All three types plug into a normal socket and fill from a hose. The difference is the wall, and the wall decides how much heat you lose.
Inflatable
The wall is a tube of air. Basic models (for example the Lay-Z-Spa Miami) have a plain PVC wall. Better ones add an insulated liner, or use drop-stitch panels that stand stiff like a paddleboard.
- Price: £300 to £1,000
- Heat loss: the highest of the three
- Good for: summer use, trying out a hot tub, small budgets
Foam wall
The wall is a solid foam core under PVC. Makers claim up to 60 % less heat loss than an air wall. The heater usually sits inside the wall.
- Price: £700 to £1,300
- Heat loss: much lower
- Good for: year-round use
Rigid frame
Stiff panels around a liner. They look like a hard tub, and the better ones (MSpa's TempXcel models) have an insulation layer between the panel and the liner.
- Price: £1,000 to £1,900
- Heat loss: low, especially with an insulation layer
- Good for: a tub that stays up all year and looks like part of the garden
What about a hard-shell hot tub?
Acrylic hard tubs need a 32 A supply wired in by an electrician, a concrete base and a delivery crew. They start around £4,000 and you do not buy them on Amazon, so they are not on this site.
Our pick per type
See inflatable hot tubs, foam-wall hot tubs and rigid-frame hot tubs, each sorted by our score.
