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At this price every hot tub is an inflatable. The walls are three layers of PVC (Lay-Z-Spa calls its version TriTech or DuraPlus), blown up by the pump in a few minutes, and one control unit beside the tub heats, filters and runs the bubbles. Rigid acrylic hot tubs start in the thousands, plus a base and often a dedicated electrical supply, so £500 is firmly inflatable territory.
Within that, £500 is a sweet spot. It is enough for a six-seater, a square tub, Wi-Fi control or a rattan-effect finish, and it covers the newer Lay-Z-Spa Signature models with reinforced insulated covers. What you won't get under £500 is a hard seat, water jets aimed at your back or a tub that heats in an afternoon: the massage is air bubbles from a ring in the floor, and the heaters are 1.5-1.8kW, so the water rises by roughly 1.5-2.5°C an hour.
Every heated tub in the grid tops out at 40°C, and all of them plug into a standard household socket. The differences that matter are seats, litres (which drive your heating bill), the heater, the cover and frost protection, so that is what we compare below.
These figures come from each tub's listing. Amazon prices change daily, so instead of a price we show the band each one sat in when we checked.
| Model | Seats | Shape and size | Water | Jets | Stand-out feature | Price band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lay-Z-Spa Cancun AirJet | 2-4 | Square, 180 x 180 x 66cm | 669 litres | 120 AirJets | Fits a corner, Freeze Shield | Under £400 |
| Lay-Z-Spa Miami AirJet | 2-4 | Round, 180 x 66cm | 669 litres | 120 AirJets | 4.5 stars from 1,245 ratings | Under £400 |
| Aoxun 208cm | 4 | Round, 208 x 65cm | 1,000 litres | 130 air jets | 1.8kW heater, 4 filters in the box | Under £400 |
| Dellonda DL90 | 2-4 | Round, 175 x 70cm | 800 litres | 110 bubble jets | Rattan effect, 5.3m cable | Under £400 |
| Lay-Z-Spa Palm Springs AirJet 6 | 4-6 | Round, 196 x 71cm | Not listed | 140 AirJets | Cheapest six-seater here | Under £400 |
| Lay-Z-Spa Boracay Smart AirJet | 4 | Round, 180 x 66cm | 669 litres | 120 AirJets, 2 levels | Wi-Fi app control | Under £400 |
| Arebos Whirlpool Tenerife | 6 | Square, 185 x 185 x 65cm | 910 litres | 130 air jets | 1.8kW heater, LED lights, remote | £400-£500 |
| Lay-Z-Spa Aruba Signature AirJet | 3 | Round, 170 x 66cm | 800 litres | 110 AirJets | Reinforced insulated cover | £400-£500 |
| Bestway 54100 Whirlpool | 4 | Round, 206 x 71cm | 900 litres | 80+ air jets | No heater listed - check | £400-£500 |
| Lay-Z-Spa New York | 6 | Round, 196 x 66cm | About 1,200 litres | 140 AirJets | EnergySense insulation | £400-£500 |
| Lay-Z-Spa St Lucia AirJet | 2-3 | Round, 170 x 66cm | 605 litres | 110 AirJets | Folding touch screen | £400-£500 |
Two patterns stand out. Water ranges from 605 litres in the St Lucia to about 1,200 in the New York, and every extra litre has to be heated, so the bigger tubs cost noticeably more to run. And seat counts are generous: "4-6 person" means four adults in comfort. If it is just the two of you, a 2 person hot tub heats faster for less.
The New York is the biggest Lay-Z-Spa in the band: 196cm across, about 1,200 litres and 140 AirJets for six people. Its EnergySense lining is insulated, and Lay-Z-Spa says it is 40% more efficient than its standard tubs (the maker's own figure). An insulating lid, a top cover, Freeze Shield and a power-saving timer come with it. The catch is time: its listing quotes 12-24 hours to heat from cold, so fill it with the cover on.
A square six-seater, 185 x 185cm outside and 145 x 145cm inside, holding 910 litres. It has more in the box than anything else here: an 1,800W heater, a 600W bubble blower, 130 jets, LED lights with six modes, a remote, a filter alarm, a lockable cover and a floor mat. It has 4 stars from 685 Amazon ratings. Arebos is a German brand rather than a UK one, so check the warranty terms on the listing.
The Aruba is one of Lay-Z-Spa's newer Signature tubs, rated for three adults. It is 170cm across with 800 litres and 110 AirJets, and weighs just 26.3kg empty. Its listing gives a 1.5kW heater, a reinforced insulated cover and a digital panel with a timer and lock, so it holds heat better than the basic lids on the sub-£400 tubs.
At 605 litres the St Lucia holds the least water, so it warms up and holds heat for the least electricity. It seats 2-3, measures 124cm across inside, and has a folding touch-screen panel, frost protection between 6°C and 10°C and TÜV Rheinland GS safety certification. It sat right at the £500 limit when we checked.
If you want a family-size tub and would rather keep £100 back, the Palm Springs (196cm, 4-6 people, 140 AirJets) and the Aoxun (208cm, 1,000 litres, 130 jets, 1.8kW heater) were both under £400. Neither had many Amazon ratings yet, so read the latest reviews first.
Six of the eleven tubs were under £400 when we checked: the Cancun, Miami, Boracay Smart, Dellonda DL90, Palm Springs and Aoxun. The Miami and Cancun are two of the best-reviewed Lay-Z-Spas on Amazon (4.5 stars), so if you just want a reliable 2-4 person spa, there is no need to stretch to £500. We compare those six on their own in inflatable hot tubs under £400.
The £400-£500 tubs earn their price in one of three ways:
If none of those matter to you, the cheaper band is better value. At the bottom of the market, our hot tubs under £300 page tracks the very cheapest tubs, though stock there comes and goes.
Go by the inside measurement, not the outside: inflatable walls are thick, so a 180cm tub is about 132cm across inside and a 170cm one about 124cm. Allow 30cm or more around the outside for the pump and getting in. Square tubs such as the Cancun and Tenerife tuck into a corner and give everyone a side to lean on; round ones are more common, and our round hot tubs page compares them on their own.
Nearly every tub in the band heats the water, but not all. The Bestway 54100 Whirlpool's listing says "heater included: no", with activated-oxygen treatment and an external filter unit. Without a heater you fill it with warm water and it cools from there, which is fine for summer bubbles but not for winter evenings. Read the listing before you buy.
Where the heater rating is given, it is 1.5kW (Aruba) or 1.8kW (Aoxun, Tenerife). Lay-Z-Spa's Freeze Shield and the St Lucia's frost protection switch the heater on when the water drops to 6°C and off at 10°C, so the pump and pipes don't freeze if you keep the tub up all year. Without it, drain and pack the tub away before the first hard frost.
Grey and charcoal vinyl suit most patios. If the tub will be on show from the house, the Dellonda's rattan finish and our wood effect hot tubs blend into a garden better.
The price is only the start. Electricity is the big cost, and it depends mostly on how many litres you heat. These figures use the Ofgem price cap unit rate of 26.32p per kWh for October to December 2026:
Keep the cover on at all times, use the timer to heat before you plan to get in, and shelter the tub from wind. In winter the heater runs for much of the day just to hold 38-40°C, so bills rise sharply.
A litre of water weighs a kilogram, so a filled six-seater weighs well over a tonne once people are in. Put it on a flat, level, solid base such as paving, a concrete pad or decking rated for the load, never on grass. Every tub here runs from a 13A socket, and the Cancun, Boracay and Aruba list an RCD on the plug; Electrical Safety First advises using an RCD with all outdoor electrics, and most manuals say not to use an extension lead. Cable lengths vary: the Dellonda's is 5.3m, the Tenerife's 3.5m and the St Lucia's 3m.
Warm water at 35-40°C suits bacteria, including Legionella. Keep sanitiser in the water, test it every few days, run the filter daily and change the water every few months. The HSE's spa-pool guidance is written for businesses, but its basics apply just as much in a back garden. Lay-Z-Spa's ChemConnect dispenser, included with the Cancun, Miami, Boracay, Aruba and St Lucia, releases chlorine slowly to make this easier.
Yes, as long as you expect an inflatable. You get the same 40°C water and a bubble massage as a hard-shell tub for a fraction of the price, and you can pack it away. The trade-offs are slower heating, a softer seat and a shorter life. Buying a known brand with spare parts, such as Lay-Z-Spa, makes a pump failure an easy fix rather than the end of the tub.
Yes. Three were in this band when we checked: the Lay-Z-Spa New York, the Arebos Tenerife and the Lay-Z-Spa Palm Springs AirJet 6 (4-6 people). Six seats assumes some are children; four adults is the comfortable number. For more family-size tubs at every price, see our 6 person inflatable hot tubs.
Each hour of heating costs roughly 39-47p at the current price cap, and the first heat from cold costs about £4.60-£9 depending on the litres. Monthly costs depend on the weather, the cover and how often you use it; winter is far dearer than summer.
The smallest: the St Lucia holds 605 litres and the 180cm Lay-Z-Spas 669, against about 1,200 in the New York. Among the bigger tubs, the New York's insulated lining helps it hold heat.
Only if it has frost protection, such as Lay-Z-Spa's Freeze Shield, and a good insulated cover. Expect much higher electricity use in cold weather. Without frost protection, drain it before temperatures drop below freezing.
WhatSpa says new inflatable models arrive between Christmas and April, so last year's models are often discounted in spring, while early summer is when stock sells out. Prices on Amazon move daily, so check the current price on each listing.
