Travelling to the British seaside this summer? Pastel-coloured beach huts are as much a part of the experience as 99 flakes, fish and chips, and seagulls with no respect for your personal space. But whether you’re planning a week by the coast or just a day trip, the little costs of a seaside outing can soon stack up. That’s why finding good value matters.
Beach huts aren’t just an aesthetic backdrop for your Instagram story. They can give you somewhere to dodge a surprise rain shower, get changed after a swim, stash your bags, or tuck into a picnic without sand ending up in every sandwich. While privately owned huts can be pricey, council-run huts can be a surprisingly affordable way to make a day at the seaside a bit more comfortable.
To help travellers find the best value for a beach day out, we analysed over 1,000 council-owned beach huts across the UK to reveal:
The best value beach hut for a summer day out
The best value beach hut for a week-long summer holiday
The best value beach huts off-peak and year-round
How much does a council-owned beach hut cost?
During summer, the average cost to hire a council-owned beach hut is £56 for the day or £223 for the week. Many councils also offer seasonal and annual hire, so if you’ve found your favourite stretch of sand, you can keep coming back all summer long.
Around 43% of beach huts are simply somewhere to shelter from the elements, but others come with handy extras like electricity (30%), kettles and mugs (12%), or both water and electricity (7%).
The South East is the ‘beach hut hotspot’ of the UK, with eight councils in the region offering beach hut hire, followed by the South West and the East of England.
Where can you find the UK’s best value beach huts?
Best value beach huts for a summer day out
1. Barry Island, Vale of Glamorgan Council: £24/day
2. Swanage Beach (Spa Beach Huts), Swanage Town Council: £26/day
3. Bournemouth Beach, BCP Council: £30/day
3. Crooklets Promenade, Bude-Stratton Town Council: £30/day
3. Lowestoft & Felixstowe, East Suffolk Council: £30/day
3. Swanage Beach (Shore Beach Huts, Upper Level), Swanage Town Council: £30/day
4. Thanet Coastline, Thanet District Council: £35/day
5. Mablethorpe Promenade, Mablethorpe & Sutton Town Council: £35.95/day
Best value beach huts for a staycation
1. Lowestoft & Felixstowe, East Suffolk Council: £100/week
2. Belvedere Beach, East Riding of Yorkshire Council: £130/week
2. Hornsea Beach, East Riding of Yorkshire Council: £130/week
3. Swanage Beach (Spa Beach Huts), Swanage Town Council: £151/week
4. Whitby West Cliff Promenade, North Yorkshire Council: £187/week
5. Swanage Beach (Shore Beach Huts, Upper Level), Swanage Town Council: £190/week
Where to find accessible beach huts
If you or someone you’re visiting with has accessibility needs, there are plenty of council-run beach huts designed to make a day by the sea more comfortable. Most accessible beach huts come with extra facilities like heating, lighting, level access, wheelchair-friendly layouts, and larger internal spaces.
East Suffolk offers the widest range of accessible hire options, featuring furnished and heated seashore chalets available for both daily and weekly hire.
The most affordable accessible option is available in Gosport for £26.80 per week, while East Suffolk’s accessible chalets start from £50 per day or £145 per week during the summer.
The largest were found in Arun, where accessible huts (costing £65 per day) can accommodate up to 10 people and include access to nearby changing rooms.
How to get the best value on your seaside holiday
Travel outside peak season
If you can avoid the school holidays, you can nab a beach hut for a lot less – booking in a ‘shoulder season’ (spring or autumn) is 57% cheaper on average. The cheapest shoulder deals are found in Swanage, where weekly hire costs £31.50, and daily hire starts from just £8.50.
For anyone willing to brave a cold swim, winter beach huts are 85% cheaper than summer hire. The cheapest winter beach hut is Swanage’s ‘Shore Beach Hut’, costing just £7 a day. Barry Island follows close behind at £8 a day.
The biggest off-season saving is also found at Swanage Beach, where ‘Spa Retreat’ huts cost £275 a week in peak summer, compared to £30 a week in winter. That’s an 89% saving for visitors who can travel out of season.
Save money by booking for longer
If you know you’ll be making regular trips to the coast, a longer-term hire can work out to be surprisingly good value. Eastbourne offers the cheapest annual beach hut in our list, with a small hut on the main resort beach costing £750.75 per year (or around £2 a day).
You can also save money by committing to hiring for the whole summer season. When hired for 21 weeks, huts in Whitby (West Cliff Promenade) cost just £5.98 a day.
Split the cost with family or friends
Heading to the seaside with family or friends? A bigger beach hut can actually work out cheaper per person. Split the cost between your group, and you might have enough left over for an extra round of ice cream. Swanage’s six-person ‘shore premium’ beach huts cost £41.50 per day, working out at just £6.92 per person when shared between a group – the best value large hut in our research.
Whether you’re planning a family holiday or just a day beside the sea, there are plenty of affordable beach huts across the UK. From Barry Island’s £24 a day hire to East Suffolk’s £100 summer weeks, our research shows you don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy what Britain’s beaches have to offer.
And once your towel’s down and the fish and chips are ordered, a Monzo current account can help you keep an eye on your holiday spending with instant notifications, and set aside money for your next seaside trip with Pots.
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Research Methodology Prices were taken from each council's official pricing pages, published fees-and-charges schedules, or official online booking systems (including third-party platforms operated on their behalf, such as Your Leisure and CampManager). Where a booking portal only shows prices after a date is selected, we used consistent reference dates so figures stay comparable. Each distinct price point (by hut type, size, location, season or hire length) was recorded separately, and where only a range was published, both the lowest and highest figures were captured.
Disclaimer: Prices are provided for reference only and may change over time. While we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information will remain up to date. Prices are for the 2026 or 2026-27 season where available, otherwise the most recent figures available. Some councils quote prices exclusive of VAT, and additional fees (deposits, legal or admin fees, business rates) may apply on top of the headline price. Prices were collected in July 2026 from publicly accessible sources and can be provided in full upon request.