The Intex PureSpa Bubble is our best budget inflatable hot tub: it strips out the app and the LEDs but keeps tough walls, the strongest 2,200 W heater on test and a comfortable four-person soak, for the keenest price here. Here is what it does well, and where it cuts its corners.
Tested April 2026 · last updated June 2026 · by Lewis Carter, outdoor leisure tester
Intex is one of the biggest names in inflatable spas worldwide, and the PureSpa Bubble is its no-nonsense entry point for UK buyers. At around £330 it is the cheapest true four-seat tub here, with hard-wearing Fiber-Tech walls, a genuine 2,200 W heater (the most powerful on test) and a comfortable 795 L soak for four. It skips the app and the mood lighting that the dearer tubs offer, but it keeps the things that actually matter, which is exactly why it is our best budget pick.
| Model | Price | Capacity | Heat-up time (15 to 40°C) | Running cost | Rating | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ★ Top pick Intex PureSpa Bubble 4-Person Inflatable Hot Tub | £599.99 | 4 people / 795 L | ~24 hours | ~£40 / month | ★ 4.2 | View → |
£599.99
4 people / 795 L · ~24 hours · ~£40 / month
The verdict from Lewis Carter, outdoor leisure tester
The best budget inflatable hot tub. The Intex PureSpa Bubble strips out the app and the LEDs but keeps what matters: tough Fiber-Tech walls, a genuine 2,200 W heater and a comfortable four-person soak for the keenest price here. It cost us about £40 a month to run over a mild month, the lowest of any tub on test once you account for that strong heater, though the thinner cover means you should not skip the insulating ground mat. For one household that wants a no-nonsense tub, it is the smart spend.
Plain to look at but heats with real conviction; the bubbles are firm and even across the floor.
The PureSpa Bubble is the right tub if you want a dependable first hot tub at the lowest sensible price and you do not need an app or LED lighting. At 196 cm across it seats four adults upright in comfort and lets two really stretch out, and its 795 L volume is generous for a budget tub. The strong 2,200 W heater means it warms water with real conviction and, helped by that, it was the cheapest of the larger tubs to run in our test. If your priority is a warm, reliable soak rather than gadgets, the PureSpa Bubble delivers it for less.
It is less suited to two groups. If you want app control, the CleverSpa Maevea adds Wi-Fi for a little more, and if you want the best heat retention and lowest seasonal running cost, the Lay-Z-Spa Paris is the upgrade. The PureSpa Bubble also seats four rather than six, so larger households that regularly host should look at a six-person tub. For a couple or a small family on a budget, though, it is the smart spend.
Despite its strong heater, the PureSpa Bubble was among the slower tubs to reach temperature, taking about 24 hours to climb from a cold 15°C fill to the maximum 40°C. The reason is its heat retention rather than its heater: the standard cover is thinner than the premium tubs, so it lost around 2.3°C an hour with the lid on, more than the Lay-Z-Spa Paris. The 2,200 W heater is what keeps it competitive, clawing temperature back quickly once it is up to heat. The clear lesson with this tub is to add a separate insulating ground mat; it makes a real difference to both heat-up time and the bill.
Here the PureSpa Bubble surprises. Over a mild month of a few evening soaks a week, with the lid on, an insulating mat underneath and the heater on a timer, it cost us about £40 a month to run, the lowest of the larger tubs. The strong 2,200 W heater spends less time fighting to reach temperature, and at 795 L it is no bigger than the other family tubs. It is not as cheap to run as the small-volume Wave Spa Atlantic, but among the four-and-six-seat tubs it is the most economical. Our figures assume a unit rate broadly in line with the Ofgem price cap.
The PureSpa Bubble is plain but tough. Intex's Fiber-Tech walls are reinforced with a mesh of polyester strands, so they feel firm to lean against and resist punctures well, and the 120-jet bubble system delivers an even, firm fizz across the whole floor. The control panel is simple and self-explanatory, and the kit is generous for the money: a floating chlorine dispenser, a hard water treatment cartridge, an inflatable lid and two filter cartridges are all in the box. There is no app and no LED lighting, and the pump measured around 65 dB at one metre when heating, a touch louder than the dearer tubs but not intrusive.
Two corners are cut. First, there is no app and no LED lighting, so you control the tub at the panel and you soak by whatever light your garden provides; if those features matter to you, spend a little more on the CleverSpa Maevea. Second, the thinner standard cover means it sheds heat faster than the premium tubs, so it took the full 24 hours to heat from cold and an insulating ground mat is effectively a required accessory rather than a nice-to-have. Both are entirely reasonable at this price, and neither stops the PureSpa Bubble being a genuinely good budget tub. Observe the usual 40°C maximum and the soaking-time guidance in standards such as BS EN 17125.
Best for: the buyer who wants a dependable, warm first hot tub at the lowest sensible price and does not need an app or lighting. Not the pick if you want app control (try the CleverSpa Maevea) or the best heat retention and lowest seasonal cost (try the Lay-Z-Spa Paris).
For a budget tub it is genuinely good. The PureSpa Bubble drops the app and the LED lighting but keeps the things that matter: tough Fiber-Tech walls, a real 2,200 W heater (the strongest on test) and a comfortable four-person soak. It was the cheapest tub to run in our mild-month test at about £40 a month, helped by that strong heater, so as a no-nonsense first hot tub it is a smart buy.
Intex sells it as a four-person tub and that is a fair number. Four adults can sit upright comfortably, and two can really stretch out. It is not a six-seater, so if you regularly host larger groups you should look at a six-person tub like the Lay-Z-Spa Paris instead. For a couple or a small family, the PureSpa Bubble is well sized and cheaper to heat than a bigger tub.
It includes the pump-heater unit, a floating chlorine dispenser, a hard water treatment cartridge, an inflatable lid and two filter cartridges, so you can get going out of the box bar the chemicals. The one thing we would add is a separate insulating ground mat: the standard cover is thinner than the premium tubs, so a mat underneath noticeably reduces heat loss and running costs over a cold British week.
The Intex PureSpa Bubble is our best budget inflatable hot tub because it spends your money where it counts: tough Fiber-Tech walls, the strongest 2,200 W heater on test and a comfortable four-person soak, for around £330. It is held back by the lack of an app or lighting and by a thinner cover that makes it slow to heat from cold at about 24 hours, but the strong heater keeps its running cost the lowest of the larger tubs at roughly £40 a month, and an insulating mat fixes most of the heat-loss issue. If you want app control, step up to the CleverSpa Maevea; if you want the best heat retention, the Lay-Z-Spa Paris is the one. To plan around its running cost, read our running costs guide and our buying guide.