In a heated room a night costs almost the same in both machines: 31.8p for the Arete One 12L and 32.0p for the MeacoDry ABC 10L at the October 2026 price cap. The difference is in what that electricity buys. At 20°C and 60% humidity the Arete One removes 5.23 litres of water a day and the ABC 4.48, so a litre costs 18.2p in the Arete One and 21.4p in the ABC.
The ABC is £50.99 cheaper on Amazon UK. In a warm room it keeps that advantage until you have removed about 1,600 litres of water. In a cold, damp room the Arete One catches up after 370.
Every figure comes from the performance tables on Meaco’s own product pages, read on 28 September 2026 and priced at 26.32p per kWh, the Ofgem cap rate from 1 October to 31 December 2026.
The verdict, 28 September 2026
- A heated-room night (8 hours at 20°C and 60%) costs 31.8p in the Arete One and 32.0p in the ABC. The two draw 151W and 152W.
- Per litre, the Arete One is cheaper in all six conditions Meaco publishes: 18.2p against 21.4p at 20°C and 60%.
- The widest gap is a cold, damp room. At 10°C and 80% humidity a litre costs 22.0p in the Arete One and 35.7p in the ABC.
- The Arete One is £179.99 and the ABC £129.00. Its pence-back point, the water it must remove to earn back the £50.99 gap, is 1,596 litres at 20°C and 60%, and 370 litres at 10°C and 80%.
- The Arete One carries a five-year warranty. The ABC has two years, and Meaco offers an extension to five.
| Room | Arete One 12L | Per litre | MeacoDry ABC 10L | Per litre | Pence-back point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10°C, 60% | 130W, 1.95 L/day | 42.1p | 128W, 1.55 L/day | 52.2p | 507 litres |
| 10°C, 80% | 131W, 3.77 L/day | 22.0p | 129W, 2.28 L/day | 35.7p | 370 litres |
| 20°C, 60% | 151W, 5.23 L/day | 18.2p | 152W, 4.48 L/day | 21.4p | 1,596 litres |
| 20°C, 80% | 157W, 8.33 L/day | 11.9p | 159W, 7.32 L/day | 13.7p | 2,809 litres |
| 30°C, 60% | 186W, 8.21 L/day | 14.3p | 187W, 7.04 L/day | 16.8p | 2,066 litres |
| 30°C, 80% | 198W, 12.18 L/day | 10.3p | 198W, 10.28 L/day | 12.2p | 2,687 litres |
Why the same night costs different amounts
Pence per night tells you what the electricity costs. It does not tell you how much water you got for it. These two machines draw almost exactly the same power in every condition Meaco lists, within 2 watts of each other, but the Arete One pulls more water out of the air each time. At 20°C and 60% it removes 1.74 litres in an eight-hour night and the ABC removes 1.49.
If you run a dehumidifier until the room reaches a set humidity, which is what the humidistat on both machines does, the water is fixed and the running time is not. The ABC has to run longer to take out the same litres, so the cost per litre is the figure that ends up on your bill.
The pence-back point
The Arete One costs £50.99 more. In a 20°C room it saves 3.19p on every litre, so it needs 1,596 litres to pay back the difference. That is a lot of water. A 3kg load of washing holds about 1.74 litres after a normal spin, so drying five loads a week indoors gives the machine 8.7 litres a week to remove. At that rate the warm-room payback takes about three and a half years.
In a cold room the picture is different. The ABC struggles more than the Arete One as the air cools, and at 10°C and 80% humidity each litre costs 13.8p more. The pence-back point falls to 370 litres, about 43 weeks of the same laundry.
So the question is where the machine will live. In a warm living room the cheaper ABC is the better buy for years. In a cool bedroom or a flat with the heating kept low, the Arete One earns its extra £51 back inside a year or so of regular use.
The other differences
Meaco sells the Arete One as a dehumidifier and HEPA air purifier in one. The ABC is sold as a dehumidifier. Meaco rates the Arete One at 35 to 38 dB(A) and the ABC at 36 to 40 dB(A) at one metre. The ABC is 0.8 kg lighter at 10.1 kg and has a slightly bigger tank, 2.6 litres against 2.5.
The warranty gap is real money if something goes wrong in year three. The Arete One comes with five years. The ABC comes with two, and Meaco’s page says a five-year extension is available. We did not price the extension.
Which one to buy
Buy the MeacoDry ABC 10L if the machine will sit in a heated room and run for condensation a few hours at a time. A night costs the same, and the £51 you save would take years of use to recover.
Buy the Arete One 12L if the room is cool or you dry washing indoors most of the winter. It is cheaper per litre in every condition Meaco publishes, and the gap is widest where damp is worst. The five-year warranty comes as standard.
How we worked it out
| Item | What we did |
|---|---|
| Electricity rate | 26.32p per kWh, the Ofgem cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026, direct debit, Great Britain average. Your region will differ a little. The 54.83p a day standing charge is left out because you pay it whether the machine runs or not. |
| Power and water removed | Watts and litres a day at each temperature and humidity, taken from the performance table on each maker’s own product page. We did not use the Amazon listing figures, which on this category often repeat the litres-per-day number as the tank size. |
| Cost per litre | Watts × 24 hours ÷ 1,000 × 26.32p, divided by the litres removed in those 24 hours. |
| Cost per night | Watts × 8 hours ÷ 1,000 × 26.32p. A machine with a humidistat stops its compressor once the room reaches the target, so treat this as a ceiling. |
| Prices | Amazon UK, read 28 September 2026. They move often. |
| The pence-back point | The price gap divided by the saving per litre. For these two machines at 20°C and 60%: £50.99 ÷ 3.19p = 1,596 litres. |
What this comparison could not check
- We have not run either machine on a meter. Every wattage and extraction figure is Meaco’s own, and we cannot confirm they are accurate.
- How long a real room stays at any one of the six conditions. Your costs will sit somewhere between the rows.
- Noise in a real room. The decibel figures are Meaco’s.
- The price of Meaco’s five-year warranty extension on the ABC.
The two machines
MeacoDry Arete One 12L
£179.99. 18.2p per litre removed in a 20°C room and 22.0p in a 10°C room at 80% humidity, from Meaco’s table at the October 2026 cap. Five-year warranty, and it doubles as a HEPA air purifier.
The catch: £50.99 more than the ABC, and in a warm room it takes about 1,600 litres of water to earn that back.
See it on AmazonMeacoDry ABC 10L
£129.00. 32.0p for an eight-hour night in a heated room, 0.2p more than the Arete One. It is the cheaper way in if the room is warm and the job is condensation on the windows.
The catch: 35.7p a litre in a 10°C room at 80% humidity, against 22.0p for the Arete One, and a two-year warranty unless you pay to extend it.
See it on AmazonLook Into earns a commission on qualifying purchases made through the Amazon links above, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the arithmetic.
Common questions
Is the Meaco Arete One better than the MeacoDry ABC?
It removes more water for the same electricity. At 20°C and 60% humidity the Arete One 12L takes out 5.23 litres a day for 151W and the ABC 10L 4.48 litres for 152W, so a litre costs 18.2p against 21.4p at the October 2026 cap. The ABC is £50.99 cheaper to buy.
Which is cheaper to run, the Arete One or the ABC?
Per night they are almost the same, 31.8p and 32.0p for eight hours in a heated room. Per litre of water removed the Arete One is cheaper in all six conditions Meaco publishes, and by the most in a cold, damp room: 22.0p against 35.7p at 10°C and 80%.
How long does the Arete One take to pay back its extra cost?
At 20°C and 60% humidity it saves 3.19p per litre, so the £50.99 gap is paid back after 1,596 litres. At 10°C and 80% humidity it saves 13.8p per litre and pays back after 370 litres.
Does the MeacoDry ABC have a longer warranty?
No. The ABC has a two-year warranty and Meaco offers an extension to five years. The Arete One comes with five years as standard.
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Sources
- Ofgem, energy price cap unit rates and standing charges (1 October to 31 December 2026)
- Meaco, MeacoDry Arete One 12L product page and performance table
- Meaco, MeacoDry ABC 10L product page and performance table
- Amazon UK listings for the Arete One 12L (B09TBKCCSS) and MeacoDry ABC 10L (B07DFPH8PD), prices read 28 September 2026