Growing Cannabis Indoors vs. Outdoors: Pros, Cons, And More

When growing cannabis, one of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make while starting out would be to decide whether you want to grow your cannabis outdoors or indoors. At a glance, outdoor cultivation seems easier and more natural whereas indoor seems safer and more appealing, but is that the truth?

Honestly, the truth is a bit trickier. So, to clear out your confusion and help you decide better, we’ve put together this guide on growing cannabis that compares indoor cannabis vs outdoor cannabis. 

This article dives into the nuances of indoor and outdoor cannabis cultivation, including the various pros and cons, key factors that influence the process, major differences in terms of cultivation, and what you can expect as the end result. Here’s everything you need to know about indoor vs outdoor cannabis. 

What is Outdoor Cultivation of Cannabis?

Outdoor cultivation of cannabis, as the name suggests, is growing cannabis outdoors in a garden, or in a field, i.e., a more natural setting. Do note that growing cannabis in a greenhouse also qualifies as outdoor cannabis. 

So, a proper way to define outdoor cannabis is not just cannabis that’s grown out in the open, but cannabis that uses as many natural resources as possible, including sunlight, soil, outside atmosphere, etc. during its growth, 

An outdoor setting is not a controlled environment, however, it is relatively easy to manage since you don’t have to worry about artificial grow lights or maintaining the right temperature when growing cannabis. 

Many growers even claim that outdoor cannabis is more natural and tastes a lot better than indoor cannabis — it’s a more “real” approach to growing cannabis. 

That’s not all, growing cannabis outdoors offers some other benefits too:

• Natural light encourages better terpene production, leading to better flavors and aromas in the buds 
• The plants tend to grow bigger since they have more space to expand their roots within the soil 
• Outdoor cultivation is more organic, which helps your cannabis grow healthier 
• You don’t have to spend money or electricity on artificial grow lights, which tend to be expensive 

However, outdoor cultivation isn’t perfect and has some downsides, too, such as the following:

• Outdoor cultivation can be difficult to manage in some regions due to unpredictable weather
• Similarly, your plants are at the mercy of the weather, which can significantly affect the quality of the yield 
• Your plants are also at risk of pests and pathogens 
• It’s not discreet 
• You may not have so much space in your backyard to grow cannabis, especially if you live in an urban environment

What is Indoor Cultivation of Cannabis?

On the other hand, indoor cannabis is a plant that’s grown in a controlled environment, where almost everything is artificially controlled, like the air, light, etc. Generally, indoor cannabis plants are grown in a grow room but they can also include plants grown in cabinets, tents, attics, and even buckets. 

Additionally, indoor cannabis usually includes a hydroponic setup, a cultivation method that does not use soil at all; instead, a hydroponic setup uses water as the foundation that serves nutrients to the plant’s roots. 

The biggest advantage of growing cannabis in an indoor environment is that it gives you ultimate control of your plant’s growth — you no longer have to rely on the weather and you can grow cannabis year-round. 

Thanks to this, there’s a much higher chance of your plant turning out a bigger yield that’s more potent — fewer problems to worry about, the better your plants grow. 

Here are some other benefits of growing cannabis indoors:

• Your plants get much more consistent lighting and environmental conditions for safer and healthier growth 
• The yield is often predictable since you can roughly calculate the outcome based on the conditions you create for the plant 
• It’s easier to keep your plants safe from diseases and pests 
• It’s discreet 

On the other hand, indoor cannabis has the following downsides:

• It’s an expensive setup, especially when you consider the initial cost of grow lights and running costs of all the electrical components 
• Many growers claim that indoor cannabis does not produce as many terpenes since they don’t get enough natural light 
• It’s not a “natural” way of growing cannabis, even if you use the most natural approach to cultivating it in terms of fertilizers and nutrients 

Indoors vs Outdoor Cannabis: Which is Easier to Grow?

Now that you know the basics of both indoor and outdoor cannabis, let’s dive deeper and explore the many differences and various factors that come into play in both these scenarios. 

1. Light 

One of the biggest differences between growing indoor cannabis and outdoor cannabis is light. Indoor plants require artificial light that’s produced by grow lights to mimic natural sunlight, whereas outdoor plants grow well in natural sunlight. 

But that doesn’t mean artificial lights produce subpar results; the only thing that would stop an indoor plant from growing as well as an outdoor one when it comes to lighting would be the cost. 

There are some amazing grow lights available on the market that can produce UV light along with the right PAR light that’s required by your cannabis plant, ensuring their light production is as close to the natural sunlight. But these lights are expensive and not every grower can afford them. 

But there’s a catch, here, too. Indoor grow lights produce UV-A light, not UV-B light. UV-A light does help the plant boost terpene and secondary metabolite production without being harmful to the DNA. 

However, UB-B light increases secondary metabolite production and it also boosts plant’s terpene production more than UV-A light. So, cannabis plants grown under natural sunlight tend to be tastier than indoor plants. 

Winner: Outdoor Cannabis 

2. Soil Life or Lack Thereof 

The second biggest difference is the presence or absence of microorganisms in the growing medium. The richer the soil diversity, the better the terpene levels on the buds — this is another reason why outdoor cannabis plants tend to taste better than indoor ones. 

Outdoor cannabis plants grow in soil that is rich in not only microorganisms but also organic matter, compost, and mulch. So, the beneficial microbes, including fungi and bacteria, thrive in the soil and fix nutrients for the plant while offering protection against harmful pathogens. 

These microbes form a symbiotic relationship with the plant — they fix nutrients for the plant in return for plant sugars that are produced during photosynthesis. As a means of defending themselves, these microbes push the plant to produce more terpenes, resulting in richer flavor profiles of the buds. 

On the other hand, indoor plants grown hydroponically rely on the nutrients you feed them since there is no soil to nourish a diverse microbial life to begin with.

Winner: Outdoor Cannabis 

3. Cost 

If you’re a beginner, one thing you should consider over flavor and potency is the cost of growing cannabis indoors or outdoors. Here, outdoor cannabis has an upper hand.  

Look at the shopping list of indoor and outdoor gardens and you’ll notice a drastic difference. In an outdoor cannabis garden, all you need is the seed, some water, and perhaps a variety of homemade fertilizers. You can always add more things to your outdoor garden, like smart pots, polytunnels, etc., but the setup is pretty basic to begin with. 

On the other hand, an indoor cannabis garden will need specific containers, fans, vents, carbon scrubbers, artificial grow lights, reservoirs, nutrients, growing mediums, and much more. All of this can significantly raise the costs, especially high-quality grow lights that can cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. 

Then there’s the electricity bill. A typical indoor cannabis setup uses a lot of electricity, especially for light production and temperature management. So, expect to pay a few hundred dollars every month on electricity, depending on the setup size. 

Winner: Outdoor Cannabis 

4. Control 

There’s one area where outdoor cannabis does not hold a candle to indoor cannabis and that’s control. With an indoor setup, you have ultimate, god-level control of your cannabis plant. You decide when it will flower, how tall or wide it will grow, the kind of colors the buds will develop, etc. 

In an indoor garden, you control the following things:

• Light spectrum
• Light cycle 
• Light intensity 
• Temperature and humidity 
• Air circulation 
• CO2 levels 
• Plant size and structure (via training) 
• Nutrient supply 
• Water supply 

Thanks to this, your indoor cannabis plant has the potential to grow much better than an outdoor plant. Of course, it will still miss out on certain important things, like natural sunlight, but if you know what you are doing, you can achieve tremendous results from an indoor plant thanks to the level of control you get with the setup. 

Winner: Indoor Cannabis 

5. Effort 

But ultimate control comes at a cost of time and effort. If you are a casual grower, you can toss a few seeds in your backyard and water them daily and your cannabis plant will grow. However indoor cannabis requires constant care and attention, which may not be possible for every grower. 

Growing cannabis indoors is a much bigger commitment than growing cannabis outdoors, so know what you are getting into. Of course, you can automate an indoor cannabis garden with AI and IoT, but that will still require maintenance and monitoring, and lest we forget, a lot of money to set up. 

Winner: Outdoor Cannabis 

6. Environmental Friendliness

This is where things get a little debatable. Outdoor cannabis cultivation is the most organic approach to growing cannabis, and you can reduce your garden’s environmental impact drastically by using local soil, companion plants, beneficial insects, and other natural methods of cultivation to achieve excellent results. 

However, outdoor gardens use a lot of water. On the other hand, an indoor hydroponic setup uses 90% less water. And since cannabis is a thirsty plant, it consumes a lot of water, which is saved in a hydroponic setup. Instead, a hydroponic setup recycles water multiple times before it is discarded. 

Winner: Tie

7. Safety

Indoor plants are the safest since they are protected from natural hazards like pests, pathogens, diseases, harsh winds, extreme temperatures, rain, etc. So, if you live in a region with unpredictable weather or many natural hazards, it is wiser to grow cannabis indoors.

Additionally, indoor plants are also safe from vandals, annoying neighbors, and cops. So, if you are worried about someone finding your cannabis plant, you can grow indoors and not worry about someone catching you in the act. 

Winner: Indoor Cannabis 

Indoor vs Outdoor Cannabis: Which Produces a Better Yield?

Given how different the cultivation process is for indoor and outdoor cannabis, you can expect many differences between how your cannabis plant grows concerning both cultivation scenarios. Here are the major differences in the end result. 

1. Potency and Cannabinoid Levels 

For most growers, the biggest difference lies here — the potency of their yield. Most of us grow cannabis to get high, so a high potency level is usually the goal for most growers. 

Here, indoor cannabis typically has an upper hand, thanks to the controlled environment it grows. Due to the controlled environment, an indoor cannabis plant grows to its full potential without experiencing environmental fluctuations, pests, or other diseases. 

As a result, indoor cannabis has a greater trichome production, which translates to better THC or CBD levels in the flowers. 

However, the difference is not as easy as it sounds. A grower who knows what they are doing can easily turn this over and produce outdoor cannabis that’s more potent than indoor cannabis. 

As mentioned earlier, outdoor cannabis tends to have higher terpene production since the plant gets to enjoy natural, UV-rich sunlight and thriving soil that’s lush with nutrients. So, which one is better?

Objectively, indoor cannabis is consistently more potent because of the controlled environment, but outdoor cannabis can be even more potent as long as it gets in the right environment. Outdoor cannabis is not consistent and subpar outdoor plants bring down the average for potent cannabis plants. 

Winner: Indoor Cannabis 

2. Plant Size 

One of the most evident ways of telling outdoor cannabis plants apart from indoor ones is the size of the plant. Here, outdoor cannabis tends to be a lot bigger than indoor cannabis for one reason: the roots. 

Outdoor plants get to expand their root network as wide as they can, especially when grown in the ground instead of in containers. And when the root network expands, it can carry more nutrients to the plant, leading to bigger stems and, subsequently, size. 

Plus, thanks to the bigger stems, the leaves also grow bigger and have more chlorophyll, which further increases the plant’s energy potential. On the other hand, indoor cannabis plants are smaller since the roots’ growth is restricted by the containers and tents. 

Winner: Outdoor Cannabis 

3. Bud Size 

The size of the bud is another aspect where the differences between indoor and outdoor cannabis come into play. Generally, cannabis plants grown outdoors tend to be larger in size since the roots have all the space they need to expand. Thus, the plants also tend to develop bigger flowers. 

On the other hand, indoor cannabis plants tend to be a bit smaller comparatively, with smaller and thinner stems. As a result, the buds aren’t as big either. So, depending on the training methods used, outdoor cannabis usually has bigger flowers. 

Winner: Outdoor Cannabis 

4. Flower Color 

Another visual difference between indoor cannabis and outdoor cannabis is the color of the flowers or buds. Typically, outdoor cannabis has buds that possess darker hues of green compared to indoor cannabis flowers. 

Additionally, outdoor plants have buds that look a bit worn and sun-baked since they spend hours out in the sun and howling winds — they do lose a bit of their color by the time it's time to harvest. 

Of course, these changes depend on your local weather and may not always be the case. For example, cannabis plants growing in SoCal tend to be more weathered and brown than those growing in some northern regions. 

On the other hand, indoor cannabis flowers look brighter and more vivid. Indoor plants have it a lot easier compared to outdoor plants and don’t have to bear the brunt of the weather, including the harsh sunlight, strong winds, and other hazards. These plants grow in a comfortable environment, so the buds tend to appear less weathered. 

Again, the color of the buds also depends on the strain and specific cultivation methods used. For example, Purple Haze will possess purple hues in both outdoor and indoor cannabis, but the cultivation method will determine the saturation of purple hues. The buds will appear more purple if they are grown in a cooler environment. 

Winner: Indoor Cannabis 

5. Flavor and Aroma 

If there’s anything more important than the potency of the buds, it’s the flavor of them. Many people choose cannabis based on their flavor profiles, too. Here, the difference isn’t so great since the flavor profile of the buds is produced with specific growing methods, nutrients used, and strain genetics. 

However, sometimes, outdoor plants tend to have better aroma and flavor profiles thanks to the natural sunlight that contains the right PAR and UV light and microorganisms in the soil that fix the right nutrients. But, the same levels can be achieved by an indoor cultivator as long as the nutrients and light required of the plant are met to the T. 

Winner: Outdoor Cannabis 

Which is Better: Indoor or Outdoor Cannabis?

Looking at the differences above, outdoor cannabis seems like the better option, but if only things were as black-and-white as this. The real answer is a lot trickier than looking at the pros and cons of both indoor and outdoor cannabis. 

To put it simply, outdoor cannabis has more potential for better growth and yield but are the results consistent? Sometimes, but not always, considering the various unpredictable environmental aspects around outdoor cultivation. 

However, an indoor cannabis plant produces consistent results which may not be on par with outdoor plants' full potential but can get pretty close. And if you know how to dial the indoor environment in, you can easily outsmart an outdoor cannabis plant with ease. 

So, the answer depends entirely on what you are looking for. Are you willing to let go of your control of the plant for a more natural and easy cultivation method or are you willing to spend more money and time on maintaining an indoor plant?

Additionally, you should also consider the following factors when deciding between indoor and outdoor cannabis:

• Which strains grow better indoors or outdoors 
• Do you want your cannabis operation to be discreet?
• The legality of growing cannabis in your region 
• Personal preferences and time you can allot to your cannabis garden 
• The money you’re willing to spend on the garden 

Apart from that, as long as the basic principles of lighting, watering, and nutrients are met for your cannabis plant, whether indoor or outdoor, it will grow just fine. 

Summary: Growing Cannabis Indoors vs. Outdoors: Pros, Cons, And More

Choosing between indoor and outdoor cannabis is a conundrum, isn’t it? Both offer unique benefits and pose unique challenges. Outdoor cannabis is more natural, and while it promises a much higher potential, the results are not always consistent. 

On the other hand, indoor cannabis plants may not promise a higher potential but generally tend to turn out a lot better thanks to the meticulously controlled environment and consistent end results. 

Ultimately, the choice is on you as to what you want. Both methods have been successful in growing some of the best cannabis plants we know of, so you can never go wrong with either. You need to decide what your personal preferences are, how much you are willing to spend, what level of control you want, and what the local laws allow. 

Understanding the subtleties and nuances of each method allows you to figure out which one is right for you. As the cannabis cultivation landscape continues to evolve, the quest for the optimal method persists — a quest guided not only by yields and potency but also by individual preferences and choices.