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Hytale Essence of Life Profit Calculator: Best Crops & Efficiency

Stop guessing which crops make money. This calculator uses game data to calculate your exact Essence of Life per hour. Find out which seeds generate profit and which ones drain your resources.

Crop Calculator

Growth Modifiers Total: 1x
Seed Type
Understanding the Numbers
Essence +X/hr
Net Essence of Life earned per hour after subtracting seed costs. Higher is better for farming profit.
Bench N
Farming Bench upgrade tier needed to craft these seeds. Upgrade your bench with Greater Essence of Life.
Efficiency Bar
Compares this crop to the best option. 5 bars = top efficiency, fewer = less efficient.
Regrow Icon
Regrows after harvest - no replanting needed. Best with Eternal Seeds for pure profit.
Growth Time
Base = without modifiers. Modified = with Fertilizer, Water, or Light applied.
Yield / Cost / Net
Yield = Essence of Life harvested. Cost = seed price. Net = your actual profit.

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Tier --

Hover over labels for more info Tap labels for more info

Growth Time
Base: --
Modified: --
Regrowth: --
Essence of Life
Yield --
Cost --
Net --
Harvest Yields

Items you receive when harvesting this crop. The quantity range (e.g. x1-2) shows the min-max amount per harvest.

Calculate how many harvests you need to reach your Essence of Life goal:

Essence of Life
-- harvests
/
-- total time

You do not have Eternal Seeds yet. Because you must replant (and pay seed costs) every harvest, low tier crops are superior. High tier normal crops often cost more to craft than they return in Essence.

Strategy: Stick to Tier 1 and Tier 2 crops for consistent, safe profit.

CropNet ProfitBench TierWhy It’s Good
Carrot Carrot+1.5 / harvest2Highest profit available early game.
Corn Corn+1.5 / harvest2Identical profit to Carrot.
Wheat Wheat+1.0 / harvest1Best starter crop. Zero risk.

Eternal Seeds regrow infinitely, meaning you pay zero seed cost per harvest. This flips the meta completely.

Strategy: Switch to high yield crops. Since the cost is removed, “unprofitable” crops become the best earners.

CropEfficiencyWhy It’s Good
Tomato TomatoHighest Essence/HourThe speed king. Grows in 38 mins while others take ~63 mins.
Potato PotatoHigh Essence/HarvestBest raw yield per click. Great if you harvest less frequently.
Cotton CottonHigh EfficiencyStrong yields and provides essential crafting material.

You can speed up crop growth using three specific modifiers. When used together, they stack to drastically reduce wait times.

The Speed Formula: Combine all three modifiers to achieve up to 10x faster growth.

ModifierMultiplierHow to Apply
Water2.5xPlant near water or use irrigation.
Light2.0xEnsure the crop has direct light.
Fertilizer2.0xApply fertilizer to the soil.

Example: Wheat normally takes 72 minutes to grow. With Water, Light, and Fertilizer all applied, it can finish in just 7.2 minutes.

It is vital to understand the difference between the two seed types to avoid going bankrupt.

Normal Seeds These are consumed when you plant them. You must pay the Essence cost every single cycle. High tier seeds like Potato cost 10 Essence to craft but only yield ~8.5 Essence. You lose money farming normal Potatoes.

Eternal Seeds These are rare items that regrow automatically. You never pay a replanting cost. This turns “unprofitable” crops like Potato into goldmines because every harvest is pure profit.

Learn how to find Eternal Seeds →

Essence/Hour: Your net Essence of Life earned per hour. This accounts for seed costs (normal seeds replant every harvest). Regrowth time is only used for Eternal Seeds.

Net Profit: Essence gained per harvest. For normal seeds, the crafting cost is subtracted from the yield. For Eternal Seeds, net profit equals the total harvest yield.

Regrowth: Only Eternal Seeds regrow. The circular arrow icon appears only when Eternal Seeds are selected.

What is the best crop for Essence of Life?

Section titled “What is the best crop for Essence of Life?”

Tomato (Eternal). Its rapid regrowth time of 38 minutes allows for more harvests per hour than any other crop. Even though Potato has a higher yield per harvest, Tomato wins on speed.

Wheat or Carrot. Wheat requires no bench upgrades. Once you reach Bench Tier 2, switch to Carrot or Corn for a steady +1.5 Essence profit per harvest.

They are rare drops. Every time you harvest a crop, there is roughly a 0.5% (1 in 200) chance to drop an Eternal Seed. You can also craft them later in the game.

Why does the calculator show negative profit for some crops?

Section titled “Why does the calculator show negative profit for some crops?”

Crops like Potato and Onion have a high seed cost (10 Essence). Since they only drop ~8 to 9 Essence, you lose money farming them with normal seeds. The calculator factors this in to protect your resources.