Most guides to buying a bathtub hand you a list of shops. That list is out of date within eighteen months, and it answers a smaller question than the one you are asking.
The bigger question is what kind of seller to buy from, because the channel changes the product. Here is the part that surprises people: a well-known brand sold through a home improvement chain and the same brand sold through a plumbing supply house are frequently not the same tub. A plumber putting it plainly in a trade forum:
"Tip: don't buy from big box... same exterior, cheaper internals. [The brand] from a plumbing supply house. [The same brand] from a big box [is not the same]."
r/Plumbing, on supply houses against big box stores
Same badge on the carton, different specification inside it. That is the single most useful thing anyone can tell you before you compare prices, and it only makes sense at the level of channel rather than shop.
So this guide is organised by the four channels you can buy a bathtub through, what each is genuinely good and bad at, and how to tell which one suits your project. One disclosure up front: Badeloft makes and sells stone resin tubs direct, so we are one of the four channels described below. We have written that section with the same scepticism as the others, and you will find plenty of cases here where buying from somebody else is the right answer.
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The Four Channels Compared
Same tub, different seller, different experience. Tap a channel to see what it is good and bad at.
- Best for
- Delivery
- If it is damaged
- The catch
Scores are relative between the four channels, not absolute, and they describe the typical case rather than any one business. Price is scored so that a longer bar means cheaper. Every channel has excellent and poor operators inside it.
Big box home improvement chains
The default, and for a lot of projects the correct default. Prices are the lowest of the four channels, stock is on the floor so you can collect the same day, and returns are straightforward while the tub is still in its packaging.
What to know. The in-store range is usually the entry-level specification, and it is where the same-badge-different-tub problem lives. The chains' websites are a different matter: a counterpoint in the same trade discussion notes "Check the big box store websites. They usually have higher quality lines of the name brands", so the advice is not a blanket avoid. Buy online from a chain and you often reach the better lines; buy off the floor and you are buying what they stock for volume.
Ask one question: is this model number chain-specific, or the same one sold through plumbing supply? If the answer is vague, compare on specification rather than on price.
Best for budget builds, rentals, standard alcove tubs, and anything needed this week.
Online marketplaces and large online retailers
The widest range by a distance, and usually the most competitive pricing once you compare across sellers. If you already know the exact model you want, this is where you will find it, including sizes the chains do not stock.
What to know. You are buying from a logistics operation rather than a plumbing merchant. There is nobody to ask, delivery dates move, and the tub arrives kerbside on a pallet. The single most important check is who the seller actually is: on a marketplace listing it may be the manufacturer or a third party, and that changes the warranty path entirely. It is usually in small type under the price.
Read the freight damage policy, not the returns policy. A thirty-day return window is easy to offer on a phone case. On a 250 lb item that arrived chipped, the specific freight damage terms are what matter, and they are frequently different.
Best for mid budgets with no deadline, unusual sizes, and buyers who have already decided.
Plumbing supply houses and specialists
The channel most homeowners never consider and the one the trade uses. Supply houses carry the full specification lines rather than chain-specific versions, they handle heavy freight as routine business, and the person behind the counter installs this stuff for a living.
The common misconception is that you cannot shop there. Most supply houses sell to the public. The counter looks like it is set up for trade because it is, but that is exactly why it is useful: you can ask what the install actually involves and get an answer from someone who has done it. If you already have a plumber, ask whether they will order the tub on their trade account, which often beats retail and, more importantly, makes the wrong delivery their problem rather than yours.
What to know. Pricing is full retail and it will feel higher than the chains. What you are buying alongside the tub is specification, handling and advice. On a heavy cast iron tub that is worth real money.
Worth knowing that some online retailers are supply houses in disguise. One trade commenter points out the overlap in a single line: "FYI Build.com is Ferguson supplies online. No sales people to deal with." The channel and the shopfront are not always the same thing.
Best for heavy tubs, higher budgets, anyone installing it themselves, and anyone with questions.
Direct from the manufacturer
Buying from the company that made the tub. The range is narrow by definition, since you see one maker's catalogue, so comparison shopping has to happen before you arrive.
What you gain is the warranty path. Buying direct removes the argument about whether a fault is the retailer's problem or the maker's, because they are the same party. On an expensive tub carrying a lifetime warranty on the shell, that is worth more than a discount. Specification is the full line, and the people answering the phone know the product rather than a category.
What to know. Lead times are real, especially for specialist materials and non-standard finishes. If you need it this week, this is the wrong channel.
Best for specialist materials such as stone resin, specific finishes, and any purchase where the warranty matters most. Badeloft sells through this channel, so treat this section as interested rather than neutral.
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Where Should You Buy It
The kind of seller matters more than which shop. Five questions and you will know which channel suits your project, what to watch for there, and the one thing to ask before you pay.
Delivery, damage and returns, the part nobody plans for
A bathtub is the hardest thing in a bathroom to return, and almost every guide to buying one skips this entirely.
Kerbside means kerbside. Most freight delivery puts a palletised tub at the end of your driveway and leaves. Moving 250 pounds of boxed cast iron from there into a bathroom is your problem unless you paid for threshold or room-of-choice delivery. Ask which one you are getting, in those words.
Inspect before you sign. This is the single most valuable habit in this guide. Once you have signed for a delivery in good condition, a freight damage claim becomes much harder to win. Photograph the pallet before you cut the wrap, then check the rim, the apron and the drain area specifically. Enamel chips hide under shrink wrap.
Confirm the drain hand before it ships. Tubs are handed, left or right, and a mirrored tub is a return rather than an adjustment. Check the spec drawing against your rough-in.
Measure the route, not just the room. Doorways, stair turns and landings. Tubs do not come apart. Our guide to standard bathtub dimensions has the figures to check against.
Seven things to settle before you buy
These hold regardless of which channel you use.
1. Who will be using the bathtub
A tub for small children, for an adult who soaks, or for a guest bathroom used a dozen times a year are three different purchases. Decide this before you shop, because it determines depth and shape more than budget does.
2. How much space the bathroom actually has
Measure the alcove or the floor area, then subtract the clearance you need in front of it. Our dimensions guide covers the standard sizes.
3. How much weight the floor can hold
A filled cast iron tub with someone in it passes 700 pounds concentrated on around twelve square feet. On an upper storey that is a question for whoever knows the framing, asked before you order rather than after.
4. Which material you are buying
This decides heat retention, weight, price and how long it lasts. Compare acrylic, fiberglass, cast iron and stone resin in our bathtub materials comparison before you choose a shop.
5. What the installation involves
Drain hand, mortar bed, access to the trap, and whether the existing plumbing location works. These are cheap decisions now and expensive ones later. Our guide to bathtub installation costs covers what the labour runs to.
6. What it does for resale
A bathtub helps a house sell rather than paying back its cost. In a family home, removing the only tub is the decision most likely to cost you at sale.
7. Whether it is actually comfortable
Ask for the internal bathing length and the backrest angle rather than the overall size, and sit in one if you possibly can. It is the one thing no specification sheet answers and the most common regret.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the cheapest place to buy a bathtub?
A big box home improvement chain, and it is not close. The trade is specification: the in-store range is usually built to a lower spec than the same brand through plumbing supply. Their websites often carry the better lines, so buying online from a chain is frequently the best value available.
Is it worth buying from a plumbing supply house?
For a heavy tub, a higher budget, or a self-install, yes. You get the full specification line rather than a chain-specific version, freight handled by people who do it daily, and advice from someone who installs these. You do not need a trade account; most sell to the public.
Is the same brand of tub identical everywhere?
Often not. Manufacturers commonly produce chain-specific model numbers built to a different specification from the ones sold through plumbing supply. Compare model numbers rather than brand names.
What should I check when the bathtub is delivered?
Photograph the pallet before you unwrap it, then inspect the rim, apron and drain area for chips and cracks before you sign. Signing for a delivery in good condition makes a later freight damage claim much harder.
Should my plumber buy the bathtub?
Often worth it. Trade pricing at a supply house can beat retail, and a plumber who ordered the tub owns the problem if the wrong one turns up. That transfer of responsibility is usually worth more than the saving.
How much does a new bathtub cost?
Anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a basic acrylic or steel alcove tub to several thousand for cast iron or stone resin. Our guides to bathtub costs and the cost of replacing a bathtub break it down, and installation is a separate line.
When to Buy From Badeloft
Badeloft is a manufacturer that sells direct, so everything above about buying direct applies to us, including the fact that we are an interested party in this section. Here is when buying from us makes sense, and when another channel is the better call.
Buy from Badeloft when
- You want a modern freestanding tub as the centrepiece of the room. Freestanding tubs are the only tubs we make: 27 stone resin models in oval, egg, rectangular, back-to-wall and deep Japanese-style shapes, from a 47-inch soaker to a 75-inch tub for two. Browse them in our freestanding bathtub collection.
- You want stone resin specifically. Every model comes in white, grey or black, in a matte or glossy finish, and our data sheets rate stone resin as holding bath heat two to three times longer than acrylic. The trade is weight, which the next list covers.
- You want the full specs before you commit. Every model has a technical data sheet with the interior length, depth to overflow, capacity and dry weight, the numbers a big box listing rarely gives you and the ones your contractor will ask for.
- You want to see it in your room first. We send a free material sample, matte and glossy on one piece, and free full-size paper templates of up to three tubs, so you can check the colour, the feel and the footprint before you order. Request samples and templates.
- Your budget fits. Our tubs run from $3,290 to $3,890, and freight delivery is $199 in the West, $299 in the East and $349 to New York and Florida, more for our largest tubs.
Choose another channel when
- You are replacing a standard alcove tub between three walls. We do not make alcove tubs, and a big box chain or a plumbing supply house is the right place for one.
- You need the tub this week. Stocked tubs ship by freight in about 5 to 10 business days after dispatch, and some models are made to order with a 6 to 12 week lead time.
- Your floor cannot take a heavy tub. Stone resin is solid, and our largest tub weighs 551 pounds empty, so have the framing checked first, especially on an upper floor.
- You want easy, free returns. Returns are accepted within 14 days of delivery with prior approval, but you pay shipping both ways plus a 10 percent restocking fee, which adds up on a freight item. Order the samples and templates first so you only buy once.
Every tub carries our 10-year residential warranty. Delivery is curbside, so plan for someone to be home to inspect the crate before signing, and for help getting it inside.