ICE & CEDAR

The best cold plunge chillers, compared on every published spec

Five chillers ranked on cooling capacity, temperature range and — decisively — on which manufacturers are willing to publish either.

Last verified · Ice & Cedar editorial

A chiller is the purchase that turns a tub of ice into a cold plunge. It is also the purchase where the specifications are worst. Horsepower is on every listing; cooling capacity in BTU is on one of five, and rated wattage is on none.

That matters because horsepower describes the motor, not the cooling. BTU describes the heat actually removed per hour, which is what determines whether your water is cold tomorrow morning. When a manufacturer publishes BTU it is telling you something checkable. When it publishes only “1 HP” it is telling you about the compressor and letting you infer the rest.

So the ranking below rewards disclosure alongside capability. We have not run any of these units — here is what we do instead.

Quick picks

Ranked on published specifications. Select a row to jump to the full write-up. We have not tested these units — here is exactly what we do instead.

#ProductBest forPrice
1
TURBRO 1 HP 9,300 BTU Cold Plunge Chiller

TURBRO 1 HP 9,300 BTU Cold Plunge Chiller

The only chiller here that publishes a BTU figure, which is the number that actually predicts pulldown. That transparency is why it leads.

Best overall
$1,399.00 · View on Amazon

Price as of July 16, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

2
Fnova 1 HP Cold Plunge Chiller with Heater

Fnova 1 HP Cold Plunge Chiller with Heater

Reaches 37°F and doubles as a heater to 104°F, which makes a single unit serve contrast therapy without a second appliance.

Best for contrast therapy
$781.03 · View on Amazon

Price as of July 16, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

3
EONIX 1/2 HP Cold Plunge Chiller

EONIX 1/2 HP Cold Plunge Chiller

A 110V half-horse unit that plugs into an existing garage outlet. The honest entry point if you are not ready to pay an electrician.

Best on 110V
$369.99 · View on Amazon

$459.9920% off

Price as of July 16, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

4
RIOXC 1.5 HP Cold Plunge Chiller

RIOXC 1.5 HP Cold Plunge Chiller

The largest compressor in this set and the only one rated to 500 gallons — the pick if your tub is oversized rather than average.

Best for large tubs
$999.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of July 16, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

5
Treeshome 1/3 HP Ice Bath Water Chiller

Treeshome 1/3 HP Ice Bath Water Chiller

The cheapest way to stop buying ice. A 1/3 HP compressor is genuinely small — treat it as a temperature holder, not a puller.

Best budget
$279.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of July 16, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

#1Best overall

TURBRO 1 HP 9,300 BTU Cold Plunge Chiller

The only chiller here that publishes a BTU figure, which is the number that actually predicts pulldown. That transparency is why it leads.

Strengths

  • Publishes 9,300 BTU cooling capacity — almost no competitor states one
  • Dual filters and ozone generator included
  • Insulated pipes, wheels and handles for a garage setup

Trade-offs

  • Most expensive chiller in this comparison
  • Amperage and rated watts are not published
Compressor1 HP
Cooling capacity9,300 BTU
Minimum temperatureNot published
Heats as well as chillsNot published
Maximum volumeNot published
VoltageNot published
AmperageNot published
Rated wattsNot published
Filtration includedYes
WarrantyNot published

Specifications as published by the manufacturer listing, read on July 16, 2026. Blank fields are specs the manufacturer does not publish.

#2Best for contrast therapy

Fnova 1 HP Cold Plunge Chiller with Heater

Reaches 37°F and doubles as a heater to 104°F, which makes a single unit serve contrast therapy without a second appliance.

Strengths

  • Published 37°F floor — the coldest stated here
  • Heats to 104°F, so one unit covers both halves of contrast therapy
  • Cheaper than the other 1 HP units compared

Trade-offs

  • The listing publishes almost nothing beyond HP and temperature range
  • No stated BTU, amperage, or tub-size rating
Compressor1 HP
Cooling capacityNot published
Minimum temperature37°F
Heats as well as chillsYes
Maximum volumeNot published
VoltageNot published
AmperageNot published
Rated wattsNot published
Filtration includedNot published
WarrantyNot published

Specifications as published by the manufacturer listing, read on July 16, 2026. Blank fields are specs the manufacturer does not publish.

#3Best on 110V

EONIX 1/2 HP Cold Plunge Chiller

A 110V half-horse unit that plugs into an existing garage outlet. The honest entry point if you are not ready to pay an electrician.

Strengths

  • 110V — runs from a standard outlet, no electrician needed
  • Built-in filter and pump; insulated hoses included
  • Least expensive path to a chilled tub here

Trade-offs

  • 1/2 HP will pull down slowly on a large or uninsulated tub
  • Amperage is not published, so you cannot confirm circuit headroom from the listing
Compressor1/2 HP
Cooling capacityNot published
Minimum temperatureNot published
Heats as well as chillsNot published
Maximum volumeNot published
Voltage120V
AmperageNot published
Rated wattsNot published
Filtration includedYes
WarrantyNot published

Specifications as published by the manufacturer listing, read on July 16, 2026. Blank fields are specs the manufacturer does not publish.

#4Best for large tubs

RIOXC 1.5 HP Cold Plunge Chiller

The largest compressor in this set and the only one rated to 500 gallons — the pick if your tub is oversized rather than average.

Strengths

  • 1.5 HP — the largest compressor compared here
  • Rated to 500 gallons
  • Published 42-105°F range covers heat as well as cold

Trade-offs

  • Oversized and overpriced for a standard 100-gallon tub
  • Amperage and rated watts are not published
Compressor1.5 HP
Cooling capacityNot published
Minimum temperature42°F
Heats as well as chillsYes
Maximum volume500 gallons
VoltageNot published
AmperageNot published
Rated wattsNot published
Filtration includedNot published
WarrantyNot published

Specifications as published by the manufacturer listing, read on July 16, 2026. Blank fields are specs the manufacturer does not publish.

#5Best budget

Treeshome 1/3 HP Ice Bath Water Chiller

The cheapest way to stop buying ice. A 1/3 HP compressor is genuinely small — treat it as a temperature holder, not a puller.

Strengths

  • Lowest-cost chiller compared here
  • Filter and pump included

Trade-offs

  • 1/3 HP is the smallest compressor here — expect long pulldown
  • The listing publishes essentially no specifications beyond HP
Compressor1/3 HP
Cooling capacityNot published
Minimum temperatureNot published
Heats as well as chillsNot published
Maximum volumeNot published
VoltageNot published
AmperageNot published
Rated wattsNot published
Filtration includedYes
WarrantyNot published

Specifications as published by the manufacturer listing, read on July 16, 2026. Blank fields are specs the manufacturer does not publish.

Match the chiller to the tub, not to the marketing

The most common expensive mistake in this category is pairing a small chiller with a large uninsulated tub and concluding the chiller is broken. It is not broken. It is losing a race against heat gain.

Water volume and insulation are the two variables you control at purchase. A 1/3 HP unit against 88 insulated gallons is a sensible pairing. The same unit against 216 uninsulated gallons in an August garage will never reach your set point — and no spec sheet in this category will warn you, because none of them publish pulldown performance at a stated ambient temperature.

Frequently asked questions

What size chiller do I need for a cold plunge?

It depends on water volume, insulation and ambient temperature, and we are not going to pretend there is a clean formula — because the manufacturers do not publish the data a clean formula would need. The practical shape: 1/3 HP will hold temperature on a small insulated tub but pulls down slowly; 1/2 HP suits a typical 100-gallon setup; 1 HP and above is for large or poorly insulated tubs, or for people who want the water cold on demand rather than on schedule.

Why is BTU a better spec than horsepower?

Horsepower describes the compressor motor. BTU describes how much heat the unit actually removes per hour, which is the thing you care about. Two 1 HP chillers can differ in real cooling capacity. Of the five chillers here, only the TURBRO publishes a BTU figure (9,300) — which is a large part of why it ranks first.

How much does a cold plunge chiller cost to run?

Less than most people expect, because a chiller cycles rather than running flat out — it only works when the water drifts above your set point. The honest answer requires the rated wattage, which none of these five publish. We work the cost through properly on the running-cost page using the EIA national average of 18.83 cents/kWh, and let you substitute your own utility rate, because the national average is wrong for almost everybody.

Do I need a dedicated circuit for a cold plunge chiller?

None of these five publish an amperage figure, so we cannot tell you from the listing — which is itself the finding. The EONIX is explicitly 110V and is designed to plug into an existing outlet. For the others, ask the manufacturer for the nameplate draw before you buy, and have an electrician confirm your circuit has the headroom.

Can a chiller also heat the water?

Two of these do. The Fnova publishes a 37-104°F range and the RIOXC 42-105°F, which means one appliance covers both halves of contrast therapy. If you want hot and cold and have no room for a sauna, that is a genuinely useful feature rather than a spec-sheet ornament.

Do I still need ice with a chiller?

No — that is the entire point of buying one. A chiller replaces the ice habit, which is what makes the arithmetic work: bagged ice is a recurring cost forever, and a chiller is a one-time cost plus a modest amount of electricity.

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