We conclude that freeze-drying of H. pluvialis can yield more astaxanthin than spray-drying and freeze-dried powder can retain more astaxanthin under vacuum packaging and storage at −20 °C.The long-term exposure of the H. pluvialis cells to low temperature(−40 °C) during the freeze-drying process may have caused lower degradation of the temperature-sensitive astaxanthin, resulting in higher yields of these compounds. Moreover, the cost-benefit analysis showed that freeze-drying followed by vacuum-packing and storing at −20 °C could generate around AU$600 higher profit per 100 kg biomass than spray-drying. The results clearly show that freeze-drying, vacuum-packing and storage at −20 °C of H. pluvialis is a preferred procedure in terms of maximizing profit per unit biomass and retention of bioac-tive astaxanthin