Cheap tub plus separate chiller vs all-in-one cold plunge: which should you buy in the UK?

Every cold plunge sold in the UK is one of two designs. Either the chiller is a separate box on the ground with two hoses into the tub, or it is built into the tub with a single plug. The first costs £699 to £1,300 complete; the second starts at £3,499. This guide sets out what the extra money buys, what it costs you later, and which design suits which buyer, using the 85 products and UK prices in our catalogue.

Written by Aodhan, who has owned both designs. Prices and specifications are from the Plungepedia catalogue, read from each brand's own UK page and last checked on 9 September 2026. Brand links and the Amazon UK links may earn us a commission; the price to you is the same.

What the catalogue says

Of the 73 tubs and baths sold in the UK, 32 come with a chiller and 41 do not. The 41 tubs without a chiller have a median price of £560. Of the 32 with one, 14 are tub-plus-chiller bundles (median £1,120, cheapest £699) and 7 are true all-in-ones with the chiller inside the shell (median £4,799, cheapest £3,499); the other 11 are stainless or cedar premium units with the chiller built in, from £3,509 (Odyssey Plunge Tundra) to £21,000 (Brass Monkey Signature). So the premium for a built-in chiller over a bundle is roughly £2,800 at the entry point and about £3,700 at the medians, and that gap, not the cold, is what this guide is about.

The two designs, defined

Tub plus separate chiller. A hard-wall or inflatable tub (£89 to £2,500) with in and out ports, and a chiller (£499 to £1,599) that pumps water out, through a filter and a refrigeration coil, and back. The chiller sits beside the tub on the ground. Examples: MyoMaster MyoIce Pro with MyoChill (£699), Lumi Pod Pro with Mini Chiller 2 (£873; the chiller is also on Amazon UK), Monk Nomad with Shiver (£1,295), Kove Arctic Core with chiller (£749), Monk Cocoon with Shiver (£2,690).

All-in-one. The chiller, pump and filter are inside the tub body. One power lead, no hoses. Examples: Chill Tubs Lite (£3,499), Chill Tubs Original (£4,499, also on Amazon UK), Odyssey Plunge Tundra (£3,509) and the rest of the Odyssey range to £6,495, Chill Tubs Pro (£5,999), Brass Monkey from £11,245.

Price: what the gap actually is

The cheapest all-in-one is four times the cheapest complete separate setup, and for the same 400 to 450 litres. The gap narrows to £800 between a rigid-tub separate setup (Cocoon plus Shiver) and the Lite, and at that point the Lite includes heating.

What the extra money buys

Heating. Every Chill Tubs all-in-one heats to 40C. Of the separate chillers, only Monk's Shiver Pro (1,450 W, in the £4,290 Cocoon bundle) heats. If you want contrast therapy in one tub, that alone decides it.

Insulation. All-in-ones are rotomoulded, stainless or acrylic shells with insulation designed around the chiller. Hard-wall pods have a 50 to 80 mm air gap; inflatables have 12 mm of foam. Better insulation means the chiller runs less; see running costs below.

One plug and no hoses. No fittings to leak, nothing on the ground to trip over, nothing to carry inside in winter. This is the reason people buy all-in-ones and it is a good one.

Warranty. Chill Tubs and Brass Monkey give 24 months on the whole unit. Separate setups are usually 12 months on the tub and 12 to 24 on the chiller, from two different warranties.

What the extra money costs you later

Repair. A separate chiller that dies out of warranty is replaced for £499 to £799 and the tub is untouched. An all-in-one with a dead chiller module is a repair on an 85 to 220 kg unit: ask the brand what a chiller module replacement costs and whether it is done at home before you buy. None of the all-in-one makers publishes that figure.

Upgrade. A separate setup upgrades in halves: Nomad plus Shiver becomes Cocoon plus the same Shiver; a Kove Core tub takes a Pro chiller later. An all-in-one upgrades by selling the whole thing.

Resale. Two smaller items sell faster and to more buyers than one 125 kg tub; if there is any chance you stop plunging, that matters.

Delivery. All-in-ones are 1,790 to 2,160 mm long and 750 to 800 mm wide and weigh 85 to 220 kg empty: kerbside delivery, two people, and a door that is wide enough. Separate setups arrive as parcels.

Running costs: closer than you would think

The chiller is the running cost, and the same chiller runs less in a better-insulated tub. At 25p per kWh with a cover on, an insulated tub held at 5C costs about £10 to £20 a month in a garage or shade and £20 to £35 outdoors in summer; an uninsulated, uncovered inflatable in the sun can cost £50 to £90. A hard-wall pod with an 80 mm air gap sits close to an all-in-one; a £89 inflatable does not. The running cost calculator does the sum with your tariff and your tub.

The lid matters more than the format. Most heat enters through the open water surface, and an insulated lid can halve chiller run time in either design.

Cooling power: the number that is not on the box

Separate chillers publish watts or horsepower: MyoChill and Kove Core (0.5 HP), Lumi Mini Chiller 2 (445 W), Monk Shiver (880 W), Chill Tubs Mini Chiller (1.5 m³/h flow, 48 dB), Kove Pro (1 HP) and Elite (1.5 HP). All-in-ones mostly do not: Chill Tubs and Odyssey state minimum and maximum temperature (3 to 40C, 3 to 42C) but not the chiller rating, except Odyssey's Olympus (1 HP, 2.75 kW). For a 400 to 500 L covered tub in the UK, 445 W holds 3 to 5C in shade and struggles in full sun; 880 W holds it anywhere. See chillers explained for sizing.

Which should you buy

Buy a tub plus separate chiller if your budget is under £1,500, you are not sure you will keep plunging, you want to upgrade in steps, the tub will live where a box on the ground is fine, or you want the lowest minimum temperature (Lumi's 2C).

Buy an all-in-one if you want heating as well as cold, you want one plug and nothing to assemble or carry, it is going somewhere on show, you have measured the door, and £3,500 or more is comfortable. Chill Tubs Lite is the cheapest way in; the Original if you want stainless; Odyssey Tundra if you want a round stainless tank with a seat.

Buy a rigid tub plus separate chiller (Monk Cocoon plus Shiver, £2,690) if you want it to look permanent but keep the chiller swappable, and you do not need heating.

Before you order, either way

Measure the door and the route to where it will sit. Put it within a hose length of a drain: you will empty 300 to 700 litres every four to eight weeks. Use an RCD-protected 13A outdoor socket; chillers draw 445 to 1,450 W and one plunge in our family needed an electrician before it could be switched on. Read the safety guide: cold immersion raises heart rate and blood pressure sharply, and anyone with a heart condition, high blood pressure or a pregnancy should talk to a doctor first.

Is an all-in-one cold plunge worth it?

Yes if you want heating as well as cooling, one plug, no hoses and a 24-month warranty, and you have £3,500 or more. No if you might upgrade, might stop, or want to spend under £1,500: a tub with a separate chiller does the same cold for a third of the price and can be sold in two halves.

Can I add a chiller to any tub?

To most hard-wall and inflatable tubs sold in the UK, yes, through the in and out ports; check the port size matches the chiller hoses. Very cheap tubs with no ports need a submersible pump kit, which is fiddly and not recommended.

How much does a separate chiller cost in the UK?

£499 (MyoMaster MyoChill) to £799 (Monk Shiver) for a 445 to 880 W home unit with filtration, £1,000 to £1,600 for 1 to 1.5 HP units (Chill Tubs Mini Chiller, Kove Pro and Elite), and £3,000 for commercial units.

Which is cheaper to run?

The all-in-one, slightly, because the tub is better insulated. The difference is a few pounds a month for a covered tub; the cover and where the tub sits matter more than the format.