Dehumidifier vs Tumble Dryer for Drying Clothes: Which Is Cheaper?
With UK energy prices where they are, more people are drying laundry indoors with a dehumidifier instead of a tumble dryer. Here's how the two actually compare on cost, speed and practicality.
Running cost: dehumidifier wins by a wide margin
A 20L compressor dehumidifier typically draws 200-350 watts, versus 2,000-3,000 watts for a standard tumble dryer — roughly 8-10x less power for the same job. Based on a 22-24p/kWh electricity rate, drying a load with a dehumidifier in a closed room usually costs somewhere around 15-30p, against £1-£1.50 or more for a full tumble dryer cycle.
Drying speed: tumble dryer wins, but not by as much as you'd think
A tumble dryer will dry a load in 60-90 minutes. A dehumidifier with a dedicated laundry mode, like the Meaco Arete Two 20L or the Pro Breeze 20L OmniDry, placed next to a clothes airer in a closed room, will typically dry a full load in 4-6 hours — slower, but still same-day, and it runs unattended while you get on with your day.
Fabric care and shrinkage
Air-drying with a dehumidifier is far gentler on clothes than tumble drying — no heat damage, no shrinkage, no extra wear from tumbling. If you regularly dry delicates, wool or anything that shrinks in a tumble dryer, this alone can be worth the switch.
The dual-purpose advantage
A tumble dryer only dries clothes. A dehumidifier dries clothes and tackles condensation, damp walls and mould the rest of the time it's not running laundry mode — see our guide to the best dehumidifiers for drying clothes. If your home also struggles with damp, that dual use makes the dehumidifier the better value purchase overall, not just for laundry.
When a tumble dryer still makes more sense
If you need same-day drying every single day, have a large family generating multiple loads daily, or don't have a closed room to dedicate to air-drying with a dehumidifier running, a tumble dryer's speed advantage will matter more than the running-cost saving. For most households drying 3-5 loads a week, though, the dehumidifier route works out both cheaper and gentler on clothes.
Ready to compare models? See our best dehumidifier for drying clothes comparison →
Frequently asked questions
How much cheaper is a dehumidifier than a tumble dryer to dry clothes?+
Roughly 5-8x cheaper per load in electricity cost — a dehumidifier draws around 200-350W versus 2,000-3,000W for a tumble dryer, translating to somewhere around 15-30p per load versus £1-£1.50+ for tumble drying.
Do I need a special dehumidifier for drying laundry?+
Not strictly, but a model with a dedicated laundry mode — which runs at full power for a set number of hours then shuts off automatically — is noticeably more effective and convenient than a standard humidity-target mode for this specific job.
Will drying clothes indoors with a dehumidifier cause damp?+
No — that's the point of using a dehumidifier rather than just air-drying on a rack. A dehumidifier actively removes the moisture the wet clothes release into the air, which is what actually causes damp and mould if you air-dry laundry indoors without one.