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Under £400 you are buying an inflatable hot tub, not a hard-shell one. The walls are layered PVC that the pump inflates in minutes, and one control unit beside the tub heats the water, filters it and blows bubbles through a ring of jets in the floor. A rigid acrylic hot tub costs thousands and usually needs a concrete base and its own electrical supply, so at this price inflatable is the only option, and a good one.
What this band does well is choice. Under £300 you take whatever is in stock. Under £400 you can pick the shape, the size, the finish and even app control, and five of the seven hot tubs below are from Lay-Z-Spa or Dellonda, brands with UK spares. What you don't get yet is an insulated lining or a reinforced lid, which is where the £400-£500 tubs earn their money.
Every figure below comes from the hot tub's listing in our range. Amazon prices move every day, so we show the band each hot tub was in when we checked rather than a price.
| Model | Seats | Shape and size | Water | Jets | Stand-out feature | Price band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nordivale 208cm | 4-6 | Round, 208 x 65cm | Not listed | 130 air jets | 1,800W heater, 4 filters in the box | Under £300 |
| Lay-Z-Spa Cancun AirJet | 2-4 | Square, 180 x 180 x 66cm | 669 litres | 120 AirJets | Freeze Shield, power-saving timer | About £300 |
| Lay-Z-Spa Miami AirJet | 2-4 | Round, 180 x 66cm (132cm inside) | 669 litres | 120 AirJets | 4.5 stars from 1,245 ratings | £350-£400 |
| Dellonda DL90 | 2-4 | Round, 175 x 70cm (135cm inside) | 800 litres | 110 bubble jets | Rattan effect, 5.3m cable | £350-£400 |
| Aoxun 208cm | 4 | Round, 208 x 65cm | 1,000 litres | 130 air jets | 1,800W heater, insulated cover | £350-£400 |
| Lay-Z-Spa Palm Springs AirJet 6 | 4-6 | Round, 196 x 71cm | Not listed | 140 AirJets | Most jets in the band | £350-£400 |
| Lay-Z-Spa Boracay Smart AirJet | 4 | Round, 180 x 66cm | 669 litres | 120 AirJets, 2 levels | Wi-Fi app, locking cover | £350-£400 |
Two things stand out. The three 180cm Lay-Z-Spas share the same 669-litre body, so you are choosing between shape and features, not size. And the 208cm hot tubs hold far more water: the Aoxun's 1,000 litres is half as much again as the Lay-Z-Spas, which means more room but a bigger heating bill. If it will mostly be the two of you, a smaller hot tub from our 2 person hot tubs heats quicker.
The Miami is the round inflatable version of the Cancun and one of the most-reviewed hot tubs on Amazon UK, with 4.5 stars from 1,245 ratings. It is 180cm across outside and 132cm inside, holds 669 litres at an 80% fill and has 120 AirJets. Its listing gives a heating rate of about 1.5-2°C an hour and a filter flow of 1,325 litres an hour. Freeze Shield, a ChemConnect chemical dispenser and an insulated lid with a top cover all come in the box.
The Boracay is the only hot tub in the band you can run from your phone. Its Wi-Fi app lets you start heating on the way home, and the AirJets have two intensity levels. It also has the best safety kit here: a built-in RCD, a ground detection system, Freeze Shield (on at 6°C, off at 10°C) and a reinforced locking cover. The body is the same 180cm, 669-litre shell as the Miami, rated for four adults.
The DL90's rattan-effect wall looks far less like a paddling pool than grey vinyl. It is 175cm outside and 135cm inside, so it is slightly roomier than the 180cm Lay-Z-Spas, and holds 800 litres with 110 bubble jets. The listing quotes 1.5-2.5°C an hour, a digital LED panel and a thermostat that reheats once the water drops 2°C. A 5.3m cable gives you more freedom over where it goes. It has 4.1 stars from 79 Amazon ratings.
For space, the Aoxun is the inflatable to pick: 208cm across, 1,000 litres and 130 air jets, with a stated 1,800W heater. It comes with an insulated cover, a ground sheet, four filter cartridges and two filter nets, and a two-year warranty. Full, it weighs about 1,200kg, and the listing asks for at least 250 x 250cm of floor. It had no Amazon ratings on our feed yet, so read the latest reviews before buying.
The Palm Springs is the bigger Lay-Z-Spa inflatable, 196cm across and 71cm high with 140 AirJets around the floor, the most in this band. Its listing doesn't give the litres or the heater rating, so check those on Amazon. For more family-size choices at every price, see our 6 person inflatable hot tubs.
Two of the seven hot tubs were £300 or less when we checked: the Cancun AirJet (square, 669 litres) and the Nordivale 208cm (4-6 people, 130 jets, 3.8 stars from 60 ratings). Both are fine first hot tubs, and you will find them on our hot tubs under £300 page too. Spending up to £400 adds:
Stretch to £500 if you need one of three things the cheaper inflatables lack. First, a full six-seater with lots of water, such as the Lay-Z-Spa New York (about 1,200 litres). Second, a reinforced insulated cover, like the one on the Lay-Z-Spa Aruba Signature. Third, an insulated wall lining that holds heat through a British winter. If none of those matter, the sub-£400 hot tubs are the better value. Compare them on our hot tubs under £500 page.
Inflatable hot tub walls are thick. The 180cm Lay-Z-Spas are 132cm across inside, the 175cm Dellonda 135cm. "2-4 person" means two adults stretched out or four sitting upright, and "4-6" means four adults in comfort. Leave 30cm or more around the outside for the control unit and climbing in.
The Cancun is the only square hot tub in this band. Square inflatable tubs sit neatly in a corner and give each person a side to lean against. Round ones spread the bubbles evenly and are easier to find in stock.
Every hot tub here tops out at 40°C, but they get there slowly. Lay-Z-Spa quotes 12 hours for the Cancun from cold and 12-24 hours for the Boracay's first heat; the Miami's 1.5-2°C an hour works out at 12-17 hours to lift tap water from 15°C to 40°C. Be wary of quick claims: the Aoxun listing says 2-3 hours, but warming 1,000 litres by 25°C takes about 29kWh, which is roughly 16 hours at 1,800W before any heat escapes.
The cover does more to hold heat than anything else, so check what comes in the box. The Lay-Z-Spas' Freeze Shield runs the heater between 6°C and 10°C so the pipes can't freeze if you keep the hot tub up all year. An RCD on the plug (the Cancun and Boracay list one; the Nordivale has a GFCI safety plug) cuts the power if there is a fault.
A budget hot tub is only good value if it lasts. The pump is the part most likely to fail, and Lay-Z-Spa sells replacement pumps, filters and patches in the UK. With a lesser-known brand, check the warranty before you buy: the Aoxun lists two years.
Electricity is the main cost of any inflatable hot tub, and it follows the litres you heat. These figures use the Ofgem price cap unit rate of 26.32p per kWh for October to December 2026:
To keep bills down, leave the cover on whenever nobody is in the hot tub, put a groundsheet or foam mat under it, shelter it from wind and use the timer to heat before you plan to get in.
Water weighs a kilogram a litre, so even the smallest hot tub here weighs well over 700kg with people in it. Put it on flat, level, solid ground such as paving, a concrete pad or decking rated for the load, never on grass. All seven plug into a standard 13A outdoor socket; don't use an extension lead, and follow Electrical Safety First on outdoor sockets and RCD protection.
Warm water at 35-40°C in an inflatable spa suits bacteria, including Legionella. Keep a sanitiser in the water, test it every few days, rinse the filter often and change the hot tub water every few months. The HSE's spa-pool guidance is written for businesses, but its basics apply in a back garden too. Lay-Z-Spa's ChemConnect dispenser, included with the Cancun, Miami and Boracay, releases chlorine slowly so the level stays steadier.
Yes, if you expect an inflatable. You get the same 40°C water and bubble massage as a hard-shell hot tub, and it packs away for winter or a house move. The trade-offs are slow heating, a soft floor seat and a lifespan of a few seasons rather than decades. Buying a brand with spares, such as Lay-Z-Spa or Dellonda, makes a failed pump an easy fix.
Yes. Four were in this band when we checked: the Cancun, Miami, Boracay Smart and Palm Springs AirJet 6. Lay-Z-Spa prices on Amazon move often, so check the current price on each listing.
Plan on 12-17 hours from cold tap water for a 669-litre Lay-Z-Spa, and longer for a 1,000-litre hot tub. After that, reheating a few degrees under a good cover takes an hour or two.
Only one with frost protection, such as Lay-Z-Spa's Freeze Shield on the Cancun, Miami and Boracay, and a cover that stays on. Expect much higher bills in cold weather. Without frost protection, drain and dry the hot tub before the first hard frost.
Two hot tubs under £400 are rated for up to six: the Lay-Z-Spa Palm Springs AirJet 6 and the Nordivale 208cm, both sold as 4-6 person. Six only works if some are children; four adults is the comfortable number.
WhatSpa says new inflatable models arrive between Christmas and April, so last year's hot tubs are often discounted in spring. Early summer is when the cheaper models sell out, so buying in autumn or spring gives you the most choice under £400.
