Compare the Best IronsAugust 2020

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:

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 $14 to $913 and in total we found prices for 110 irons. A new iron costs on average $165 and 80% of irons are priced between $22 and $345. The Sunbeam Steam Master is the cheapest iron at only $15, and Rowenta DG8961 is the most expensive at $913.

Iron Brands - Price Range

The average price of Solac irons is $270 which is the highest average price of all iron brands. Solac irons start at $216 and their most expensive iron costs $305.

The second highest average iron price out of all brands is Bosch irons with an average price of $269. Bosch irons start at $25 and their most expensive iron costs $490.

Ufesa irons range in price from $252 to $252, and the third highest average iron price out of all brands is Ufesa irons with an average price of $252.

Iron Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 57 expert reviews and 15,143 user reviews for irons and used this data to determine 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 83% and the third best brand is Russell Hobbs with 79%.

Biggest Iron Retailers

We found 101 current offers for irons from eBay making it the biggest iron retailer. That is over 14 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, e-Global Central US for whom we found 7 current offers for irons. The third biggest retailer is Factory Outlet Store with 1 current iron offers.

When Are Most New Irons Released?

Most new irons tend to be released between January and February. If you wait until January 2021 then you might be able to get better features on your iron. Alternatively you might be able to buy one of the current irons cheaper in January once the latest models have been released. In January 2019, 12 new irons were released making it the biggest month that year for new iron releases. In 2018 most new irons were released in February, with 35 new irons released that month. November was the biggest month in 2017 for new irons, with 44 new irons released that month.

How Fast Do Iron Prices Drop After Release?

On average irons drop in price by 2% in the first 6 months after release.

That means that on a typical iron costing $165 you could save on average $3 by waiting 6 months before buying.

Powers

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

Comparing all irons, the powers range from 210W to 3,200W. The powers of the majority of irons range from 2,300W to 2,500W. The iron with the biggest power is the Breville VIN401, which is a 3,100W iron and can be purchased for $45.99. The iron with the smallest power is the Philips HD117380, which is a 350W iron and can be purchased for $42.95.

Available Colours

The most frequently found colour amongst new irons is white. We found 492 irons that are irons that have a white coloured. Blue is the second most common colour amongst new irons. We found 280 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.

Traditional is the most popular type amongst new irons. We found 542 irons that are traditional irons. We found 277 irons that are steam generator irons, making this the second most popular type amongst new irons.

Steam Generating Capacity

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

Across the range of irons, the steam generating capacity range from 1g/min to 500g/min. The steam generating capacity of most irons range from 20g/min to 50g/min. The Rowenta DG8961, which is priced at $912.90, has the most steam generating capacity and is a 420g/min steam capacity iron. The iron with the least steam generating capacity is the Russell Hobbs Dual Voltage Travel Iron, which is a 10g/min steam capacity iron and is on sale for $16.41.

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. 97 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. 96% of their iron prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.