Root Riot vs Rapid Rooter vs Grodan Rooting Plugs: What Each Cube Actually Costs
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Root Riot vs Rapid Rooter vs Grodan Rooting Plugs: What Each Cube Actually Costs
Rooting cubes look like a minor line item until you do the multiplication. A grower who starts a thousand cuttings a cycle goes through tens of thousands of cubes a year, and the difference between a $0.11 cube and a $0.20 cube is real money. It is also the kind of comparison that is easy to make badly, because the cubes aren't the same size, shape, or material.
ModernFarms carries Root Riot, General Hydroponics Rapid Rooter, and several Grodan stonewool plugs. This guide puts them on one scale, price per cube, from the live catalog, and then covers what the price doesn't tell you. We don't have rooting-rate test data on these products, so we don't claim one rooted better than another.
The 30-Second Answer
Cheapest per cube: the Grodan A-OK 36/40 starter cube at $0.106 from the case of 2,940, then the Grodan MacroPlug at $0.125 in bulk, then Root Riot at $0.147 from the 1,500 count, then GH Rapid Rooter at $0.164 from the 1,400 case. Small packs cost more: Root Riot is $0.200 per cube in a pack of 100 and Rapid Rooter is $0.193 in a case of 50. For 1,000 cuttings: that is about $106 in Grodan A-OK, $147 in Root Riot bulk, and $164 in Rapid Rooter bulk. What price doesn't settle: peat-based cubes and stonewool are handled differently, and rooting success depends far more on your environment than on the cube.
The Cubes, Side by Side
| Cube | Pack | Price | Per cube |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root Riot Replacement Cubes | 100 | $19.99 | $0.200 |
| Root Riot Replacement Cubes | 1,500 | $219.99 | $0.147 |
| GH Rapid Rooter, 1.5 in round | 50 | $9.65 | $0.193 |
| GH Rapid Rooter, 1.5 in round | 1,400 | $229.99 | $0.164 |
| Grodan A-OK 36/40, 1.5 in | 2,940 (30 sheets of 98) | $310.17 | $0.106 |
| Grodan MacroPlug, round with slit, bulk | 2,000 | $250.00 | $0.125 |
| Grodan MacroPlug, round with slit, bags | 1,750 (35 bags of 50) | $291.58 | $0.167 |
| Grodan A-OK 50/40, 2 in | 1,500 (30 sheets of 50) | $309.73 | $0.206 |
Two notes on the table. The Grodan A-OK 50/40 is a larger 2 inch cube, so its higher price per cube isn't a like-for-like comparison with the 1.5 inch cubes; it is there for growers who want the bigger size. And we also list a separate GH Rapid Rooter Bulk Plugs case of 1,400 at $218.49, or $0.156 per cube, which is a bit cheaper than the $229.99 listing above. Both are real listings, so check which one fits your order.
What 1,000 Cuttings Costs
Per-cube prices are hard to feel, so here is a thousand cuttings. Multiply the per-cube price by 1,000 and you get about $200 in a pack of 100 Root Riot cubes, $147 from the 1,500 count, $193 in the small Rapid Rooter case, $164 from the 1,400 case, $125 in MacroPlug bulk, and $106 in Grodan A-OK 36/40.
The first lesson is pack size. Moving Root Riot from 100-count packs to the 1,500 count saves about $53 per thousand cubes, or 27 percent. Moving Rapid Rooter from the 50 case to the 1,400 case saves about $29 per thousand, or 15 percent. If you use more than a few hundred cubes a month, buying the large pack is the easy saving.
The second lesson is material. The Grodan A-OK 36/40 comes in about $41 per thousand below Root Riot bulk, which is 28 percent less. At 10,000 cuttings a year that is $1,055 against $1,467. That is worth knowing, though it doesn't mean the cheapest cube wins, as the next section explains.
What the Price Per Cube Doesn't Tell You
Root Riot is a peat-based cube. The manufacturer's page describes a 36 mm cube with a bio-based binder and a stable pH of 6.0, sold in trays of 24 or 77 cubes and in refill bags of 50 or 100. Our Rapid Rooter listing is a 1.5 inch round plug. Grodan A-OK and MacroPlug are stonewool, which is a different material with different handling. Stonewool typically needs a pre-soak and a pH adjustment before cuttings go in, and it holds more water, which changes how often you water and how easily a cube stays too wet.
That handling difference is where the money can go the other way. A grower who over-waters stonewool and loses cuttings to rot has spent far more than the $41 per thousand the cube saved. A grower who has stonewool dialed in has the cheapest cube on the shelf. Neither is the "better" product in the abstract, and we won't pretend there's a winner we can prove. Our guide on rockwool vs Rapid Rooter vs coco for cloning covers the material differences in more detail, and our Grodan stonewool guide covers the A-OK and MacroPlug lines.
Cost Per Cycle at Different Scales
It helps to see the spend at the sizes growers actually run. The table prices one cube per cutting at the largest pack size for each product. It doesn't include a margin for failed cuttings, so add your own loss rate when you order.
| Cuttings per cycle | Grodan A-OK 36/40 | MacroPlug bulk | Root Riot 1,500 | Rapid Rooter 1,400 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 250 | $26.38 | $31.25 | $36.67 | $41.07 |
| 500 | $52.75 | $62.50 | $73.33 | $82.14 |
| 1,000 | $105.50 | $125.00 | $146.66 | $164.28 |
| 2,000 | $211.00 | $250.00 | $293.32 | $328.56 |
At 250 cuttings the gap between the cheapest and most expensive cube is about $15 a cycle, which is not worth changing your workflow over. At 2,000 cuttings it is about $118 a cycle, and over a year of cycles it adds up. That is the real rule of thumb: the larger the operation, the more the cube's price matters, and the more the handling cost of switching materials is worth weighing against it. A smaller grower is better off choosing the cube they already know how to use.
To put a year on it, take a facility that starts 1,000 cuttings a cycle and runs 12 cycles. That is a purely illustrative schedule, so substitute your own. The annual cube bill comes to about $1,266 in Grodan A-OK 36/40, $1,500 in MacroPlug bulk, $1,760 in Root Riot at the 1,500 count, and $1,971 in Rapid Rooter at the 1,400 case. The spread from cheapest to most expensive is about $705 a year, which is real but small beside labor, power, and the value of the plants those cubes produce. If a change in cube costs you even one lost cycle of cuttings, the savings are gone, so test any switch on a small batch first.
Trays, Domes, and the Rest of the Setup
Cubes need something to sit in. The Root Riot 50-cell tray is listed at $29.61. If you start cuttings in trays of 50, a tray costs about $0.59 per cell, which is small next to the cube cost but is reusable, so it only counts once over many cycles. Our propagation kit guide covers domes, heat mats, and the temperature controller that usually costs more than the kit itself.
How to Choose
If you want the lowest cost and you're comfortable with stonewool, the Grodan A-OK 36/40 case is the cheapest cube we list. If you want a ready-to-use cube that doesn't need pH-adjusted soaking, Root Riot and Rapid Rooter are the straightforward choices, and Root Riot is cheaper at bulk quantities in our catalog. If you only start a few dozen cuttings a month, a small pack costs a bit more per cube but doesn't tie up cash or storage. And if you're starting thousands, compare the case sizes before you compare the brands.
We would rather you pick on handling and cost than on marketing. If you tell us how many cuttings you start per cycle and which medium you use now, we'll tell you which size to buy and when a case makes sense. Cubes are also easy to add to a larger order, and ModernFarms finances projects over $25,000 for licensed facilities. Our financing guide explains what the program covers and what it doesn't publish.
Start the conversation
Tell us how many cuttings you start per cycle and what you use now at info@modernfarms.store or 818-504-8165. We'll recommend a pack size and tell you if the cheaper cube is actually the cheaper choice for your setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheapest per cube, Root Riot or Rapid Rooter?
At bulk quantities Root Riot is cheaper in our catalog: $0.147 per cube from the 1,500 count against $0.164 for a 1,400 case of GH Rapid Rooter. At small pack sizes the gap closes, with Root Riot at $0.200 in a pack of 100 and Rapid Rooter at $0.193 in a case of 50.
Is stonewool cheaper than Root Riot or Rapid Rooter?
Per cube, yes. The Grodan A-OK 36/40 starter cube, 1.5 inches, works out to $0.106 per cube from the case of 2,940, and the MacroPlug bulk case is $0.125. Stonewool is handled differently from peat-based cubes, so price is only one factor.
Does a cheaper cube root better?
We have no test data comparing them, and price per cube says nothing about rooting. Rooting depends mostly on humidity, temperature, cutting quality, and how wet the cube is. Choose on handling and cost, then fix the environment.
How big is a Root Riot cube?
The manufacturer describes a 36 mm cube, which is the same nominal size as the Grodan A-OK 36/40 cube. It describes the material as peat based with a bio-based binder and a stable pH of 6.0.
How many cubes do I need per cycle?
One per cutting, plus a margin for losses. Count your target plants, add your usual failure rate, and round up to a full pack or case.
Can I finance a large propagation build?
Financing is available for projects over $25,000 for licensed facilities. Cubes alone won't reach that, but they can be part of a larger order. Rates and terms are not published, so ask for them in writing.
This article is general information, not agronomic, financial, or legal advice. We don't have rooting-rate test data on these products, and price per cube is not a measure of performance. Prices, pack sizes, and stock reflect ModernFarms' live catalog as of October 7, 2026. We don't upsell, and we'd rather you buy the pack size you'll actually use.