Compare · Grow Sensor and AROYA
An AROYA alternative with published prices.
Grow Sensor measures leaf, light, climate and root zone from one canopy unit and its probe. Start with one room, no contract needed.
By Tom Starley, founder of Grow Sensor · checked · How we compared
Side by side
Every AROYA fact, sourced.
| Feature | Grow Sensor | AROYA |
|---|---|---|
| Buying | ||
| Pricing | Published on the pricing page. Buy online, no demo needed. | One price on aroya.io: a single-room starter at $5K. Other pricing follows a demo.12,1 |
| Software | Grow app free. GrowOps priced by sensors connected. No contract needed to start. | Subscription set by canopy size. Figures not shown.2,3 |
| Measuring | ||
| VPD | Measured at the leaf, from infrared leaf temperature | Calculated from air temperature and humidity4 |
| Leaf temperature | Infrared, ±0.5 °C, in the same unit | Not listed on the climate station page4 |
| Air temperature | ±0.1 °C | ±0.7 °C (0–35 °C)4 |
| Humidity | ±1 %RH (typical) | ±3 % (20–80 %)4 |
| CO₂ | ±(40 ppm + 5 %) | ±(50 ppm + 3 %)4 |
| Light | PPFD, DLI and spectrum 380–910 nm, in the same unit | Separate quantum sensor: PPFD and DLI, 400–700 nm5 |
| Root zone | SubSense, or METER Group SOLYX 14 for very high-EC rooms: water content, EC and temperature. Wired, one probe per unit | TEROS ONE: water content, EC and temperature. Wireless, 5+ year battery6 |
| Water content | SubSense ±0.018 m³/m³ (to 0.50) SOLYX 14 ±0.03 m³/m³ (±0.01 calibrated) | ±0.05 m³/m³6 |
| Substrate EC | SubSense ±5–10 % (pore water) SOLYX 14 ±(5 % + 0.1 dS/m), 0–10 dS/m (bulk) | ±2 % or ±0.05 dS/m (pore water)6 |
| Substrate temperature | SubSense ±0.5 °C SOLYX 14 ±0.3 °C | ±0.3 °C6 |
| Running the facility | ||
| Network | Facility 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, with relay points where it doesn't reach | Its own wireless mesh. No facility Wi-Fi needed7 |
| Irrigation | Measures only. OpenSprinkler watering from Grow Sensor readings is coming soon | Runs irrigation automatically, within limits you set8 |
| Drying and water activity | Not offered | AQUALAB moisture analyzer and a drying log per batch9 |
| Tasks and IPM | Not yet | Task assignments and IPM tracking10 |
| Claude and ChatGPT | Coming soon | Live11 |
Sources · checked on
- 1aroya.io home page
- 2AROYA FAQ: Do I need a subscription to use AROYA?
- 3AROYA ROI calculator
- 4Climate One aspirated climate station
- 5Quantum (DLI) sensor
- 6TEROS ONE substrate sensor
- 7AROYA wireless network
- 8Intelligent irrigation
- 9Drying
- 10AROYA software
- 11AROYA connects to Claude and ChatGPT
- 12AROYA single-room starter
Humidity accuracy
Humidity to ±1 %. AROYA lists ±3 %.
Humidity error becomes VPD error. AROYA's Climate One page: “Precise VPD calculations rely on accurate RH and temperature measurements.”4
Grow Sensor PRO
±0.03 kPa
±1 %RH (typical)
1.31 to 1.37 kPa
1.24 to 1.44 kPa
At 26 °C, every 1 % of humidity moves VPD by about 0.03 kPa, and more in a warmer room. Air temperature adds to it: AROYA lists ±0.7 °C, about ±0.06 kPa of VPD here, and the Grow Sensor PRO's ±0.1 °C is about ±0.01 kPa.
Both bands come from published specifications, not field tests. The PRO's is the typical figure for its Sensirion SHT45 humidity sensor; AROYA's is its listed figure for the Climate One station. Climate One is aspirated: a fan draws room air across its sensors. How we calibrate every PRO.
And that's before the leaf.
Leaf VPD
Air VPD assumes a leaf at air temperature.
VPD is the drying pull between a leaf and the air around it. Worked out from air temperature and humidity alone, it assumes the leaf is at air temperature.
Leaves often aren't. Transpiration cools them and radiant heat from the lights warms them. A leaf cooler than the air loses water more slowly than the air figure says; a warmer leaf loses it faster.
The Grow Sensor PRO reads leaf temperature with an infrared sensor, accurate to ±0.5 °C, and works VPD out at the leaf.
Worked example
- Air temperature
- 26 °C
- Relative humidity
- 60 %
- Leaf temperature
- 24 °C
- VPD from air temperature and humidity
- 1.34 kPa
- VPD at the leaf
- 0.97 kPa
Same room, same minute: 0.37 kPa apart.
Price
The price is on the page.
Start with one room and the free Grow app. 60-day money back, 2-year warranty.
- Complete systemGrow Sensor PRO and SubSense probe, for one room
- £699€799 · $899
- Complete system with SOLYX 14The METER Group probe in place of SubSense, with the edge in very high-EC rooms
- £899€999 · $1,099
- Facility Starter BundleOne complete system a room, 2 to 5 rooms. GrowOps free for the first run
- £649 a room€749 · $849
- Grow appWith every sensor, unlimited history
- Free
- GrowOpsFacility software, up to 5 sensors, billed annually
- £49 a month€59 · $65
- Remote onboardingBlueprint review, placement plan and setup, with facility orders
- Included
Starter against starter.
AROYA lists one price on aroya.io, for its single-room starter. The rest of its pricing follows a demo.12,1
Grow Sensor Facility Starter Bundle
A room, for 2 to 5 rooms
- Grow Sensor PRO: climate, CO₂, light, leaf temperature and leaf VPD
- SubSense substrate probe, or SOLYX 14
- No gateway: the PRO joins your Wi-Fi. A relay point is £70 / €79 / $89 a room where Wi-Fi doesn't reach
- GrowOps free for the first run, unlimited users
- Three coaching sessions: data reviews at setup, mid-run and end of run
- 60-day money back, 2-year warranty
Not in the kit: irrigation control, runoff EC or pH.
AROYA single-room starter12
One room
- Climate station: temperature, humidity, CO₂ and VPD
- Two TEROS ONE substrate sensors
- Drip & Drain: feed and runoff EC
- pH sensors
- Gateway
- AROYA software for the first run, two coaching sessions
Not in the kit: a light sensor or leaf temperature.
Fit
Which one fits your facility.
Choose AROYA if
You want the system to run irrigation for you.
AROYA irrigates automatically from substrate and runoff data, within limits you set. Grow Sensor measures and doesn't water.8
You want drying and water activity tools from the same supplier.
AROYA pairs the AQUALAB moisture analyzer with a drying log for each batch.9
Your rooms can't use facility Wi-Fi.
AROYA runs its own wireless mesh. Grow Sensor uses 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, with relay points where it doesn't reach.7
You want tasks and IPM tracking in the same software.
AROYA's software assigns daily tasks and tracks IPM. GrowOps doesn't do tasks yet.10
You want several substrate sensors in a room, without cables.
AROYA's TEROS ONE is wireless, with a 5+ year battery. Grow Sensor probes are wired, one per PRO.6
Choose Grow Sensor if
You want to see the price before a sales call.
Hardware and software prices are on the pricing page, and you can buy online.
You want VPD measured at the leaf.
The Grow Sensor PRO reads leaf temperature by infrared, so VPD is worked out at the leaf, not assumed from the air.
You want to start with one room.
Buy one complete system, or the Facility Starter Bundle for 2 to 5 rooms, with GrowOps free for the first run. No contract needed.
You want light and climate from one unit.
PPFD, DLI and spectrum 380–910 nm come from the same canopy unit as climate and leaf temperature.
You already own TEROS 12 probes.
TEROS 12 plugs into the PRO through its SDI-12 connector block, one probe per unit.
If irrigation has to run itself today, choose AROYA. If you want the leaf measured, at a price you can see, choose Grow Sensor.
Switching
Moving from AROYA, step by step.
- 01
Start a run before renewal.
AROYA software is a subscription.2 Put Grow Sensor in one room for a full run before it renews, so both systems have read the same room before you decide.
- 02
Count sensors per room.
At least one Grow Sensor PRO per room, and at least one for every 400 sq ft (37 m²) of canopy. Multi-tier racks may need more.
- 03
Choose the root-zone probe.
SubSense comes with the complete system and suits most rooms. SOLYX 14 is the option for very high-EC rooms. Already running TEROS 12? It plugs into the PRO through the SDI-12 connector block, one probe per unit.
- 04
Check the Wi-Fi.
The PRO joins your facility's 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Where it doesn't reach a room, a relay point covers it, at £70 each. We check coverage with you on the setup call.
- 05
Set up with us, remotely.
Facility orders include remote onboarding. We review your blueprint, plan where every sensor hangs and set up the software with you.
“No BS — it's the only sensor system I need.”
“Leaf temp and VPD, PPFD, CO₂, plus my Teros 12, all in one place. The best terps are coming from the rooms where the Grow Sensor is running.”
Ben
Head grower, Legacy AG (NZ)
- Setup
- Grow Sensor PRO, SubSense and his own TEROS 12, one system
Method
How we compared.
Tom StarleyFounder, Grow Sensor · checked
We make Grow Sensor, so this page isn't neutral. These are the rules we held it to.
Every AROYA fact comes from AROYA's own website, read on 13 November 2026. Each one carries a number that links to the page it came from.
Where AROYA's pages give no figure, the table says so. We don't fill gaps with guesses, and we don't compare prices AROYA doesn't list.
Grow Sensor figures come from our published specifications and shop pages, including the rows where AROYA comes out ahead.
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll correct it.
Questions
Asked before choosing.
Not sure how many sensors you need?
Tell us about your facility. We'll send your exact hardware and monthly cost within a business day.