Grow Cabinet vs Grow Tent: Which Should You Buy?
Written by Matt W on 12th Jun 2026.
A grow tent costs £80 to £200 and does one job: lining a growing space with reflective fabric. A grow cabinet costs from £559 for an empty shell to £2,095 fully fitted, and behaves like a piece of furniture with insulation, a built-in carbon filter and 45dB of measured quiet. Tents win on price per square metre. Cabinets win on noise, looks, temperature stability and lifespan. This guide sets out which fits your situation.
Key Takeaways
- A 1.2m grow tent costs £80 to £200. A fitted G-Tools cabinet runs £949 to £2,095, with empty shells from £559
- The Bonanza Clima cabinets measure 45dB at 1m with doors closed, fan running. That is quieter than a fridge compressor
- Cabinet shells use PVC/XPS sandwich panels on an aluminium frame: insulating, light-proof and rigid. Tents use a zipped fabric skin
- Fitted Clima cabinets arrive with extraction, carbon filter, silencer and an internet-enabled control box already in place
- Tents flex on size: from 0.6m cupboards to room-filling 2.4m monsters, and they pack flat when you move
- Zips and pinhole light leaks are what kill tents, usually inside 2 to 5 years of regular use
Grower's Note
The honest way to frame this choice: a tent is a growing space you hide away, a cabinet is one you can live with. If your grow is going in a spare room, loft or garage, the tent's price advantage is hard to argue with. If it is going in a kitchen, study or anywhere guests see, the cabinet stops being a luxury and becomes the whole point.
What is the difference between a grow cabinet and a grow tent?
A grow tent is a fabric box on a pole frame, lined with reflective mylar, closed with zips. A grow cabinet is a rigid enclosure, built like furniture. The G-Tools cabinets we stock use aluminium profiles with PVC/XPS sandwich panels, which insulate against temperature swings, block light completely and damp down fan noise.
The fitted versions go further. A Bonanza Clima arrives with the extraction fan, carbon filter and silencer already mounted, plus an internet-enabled control box that runs your light schedule from a phone. With a tent you buy and hang every one of those parts yourself. That gap explains most of the price difference.
How much does each option cost?
Here is the realistic spend for a small UK indoor grow, kitted to a similar standard:
| Option | Size | What you get | Price | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget grow tent | 1.2 x 1.2m | Fabric shell only | £80-£200 | Add fan, filter, ducting and timer yourself |
| Bonanza Bench shell | 0.35m² | Empty rigid cabinet, bench height | £645 | Cheapest way into a cabinet |
| Bonanza Clima 0.35m² | 0.35m² | Fan, filter, silencer, control box fitted | £1,095 | Matt's Pick: add a light and grow |
| Bonanza Clima 1m² | 1m² | Fitted, GT 125 fan rated to 600W lighting | £1,605 | The family-size version, 2 to 10 plants |
| G-Kit 800 Wing | 1.5m² | Fitted cabinet with drip irrigation | £2,409 | Serious capacity, still 88cm deep |
One cost that never shows on the price tag: lighting suits both equally. A 265W LED like the Sanlight EVO 4-100 covers 1m² in either enclosure. Our breakdown of LED running costs in the UK puts day-by-day figures on that.
Noise, smell and looks: what is it like to live with?
This is where cabinets earn the difference. The Bonanza Clima measures 45dB at 1m with the doors shut and the fan running, helped by a silencer mount and those sound-damping sandwich panels. A bare inline fan strapped inside a tent in a quiet bedroom is a different experience entirely.
Smell control works the same way in both: an extraction fan pulls air through an activated carbon filter before it leaves the space. The cabinets have the filter sized and fitted at the factory. With a tent you do the sizing maths yourself, and our guide to grow room ventilation walks through exactly that calculation.
Shop the Bonanza Clima 0.35m² →
|
Matt's Pick for a First CabinetBest for: growers who want results without building an extraction system Why we rate it: the Clima 0.35m² solves the three problems that sink first grows: heat, smell and noise. The fan, carbon filter and silencer are matched to the cabinet at the factory, rated for lights up to 250W. You add an LED and plants. Nothing else to spec, nothing to get wrong. Price: £1,095 |
Which holds temperature better through a UK winter?
The cabinet, and it is not close. PVC/XPS sandwich panels are insulation in the literal sense, so the growing space rides out the swings of an unheated room. A tent is a single skin of fabric. In a garage that drops to 5°C overnight, tent growers end up buying tube heaters and thermostats, and the running costs climb from there.
Insulation works both ways. In summer the panels slow heat soaking in from a south-facing room, and the lighter heat load of an LED keeps the extraction fan on its slow, quiet setting for more of the day.
Grower's Tip: think about the floor before the box arrives
Whichever you choose, water ends up on the floor eventually. A flooded tray, a split line, an overfilled tank. Put a waterproof tray or offcut of vinyl under the whole footprint from day one. On upstairs floorboards this is the difference between a mop-up and a ceiling stain below. Five minutes of prep, every time worth it.
When is a grow tent the right choice?
A tent is right when budget leads, when the grow lives somewhere nobody sees, or when you need a size no cabinet matches. Renters should weigh tents seriously too: they pack flat in twenty minutes and leave no mark on a property. If you expect to move house within a year or two, that matters more than panel insulation.
Tall crops are the other tent case. Cabinets have fixed internal heights, and while G-Tools sells height extension sets, a 2m tent gives vertical room no cabinet offers. Growing up rather than out also suits trellised crops. For everything shelf-shaped, from salads to seedlings, a cabinet with layered lighting does more in the same footprint. Our guide to growing microgreens at home shows that logic taken to its conclusion.
Shop the G-Tools Kitchenfarm →
"We stock G-Tools cabinets because they solve the problem tents leave with the customer. Matched extraction, measured 45dB noise, insulated panels and a control box, all engineered as one unit. Most people who quit indoor growing quit over heat, smell or noise. The cabinet deals with all three before it leaves the factory."
- Matt W, Hydroponics UK
Frequently asked questions
Are grow cabinets worth the extra money over a tent?
Yes, if the grow shares your living space. The premium buys measured 45dB noise, factory-matched extraction, insulation and furniture looks. In a spare room or garage where none of that matters, a tent does the job for less.
How loud is a grow cabinet?
The Bonanza Clima measures 45dB at 1m with doors closed. That is conversation-quiet, similar to a modern fridge. The silencer mount and insulated panels do most of the work.
Do grow cabinets smell?
No, the fitted carbon filter scrubs air before it leaves. Every Clima cabinet ships with a Prima Klima filter matched to its fan. Replace the carbon roughly every 8 months of continuous running.
How long does a grow tent last?
Typically 2 to 5 years of regular use. Zips fail first, then pinhole light leaks appear in the fabric corners. A rigid cabinet on an aluminium frame is a ten-year-plus purchase.
What size grow cabinet should a beginner buy?
Start at 0.35m², which handles 1 to 5 plants. It fits where a bookcase would and runs on a 250W light cap. Move to 1m² only when you know you will use it.
Can you put a grow tent in a garage in winter?
Yes, but budget for heating. An unheated UK garage can drop below 5°C overnight, which stalls most crops. A cabinet's insulated panels reduce the problem; a tent passes it straight to your plants.