb gardens that grow only a few plants, this can grow a variety of produce such as lettuces, herbs, cherry tomatoes, jalapeños, kale, arugula and even flowers.

It also has an app to control the lights and water, and if you opt for the subscription, you'll receive 10 pods per month. The app will also help you keep plants in top shape by letting you know if you need to trim the plants or roots, discard dead leaves, refill the water tank and more. Over time, buildup accumulates on the tubing; we recommend wiping it down weekly to help mitigate. • Capacity: 30 plants • Dimensions: 24" x 12" x 64"

If space is a premium in your home, you might want to try the Smart Garden from Click and Grow. The Good Housekeeping Institute's registered dietitian, Stefani Sassos, tried this indoor garden and says that it's “compact and perfect to have on a small kitchen counter or in a little nook in your home.” It can hold three pods, making it a good choice for someone living on their own or a small household that doesn’t use a lot of herbs.

The lamp also has a built-in timer and easy-to-install arm extensions so the lights can grow with your plants. While it does come with an app, we didn’t find it very useful. According to Sassos, “You can learn more about your plant pods on the app, but that’s about it.”

• Capacity: 3 plants • Dimensions: 12" x 4.75" x 8.25"

This indoor garden holds nine plants, and our tester found it was relatively compact and was an acceptable height to fit on the kitchen counter underneath the cabinets. It was very easy to set up as it was mostly already assembled, including the lights.

Unlike most other gardens, the Smart Garden 9 offers two types of lights: white and red LEDs. According to the brand, the red light is supposed to make the photosynthesis process more efficient, resulting in better growth and healthier plants; the white lights provide plants with a spectrum of light that's optimal for growth. Our registered dietitian, Stefani Sassos, tested the lights and noticed the plants grew faster than other indoor gardens that don't have red LEDs.

• Capacity: 9 plants • Dimensions: 24" x 7.25" x 15.75"

This indoor herb garden works with a preset lighting schedule and water that self-levels from a reservoir so there’s no need to program it, unlike some other herb gardens that require you to set a watering schedule through an app. We love that you can grow four different plants at once even if they are very different kinds. They offer a variety of pods, and Eva Bleyer, our home and kitchen appliances reviews analyst, loves that she can grow ingredients besides herbs such as strawberries, squash blossoms and chiles, though she notes it does take longer to grow these compared with herbs like parsley or basil.

Pods must be purchased from Veritable's website to be compatible with the indoor garden, and we had one pod mold while testing, (but we have found this does occasionally happen with other herb gardens as well).

• Capacity: 4 plants • Dimensions: 13.0" x 7.3" x 15.0"

While most indoor gardens don’t require any pesticides, if you are looking for a completely organic indoor herb garden you may want to consider starting with organic seeds. This starter kit comes with thyme, parsley, chives, cilantro and basil that claim to be organic and non-GMO.

It also has plant markers to keep track of your herbs and a bonus herb grinder. It’s one of the highest-rated and reviewed organic indoor herb garden kits on Amazon, with more than 400 five-star reviews. The downside? Once the plants are established, they will eventually need to be moved to new pots.

• Capacity: 5 plants • Dimensions: n/a

This nine-herb garden kit is perfect for beginners who want to give their green thumb a try without making a big investment. It comes with everything you need to get started, including reusable pots with drainage holes, drip trays, plant markers, soil disks and a planting guide.

It’s one of the top-rated kits on Amazon with more than 7,200 reviews and a four-star rating. Shoppers say they love the variety of seeds that come with the kit such as basil, chives, cilantro, dill, oregano, parsley, southern giant mustard, sage and thyme. Take note: The pots and drip trays are made of plastic, and some reviewers said they preferred something more sturdy.

• Capacity: 9 plants • Dimensions: 4" x 4" x 4" (per pot)

This popular planter set has nearly 2,400 reviews with over 1,800 five-star reviews. Buyers say that “these are great quality” and adore the farmhouse style of these herb planters. The kit comes with three pots that have drainage holes and a drip tray. It’s also available in white, coral, turquoise and seafoam blue.

• Capacity: 3 plants • Dimensions: 4.25" x 4" (per pot), 12.5" x 4" (tray)

Our pros think the Lettuce Grow is a smart pick for anyone trying to eat more salads or who wants an indoor garden mainly for lettuce. When we tested this, we found that the plants grew very quickly. The plants are sent as seedlings already growing and within two weeks of planting, our tester could harvest enough lettuce to make salads for five people with the 24-plant farmstand. The Lettuce Grow is also available in a 12-, 18-, 30- and 36-plant size, so you can choose the amount that fits your needs.

This can be used outdoors or indoors with the recommended Glow Rings (sold separately) that attach to the Farmstand. The lights and water reservoir with pump are connected to timers so there’s no need to worry about keeping track, though we did find set-up requires a few more steps than others we tried. We also noted that the frequent watering cycle — usually for at least 15 minutes at a time — was fairly noisy.

• Capacity: 24 plants, also available for 12, 18, 30 and 36 plants • Dimensions: 4'10" x 1'10" (for the 24-plant size)

When we test indoor herb gardens, we assess the ease of setting the garden up and note how much space it requires. When applicable, we also look at how easy it is to use the growing lights and how easy the app is to use. We also evaluate the overall experience, the variety of pods available and how well the plants grow.

This article was written and tested by Jamie Kim. She’s a freelance writer specializing in product testing and reviews. For this story she worked with the following Good Housekeeping Institute experts, who each tested at least two indoor herb gardens in their homes.