Home Freeze Dryer Cost Calculator

One batch takes eleven entries, but most have sensible defaults for a medium machine. Change any number to match your own setup.

1. Type the machine cost, the fresh food per batch in pounds and the food cost per pound. Enter 0 for the food cost if you dry garden surplus.
2. Type the batch time in hours, the average power draw in watts and your electricity rate per kilowatt-hour from your power bill.
3. Type the bags and absorbers per batch, the pump oil per batch, the dry yield percent and the store price per pound of dry food.
4. Type how many batches you run per month, then press Calculate, or press Enter. The cost per batch appears first and large, with the cost per dry pound, savings and payback below, plus the step-by-step math. Press Reset to clear the form and start over.

Five short formulas turn your machine and batch into a cost per batch, a cost per pound and a payback time.

Electricity: Electricity = Watts / 1,000 × Hours × Rate per kWh. A medium machine at 1,100 watts over 24 hours uses 26.4 kWh, which costs $4.83 at 18.31 cents per kWh.

Batch cost: Batch cost = Food + Electricity + Bags and absorbers + Pump oil. In the worked example below, food is $37.50 of a $46.97 batch.

Cost per dry pound: Dry food = Fresh food × Dry yield %. Cost per dry lb = Batch cost / Dry lb. Most foods dry to about 10% of their fresh weight, so 12.5 lb fresh becomes 1.25 lb dry.

Payback: Savings per batch = Dry lb × Store price - Batch cost. Monthly savings = Savings per batch × Batches per month. Payback months = Machine cost / Monthly savings. If savings are zero or negative, the machine never pays for itself on money alone.

A medium Harvest Right costs $2,395. One batch holds 12.5 lb of fresh food at $3.00 a pound, runs 24 hours at 1,100 watts, and power costs 18.31 cents per kWh. Bags and absorbers cost $4.00, pump oil $0.64, dry yield is 10% and ready-made food sells for $75 a dry pound. You run 4 batches a month.

1. Electricity = 1,100 / 1,000 × 24 = 26.4 kWh, which costs 26.4 × $0.1831 = $4.83.
2. Food = 12.5 lb × $3.00 = $37.50.
3. Batch cost = $37.50 + $4.83 + $4.00 + $0.64 = $46.97.
4. Dry food = 12.5 lb × 10% = 1.25 lb, so cost per dry lb = $46.97 / 1.25 = $37.58.
5. Savings per batch = 1.25 lb × $75.00 - $46.97 = $93.75 - $46.97 = $46.78.
6. Monthly savings = $46.78 × 4 = $187.12, so payback = $2,395.00 / $187.12 = 12.8 months.

As a check, the Freeze Dryer Log calculator uses the same lines and defaults and gives $47.47 per batch, $37.98 per dry pound and 12.9 months payback. The small gap comes from slightly different oil and bag figures.

Harvest Right publishes average draws of about 990 to 1,210 watts for small and medium machines, about 1,500 watts for a large and about 1,700 watts for an X-Large. The table below shows the electricity for a 24-hour batch at the US residential average of 18.31 cents per kWh.

Food dominates the batch cost, which is why bigger machines cost less per dry pound. The Freeze Dryer Log table shows $41.34 per dry pound on a small machine against $33.20 on an X-Large at the same food price. Garden surplus flips the math, since free food drops the worked example to $9.47 a batch and a payback of 9.14 months.

Payback depends on three things: how often you run it, what the food costs you and what ready-made food costs. Four batches a month at the worked example numbers pays the machine back in about 13 months. One batch a month stretches that past four years, and eight batches a month cuts it to about six months.

The store price matters as much as the batch cost. Freeze-dried meals sell for far more per pound than bulk ingredients, so drying cheap bulk food pays back fastest, and garden surplus is the best case of all.

The calculator counts money only. It leaves out your time, repairs after the warranty, a new circuit if your kitchen needs one and the resale value of the machine. It also assumes you would otherwise buy the same food ready-made, so the real savings are smaller if you would eat less of it without the machine. Check the food math with our unit price calculator and the wider budget with our budget calculator before you buy.

Your time is the biggest missing cost. Loading trays, packing bags and sealing takes an hour or more per batch, and the machine runs 20 to 40 hours while you wait. Utah State University Extension puts a typical batch at 20 to 40 hours, with fresh pineapple taking 48 to 52 hours.

Maintenance is the second missing cost. Pump oil, filters and seals wear out, so add your own maintenance cost to the oil or bags field if you know it. Power rates vary too, so always use the rate from your own bill, not the default.

This calculator gives an estimate for planning and is for informational purposes only, not financial advice. Actual costs depend on your machine, your food, your power rate and how often you run it. See our disclaimer.