What is the best cheap combi boiler?
What are the cheapest boilers? We’ll look at the top 3 best cheap combi boilers. Listing reliable budget boilers from top boiler brands!
Combi boiler prices can vary wildly, which makes it difficult for you to know what is the best combi boiler to buy and how much you should be spending on a new boiler.
For example, why does a Worcester Bosch Greenstar 30i combi boiler cost £1229.99 on Screwfix, £1949 from WarmZilla, and a hefty £2599 when purchased from British Gas?* Tis’ indeed a mystery worthy of Scooby and the gang. When you’re spending that kind of dollar on a new boiler, you deserve to know where the money goes, and we’re going to find out.
We’re also going to look at the best cheap combi boilers on the market and look at the different factors that affect the price of new boilers including – warranty length, installation costs, added extras, brand, and the kW output of the boiler.
In this article, we’re focussing on budget boilers, but we’ve already written an article on the best boilers to buy in 2022 which includes the best combi, system, and regular boilers to buy in the budget and premium boiler categories. If you aren’t sure what type of boiler you have, then we’ve got you covered there too.
What is a combi boiler?
We’ve covered how combi boilers work in a previous article, so mosey on over to that article if you want the full shabangalang on what makes the combi boiler tick.
For those of you that are committed to this article and won’t be going anywhere until you’ve digested every last word of it, we’ll briefly cover it below, because we respect your commitment to the article.
A combi boiler or ‘combination boiler’ if you like full-naming things, is a boiler that provides both your heating and hot water from one unit. A combi boiler is connected to the mains water feed that comes into your home and it heats the water directly via a gas burner as you turn on a hot water tap.
A combi boiler is different from a system boiler because it doesn’t have a hot water storage tank. A system boiler heats water and then stores it in a large tank that keeps it warm and ready for use. For this reason, system boilers are able to supply hot water to multiple bathrooms simultaneously without a loss of pressure.
If your home has a high water demand then a system boiler might be a better option, but for most of the UK, the combi boiler is the most popular choice because it doesn’t have additional tanks or pipework running around the house, and a combi boiler is cheaper than other boiler types to install.
Combi boilers are suitable for most homes!
It would be best to replace your combi every 10-15 years, as a new combi will help you heat your home faster and more efficiently. That’s because boilers, in general, tend to lose energy efficiency over time, costing you more to run. And let’s be honest, after 10-15 years, you’ve got your money’s worth!
But why should I get a new boiler?
In addition to having a brand new boiler that makes your home warm in minutes, there are other benefits to replacing your old boiler.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, you could save up to £305 per year by upgrading your old boiler to an energy-efficient A-rated boiler, which typically operates at 90% and over energy efficiency – and it is much better for the environment too!
Use this tool to calculate the energy efficiency of your current boiler and see the savings you could be having!
Why are boiler prices so expensive?
If you cast your mind back to the start of this article; we know, you’ve come so far and learned so much already, but there’s more to learn!
We asked why a Worcester Bosch Greenstar 30i varied so much in price between Screwfix, WarmZilla, and British Gas. The time has come for Scoob and the gang to solve the mystery and unmask the murderer (B.Gas murdered your bank balance).
Screwfix, or any other wholesale company like B&Q can sell combi boilers for very low prices quite simply because they don’t include Gas Safe installation. That is the main difference between Screwfix and WarmZilla in terms of price.
Boilers are expensive appliances on their own but it takes years of training to be able to wrestle a boiler into submission, hang it on the wall and connect it up successfully.
If you buy a boiler on its own from a wholesaler, you’ll then need to try and find a heating engineer to fit it. Most heating engineers won’t want to, because they rely on the kickback they get from the manufacturer for installing one of their boilers. If they don’t buy the boiler from the manufacturer then they don’t get the kickback.
If you encounter an issue with a boiler you bought separately, you might find the engineer isn’t as quick to fix the problem. They were employed to install it, they don’t know where you got the boiler from, and let’s face it, you do look a little bit dodgy with your boiler in an unmarked box. You could have had it off the wall from the house down the road for all the heating engineer knows.
All WarmZilla boilers come with a 1-year installation guarantee, so if there is an issue that arises from the installation of the boiler then we’ll fix it for free.
We also offer a minimum of 5 years manufacturer guarantee (often it’s 10 years), so if there is a problem with the boiler itself, the manufacturer will fix it. These guarantee lengths are often much longer than you’d get at a wholesaler.
For example, the Worcester Greenstar 30i has a five-year guarantee with Screwfix but WarmZilla offers a 10-year guarantee with the same boiler. That’s an extra five years peace-of-mind, and let’s face it, in this day and age, we all need peace of mind for as long as we can get it.
There are also a lot of extras involved in the WarmZilla boiler package you don’t get elsewhere, we’ll save that for the next section.
And why do British Gas charge an extra £650 over what WarmZilla charge for a boiler installation you ask? For the same boiler. Ummmm, well they have a lot of salesmen that need paying. Lots of nice vans on the road. Reputation maybe? You’d have to ask them really. All we know is that they are consistently more expensive.
WarmZilla check competitor prices regularly to ensure we are backing up our claim of offering the cheapest combi boilers on the market. In fact, we guarantee to offer the best price combi boilers, if you find a like-for-like quote cheaper elsewhere, we’ll match the competitor’s price and take an extra £50 off for good measure.
As a rough guide these are the kind of prices you can expect to pay for different boiler installation types from WarmZilla, inclusive of VAT:
- Combi to combi boiler swap – from £1,489
- System/Standard boiler to combi conversion – from £2,249
- Back boiler to combi conversion – from £2,499
- System to system – from £1,995 (Free Hive Smart Thermostat Inc.)
- Standard to standard – from £1,649 (Free Hive Smart Thermostat Inc.)
What is included with a new boiler?
A new boiler from WarmZilla contains everything you need to get your boiler up and running. We’ve written a complete list of what’s included with a WarmZilla boiler installation in a previous article, so if you want a full description of all the items included and what they do, check that out. If not, we’ve included a quick summary below based on a Worcester Bosch 30i boiler.
You get a lot more with your WarmZilla boiler package including:
- Worcester Bosch 30i Boiler with a 10-year guarantee – £1200
- Gas Safe Installation – £450 (minimum)
- System Cleanse – £30
- System Filter – £120
- Wireless controls – £80
- Flue – £80
- Plume Kit – £100 (if required)
- Moving Boiler – £150 – £500 (if required)
- Gas pipe upgrade – £300 – £500 (if required/included in your fixed price quote)
So when you look at the price of a boiler and see the headline price of £1229.99 at Screwfix on a Worcester Bosch 30i boiler, you now know the reasons why WarmZilla charges £1949 for the same boiler.
With WarmZilla, you also get the convenience of purchasing your boiler and installation all in one go. Online. In a few minutes. You can also choose a convenient boiler installation date that suits you within 48 hours of your purchase date. Something neither Screwfix nor British Gas would be able to offer.
To get a boiler replacement quote tailored to your home without having to part with your personal details, try WarmZilla. It only takes a few minutes and you’ll get a fixed price boiler quote with boiler installation included.
Top 3 cheap combi boilers
Now that you’re fully versed in what to expect from a boiler package, it’s time to look at what the top 3 cheapest combi boilers are.
When we say the top 3 cheap combi boilers, we don’t literally mean the 3 cheapest boilers, because the 3 cheapest boilers are about as reliable as career politicians. The 3 cheapest combi boilers in this list are 3 combi boilers that offer great value for money but won’t break down 3 hours after the warranty expires.
They are budget boilers that offer performance similar to much more expensive boilers.
#3 - The Baxi 600 Series
In third position, we have the Baxi 600. A compact and lightweight boiler from Baxi that comes with a standard 7-year warranty from the manufacturer.
The Baxi 600 is available in three models, the Baxi 624 (24kW boiler), the Baxi 630 (30kW), and the Baxi 636 (36kW boiler).
Not sure what kW means when it comes to boilers? It’s basically how powerful the boiler is, the bigger the home, the more powerful the boiler needs to be to heat it.
Having three kW boilers ranging from 24 – 36kW means that the Baxi 600 has an option for small, medium, and large homes.
We’ll break the Baxi 600 key stats down into a table to make it easier to see the good stuff the Baxi 600 has to offer.
| Baxi 600 Series | Baxi 624 | Baxi 630 | Baxi 636 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warranty length | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years |
| Central heating output | 21.2kW | 21.2kW | 26.4kW |
| Hot water output | 25.8kW | 30.9kW | 36.8kW |
| Efficiency | 93% | 93% | 93% |
| Flow rate | 10.2 LPM | 12.2 LPM | 15 LPM |
| LPG Compatible | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cost (without installation)*** | £800 | £900 | £1263 |
The Baxi 600 offers excellent flow rates, central heating, and hot water output rates and offers a pretty decent 7 years standard warranty – all for a very reasonable price. All-in-all the Baxi 600 is a very solid budget combi boiler choice for those that don’t want to spend much on a new boiler but still want the quality build of a premium boiler.
#2 - The Ideal Logic Series
In second position, we have the well-respected Ideal Logic range of boilers. A tried and trusted boiler that has stood the test of time and proved very popular with installers and homeowners alike.
Similar to the Baxi 600, the Ideal Logic Series offers 3 different kW options to cover their bases with small, medium, and large homes. The kW options for the Ideal Logic series are the C24 (24kW), C30 (30kW), and C35 (35kW).
Ideal boilers are manufactured in the UK, so there are never any issues getting replacement parts as there can sometimes be with boiler manufacturers with European HQ’s.
Ideal also offers a very high standard of aftercare with their boilers, so if you should have an issue in the future, they are pretty quick to get things sorted. If you find yourself without heating in the middle of winter, you’ll be glad you went with a company that will get you back in the warm quickly.
Let’s take a look at the stats and see what the Ideal Logic Series has to offer. It’s worth noting that although the standard warranty with the Ideal Logic in the table is 2 years, if you purchase with WarmZilla that increases to a jaw-dropping 8 years.
| Ideal Logic Series | Logic C24 | Logic C30 | Logic C35 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warranty length | 2 years | 2 years | 2 years |
| Central heating output | 24.2kW | 24.2kW | 24.2kW |
| Hot water output | 24.2kW | 30.3kW | 35.3kW |
| Efficiency | 94% | 94% | 94% |
| Flow rate | 9.9 LPM | 12.4 LPM | 14.5 LPM |
| LPG Compatible | No | Yes | No |
| Cost (without installation)**** | £722 | £805 | £916 |
As you can see from the table above, there’s not much between the Baxi 600 vs the Ideal Logic Series in terms of performance. Both boiler ranges offer similar flow rates and outputs.
The only real differences are the price – with Ideal boilers coming in a fair bit cheaper overall, and the warranty length. Which, if you buy your Ideal boiler from WarmZilla, isn’t a factor as we offer 8 years warranty on all Ideal boilers.
The price and the aftercare were the factors that pushed the Ideal Logic range above the Baxi 600 range.
#1 - The Worcester Bosch 2000 Series
The winner of the best cheap combi boiler goes to the Worcester Bosch 2000 series. We know, Worcester Bosch isn’t a budget brand, it’s a premium brand. That’s true. But the Worcester Bosch 2000 series was designed as a budget version of the Worcester Bosch 8000 Lifestyle range.
The 2000 series even looks like the Lifestyle range, which is the most premium of premium boiler ranges, but it comes without the price tag of the Lifestyle range. You also get the world-class aftercare from Worcester Bosch that you would get with the Lifestyle range.
The Worcester Bosch Greenstar 2000 series is available in a 25kW and 30kW model, so it’s suitable for small and medium-sized homes. If you’ve got a large home then you’d probably be looking at getting the Worcester Bosch Life or Style boiler.
| WB 2000 Series | 25kW | 30kW |
|---|---|---|
| Warranty length | 5 years | 5 years |
| Central heating output | 20kW | 20kW |
| Hot water output | 25kW | 30kW |
| Efficiency | 93% | 93% |
| Flow rate | 9 LPM | 10.8 LPM |
| LPG Compatible | Yes | Yes |
| Cost (without installation)**** | £715 | £835 |
Despite the Worcester Bosch 2000 series offering slightly less in terms of boiler performance than the Ideal Logic, it comes with an additional 3 years standard warranty (it’s actually a guarantee not a warranty with Worcester Bosch, giving you a better standard of cover).
The Worcester Bosch 2000 series is also the quietest boiler that Worcester Bosch manufactures, so if your boiler is in a public space like your kitchen, or it’s near where you sleep, this boiler could be a great option.
Combining the aftercare from Worcester Bosch, and their reputation as a premium boiler brand, the 2000 series is an incredibly good choice for a budget boiler buy.
Made from the same stuff as the Lifestyle range, this new boiler will go on to become one of the most popular boilers on the market.
Cheapest place to buy a combi boiler
The answer to the all-important question – where is the cheapest place to buy a combi boiler from, is, of course, WarmZilla. We offer the best value on boiler packages which include everything you need including a new boiler, boiler installation, guarantee between 5-10 years, wireless controls, system filter, system cleanse, and any extras like flues/plume kits that you may need.
Whilst we strive to offer the best prices for our customers it doesn’t come at the cost of quality, as you can see from our Trustpilot reviews. Our aim is to offer an easy-to-use boiler quote service that allows our customers to easily buy a new boiler without needing a degree in boilerspeak, at a price that is affordable and fitted at a time that’s convenient to you.
We’re sure there are a lot of companies that claim to offer the cheapest boilers so we did a bit of research for you. In the table below, we compared our prices with that of two of our online competitors and one more traditional national boiler installer.*
| Worcester Bosch 30i Combi with Horizontal flue | |
|---|---|
| WarmZilla | £1949 |
| Online Competitor 1 | £2040 |
| Online Competitor 2 | £2270 |
| Traditional Boiler Installer | £2599 |
Get a fixed price boiler quote from WarmZilla online in minutes, click on the banner below.
*Boiler prices accurate at the time of blog publication.
**Boiler prices accurate at the time of blog publication.
***Prices taken from Screwfix.co.uk at time of publication.
****Prices taken from Direct Heating Supplies at time of publication.
****Prices taken from Travis Perkins at time of publication.
