Cost Comparison: LECA vs Lechuza Pon and DIY Pon

I’m a math nerd on top of being engineer-brained. When it comes down to how much money I spend on plants and plant accessories, I tend to nerd out. I get a lot of questions around LECA vs Pon, and one of the benefits of LECA is the cost. But how much do I pay, and what’s most cost effective? I did the math, and I’ll share it with you.

I analyzed three purchasing options.

1. LECA - purchased locally and purchased on Amazon.

2. Lechuza Pon - purchased from their website.

3. DIY Pon - finding the individual materials for Pon and mixing it yourself.

Pro tip: Always try to buy locally because the price difference can be huge. When purchasing online, even if you get free shipping, they calculate the weight of shipping and you’re paying the mark-up on the base price. For example, I can get a bag of 50L Hydroton LECA locally for $36. Currently the price on Amazon is $72 - $100. That’s a huge difference.

The TLDR

I know a lot of people don’t nerd out on math so I’ll get to the point! Here’s the cost breakdown.

I did all the measurements in liters. Liter measures volume - I had to do some math to convert pounds to liters based on the weight of the substrate - so you have a volume to volume comparison - meaning how much does it cost to fill up the same pot.

LECA

Assuming a 50L bag local purchase - one Liter is $0.72.

Assuming a 50L bag amazon purchase - one Liter is is $1.42.

If you’re buying in smaller quantities - like the Odela bags from Ikea or a 10L bag, your cost will be a little higher. So all in all, expect to spend about $1 - $2 per liter for LECA.

Lechuza Pon

Assuming a 18L bag purchase with free shipping (you have to buy 4 bags to get free shipping) - one Liter is $2.22.

If you aren’t insane like me and buy in bulk, you may buy the 6L bag and pay for shipping - one Liter is $4.17.

If cost isn’t a factor and you need some Lechuza pon like right now, you can buy Lechuza Pon from Amazon Resellers at around $200 for a 18L bag - one Liter is $11.12.

DIY Pon

Assuming you’re buying in bulk from the right sources (see below) - one Liter is $3.37.

I would advise against DIY in small batches, the cost skyrockets especially because when Zeolite and Lava Rocks are sold in small quantities, targeted towards plant people, you get charged a premium. I chose the “Amazon Choice” version for zeolite, lava rock, and pumice and it came out to a whopping $13.05 per Liter. At this price point, you might as well buy it pre-made and save yourself some trouble.

Conclusion

So there you have it, the cheapest option, even when paying double the cost, is LECA. It’s no surprise because the pebbles are larger and occupies more space (volume). Lechuza Pon, when you can actually catch it in stock, buying 4 18L bags is your best option for Pon. It’s even cheaper than making your own. Lastly, don’t ever look for pon ingredients in smaller quantities, if you DIY, go big or else it’s not worth the effort / cost.

And of course, sometimes life gets busy and you only need a small quantity of Pon. My favorite is from PlantyQueens, made by my friend Alexa with love (and a lot of heavy lifting).

Protip - use LECA in your DIY pon to reduce the overall cost. I’ve lined the bottom of the pot with LECA, and mixed LECA in with the DIY Pon. For certain plants that likes additional oxygen to substrate ratio, this is doubly smart.

The Math

(and where to buy cheap DIY pon ingredients)

When looking at DIY pon ingredients, most are sold in bags, measured in pounds. None of them list volume like the LECA bags or Lechuza Pon bags. So the conversion I used is 1 liter of gravel = 3.36 pounds. Gravel is probably pretty close to the weight of pon ingredients, so I went with it.

LECA

Pretty easy here, 50 liters at $36 or whatever crazy cost is on Amazon, $36 / 50 = $0.72 per liter

Note: LECA prices are all over the place lately. The ideal is your local hydroponics store but even now, the prices are going up because of supply chain issues, and getting a bag of LECA at $36 these days is kind of a pipe dream. But even if you pay $100 for a bag, it’s still cheaper than Lechuza or DIY Pon. If you see LECA sold over $110 per 50L bag, that’s the break even point with Lechuza Pon purchased in bulk.

Lechuza Pon

Another easy one, 18 liters at $40 per bag (must purchase 4 bags to get free shipping) $40 / 18 = $2.22 per liter

For non-hoarders, it’s $18 + $5 shipping for a 6L bag = $4.17 per liter

DIY Pon

Zeolite - yup you clicked on the right link, this is a 40 lb bag used for sprinkling on your sidewalks to prevent you from slipping instead of using salts. The ingredient is pure zeolite, the same zeolite we use for pon! It’s $36.73 for 40 lbs. When you get zeolite advertised and sold for plants, it’s $13 for 2.5lbs (0.74 liters). The price difference is WILD and I hope this tip helps you save some money. 40 lbs = 11.90 Liters = $3.11 per Liter.

Lava Rocks - yup again, this is for traction and grip. 20 lbs = 5.95 Liters = $4.37 per Liter.

Pumice - no such luck in finding pumice for traction and grip this is actually for gardening! $22 for a 8.8 Liter bag = $2.50 per Liter.

Taking the proportions of 1 Liter Zeolite, 2 Liter Lava Rocks, and 2 Liter Pumice, you spend $16.84 total for 5 liters, making it $3.37 per Liter.

Note: I didn’t account for the cost of osmocote because I don’t like it, nor use it in my DIY pon. Because I have many plants in both LECA and Pon, I prefer to mix the same nutrient solution to use in both types of Semi-Hydroponics setups. I tolerate it in Lechuza Pon but I don’t replenish with more osmocote. I love the stuff for my outdoor plants tho!

My Stash

I use large clear bins to store my LECA and Pon in my back room. I’m not a hoarder, you’re a hoarder.