THE STEADY ONE
A typical bath
About 80 litres when filled halfway, below the overflow. Fill it deeper and the litres climb quickly.
Where the figure comes fromTHE EVERYDAY WATER QUESTION
Bath or shower?
Measured, simply.
How many litres, how much energy and what it really costs, with no guesswork.
Compare my shower
LITRES& minutes
- Count the litres
- Mind the minutes
- Heat is the real cost
- Small habits, real savings
A clear comparison built on published UK figures and current energy prices. Try the planner with your own shower, then pick the habits that suit your home.
Updated for October 2026 energy prices.
Updated
THE SHORT ANSWER
It depends on your shower.
A bath has a fairly fixed size.
A shower depends on its flow and your minutes.
THE COMMON ONE
A standard shower
10 to 15 litres a minute. An 8-minute shower uses 80 to 120 litres: as much as a bath, or more.
Try your own numbers
THE THRIFTY ONE
A low-flow shower
About 6 litres a minute. Even an 8-minute shower stays near 48 litres, well under a bath.
See the easy habitsA LITTLE LESS GUESSWORK
Your shower
versus a bath.
Choose how long you usually shower and how strong your shower is. The planner shows the litres, the cost of heating them and how it compares with an 80-litre bath (24.7p on gas, 73.5p on electricity).
Estimates heat water from 10 °C to 40 °C using Ofgem's 1 October to 31 December 2026 price cap unit rates (gas 7.97p/kWh with a 90% efficient boiler; electricity 26.32p/kWh). Standing charges and metered water or sewerage charges are not included. Your figures will vary.
THE NUMBERS
Litres first,
then the heating.
Published UK figures and the
October 2026 price cap unit rates.
80 litres
Filled halfway, below the overflow
About 24.7p to heat with a gas boiler, or 73.5p with electricity.
A TYPICAL BATH · WATERWISE
0.31 pence
Per litre, with a 90% efficient gas boiler
Or 0.92p with electricity. Heating the water costs far more than the water itself.
HEATING ONE LITRE · 10 °C TO 40 °C
Estimates at Ofgem’s October to December 2026 price cap unit rates; standing charges and water charges are not included.
EASY WINS
Small habits.
Fewer litres.
Set a shower timer
A four-minute timer, or one favourite song, keeps showers short without thinking about it.
Try a water-efficient head
Estimated to save around £25 a year and about 9,000 litres. Check it suits your shower type first.
Fill the bath a little less
A few centimetres lower still feels like a bath, and every litre you skip is a litre you do not heat.
Catch the cold run-off
Collect the cold water while the shower warms up and use it for plants or cleaning.
GOOD TO KNOW
Five facts worth
a second look.
Heating, not water, is the big cost
Warming one litre by 30 °C takes about 0.035 kWh. That is why a long, hot shower on electricity costs several times more than the cold water it uses.
Water heating is a real slice of the bill
The Energy Saving Trust, citing UK Government research, says heating water makes up about 18% of a typical gas-heated household's heating bills.
Four minutes adds up
Keeping showers to four minutes could save around £45 a year in Great Britain and about 17,000 litres of water, according to the Energy Saving Trust.
One bath a week makes a difference
Swapping a single weekly bath for a four-minute shower is estimated to save about £10 a year and 4,000 litres of water.
Prices changed this autumn
From 1 October 2026 the price cap unit rates are 26.32p/kWh for electricity and 7.97p/kWh for gas, and VAT has been removed from electricity bills until 31 March 2027.
QUICK QUESTIONS
Bath and shower, answered.
Short answers with the numbers behind them.
Is a bath or a shower cheaper?
It depends on the shower. A typical half-filled bath holds about 80 litres. A standard shower uses 10 to 15 litres a minute, so an 8-minute shower uses 80 to 120 litres: as much as a bath or more. A low-flow shower at about 6 litres a minute uses 48 litres in 8 minutes. Heating the water costs far more than the water itself.
How much water does a bath use?
Waterwise puts a standard bath filled halfway, below the overflow, at around 80 litres. A deeper bath uses considerably more, so the fill level matters as much as the tub.
How much does a shower cost?
Using the October to December 2026 Ofgem price cap rates, heating one litre of shower water from 10 °C to 40 °C costs about 0.31p with a 90% efficient gas boiler, or 0.92p with electricity. An 8-minute shower at 10 litres a minute is about 24.7p on gas. Water and sewerage charges are extra if you have a meter.
How long should a shower be?
The Energy Saving Trust suggests keeping showers to four minutes, which it estimates could save £45 a year in Great Britain and around 17,000 litres of water. A shower timer or a single song makes the habit easier.
Do water-efficient shower heads really help?
They reduce litres per minute while keeping the spray comfortable. The Energy Saving Trust estimates a water-efficient shower head could save around £25 a year and about 9,000 litres of water. Check compatibility with your shower type first: some electric and low-pressure systems need a specific head.
Where the facts come from
- Energy price cap, 1 Oct to 31 Dec 2026Ofgem
- Saving energy and money in the bathroomEnergy Saving Trust
- Bath vs shower (Waterwise figures)Smart Energy GB
- How to save waterWaterwise