Is a swim spa worth it?

A current you swim against without moving, in heated water you can use all year. Instead of turning at the end of a lane, you hold your place while pumps, a propeller or a paddlewheel push water at you, so a 30-minute swim is 30 minutes of stroke. A California Energy Commission study gives 78 to 82°F as the recommended water for competitive swimming and 83 to 88°F for water exercise; a swim spa holds whichever you set.

30 of the 186 models we track add a separate hot tub side at 100 to 104°F, so one cabinet does both jobs: a swim for one of you, a soak for the other. The room you get is smaller than the cabinet: across the 73 models that publish an open swim length, it runs a median 68 in (5′ 8″) shorter than the outside length. Check the room for your height.

• Swimmers who want to swim most days without driving to a pool, and don't mind swimming in place.
• People who walk, jog or exercise in water rather than swim laps; the current sets the pace.
• A household where one person wants to swim and another wants to soak, if it has a hot tub side.
• A yard too small for a pool: the typical swim spa covers about 118 sq ft.

It's a poor fit if you'll only use it a few times a summer: the heater runs all year either way. Not sure which kind fits? Ten questions find the ones that do.

Up front, the spa plus the work to set it. The 57 swim spas with a published price run $24,599 to $74,999, with the middle one at $36,399; the other brands quote through dealers. Hydropool, a swim spa maker, puts installation at $2,000 to $20,000 or more depending on the site, though it doesn't say whether those are US or Canadian dollars. The full breakdown is on what a swim spa costs.

Then the power to keep it warm: about $57 a month, or $687 a year, for a typical one, more when you swim a lot and in a cold climate. Chemicals, filters and a cover replacement come on top; we don't have sourced figures for those.

Makers give wide ranges. Bullfrog says 5 to 20 years for the spa and about 7 to 10 for pumps and heaters. Jacuzzi says 5 to 20, sometimes 30, with the shell and cabinet lasting 20 to 30 years. Both say care decides where in that range a spa ends up.

The warranty card shows what the maker will stand behind. Of the 161 models with a published structure warranty, 111 cover it for 10 years and 35 for longer or for life. Equipment is shorter: 115 of 153 give 5 years and 38 give 3. Some propeller systems add scheduled work: Endless Pools tells owners to change the hydraulic fluid every 500 hours and replace the underwater hydraulic motor after 6 years. Read the card before you buy; our guide to the swim spa warranty compares them.

Don't buy one expecting it to. An appraiser quoted by HomeLight in 2020 said a free-standing hot tub counts as personal property and isn't part of the appraised value. A built-in one adds little on its own; an appraiser would treat it more like the landscaping around it. We found no appraisal data specific to swim spas.

The warranty doesn't help a sale either. All 117 warranties that address transfers, from 13 brands, are limited to the first buyer.

• You swim in place against a current. How smooth that feels depends on how the current is made; swim spa jets vs propeller explains it.
• It is heavy: a median 18,588 lb full across 166 models, so it needs a pad built for the load.
• It needs its own 50 or 60 A circuit on most models, and two or three on most with a hot tub side.
• Its equipment needs room for a technician, which limits sinking it into a deck or the ground.

Set against a pool or a hot tub, the numbers sit side by side on swim spa vs pool and swim spa vs hot tub. If you're buying, start with the best swim spas.