Compare the Best IronsSeptember 2019

Irons are something of a necessity if you want to make sure that your shirts or dresses are neatly pressed, look professional, and are free of any untidy-looking creases or wrinkles. Irons work by heating and loosening the molecules that make up polymer fabrics, making it temporarily more malleable. The weight of the iron and the motion of ironing stretches the material, removing the creases, and the fabric retains its new shape once it cools.

We have a wide variety of irons from many different makers, but it can be hard to choose the model exactly right for you. Here are the two main varities of iron:

Dry Irons: These are the standard type of iron you're likely to encounter - a wedge-shaped metal plate is heated up to high temperatures, which is then used to press clothes to remove creases. These irons tend to be cheaper than more advanced models, but may not proper handle all different types of clothing.

Steam Generator Irons: These are similar to dry irons, but have a reservoir of water that is built into the iron. This is heated up, generating steam that is dispensed through the hot metal plate on the base of the iron. The steam is necessary for some fabrics such as cotton, which will not react well to dry ironing. However they tend to be more expensive than standard dry irons.

Steam Generator Irons: These are similar to steam irons, but the device that generates the steam is held in a separate device. This quickly generates a large amount of steam, which is then fed into the iron when it's placed onto the generator. This allows the iron itself to be lighter than other steam irons, since it only needs to hold the steam, not generate it. It also allows a far greater amount of steam to be generated quicker. However they are the most expensive type of iron, and as a whole are far bulkier.

Temperature Control

Most more advanced irons - especially steam irons - have a temperature setting installed on them. This allows the user to maintain a constant temperature for both the metal plate and the steam. This is important because different types of fabrics have different temperature requirements for most effective ironing - it also serves to reduce the risk of damaging or burning delicate clothing.

Steam/Pointed Tip

Irons are usually shaped like a wedge - however some models have an especially pointy tip, which can be useful for getting under buttons, into corners, and generally making sure all parts of the fabric have been taken care of. More advanced models may also have a 'steam tip' - a special steam dispenser in the tip, which can send a burst of steam through the fabric. This is useful for ironing out stubborn creases.

Limescale Filter

Limescale buildup is a problem of frequently used irons, and can reduce the life of your device. Therefore looking for an iron that has a limescale filter built into it can help elongate the life of the appliance, especially if you plan on using it very regularly.

Iron Prices

The price range of irons is from $13 to $702 and in total we found prices for 147 irons. A new iron costs on average $112 and 80% of irons are priced between $20 and $269. The Russell Hobbs Dual Voltage Travel Iron is the cheapest iron at only $14, and Philips GC941060 is the most expensive at $702.

Iron Brands - Price Range

Solac irons start at $294 and their most expensive iron costs $320. The highest average iron price out of all brands is Solac irons with an average price of $307.

The average price of Ufesa irons is $210 which is the second highest average price of all iron brands. Ufesa irons start at $210 and their most expensive iron costs $210.

The third highest average iron price out of all brands is Taurus irons with an average price of $193. Taurus irons range in price from $120 to $259.

Iron Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 44 expert reviews and 15,549 user reviews for irons and used these reviews to calculate the average rating for each brand of iron. The top rated iron brand is Philips with an average rating of 88%. The second best brand is Tefal with 82% and the third best brand is Russell Hobbs with 79%.

Biggest Iron Retailers

We found 140 current offers for irons from eBay making it the biggest iron retailer.

When Are Most New Irons Released?

We looked at the release dates for new irons over the last 3 years, but couldn't see any noticeable trend. 37 new irons were released in February 2018 making it the biggest month that year for new iron releases. In 2017 most new irons were released in November, with 45 new irons released that month. September was the biggest month in 2016 for new irons, with 82 new irons released that month.

How Fast Do Iron Prices Drop After Release?

New irons drop in price by an average of 1% in the first 6 months after they were first released.

That means a saving of $1 on a typical $112 new iron if you wait 6 months before buying.

Powers

'Power' denotes the power level of the iron, measured in Watts (W).

Comparing all irons, the powers range from 350W to 3,200W. The powers of most irons range from 2,300W to 2,500W. The Russell Hobbs Powersteam Ultra, which is available at $112.55, has the biggest power and is a 3,100W iron. The Philips HD117380, which is available at $42.95, has the smallest power and is a 350W iron.

Available Colours

Amongst new irons, the most popular colour is white. We found 465 irons that are irons that have a white coloured. The second most frequently found colour amongst new irons is blue. We found 271 irons that are irons that have a blue coloured.

Types

The way the iron works - either a traditional iron with a small reservoir for steam, or a 'steam generator', with a separate reservoir for larger amounts of steam.

We found 520 irons that are traditional irons, which makes this the most frequently found type amongst new irons. The second most common type amongst new irons is steam generator. We found 257 irons that are steam generator irons.

Steam Generating Capacity

'Steam Generating Capacit' indicates how much steam the iron is capable of generating, measured in grams per minute (g/min).

Comparing all irons, the steam generating capacity range from 1g/min to 500g/min. The steam generating capacity of the majority of irons range from 20g/min to 50g/min. The Tefal GV9071, which is available at $369.41, has the most steam generating capacity and is a 500g/min steam capacity iron. The Russell Hobbs Dual Voltage Travel Iron, which sells for $13.85, has the least steam generating capacity and is a 10g/min steam capacity iron.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Irons?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying irons. For each retailer it shows the total number of irons where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying irons. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 134 of their iron prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Irons for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for irons by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of iron prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's iron prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 95.7% of their iron prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.