DIY Microgreen Grow Light for Under $2.50 USD – 3D Printed & AliExpress Parts

DIY Budget Grow Light for Microgreens (Under $4 AUD!)

My partner and I have been getting into sprouting and fermenting recently, and we decided to try growing microgreens. After a bit of research, I figured that a simple 10W grow light setup would be more than enough for this scale.

Here’s what I put together:
It features 5× 660nm (red) and 5× 450nm (blue) 1W LEDs, wired to an 8–24W LED driver. I recycled a power cord, used a bit of 3D printer filament for mounting, and assembled a compact light that’s both efficient and super budget-friendly.

💡 Total Project Cost

Component	Cost (AUD)	Cost (USD)
5× Blue LEDs	$0.25	$0.16
5× Red LEDs	$0.75	$0.49
LED Driver	$2.40	$1.56
Misc. (filament, cable)	Minimal	Minimal
Total	$3.40	$2.21

The red LEDs were a bit more expensive than the blue, but overall the parts cost was incredibly low.

🌱 Growth Progress

This photo shows the microgreens right after sprouting — no light exposure yet:

And here they are after 2 days under the DIY grow light, thriving:

📽️ Quick Video Overview

I also made a short video explaining the project (not a full build tutorial), which you can watch here:

🔗 Parts & Links

• LEDs (from AliExpress): Blue + Red LEDs – $5 AUD & $15 AUD
• LED Driver – 8–24W: Driver Link – $2.40 AUD

Let me know if you’d like a downloadable build guide, STL files for the 3D mount, or tips on scaling this up. If there’s any interest, i will add them to this post (though it’s a simple design)🌱🛠️✨
You can contact me through brotherk3d@gmail.com