It really depends on the setup, but I would say generally "no". For the same size plant between a hydro setup (like DWC) and a soil, the size is about the same. The only difference is the area the roots are contained in and the container is generally the same between the two.

For example, between soil and DWC, mother plants in their own containers generally sit in a 5 gallon.
gainesvillegreen Reviewed by gainesvillegreen on . Space usage for hydro? Quick question, does hydro generally use up less room than soil? That's how it looks in pictures, but I am not sure. What I mean, is if I'm going to use 3 gallon buckets for my plants in a soil grow, would I be able to use smaller buckets if I go with hydro? I am thinking about setting up individual buckets for each plant and running each separately in a DWC type setup. The smaller the area the better, as my space is limited, but I don't wanna give up a 400w HPS or reduce my yield. Rating: 5