Ice baths and cold plunge tubs: every model compared

An ice bath, or cold plunge tub, is a tub of cold water you sit in, usually up to your shoulders. The two names mean the same thing: retailers use both, often in the same listing. At its simplest it’s an insulated tub you fill from the hose and cool with ice. Further up the range, a chiller, a small refrigeration unit that works like a fridge for the water, holds it at the temperature you set, and filters it. Many people put one next to a garden sauna. We found 92 cold plunge tubs and ice baths for sale from 15 UK retailers, and every one is below with the price, capacity and chiller details each retailer states, checked on 30 September 2026.

Shortlist: four ice baths worth a look

These come top on the rule printed under each one. We haven’t tested them; the picks are about the specs and price retailers publish.

Each pick is the cheapest model on the rule under it, among listings that state whether a chiller is included and give a capacity or size. Prices checked 30 Sep 2026. We haven't tested these products.

Every ice bath and cold plunge tub for sale in the UK

Use the filters to narrow the list. “Chiller included” hides the 41 tubs sold without one.

Prices include VAT. Each row shows the date we checked it against the retailer's own page; the latest check was 30 September 2026. Prices change: the retailer's checkout price is what counts. “Coldest stated” is the lowest water temperature the retailer gives for a model sold with a chiller; without one, the water is only as cold as the weather, or the ice you add. “Not recorded” means the retailer's page didn't state it. We may earn a commission if you buy through these links.

Ice bath and cold plunge tub prices

Cold plunge tubs run from £69 for a basic inflatable to £21,000 for a designer tub sold with a chiller. What decides the price is whether there’s a chiller, and whether the tub is inflatable or rigid:

The median tub with a chiller costs £4,496; without one, £499. A chiller is the expensive part: on its own it costs £499 to £3,995 in our data, so a cheap tub with a separate chiller can cost less than a premium tub with one built in.

Do you need a chiller?

Without a chiller, the water is only as cold as the weather and the ice you add, and it needs changing more often. With one, it holds the temperature you set all year, and most chillers also filter the water, and some heat it too. The lowest temperature any chilled tub in our data states is 0°C.

The trade-offs:

• Cost. A chiller adds hundreds or thousands of pounds, and it runs on electricity. Our cold plunge running cost calculator works out the cost from the chiller’s power draw.
• Power. A chiller needs a weatherproof, RCD-protected socket nearby, or its own supply: see electrics and water below.
• Space and noise. The chiller usually sits beside the tub, connected by hoses, so it needs its own dry spot with airflow. Check the listing for its size and any noise figure before you order.

If you’re not sure you’ll use it often, an inflatable tub without a chiller costs least to try: the median is £299. Several sellers offer the same tub with or without a chiller, or sell chillers that fit other tubs, so you can add one later.

Inflatable, tub or barrel?

• Inflatable (38 listed, median £499): a PVC or nylon tub, often with foam insulation and a lid. Some are drop-stitch “hard-wall” inflatables pumped to a high pressure. Cheap, light and easy to move or store; less sturdy, and most don’t come with a chiller.
• Rigid tubs (acrylic, fibreglass, polyethylene or stainless steel): a moulded shell, often insulated, and often sold with a chiller built in or matched to it. The premium end of the market.
• Timber barrels and tubs: spruce, cedar or thermally modified wood with steel bands, usually with a liner or insert. They match a barrel sauna, and some have a chiller option.

Whatever the type, think about the weight: water weighs a kilogram a litre, so a 500-litre tub holds half a tonne of water before anyone gets in. It needs a firm, level base, the same as a sauna.

Chillers: what they are and what they draw

These are the standalone chillers UK retailers sell for ice baths and plunge tubs:

As each retailer states it. “Power draw” is the electrical input where the retailer gives one; a chiller's horsepower (HP) rating is not its power draw. Some units also heat.

The rating in horsepower (HP) is the chiller’s cooling size, not what it draws from the socket. For running costs you need the power draw in watts, which only some listings give. At 26.32p per kWh, a chiller drawing 445 W costs about £0.12 for each hour it runs. Try your own figures in the cold plunge running cost calculator.

Electrics, water and where to put it

Electrics. Many chillers plug into a standard 13 A socket; some listings ask for an RCD-protected outdoor socket, and the biggest units need more. Electrical Safety First advises using an RCD with all outdoor electrical equipment, and only extension leads and connectors made for outdoor use. In England, Part P covers electrical work in gardens, and a new circuit is notifiable work, so if you need a new outdoor supply, use a registered electrician. If you’re adding a garden sauna as well, plan both supplies at once: see sauna and cold plunge at home.

Water. HSE lists water between 20°C and 45°C, and water that’s stored or recirculated, among the conditions that let legionella bacteria grow. A tub left in the summer sun, or one whose chiller also heats, can reach that range. Follow the maker’s instructions on filters, sanitising and how often to change the water, keep it covered, and plan where the water will go when you empty it.

Placement. A firm, level base that can take the full weight; a non-slip surface around it; a lockable cover; and the chiller where it has airflow and stays dry.

Sources: Electrical Safety First: Electrical safety advice for the garden; GOV.UK: Approved Document P (2013 edition); IET: Part P (England and Wales) - Frequently asked questions; HSE: What Legionnaires' disease is and typical symptoms. Checked 30 September 2026.

Safety

Cold water has real effects on the body, and a garden tub is a pool of water at home:

• Cold water shock. The RNLI defines water below 15°C as cold water that can seriously affect breathing and movement: sudden cooling of the skin causes an involuntary gasp, and the heart rate and blood pressure rise. It advises anyone trying cold water dipping for the first time to talk to a health professional about the risks first. The British Heart Foundation says people with a heart condition should discuss the risks with their doctor or nurse before starting cold water swimming.
• Children. The Child Accident Prevention Trust says babies and small children mostly drown at home, in the bath or garden, in just a few centimetres of water. Keep the tub covered and locked when it isn’t in use, and empty an inflatable you’re not using.
• Electricity and water. Keep plugs and sockets dry and off the ground, use RCD protection, and follow the maker’s instructions for the chiller.

We don’t make health claims for cold plunging, and this isn’t medical advice.

Sources: RNLI: Cold water shock; RNLI: Open water swimming; British Heart Foundation: Cold water swimming: is it bad for your heart?; Child Accident Prevention Trust: Child drowning prevention: Water safety for kids. Checked 30 September 2026.

Do you need planning permission for a plunge tub?

In England, the Planning Portal’s outbuildings guidance covers swimming pools and ponds as well as garden buildings, and householder permitted development (Class E) includes a swimming or other pool used for purposes incidental to the house. The usual limits apply: nothing in the grounds of a listed building, nothing at the side of the house on designated land, and in National Parks, the Broads, National Landscapes and World Heritage Sites, no more than 10 m² of buildings and pools more than 20 m from the house.

We haven’t found official guidance on freestanding plunge tubs. If you’re building one into the ground, putting up a structure over it, or you’re on designated land or in a listed building, ask your council. Our planning permission checker covers the sauna itself.

Sources: Planning Portal: Outbuildings; legislation.gov.uk: GPDO 2015 Schedule 2 Part 1 Class E – buildings etc incidental to the enjoyment of a dwellinghouse. Checked 30 September 2026.

LUMI ice baths

LUMI Therapy sells inflatable ice baths. Its own shop has 8 listings in our data, from £89 to £1,048: four tubs, each sold on its own or with LUMI’s Mini Chiller 2.

• Without a chiller, the LUMI tubs run from £89 to £499, and you cool the water with ice or the weather.
• With the Mini Chiller 2, the bundles run from £758 to £1,048. LUMI states a lowest temperature of 2°C for them.
• For two, the PRO DUO is the only LUMI tub we found listed for two people.
• Warranty and returns, as LUMI states them: one year on the Pod PRO, PRO 8, PRO DUO and Mini Chiller 2, six months on the Pod MAX Ultra, and a 30-day trial with return shipping at your cost if you change your mind.

One other retailer in our data lists LUMI: RecoverFit, with the Lumi Recovery Pro Ice Bath (Bath Only) at £589 and the Lumi Recovery Pro Ice Bath + Thermo CT2 Chiller/Heater Unit at £3,445. All of the LUMI tubs we list are inflatables. For how they compare with other brands’ inflatables and with rigid tubs, use the filters in the full table.

Plunge pools: what’s the difference?

“Plunge pool” gets used for two different things. One is a small, deep pool, usually built into the ground or a deck, which is a building project. The other is a freestanding cold tub, which is what this page compares: 5 of our listings are sold as a “plunge pool” or “cold plunge pool”, from £395, and they’re the same kind of product as the ice baths around them.

If what you want is a cold plunge big enough to share, 25 listings are sold for two or more people, from £130:

We don’t list in-ground plunge pools or small swimming pools, and we don’t have prices for them. If you’re building one, the planning rules for pools apply: in England, permitted development covers a swimming or other pool used for purposes incidental to the house, within the same limits as outbuildings. There’s more in planning permission below.

Sources: legislation.gov.uk: GPDO 2015 Schedule 2 Part 1 Class E – buildings etc incidental to the enjoyment of a dwellinghouse; Planning Portal: Outbuildings. Checked 30 September 2026.

Tubs that heat as well as chill

Some chillers also heat, so one tub can be a cold plunge in the morning and a warm soak in the evening. 20 of our listings say on their own page that the tub or its chiller heats as well as cools, from £2,499, with stated top temperatures of 40°C to 45°C.

That isn’t the full list. 9 of the standalone chillers we list also heat, and a chiller sold in a bundle can heat even where the bundle’s page doesn’t say so: Polar Recovery’s Ultra Mini Chiller page, for example, states heating to 38°C. Check the chiller’s own page.

Warm water needs more care than cold: HSE lists water between 20°C and 45°C among the conditions that let legionella bacteria grow, so follow the maker’s instructions on sanitising and water changes.

Sources: HSE: What Legionnaires' disease is and typical symptoms. Checked 30 September 2026.

Who sells ice baths and cold plunge tubs

• Polar Recovery: 19 listings
• Steam & Oak: 17 listings
• Balance Recovery: 14 listings
• LUMI Therapy: 8 listings
• Outdoor Living Hot Tubs: 7 listings
• The Pod Company (UK): 5 listings
• RecoverFit: 4 listings
• Nuovo Luxury: 4 listings
• Lay-Z-Spa UK (Bestway): 3 listings
• CryoHome: 3 listings
• EdenHut: 2 listings
• Aqualine Saunas: 2 listings
• Brass Monkey: 2 listings
• Chilly Gorillas: 1 listing
• Seatherny Outdoor Living: 1 listing

Several of these also sell garden saunas, so you can buy both from one place: compare them on UK sauna retailers compared.