Best Smart Water Timers UK 2026
A timer is what turns a drip line into an irrigation system. Published UK pricing runs from around £20 for simple Claber units to £80–£150 for the wireless LinkTap G2S — and on a butt-fed line, the whole arrangement stays legal in a ban.
Planning the work? Check what it usually costs, or work out your own estimate. The free quote form is at the top of this page.
The timers compared
Some links on this page may earn BestBuilders a commission at no cost to you. It never changes what we recommend — every range here is the same published pricing our cost guides use.
| Timer | Published pricing | Best for | Find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| LinkTap G2S | £80–£150 | Weak-signal taps; wireless mesh to an indoor hub | Current price |
| Gardena smart Water Control | within £30–£350 range | Gardena gardens; ties into Micro-Drip | Current price |
| Hozelock Cloud Controller | within £25–£200 range | Hozelock Easy Drip owners | Current price |
| Claber timers (Aquauno) | from ~£20 | One zone, simple schedule, no app | Current price |
Timers and the hosepipe ban
The timer does not change the law — the water source does. Automating a mains tap automates a restricted hosepipe; automating a butt-fed drip line automates the exempt method. The full setup is on the ban-proof watering guide; whole-garden control belongs with an installed system.
Smart timer FAQs
LinkTap G2S — its published £80-150 buys a wireless controller that meshes back to a hub indoors, which is why it holds signal at taps the wifi units drop.
No — legality comes from the SOURCE. A timer on a mains tap is still a restricted hosepipe; a timer on a butt-fed drip line automates the exempt method, which is the setup to run.
For one zone on a simple schedule, yes — Claber's published range starts around £20. Smart control earns its price when you want weather-skip, phone control or several zones.
Tap-end timers run hose-fed zones. Multi-zone buried systems use an irrigation controller (Hunter Hydrawise and Rain Bird ESP are the published names) fitted as part of an install.
Sources & methodology
Price ranges are the published installer and retail pricing used across our gardening guides; BestBuilders does not yet hold enough quote history in this category to publish averages of its own. Hosepipe-ban rules follow the standard Temporary Use Ban framework — confirm against your own water company's exemption list.