Everything You Need to Know About Hot Tub Weight

Hot tubs are a great place to soak your troubles away after a long and stressful day at work. And they’re hugely therapeutic both for achy muscles and anxious minds.

And just as there are many benefits of using a hot tub, there are also many different sizes, shapes, and varieties to choose from.

One question we get asked a lot is “How much does a hot tub weigh?” It’s a perfectly logical question. Most people need to know if their deck can hold it if that’s where they’re putting it. Or they want to know if they can move it to a different location without hiring some muscle.

And while we’d love to be able to give you a direct answer, there just isn’t one.

In fact, hot tubs are made in so many different sizes and out of so many different materials that they can range from under 100 lbs to well over 1,000 without water.

What we can do, however, is break them down into sizes and give you a more relatable answer. How’s that sound?

Good? Then let’s get started!

2-Person Hot Tubs

Small hot tubs that are designed for just a couple of people tend to be the lightest weight. Depending on the material it’s made out of, it could weigh 300-600 pounds without water and up to 3,000 pounds when it’s full.

But let’s break it down by hot tub type. So, in each category, you can find portable inflatable hot tubs that weigh next to nothing. Take this two-person spa made by ALEKO. It weighs a measly 59.8 pounds without water.

Now, the smallest traditional hot tubs, which are typically made out of fiberglass, tend to weigh somewhere between 400 and 600 lbs without water. This would be a tub about 5’ x 7’ in size.

Once you add water, though, you’ll have to add about 8.33 lbs per gallon. To put that in perspective, a small 2-3-person spa will weigh about 2,500 lbs on average once it’s filled with water.

4-Person Hot Tubs

A four-person hot tub is usually considered medium-sized. Its empty weight will typically be around 750-800 lbs, while it can weigh around 3,700 when filled.

Though these can range in size depending on their design, an average measurement for a four-person hot tub is 7’ x 7’. These can hold about 300 gallons of water, adding approximately 2,500 lbs. So, if your tub weighs 800 lbs empty, it will weigh around 3,300 lbs with water.

Make sense?

6-8-Person Hot Tubs

You can expect most six-eight-person hot tubs to weigh somewhere around 800 lbs and hold a little over 400 gallons of water. This means they can weigh roughly 4,000 lbs when filled.

 Of course, with this size hot tub, you have to keep in mind that they often have added features and heavier materials that can make the weight range vary quite a bit.

10-Person Hot Tubs

Any hot tub that holds more than 6-8 people is heading into gargantuan territory. You won’t see them very often because they are so large and require so much water.

A typical 10-person spa might be about 8’ x 12’ and hold up to 750 gallons of water. And, like the larger 8-person spas, tend to weigh more because of their added features. For example, a hot tub of this size might require more than one pump and a lot more jets.

In fact, we’ve seen some weigh in at well over 1,000 lbs, and I would say that’s not all that uncommon for a unit of this size.

Why Does Hot Tub Weight Matter?

If you’re reading this, you probably already know why it matters how much your hot tub weighs. The most common concern is the strength of the deck it will be sitting on.

We liked this article by Hot Tub Owner HQ that breaks down exactly how to determine if your deck can support your hot tub. We won’t rehash his article since he explains it so well, but we will give you some high points.

One point he makes is that a deck built at ground level and up to 2 feet off the ground can support up to 100 lbs per square foot, which is fine for most hot tubs. But if your deck is higher than that, you’ll need extra support.

And one thing most people forget to factor in is how much the tub will weigh when filled with both water and swimmers! Be sure to keep this in mind.

The other reason that hot tub weight might matter to you is that you might not want it to be a permanent fixture. This could be because you’re renting your property or because you’d like to set one up temporarily at a vacation home.

In either of these scenarios, an inflatable hot tub is always your best bet. And you can invest in an inexpensive electric air pump to inflate it and deflate it quickly.

How to Determine the Exact Weight of Your Hot Tub

There are a couple of ways you can do this. The first and easiest way to find out how much your hot tub weighs is to read your owner’s manual or look it up online.

If you still can’t seem to find that information, call the manufacturer directly. They should also be able to tell you how much water it will hold. You can then multiply that number by 8.33 lbs (what water weighs per gallon) and add it to the empty weight of your hot tub.

Then, multiply the number of people your spa will hold by their average weight. This might be hard to determine if you plan on entertaining guests, so it’s better to guess higher rather than lower.

Conclusion

There are a lot of factors that go into the weight of a hot tub, such as how it’s constructed, what type of material is used, how many added features it has, and size.

Before you purchase one, it’s important to make sure you have a safe place to put it. If it’s a wooden deck, make sure it will support it once it’s filled with water and people.