How Much Does a Swim Spa REALLY Cost?

If you’ve ever tried to find the cost of a swim spa, you’re probably aware that many retailers try to hide it like its the Holy Grail itself or the location of the Fountain of Youth. Why?

The truth is, there is no universal answer to this question, the short answer is “it depends”. While we can’t sell you a cup with magical powers or guide you to an age defying pool of water, we can help in your quest for hot tub pricing.

Surely there’s an average cost though, right? Of course, in the Oxford county area, most people spend about $40,000. There’s no asterisk there either, that’s the average cost, taxes in, for a swim spa, its delivery, common accessories (cover, steps, water care kit), concrete base, electrical installation, everything. Expect a bit less for a small swim spa, and a bit more for a big one.

We find that most people in Oxford County start the swim spa purchasing process by first choosing a model. This dictates the physical support pad size and electrical requirements, the rest is easy.

In this article we will cover all the costs associated with buying a swim spa and break them down as best as we can.

Does a Swim Spa Cost More Than a Pool?

It depends, but our general rule of thumb is that its roughly double the cost of an above ground pool, but less than half of an in ground pool. The most common swim spa installation in Woodstock and surrounding area is $40,000, squarely in the middle of the gamut of pool installations.

Where Did The $40,000 Average Come From?

Our most popular swim spa is the AquaPlay 13FFP, it is 13 feet long and is priced starting at $34,258. Another popular model is the 14AX AquaSport, starting at $44,641, it is larger and much more suited to swimming and aquatic exercise.

So let’s add $30,000 towards the the total of $40,000 for a swim spa.

What Are The Additional Costs?

Other than the spa itself, the installation requires two other major things:

  • The support base (what its going to sit on)
  • The electrical wiring and hookup
  • A crane lift, if needed

Let’s break down each of these.

Hydropool Swim Spa Example

What Does A Swim Spa Need To Sit On?

Swim spas are significantly larger and heavier than a hot tub, when one of these is full of water its going to weigh roughly 19,000lbs. About as much as six Toyota Corollas, or one Tyrannosaurus rex.

Because of this extra weight, the requirements for the support base are much more strict. The only acceptable base is a reinforced concrete pad, no exceptions. Expect to spend $3,000 – $5000 on a base like this, we’ll add this towards our $40,000.

How Much Does It Cost To Wire Up A Swim Spa?

All of Hydropool’s swim spas require a 220v hard wired connectios, amperages are either 50A or 60A.

Typically an electrician will charge around $2,000 – $3,000 to connect a swim spa, but this largely depends on how far the wiring has to go, and if any other modifications or upgrades are required. Any swim spa installation in Oxford county must follow a set of strict electrical safety regulations, so make sure your contractor is fully licensed.

So let’s add $2,000 towards both our running total, we’re at $35,000 so far.

How Do You Get A Swim Spa Into Your Backyard?

Because swim spas are so large, we’re only able to bring it to your driveway on our trailer, 99% of swim spas need to be craned into your backyard. At Zorra we only work with professional, licensed, and insured crane companies to avoid any potential problems. We are happy to help set up the crane delivery, but expect to spend around $3,000 on a crane lift. This largely depends on how large of a crane is required though.

After adding the crane cost, we’re at $38,000 all in for a swim spa installation so far.

What is Included With A Swim Spa?

Because swim spa installations vary much more than hot tubs, our inclusions are a bit different.

  • Swim Spa (obviously)
  • Rollaway cover
  • Rollaway cover shelf
  • Water care kit
  • Electrical GFCI
  • Delivery*
Hot Tub Cover Remover

Swim Spa & Rollaway Cover

The Rollaway cover is easily rolled off of the Swim Spa with one person, no mechanical assistance required.

Rollaway Cover

Rollaway Cover Shelf

The integrated cover shelf supports the rolled up cover during use.

Hot Tub Water Care Kit

Water Care Kit

A full starter kit of water care supplies, complete with cheat sheet and full demonstration.

Hot Tub GFCI

Electrical GFCI

This device is part of the electrical installation, we supply it, but not the wiring or hookup.

Hot Tub Delivery

Delivery

We don’t expect you to pick up the swim spa, let us take care of the delivery.

Hot Tub Demo

Demonstration

We’ll show you how to work the swim spa itself and all of the chemicals, don’t worry, it’s easy.

Standard local delivery is included (Woodstock, Ingersoll, Stratford, Tilsonburg, Thamesford, Embro, Beachville, etc…), again the only caveat being that we do not include the crane costs.

If we take our running total of $38,000 and add tax, that brings us to $42,940, pretty close to our $40,000 estimate, only off by about 7%.

Are There Other Costs?

Depending on your specific needs, there may be addtitional costs involved with delivery and installation, or maybe there are additional accessories you might want to add. Some examples include;

  • Long distance delivery (London, Brantford, Kitchener/Waterloo, Cambridge, Long Point, etc…) Try to haggle with us on this one, we usually cave and include it.
  • Swim spa steps – $999
  • Swim spa Covana motorized cover – $26,809

Both hot tubs and swim spas require care and maintenance. The most important of these is water care. If the water remains healthy, then it will lessen the amount of repairs needed, and ultimately lengthen the lifespan of the spa. Under normal conditions, expect to spend around $300-600 per year on water care chemicals. We keep a full stock of all of the different kinds of chemicals, and we offer free water testing and guidance for our customers.

Also remember to take landscaping or other construction into consideration, many people like to build swim spas into a deck, or build beautiful gardens around them to improve their appearance.

Hydropool Swim Spa Example

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve done our best to give a complete list of what costs are invlolved in buying a swim spa in Oxford County and surrounding area. All of the most common components are as follows;

  • The spa itself
  • Support base
  • Electrical installation
  • Water care chemicals
  • Accessories
  • Delivery
  • Add ons

Swim spas are right at double the cost of a hot tub at around $40,000 for the most common model. Obviously larger models will be more, but they’re fewer and farther between. Just 10 years ago this number was easily $60,000 – $80,000, but because they’ve gotten so popular, this number has dropped drasically.

If we’ve missed anything, or if you’ve got any questions about an install of your own, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 519-423-6703 or send us an email at support@zorrahottubs.com, we’d love to find the perfect spa for you!