A hot tub is three numbers, not one: the tub, getting it in, and keeping it hot. Published hot tub prices run from $5,499 to $30,395, installation adds about $1,500 to $6,000, and a typical 6- to 7-seat tub costs about $28 a month to keep hot.
In this lesson
The three numbers in any hot tub budget
What installation adds on top of the tub
What it costs each month to keep hot
What are the three numbers in a hot tub budget?
It's easy to budget for the tub and get surprised by everything after it. Put three numbers on paper before you shop:
The tub, as you'd order it, with its cover and steps.
Getting it in: delivery, the base and the electrical circuit. Paid once.
Keeping it hot: electricity every month, plus water care and parts that wear.
The pool and hot tub trade association gives buyers the same list.
How much does a hot tub cost?
Only 6 of the 15 hot tub brands we track post prices on their own websites. Where they do, hot tubs run from $5,499 to $30,395, and one brand can cover most of that. Caldera lists a 2-seater at $5,499 and an 8-seater at $29,499; Hot Spring, a 2-seater at $5,499 and a 7-seater at $27,999. So don't ask what a brand costs. Ask what the model costs.
A list price is where the talk starts. Sundance notes it leaves out accessories, freight, delivery, installation and tax. Where a brand posts nothing, the dealer's quote is the only number. See every published price.
How much does it cost to install a hot tub?
About $1,500 to $6,000 on top of the tub, by Jacuzzi's 2026 planning guide. Your yard decides where you land:
The circuit: $600 to $2,200 or more for a 240V line. A 120V plug-in tub can often use an existing outdoor outlet on its own circuit.
The base: $600 to $2,000 or more for a 4 in reinforced concrete slab.
Delivery: $200 to $500, plus $800 to $1,500 or more for a crane.
HomeAdvisor says delivery is often in the tub's price and the crane usually isn't. Ask before you compare quotes. More on installation cost.
How much does a hot tub cost per month?
About $28 a month to keep a typical 6- to 7-seat tub hot, at the US average of 18.19¢ per kWh. That's from the standby power California measures on every tub sold there. Across 317 tubs, it runs from about $14 to $46.
What it costs a month to keep a tub hot, by size
2 to 3 seats47 tubs$20
4 to 5 seats78 tubs$24
6 to 7 seats167 tubs$28
8 seats and up21 tubs$33
Your electricity rate moves the bill more than the brand. Soaking, cold nights and refills add to it, and so does a new cover: the California Energy Commission puts a cover's life at about five years. Your state is on running cost.
What does the money buy?
Use. A tub you soak in four nights a week costs the same to keep hot as one you open twice a month. The value is in how often you get in: is a hot tub worth it?
A lower price only saves money if the tub holds its heat and holds together. Among six- and seven-seaters, the cheapest to keep hot and the most expensive are about $21 a month apart: $249 a year, every year. And what ends a tub early isn't a pump, which gets swapped. It's a cracked shell or a hose working loose behind the cabinet, where it's hard to reach (how long hot tubs last). Most model pages here show the monthly cost; lesson 3's build checks show whether it will last.
Next: how to compare brands without the pitch, and why the person who fixes the tub matters as much as the name on it.
Remember this
A hot tub budget is three numbers: the tub, getting it in, and keeping it hot.
Published hot tub prices run $5,499 to $30,395, and most brands post none.
Installation adds about $1,500 to $6,000 on top of the tub, by Jacuzzi's 2026 guide.
A typical 6- to 7-seat tub costs about $28 a month to keep hot at the US average rate.
A tub that holds its heat and holds together costs less every year you own it.
Check yourself
3 quick questions. Tap an answer.
By Jacuzzi's 2026 guide, what does installation add on top of the tub?
What moves your monthly running cost more than the brand does?
A maker's list price (MSRP) usually covers:
Want more on this?
Each of these goes deeper. They open in the library; the course will be here when you come back.
8 more lessons: how a good tub is built, what it really costs, what to ask at the showroom and how to get the best price, then your showroom cheat sheet. It opens right away.