Only one of these two machines can be priced properly. Meaco publishes what the Arete One 12L draws and removes in a 20°C room, so a night costs 31.8p and a litre of water 18.2p at the October 2026 price cap. Pro Breeze publishes no wattage for its 12L dehumidifier. Its product page makes two running-cost claims, 4p an hour and 5p an hour, and names no electricity rate behind either. On those claims a night costs 32p to 40p.
The Pro Breeze is cheaper to buy: £139.90 on Amazon UK and £114.99 on Pro Breeze’s own site on 28 September 2026, against £179.99 for the Meaco. Whether the Meaco earns back the difference depends on which of Pro Breeze’s two numbers is true, and nothing Pro Breeze publishes settles that.
The verdict, 28 September 2026
- Meaco Arete One 12L: 151W and 5.23 litres a day at 20°C and 60% humidity. At 26.32p per kWh that is 31.8p a night and 18.2p a litre.
- Pro Breeze 12L: no wattage and no test conditions published. Its page says “as little as 5p / hour” in one place and 4p an hour in its FAQ. Eight hours on those claims is 32p to 40p.
- If the 5p claim is right, the Meaco saves about 8.5p a night and its pence-back point against the Amazon price is about 470 nights. If the 4p claim is right, the two cost the same to run and the Meaco never earns back the gap.
- A cost per litre cannot be worked out for the Pro Breeze. Its 12 litres a day comes with no temperature or humidity attached.
- Warranty: five years on the Meaco, one year on the Pro Breeze.
| Meaco Arete One 12L | Pro Breeze 12L | |
|---|---|---|
| Power draw | 151W at 20°C and 60% humidity | Not published |
| Water removed | 5.23 L/day at 20°C and 60%, plus five other conditions | 12 L/day, no conditions stated |
| Running-cost claim | 4p an hour at 26.11p per kWh | 4p an hour and 5p an hour, no rate stated |
| Eight-hour night | 31.8p | 32p to 40p on its own claims |
| Per litre, 20°C and 60% | 18.2p | Cannot be worked out |
| Tank | 2.5 L | 1.8 L |
| Warranty | 5 years | 1 year |
| Price, 28 Sep 2026 | £179.99 (Amazon UK) | £139.90 (Amazon UK), £114.99 (probreeze.com) |
What Pro Breeze does not publish
A running cost is watts multiplied by hours multiplied by the price of electricity. Meaco gives the watts, and gives them at a stated temperature and humidity, so anyone can check its 4p an hour: 151W at 26.11p is 3.9p. Pro Breeze gives the answer without the working. Its page for the 12L says the machine “costs as little as 5p / hour to run”, and its FAQ says 4p an hour.
Working backwards at the July to September cap rate of 26.11p, 4p an hour means about 153W and 5p means about 191W. If Pro Breeze used an older, higher rate, the real draw would be lower than that. We cannot tell, because the page does not say.
The same gap stops a cost per litre. A dehumidifier’s litres-a-day figure depends heavily on the air it is tested in. Meaco’s own 12L machine removes 12.18 litres a day at 30°C and 80% humidity and 5.23 litres at 20°C and 60%. Pro Breeze’s 12 litres comes with no conditions, so there is no way to know which of those rooms it describes.
The pence-back point, on Pro Breeze’s own numbers
The Meaco costs £40.09 more on Amazon UK, or £65 more if you buy the Pro Breeze direct at its current sale price.
| If the Pro Breeze really costs | Its night | Meaco saves a night | Against the Amazon price (£40.09) | Against the direct price (£65.00) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5p an hour at 26.11p (about 191W) | 40.3p | 8.5p | 470 nights | 762 nights |
| 4p an hour at 26.11p (about 153W) | 32.3p | 0.5p | Over 8,000 nights | Over 13,000 nights |
On the higher claim, a machine run every night of a six-month damp season pays back the Amazon difference in a little under three winters. On the lower claim, the two cost the same to run and the extra buys the five-year warranty and figures you can check.
Which one to buy
Buy the Pro Breeze if the price is what matters and you are happy to take its running cost on trust. Pro Breeze’s page cites a Which? Great Value award from January 2026 for this machine. Which? is behind a paywall, so we have not read the test.
Buy the Meaco if the machine will run most nights, or if you want to know what it costs before you plug it in. It is the only one of the two whose running cost can be checked, and the warranty is five years against one.
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 night. Because Pro Breeze publishes no wattage, we worked it out twice, once on each of its own pence-per-hour claims, converted to watts at 26.11p per kWh. |
What this comparison could not check
- What the Pro Breeze 12L actually draws. Pro Breeze publishes no wattage, so both its night costs here rest on its own pence-per-hour claims.
- We matched the Amazon UK listing (B073XNK45P) to Pro Breeze’s page for its 12L dehumidifier with built-in humidistat by name and tank size. Pro Breeze’s page gives the model as PB-06.
- We have not run either machine on a meter. The Meaco figures are Meaco’s own.
- The Which? test Pro Breeze cites, which is behind a paywall.
The two machines
MeacoDry Arete One 12L
£179.99. 31.8p for an eight-hour night and 18.2p per litre in a 20°C room, from Meaco’s published table at the October 2026 cap. Five-year warranty, and it doubles as a HEPA air purifier.
The catch: £40.09 more than the Pro Breeze on Amazon UK, and £65 more than Pro Breeze’s direct sale price.
See it on AmazonPro Breeze 12L dehumidifier with humidity sensor
£139.90. 32p to 40p a night on Pro Breeze’s own 4p and 5p an hour claims. It has a humidity sensor, so it switches off once the room is dry enough. Pro Breeze sells it for £114.99 direct.
The catch: No published wattage or test conditions, so its running cost cannot be checked, and the warranty is one year.
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 Meaco better than Pro Breeze?
The Meaco Arete One 12L publishes its power draw and water removal at stated conditions, and costs 31.8p a night at the October 2026 cap. The Pro Breeze 12L is £40.09 cheaper on Amazon UK but publishes no wattage, so its running cost rests on its own 4p and 5p an hour claims. The Meaco’s warranty is five years against one.
Which costs less to run, Meaco or Pro Breeze?
It cannot be settled from what Pro Breeze publishes. On its own claims an eight-hour night costs 32p to 40p, against 31.8p for the Meaco Arete One 12L at 26.32p per kWh. At the top of that range the Meaco is 8.5p a night cheaper; at the bottom they are the same.
How many watts does the Pro Breeze 12L dehumidifier use?
Pro Breeze does not say on its product page. Its claims of 4p and 5p an hour imply about 153W and 191W at the July to September 2026 cap rate of 26.11p per kWh, if that is the rate it used.
What warranty does Pro Breeze give?
One year on the 12L dehumidifier, according to Pro Breeze when we read its page in September 2026, with a three-year plan sold as a paid extra that has to be bought within seven days of the machine. The Meaco Arete One comes with five years.
Compare more
- All our running-cost head-to-heads
- Meaco Arete One vs Arete Two 12L: the Two is cheaper per litre in every room Meaco publishes
- Meaco Arete One vs Arete Two 20L: 0.7p a litre apart, and the Two costs £110 more on Amazon than direct
- Meaco Arete One 12L vs MeacoDry ABC 10L: same night, different cost per litre
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- Electric blanket vs heater: 1.8p an hour against 17.1p and up
- Electric blanket vs hot water bottle: half an hour of blanket costs less than one kettle fill
- Oil filled radiator vs fan heater: watt for watt, exactly the same bill
- Best dehumidifiers UK, ranked by what a night costs
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
- Pro Breeze, 12L dehumidifier with built-in humidistat product page
- Amazon UK listings for the Arete One 12L (B09TBKCCSS) and Pro Breeze 12L (B073XNK45P), prices read 28 September 2026