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.
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.