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The number on the box is the maker's seating rating, not a promise that six adults will have room to stretch out. Brands work it out from the space around the inside wall, so a hot tub sold as "4-6" or "6 person" may suit four adults with plenty of legroom, or six who don't mind knees touching in the middle.
The figure that matters is the inside diameter, because an inflatable wall is thick. The Lay-Z-Spa Milan AirJet Plus is 196cm across the outside but 146cm inside, so the walls take up 50cm of its width. The Ease.zone heated spa and the Shatchi Aurora Delight are both 160cm inside from 208cm and 204cm outside. Spread round the wall, 146cm gives each of six people about 76cm of backrest, and 160cm gives about 84cm. That gap is the difference between snug and comfortable.
Some ratings come with fine print too. The Arebos Whirlpool is sold as a six-person spa, but its listing says that means four adults and two children.
These figures come straight from the specifications of models in our range. Outside size is what your patio needs to fit; litres tell you how long it takes to heat and how much it weighs.
| Model | Shape and outside size | Water | Jets | Walls | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intex PureSpa Greywood Deluxe | Round, 216cm | 1,098 litres | 170 | Fiber-Tech inflatable | 2,200W heater, hard water treatment, LED lights |
| Wave Atlantic | Round, 208cm | 1,000 litres | 130 | Drop-stitch with EcoFoam insulation | 13A RCD plug, two 150-hour filters |
| Arebos Whirlpool 6 | Round, 208cm | 1,000 litres | 130 | 3-layer PVC | Rated 4 adults plus 2 children |
| Lay-Z-Spa Milan AirJet Plus | Round, 196cm (146cm inside) | 916 litres | 140 | DuraPlus inflatable | Wi-Fi app, Freeze Shield, 954kg full |
| Wave Como | Octagonal, 195cm | 985 litres | 90 | PU foam core | App control, cushioned seat pads |
| MSpa Tuscany | Octagonal, 193cm | 1,100 litres | 138 | Inflatable PVC | UVC sanitiser, 1,175kg full |
| Coco Spa Nordik | Round, 180cm | 1,100 litres | 140 | 5cm drop-stitch | Wood-effect finish, 2 seats included |
| Lay-Z-Spa Carrara | Round, 170cm | 850 litres | 140 | ThermaCore foam | Pump built into the liner, app control |
Thin drop-stitch walls are why the 180cm Coco Spa inflatable hot tub holds more water than some 196cm tubs: less of the width is wall. If you like the look of that one, our wood effect hot tubs include several other Coco Spa models.
The classic inflatable hot tub design: a three-layer PVC ring pumped up to firmness. These are the lightest to move and the quickest to pack down, and most of the lower-priced six-seaters use them. The trade-off is heat loss through the sides and a softer wall to lean against.
Thousands of internal threads hold the two faces of the wall together, so it inflates flat and rigid like a paddleboard. That lets makers use slimmer walls (5cm on the Coco Spa range) and fit more water and seating into the same footprint.
Wave's Como and Tahoe and Lay-Z-Spa's Carrara use insulated foam panels instead of air. These hot tubs hold heat better (Wave quotes 50% better thermal efficiency for the Como than a standard model) and feel more like a solid spa, but take longer to put up and need more storage space when they come down.
Measure the hot tub's outside diameter and add room to step in, reach the control panel and lift the cover: around 50cm on at least two sides is sensible. Aoxun's listing, for example, asks for a 250cm square of floor for its 208cm hot tub.
Weight is the bigger issue at this size. Every litre of water weighs a kilogram, so a 1,000-litre hot tub is a tonne before anyone gets in. Add six adults and you are near 1.5 tonnes on roughly 3m², close to half a tonne per square metre. Put it on a flat, level, solid base such as paving or a concrete pad. Most decking and all balconies need checking by a builder or structural engineer first, and a soft lawn will sink unevenly.
Keep your hot tub within reach of an outdoor socket, as close to the back door as you can manage, and away from overhanging trees that drop leaves into the water.
More water means more to heat, and a 6 person hot tub holds 900-1,100 litres. The heaters on these inflatable hot tubs raise the temperature by about 1-2°C an hour: 1.5°C for the Wave Atlantic and Arebos, 1.2-1.8°C for the MSpa Tuscany, 1.5-2°C for the Lay-Z-Spa Milan. Filling with tap water at around 12°C and heating to 38°C is a rise of 26°C, so expect 13-22 hours from a fresh fill. Fill it the evening before you want it.
Warming 1,000 litres by that much takes at least 30kWh of electricity before any losses. Under the Ofgem energy price cap from October 2026, electricity is about 26p per kWh on a typical Direct Debit tariff, so a first heat-up costs roughly £8-10. A 2.2kW heater costs about 58p for every hour it runs after that. How often it runs depends on the weather, the lid and how often you open it.
To keep the bills down:
Each bather adds sweat, skin oils, sun cream and make-up to the water, so a full 6 person hot tub needs more sanitiser and more filter cleaning than a couple's spa. Showering before getting in makes a real difference. Most UK guidance aims for 3-5 parts per million of free chlorine and a pH of 7.2-7.6. Test with strips before every session when the hot tub is busy, rinse the filter every few days and swap it as the maker advises (Wave rates its filters at 150 hours each).
If you let the hot tub to paying guests, for example at a holiday cottage, you take on legal duties for legionella control. The HSE guidance on spa pools covers what that involves.
A 6 person hot tub is the safe choice if four or more of you use it regularly, or if you host often. Its extra water costs more to heat than a 4 person hot tub, though, and takes longer to warm up. If there are usually two of you, a smaller hot tub from our 2 person hot tubs range will be ready faster and cheaper to keep warm. For bigger groups, the Intex PureSpa Bubble 8 Person is 236cm across and holds 1,340 litres.
On a budget, several 6 person models appear in our cheap hot tubs range and a few in hot tubs under £300. For our top picks across every size, see the best inflatable hot tub guide.
Most 6 person inflatable hot tubs are 190-216cm across the outside and 65-73cm high. Inside, expect 145-170cm depending on how thick the walls are. Square and octagonal ones are usually around 193-196cm along each side.
Between about 850 and 1,100 litres filled to the line. The Lay-Z-Spa Carrara holds 850 litres and the MSpa Tuscany and Coco Spa models 1,100. Six people in the water raise the level, so don't overfill.
Yes, but it is cosy in hot tubs with less than about 160cm inside. For regular use by six adults, pick a model with drop-stitch or slim walls, or treat a "4-6" hot tub as a comfortable four.
Usually 13-22 hours from a cold tap fill for a 900-1,100 litre hot tub, at 1-2°C an hour. Once it is up to temperature, keeping it there with the lid on takes much less.
Around a tonne of water alone for a 6 person hot tub: the Lay-Z-Spa Milan is 954kg filled and the MSpa Tuscany 1,175kg. Add the weight of the bathers on top.
No. The models in our comparison table run from a standard 13A socket. Use an outdoor socket on an RCD-protected circuit and plug the hot tub in directly, not through an extension lead.
Round hot tubs put everyone facing the middle, which suits conversation; square and octagonal ones give corner seats and fit neatly against a wall or fence. Our round hot tubs guide compares the two shapes in detail.
