Freeze-Dryer ROI Calculator

Freeze-dried fruit, the kind a home freeze dryer produces

A home freeze dryer often costs $2,000 or more. It only pays off if you put up a lot each year. This runs the honest math against simply buying freeze-dried food, and it will tell you plainly if a machine is the wrong buy for you.

Your numbers

Machine price

Finished lbs you'd put up per year

Cost to buy it freeze-dried ($/lb)

Your run cost: power + bags + absorbers ($/lb)

Fresh food you load in ($/lb finished, ~$0 from the garden)

Machine service life (years)

The verdict

Buy it freeze-dried, per year: $4,000
Do it yourself, per year: $1,100
Annual saving: $2,900
Years to pay back the machine: 0.9 yrs
Net over its service life: $26,505

It pays for itself in about 0.9 years, then saves roughly $2,900 a year.

Defaults are estimates you can change. A Harvest Right freeze dryer is a real, big-ticket buy; this only pays off at real volume.

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Ready to buy?

We may earn a commission if you buy through these links, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend gear that actually does the job.

Harvest Right freeze dryer (buy direct)The category leader. Big-ticket ($2,000+), but the longest shelf life at ~25 years.Shop →
Home freeze dryer on AmazonCompare models and pricing.Shop →
Mylar bags + oxygen absorbersYou need these to seal freeze-dried food for the long haul.Shop →

Wondering how long everything keeps? Check the Shelf-Life Lookup.

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