Dehumidifiers are a quiet British obsession. They clear condensation off the windows in winter, keep damp and mould at bay, and dry a load of washing indoors when the weather will not. Getting the size right makes most of the difference, so here are four worth buying for different homes and budgets.
The short answer
For most UK homes, buy the MeacoDry Arete One 12L: 18.1p a litre of water removed in a heated room, five-year warranty. Spend less with the Pro Breeze 12L. Go to the Arete One 25L for four bedrooms or real damp.
How this guide was made: desk research, not a hands-on test. We have no humidity chamber, so every extraction and power figure below is the manufacturer’s own, quoted with the temperature and humidity it was measured at. The cost per litre is our arithmetic on those figures at the Ofgem cap rate, with the working shown so you can redo it. We shortlist on UK availability, warranty terms, published specifications and verified UK owner reviews, discounting incentivised ratings, and we check each Amazon listing’s specification box against the maker’s own page, because on these four products they disagree. Prices in the comparison table are pulled live from Amazon UK. Where we have tested something ourselves, we say so on the page. This guide is rechecked at every Ofgem cap change and monthly through the damp season from September to November.
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Prices and specs last checked 3 September 2026 · next check 1 October 2026 · how we picked
How they compare
| Model | Name says | Removes at 20°C, 60% RH | Power there | Cost per litre | Noise dB(A) | Tank | Suits | Warranty | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meaco Arete One 12L | 12 L/day | 5.23 L/day | 151W | 18.1p | 35-38 | 2.5 L | Up to 3 bedrooms | 5 years | £179.99 |
| Pro Breeze 12L (PB-18-UK) | 12 L/day | Not published | Not published | Cannot be worked out | 40 max claimed | 1.8 L | Up to 20 m2 | 1 year | £119.99 |
| Pro Breeze 20L OmniDry (PB-D-24-WF) | 20 L/day | Not published | Not published | Cannot be worked out | 36 max claimed | 4 L | 20 to 30 m2 | 1 year | £179.99 |
| Meaco Arete One 25L | 25 L/day | 10.73 L/day | 267W | 15.6p | 40-42 | 4.8 L | 4 to 5 bedrooms | 5 years | £299.99 |
The cost of removing a litre of water
The capacity in a dehumidifier’s name is measured in tropical test conditions. Meaco publishes an extraction table for each of its machines, and the only line on the Arete One 12L’s table that reaches 12 litres is 30°C at 80% humidity. At 20°C and 60% humidity, closer to a heated British room in winter, the same machine pulls out 5.23 litres a day.
The same tables make an honest running cost possible. Meaco states the power draw at those conditions, so each litre of water removed can be priced: watts times hours gives the electricity used, and the extraction rate says how many litres that electricity removed. At the current cap rate of 26.11p per kWh:
| Model | Power at 20°C, 60% RH | Extraction at 20°C, 60% RH | Cost per litre removed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meaco Arete One 12L | 151W | 5.23 L/day | 18.1p |
| Meaco Arete One 25L | 267W | 10.73 L/day | 15.6p |
What a litre costs in a cold room
| Room conditions | Arete One 12L | Arete One 25L |
|---|---|---|
| 10°C, 50% RH | Not published | 62.7p |
| 10°C, 60% RH | 41.8p | 38.9p |
| 10°C, 80% RH | 21.8p | 20.0p |
| 20°C, 50% RH | Not published | 23.3p |
| 20°C, 60% RH | 18.1p | 15.6p |
| 20°C, 80% RH | 11.8p | 10.0p |
| 30°C, 60% RH | 14.2p | Not published |
| 30°C, 80% RH | 10.2p | Not published |
Call it the cold-room penalty. Same machine, same 60% humidity, and a litre of water costs 41.8p to remove at 10°C against 18.1p at 20°C. That is 2.3 times as much, because a compressor works badly in cold air, and on the 25L the penalty is 2.5 times. If you are deciding where to put the machine, that is the figure that matters: run it in the heated part of the house, not in an unheated garage.
The bigger machine removes each litre for less, which matters if damp is the problem you are pricing. Pence per hour flatters whichever machine draws the least power; pence per litre measures the work done.
We could not build the same figure for either Pro Breeze machine. Pro Breeze’s UK product pages give no wattage and no measurement conditions, and their running cost claims disagree with themselves: the 12L page says 4p an hour in one place and 5p in another, the 20L page says 7p and 10p, and none of the four figures names the electricity rate it assumes. For scale, 5p an hour at the current cap rate implies a draw of about 190 watts. Until the inputs are published, treat pence-per-hour claims as marketing.
From 1 October 2026 the cap rate becomes 26.32p per kWh. That moves the Arete One 12L to 18.2p a litre in a heated room and 42.1p in a cold one, and the 25L to 15.7p and 39.3p. This table is rebuilt on the day the rate changes.
Checked again on 3 September 2026 against Meaco’s product pages for the Arete One 12L and 25L and Pro Breeze’s product pages for its current 12L and 20L models, at the Ofgem cap rate for 1 July to 30 September 2026. The arithmetic is ours and is shown in full, so you can redo it. One correction from the same check: an earlier version of this guide called the 25L pick the Meaco Platinum Range 25L. The machine the link sells is the MeacoDry Arete One 25L, and the guide now uses its proper name. A second correction, made on 3 September: the comparison table priced the 25L at £400 to £500, which was out of date. It was £299.99 on Amazon UK when we checked, and the table now carries dated prices instead of bands.
Drying laundry is the other half of this sum: our heated airer running costs guide prices the whole job by method, and finds that a 300W airer plus this 151W dehumidifier costs 95p over an eight-hour night, within 4p of a tumble dryer cycle.
The dehumidifiers worth buying
Meaco Arete One 12L
Best overallThe one to buy if you are only buying one. It is quiet and carries a five-year warranty. Meaco is also the only maker here that publishes what its machine removes in a normal British room: at 20°C and 60% humidity, 5.23 litres a day for 151 watts, which works out at 18.1p for every litre of water it pulls out of the air. It doubles as a HEPA air purifier, so it earns its keep in summer too.
The catch: At £179.99 it is £60 more than the Pro Breeze, and the 12 litres in its name needs 30°C and 80% humidity, which no British house sees in winter.
5.23 L/day at 20°C, 60% RH · 2.5 L tank · 35-38 dB(A) · 10.9 kg · 5-year warranty
Behind this verdict: the extraction, wattage and pence-per-litre figures come from Meaco’s published performance table — the only one in this guide that states its test conditions — read 3 September 2026, price checked the same day. The 35–38 dB(A) noise range is Meaco’s own figure; we have not measured it.
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Pro Breeze 12L
Best budget£60 less than the Meaco and it will dry a damp room, but you are buying on trust. Pro Breeze publishes no wattage and no test condition for this machine, so its running cost cannot be checked, and its own page quotes 4p an hour in one place and 5p in another. At the current cap rate, 5p an hour implies a draw of about 190 watts. Pro Breeze cites a Which? Great Value award from January 2026 on its page for this model, while the Amazon listing title says Best Buy. Which? sits behind a paywall, so we quote the maker.
The catch: One year of warranty against Meaco’s five, and the three-year plan is a paid extra that has to be bought within seven days of the machine. No air purifier either.
12 L/day claimed, condition not stated · 1.8 L tank · 40 dB(A) maximum claimed · 4.76 kg · 1-year warranty
Behind this verdict: Pro Breeze’s own product page and its Amazon listing, read 3 September 2026. With no published wattage or test condition, this machine’s running cost could not be verified against any source — the pence-per-hour figures are the maker’s.
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Pro Breeze 20L
Best for drying laundryThe laundry machine: 20 litres a day and a one-click laundry mode, at £179.99, the same price as the 12L Meaco. It is the obvious pick if wet washing is the reason you are buying. The same caveat applies as on the 12L Pro Breeze: 20 litres a day is a nameplate figure with no test condition attached, and with no published wattage there is nothing to price it against.
The catch: 13.5 kg, one year of warranty, and no published figure for what it removes in a 20°C room. Pro Breeze claims 36 dB(A) maximum but does not say at what fan speed or distance.
20 L/day claimed, condition not stated · 4 L tank · 36 dB(A) maximum claimed · 13.5 kg · 1-year warranty
Behind this verdict: Pro Breeze’s own product page and its Amazon listing, read 3 September 2026. The 20 L/day figure names no test condition, and with no published wattage there is nothing to check it against.
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MeacoDry Arete One 25L
Best for damp or large homesThe cheapest per litre of the four, and the one to buy if damp is a real problem in the house. It removes 10.73 litres a day in a 20°C room at 60% humidity for 267 watts, which is 15.6p a litre. Meaco’s published table for it stops at 20°C and 80% humidity, where it removes 17.53 litres a day, so nothing in the published table reaches the 25 in the name.
The catch: £299.99 and 16 kg, which is more machine than a flat needs, and it runs at 40-42 dB(A) against the 12L’s 35-38.
10.73 L/day at 20°C, 60% RH · 4.8 L tank · 40-42 dB(A) · 16 kg · 5-year warranty
Behind this verdict: Meaco’s published performance table, read 3 September 2026; the £299.99 price was checked the same day. The Amazon listing’s 25-litre tank figure is wrong — Meaco says 4.8 L; see “Where the listings and the makers disagree” below.
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Where the listings and the makers disagree
On three of the four listings in this guide, the Tank volume field repeats the machine’s litres-per-day figure. The Arete One 25L is listed with a 25-litre tank; Meaco says it holds 4.8 litres. The Pro Breeze 20L listing states 1,000 watts, roughly four times what Pro Breeze’s own 7p-an-hour claim implies, and gives it the same dimensions as the 12L.
| Machine | Field | Amazon listing says | Maker’s own page says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arete One 12L | Tank volume | 12 litres | 2.5 litres |
| Arete One 12L | Wattage | 136 W | 151 W at 20°C, 60% RH |
| Arete One 25L | Tank volume | 25 litres | 4.8 litres |
| Arete One 25L | Extraction | 14 L/day | 10.73 L/day at 20°C, 60% RH |
| Pro Breeze 20L | Tank volume | 20 litres | 4 litres |
| Pro Breeze 20L | Wattage | 1,000 W | Not published |
None of this is a fault in the machines, and it is not unique to these four. It is the reason every specification in the table at the top of this page comes from the manufacturer’s own page, and the reason a buying guide built by reading listing fields will be wrong in ways nobody notices.
How to choose one
Two things matter most: capacity and type. Capacity is the litres of water a machine can pull from the air in a day. For most homes, 10 to 12 litres is enough; step up to 20 to 25 litres for a large home, ongoing damp, or a lot of indoor laundry. For type, a compressor model is the efficient choice in normal heated rooms and suits most homes, while a desiccant model copes better in cold or unheated spaces like a garage, at the cost of using more power. A humidity sensor and a laundry mode both help keep the running cost down. For capacity by home size, see our dehumidifier size guide.
Common questions
What size dehumidifier do I need?
For most UK homes a 10 to 12 litres-per-day model is plenty. Step up to 20 to 25 litres a day if you have a large home, persistent damp or mould, or you dry a lot of laundry indoors.
Compressor or desiccant?
Compressor models like the Meaco Arete are the most energy-efficient in normal, warm rooms and suit most homes. Desiccant models cope better in cold spaces such as garages and unheated rooms, and they are lighter, but they use more electricity.
Do dehumidifiers help with damp and mould?
Yes. By pulling moisture out of the air they cut condensation and damp and make it harder for mould to grow. They also make a cold home feel warmer and help wet washing dry faster.
Are they expensive to run?
The two Meaco models in this guide work out at 18.1p and 15.6p per litre of water removed, on Meaco’s published power and extraction figures at 20°C and 60% humidity and the July to September 2026 cap rate of 26.11p per kWh. Most machines also have a humidity sensor that switches off once the target is reached, so they are not running all the time. In a cold room the same two machines cost far more for each litre: 41.8p and 38.9p at 10°C and 60% humidity.
How much more does it cost to run in a cold room?
More than twice as much per litre. The MeacoDry Arete One 12L removes a litre of water for 18.1p at 20°C and 60% humidity, and 41.8p at 10°C and the same humidity, on Meaco’s published power and extraction figures at the July to September 2026 cap rate of 26.11p per kWh. A compressor dehumidifier works badly in cold air, so an unheated garage or spare room is the expensive place to run one.
Do the Amazon specifications match the manufacturer’s?
Not on these four listings. Three of the four give a tank volume that is really the machine’s litres-per-day figure: the Arete One 25L is listed with a 25-litre tank and Meaco says it holds 4.8 litres. The Pro Breeze 20L listing states 1,000 watts, about four times what Pro Breeze’s own running cost claim implies. Every specification in this guide is taken from the manufacturer’s page instead.
Fighting heat as well as damp? Several of the portable air conditioners we rate double as dehumidifiers, or browse more Home & Garden picks.
Related reading: what a dehumidifier, fan and air conditioner cost to run.
If the water on the glass is the reason you are here, our guide to stopping condensation on windows prices every fix side by side, including what a litre of water costs to remove at the October 2026 cap.
If it is dust or pollen rather than damp, our air purifier guide reworks each machine’s advertised room size at 4.8 air changes an hour, and finds that 22 of the 25 bestseller room sizes it could check assume two or fewer.