Are you the type to iron your socks and tea towels? Or do you choose wearing a wrinkled shirt over five minutes of ironing any day of the week? Whatever relationship you have with your ironing board, you deserve a decent iron that can make light work of the laundry pile.
Steam irons jet steam onto garments, making it easier for the appliance to glide over fabric. These are fantastic at getting out stubborn wrinkles, especially from bone-dry material that’s been crumpled by the tumble drier. If you’re open to spending a bit more money though, then you may consider steam-generating irons, which are more powerful and lighter in the hand, as the water used for the steam is held in the base unit rather than the iron itself.
Keep scrolling for our tried-and-tested pick of the best steam irons available right now.
How we tested
We conquered piles and piles of laundry during testing, which went on in a very busy house of five, with school shirts, dresses, bed linen and trousers being on regular laundry rotation. We do on average two loads of washing a day (pray for our washing machine), so trust us when we say these irons have all been tested thoroughly. We also recruited the most discerning ironer in the UK (potentially), who put the machines to the test in their home, too.
We ironed a range of fabrics that require different levels of heat and care – such as cotton, silk and linen. During testing, pressing questions (pun intended) included how easy the irons were to set up, how heavy they were to use and how easily they glided over fabrics. We also took into account price and quality, to give you a really well rounded picture of which steam irons performed best.
Why you can trust us
Zoe Phillimore is a journalist and editor who has been writing review features for IndyBest since 2021. She specialises in all things sleep, bedding and home appliances. Having written several reviews, including the best SAD lamps and slow cookers, Zoe has a keen eye for high-quality materials, durability and affordability. A criteria she applied to the best steam irons during several months of testing.
The best steam irons for 2025 are:
- Best overall – Russell Hobbs power steam ultra iron: £33.77, Amazon.co.uk
- Best budget buy – Russell Hobbs plug and wrap steam iron: £23.93, Amazon.co.uk
- Best premium option – Tefal GV9820G0 high pressure steam generator iron: £373.21, Amazon.co.uk
- Best cordless design – Tower T22008 ceraglide cordless steam iron: £23, Amazon.co.uk
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Russell Hobbs power steam ultra steam iron
For hard-to-banish wrinkles and creases, this iron was hard to beat. It saw off stubborn creases easily, and the tapered tip was fab at getting into tight corners. School shirts looked brand new after a going over with this power steam machine – and the button groove meant minimal fuss when ironing.
As well as traditional ironing, you can do vertical steaming with this iron, and it’s pretty versatile in other ways, too. You can adjust the temperature on the dial (useful, as it did get astonishingly hot, so beware, kids and novice ironers) and the amount of steam it jets out. The steam function was absolutely drip-free, too. Those in hard-water areas will appreciate the self-clean function and anti-scale cartridge.
This iron is a great all-rounder – perhaps a bit on the heavy side, but we’ll forgive it as it was still easy to manoeuvre.
Buy now £33.79, Amazon.co.uk
Russell Hobbs plug and wrap steam iron
Designed to be easy to store, this is a great iron if you’re short on space, as the cable tucks away neatly and the plug tucks into the base. Although compact, it’s a full-size machine, making ironing a load of washing relatively quick.
There’s a 320ml water tank on board, and you can opt for dry or steam ironing. While dry ironing, you can use the steam shot or you can spritz water on garments to get out really dried-in wrinkles. We found the dry mode did an adequate job – our washing looked like it had been ironed, for sure – but the steam mode was much more effective at giving it that crisp look.
The iron is pretty lightweight, and it glided well over all fabrics. We liked that there’s a one-temperature control, so it’s safe for all ironable fabrics, giving us peace of mind. It’s also a good iron for those who are new to the game (hello, students).
Buy now £23.93, Amazon.co.uk
Tefal GV9820G0 high pressure steam generator iron
We found the Tefal’s high pressure iron an absolute game changer when it came to ironing. The steam generator base has a 1.2l tank, which meant we could get through huge piles of laundry without refilling. The iron took just moments to heat up – no more than a standard steam iron, in fact.
We loved the smart setting, which detects when the iron is moving and blasts steam, and then stops when the iron isn’t moving. We found it provided enough steam that we didn’t need to do both sides of garments – especially handy when ironing bed linen and other large items. It also stops steaming automatically when it’s upright, which is a very handy safety feature.
One last thing to mention is it has a headlight on it, which sounds gimmicky, but is very useful for showing up wrinkles, especially if you’re ironing in less-than-perfect lighting conditions. The price tag of almost £400 may be eye-watering but could still be worth every penny to die-hard ironing perfectionists, who are sure to love this machine.
Buy now £373.21, Amazon.co.uk
Braun carestyle 7 pro steam generator iron
Our highly discerning tester was blown away by this steam generator iron. At the end of the test period, they said they’d “highly recommend it”, which is not an easy accolade to achieve. The iron itself looks smart – all black with some rose-gold-coloured trim. The slots in the base unit enable you to tuck in the flex and the steam cable neatly when it’s stowed away. As for the 2l reservoir, we found it to be easy to fill – it slots out horizontally and slots back in easily.
The iron comes with different modes, including the iCare mode, which makes sure all ironable fabrics will be safe; and a turbo mode for creases that are really dried in. However, during testing, we found the model to be so efficient, we barely touched the modes – the iron heated up quickly, and is so lightweight it glided easily over all fabrics.
This machine is certainly an investment but, if you’re particular or do a lot of ironing, we think it’s worth it.
Buy now £249.00, Braunhousehold.com
Beldray mega steam pro upright ironing station
For those who are new to steam generator irons and are baulking slightly at the price, this Beldray is a great entry-level option. It’s considerably easier on the purse than some of the other steam generator irons we tested for this review, and it did a very decent job of our laundry.
The 1.5l water tank took around a minute or so to get up to full steam. You can adjust the temperature on the iron using a traditional dial, and that’s all the variables there are. The trigger button is well positioned, so you can squeeze it while you iron.
The soleplate was pretty friction-free – while it didn’t glide quite as freely as some of the other steam generators here, rest assured it didn’t catch or rumple the fabrics. Nor did it get overly hot and leave shine on the clothes. You can also use this as a vertical steamer on hanging items, which is handy.
Buy now £69.06, Argos.co.uk
Tower T22008 ceraglide cordless steam iron
If you want to do ironing away from the mains power, this Tower corded and cordless iron offers you that functionality. If you’re doing a big load of ironing, and battery power isn’t going to see you through the whole lot, you have the option of plugging it into the base charger and using the whole thing.
The base does make it a bit clunky when ironing but it doesn’t make it much heavier than your usual corded iron, which we were pleased about. You can also use this iron in vertical mode – simply detach it from the base and steam hanging garments without getting wrapped up in the cord.
Performance-wise, this iron was decent enough to deal with all but the worst wrinkles. It glided beautifully across the clothes, and the button notch on the tip was handy for doing shirts. This is a nifty little iron that offers good value.
Buy now £23.00, Amazon.co.uk
Tefal ultimate pure steam iron
If you live in a hard-water area, you’ll be only too aware of how much damage limescale can cause to irons, kettles, dishwashers and the like. This Tefal iron is a great option, as it comes with a filter that cleans out any scale before it enters the steam. You can pull this filter out to clean it, too. As well as prolonging the lifespan of your iron, it means you don’t get grim stains on your fresh laundry.
We found the performance excellent – it glided over cottons and nylons with no hitches or dragging. The auto steam was great for blasting out creases without requiring any elbow grease on our part, and there’s a steam boost trigger button if you’re working on something that’s really rumpled.
While some may find this machine a bit on the heavy side, it definitely feels robust and well-made.
Buy now £82.88, Amazon.co.uk
Beldray digital touchscreen steam iron
This steam iron left us really impressed. It takes a lot of the trial and error out of ironing – it has a temperature screen that lets you select from four preset modes, based on fabric type. It’s really easy to use, and we liked the fact it’s so visible – it reminded us to change the temperature between garments.
The iron was quick to heat up, taking seconds rather than minutes. This is a fairly lightweight design, too. However, we found the circular base a bit bulky and annoying when we were ironing. Bonus points for the extra-long flex, though, as we could iron away from the mains power. There is a powerful amount of steam with this iron, too – it was able to get out stubborn, dried-in creases with fairly minimal effort on our part.
Buy now £39.99, Amazon.co.uk
Morphy Richards easy plus power plus cordless iron
For speed of heating up, this cordless iron is hard to beat. It was warm within seconds of being on the base plate. This cordless design works a bit like a kettle. Return it to the base plate each time you readjust your garment, and it’ll charge and be ready for you. We found the base plate a bit faffy, however, as it kept sliding off our ironing board. However, we liked that it’s a cordless design and we weren’t getting in a jumble with the power cord.
The soleplate glided well over our clothes, and we liked the notched point to get in between buttons on shirts. We found it midweight when testing – it’s not the lightest iron we tried, but we still found it fine to use. If you’re in a hurry, this is a great steam iron, as it heats up quickly and gets the job done well. It does take a while to cool back down, though.
Buy now £69.99, Morphyrichards.co.uk
Tefal freemove power cordless steam iron
If you find wires restrictive when ironing, this cordless steam iron is a good shout. It comes on a base, which isn’t as bulky as the steam generator bases but it is chunkier than the one on the budget-friendly Tower cordless iron featured in this round-up. We found the stated charge-up time of 11 seconds a bit misleading, as this only gives you 35 seconds of ironing time. We couldn’t get through a whole garment before it beeped to recharge again. The idea is you put the iron back on the base in between items, so you still need to iron close to the mains-power socket.
When using the iron, it did glide well over fabrics, thanks to the ceramic coating on the plate. The temperature control is easy to use and it heats up very quickly. The notched plate made ironing around shirt buttons and in pleats really easy, too.
Buy now £80.00, Currys.co.uk
Phillips PerfectCare compact steam generating iron
A lot of steam-generator irons are pretty bulky, and we struggle to find space for them to be stowed away. This one, however, is only a little bit larger than your standard steam iron, yet it has a massive 1.5l tank, meaning we could get through loads of ironing, without needing to refill – even if we were constantly steaming our garments.
As with the Tefal steam generator included in this round-up, the Philips PerfectCare auto adjusts its temperature depending on the fabric. This means we were able to switch between silk pillowcases and the dreaded school shirts, without hanging around for the iron to cool down or heat up. It also meant we never got it wrong. There is a slight button notch on the soleplate, but we didn’t find it quite as good as some other models we’ve tested here, as it’s just a bit too subtle. The iron itself is lightweight and we were able to blitz through piles of laundry without getting aching arms.
Buy now £90.40, Amazon.co.uk
Swan ProSteam steam iron
If you’re just dipping your toe into steam-generator irons and don’t feel like dropping huge amounts of cash on one, this is a good starting point. This swan iron is also ideal if you hate ironing and want to get it done quickly and efficiently. The appliance is easy to use – fill up the tank (note the tank is slightly smaller than other generator irons in this round-up), flick a switch, twizzle the dial (excuse the technical lingo here) to the heat setting you want, and you’re away. The iron itself is fairly lightweight, but the surface area of the ceramic soleplate is smaller than some other models we tested.
One thing that is a bit faffy is that the tank doesn’t slide out – you have to fill it with a jug. This meant we were paranoid about getting the electrical parts wet. Overall, though, the finish on this iron is slightly less premium than other steam-generators in this round-up (namely Tefal and Braun) but it’s significantly cheaper, too. However, we liked how well it de-wrinkled our kids’ tower of school shirts, and it even handled dried-in creases with ease.
Buy now £69.99, Shop.swan-brand.co.uk
The verdict: Steam irons
The Russell Hobbs power steam just works. It’s fast, efficient and easy to use, gliding across garments like an Olympic skater. Notable mention also goes to the Braun steam generator, which did sterling work under intense scrutiny, and won the devotion of our hardcore ironing enthusiast.
For more laundry godsends, read our review of the best clothes steamers to smooth your favourite garments
