Compare the Best Tumble DryersFebruary 2020

Tumble dryers take damp, clean clothes and rotate them in a heated drum, removing the moisture from the clothes to dry them quickly and effectively. There are two main types of dryers - condenser and vented. Here are the main advantages and differences between them:

Sensor Drying

Some more advanced models of tumble dryer will have a moisture sensor installed. This sensor detects the dampness of the clothes, and automatically adjusts the cycle to give just enough time for the clothes to be completely dried. This saves both time and money, since the dryer will automatically stop once the clothes are dry.

Capacity

The capacity of the drum in your tumble dryer will determine how many clothes you can fit in a single cycle. Drum capacity is measured in Kg, with a single Kg being equivalent to a single outfit. Bigger dryers have bigger capacities, which may be necessary for families - single people and couples may find it far cheaper and more energy efficient to buy a smaller dryer.

Programs

Most models of tumble dryer contain several different programs for clothing of different material, as well as different temperatures and spin levels for more delicate pieces of clothing. While not all of these programs may be necessary, more programs is generally a good sign of a higher-end and more capable tumble dryer.

Many dryers also contain an anti-crease setting - this causes the the drum to rotate unheated at the end of cycles, in order to minimise wrinkling on laundry. This setting is extremely helpful if you plan on leaving laundry tumbling while you go out, or overnight. If left unmoved, your cleaned laundry will develop unsightly creases, as the clothing is all jumbled up and folded at strange angles from the spin drying. However periodically rotating the drum causes the laundry to shift anew, stopping creases developing.

Tumbler Prices

In total we found 337 laundry dryers ranging from £89 to £1,999. On average, a new tumbler costs £471 and 80% of laundry dryers are priced between £180 and £831. The Miele TWR860WP is the most expensive tumble dryer that we found at £1,999, and the White Knight C38AW is the cheapest at only £89.

Tumble Dryer Brands - Price Range

Miele tumble dryers start at £699 and their most expensive tumbler costs £1,999. The average price of Miele tumble dryers is £1,100 which is the highest average price of all tumbler brands.

LG tumble dryers range in price from £595 to £999, and the second highest average tumbler price out of all brands is LG tumble dryers with an average price of £774.

The third highest average tumble dryer price out of all brands is Electrolux tumble dryers with an average price of £729. Electrolux tumble dryers range in price from £480 to £979.

Tumbler Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 31 expert reviews and 18,007 user reviews for laundry dryers and used this data to evaluate the average rating for each brand of tumble dryer. Bosch is the top rated tumble dryer brand with an average rating of 87%. Beko is the second best brand with 86% and AEG is the third best brand with 84%.

Biggest Tumbler Retailers

We found 229 current offers for laundry dryers from eBay making it the biggest tumble dryer retailer. That is slightly bigger than the second biggest retailer, Currys for whom we found 198 current offers for laundry dryers. The third biggest retailer is AO with 104 current tumble dryer offers.

When Are Most New Tumble Dryers Released?

November to January is the most common period for new laundry dryers to be released in. That means that most of the latest tumbler technology was released in within the last 3 months, and now is good time to buy. In January 2019, six new tumble dryers were released making it the biggest month that year for new tumble dryer releases. 47 new tumble dryers were released in April 2018 making it the biggest month that year for new tumble dryer releases. The biggest month in 2017 for new tumble dryer releases was November, with 58 new tumble dryers released that month.

How Fast Do Tumbler Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, laundry dryers drop in price by 4% on average.

That means that on a typical tumbler costing £471 you could save on average £17 by waiting 6 months before buying.

Drum Capacities

The drum volume denotes the capacity of the dryer, measures in kilograms.

Comparing all laundry dryers, the drum capacities range from 2.5kg to 20kg. The drum capacities of the majority of tumble dryers range from 8kg to 8.5kg. The Whirlpool 3LWED4705FW, which sells for £831.04, has the biggest drum capacity and is a 15kg capacity tumbler. The tumble dryer with the smallest drum capacity is the Teknix TKDV25B, which is a 2.5kg capacity tumble dryer and is available at £141.99.

Drying Systems

The drying system shows the technology used by the tumbler to dry clothes. Different systems have both positives and negatives.

The most popular drying system amongst new tumble dryers is heat pump. We found 451 tumble dryers that are heat pump laundry dryers. We found 409 laundry dryers that are condenser tumble dryers, making condenser the second most frequently found drying system amongst new laundry dryers.

Noise Levels

'Noise Level' denotes how much noise the dryer makes when it's running, measures in decibels (dB).

Across the range of laundry dryers, the noise levels range from 40dB to 75dB. The noise levels of the majority of laundry dryers range from 65dB to 67dB. The tumbler with the loudest noise level is the Indesit NISDG428, which is a 75dB noise level tumbler and sells for £168.00. The Teknix TKDV25B, which sells for £141.99, has the quietest noise level and is a 57dB noise level tumbler.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Laundry Dryers?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying laundry dryers. For each retailer it shows the total number of laundry dryers where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying laundry dryers. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 105 of their tumble dryer prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Laundry Dryers for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for tumble dryers by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of tumble dryer prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's tumble dryer prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 45.9% of their tumble dryer prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.