Enter how many people and the spot you have. You get the hot tub sizes the makers sell for that many, which fit with the cover lifter’s room behind, their weight full, what that asks of a deck, the gate they roll through and where the electrics go.
Your hot tub
A 5-seat hot tub: 7′ × 6′6″ to 8′4″ × 7′7″all 4 fit your 10′ × 10′ spot · full, 3,705 lb to 5,455 lb
Quick answer: the hot tubs Hot Spring and Bullfrog sell run from 7′ × 5′8″ for 3 people to 9′2″ × 7′10″ for 9; a 5-seat tub is 7′ × 6′6″ to 8′4″ × 7′7″ and 33–38″ tall. Full of water and people they weigh 3,070 to 8,810 lb, which spread over their footprint is about 77–126 lb a square foot: two to three times the 40 lb a deck is built for. Leave 7–24″ behind for a cover lifter, keep switches 5′ from the tub, and check the gate: a tub travels on its side.
How to use the hot tub calculator
- Enter how many people will soak at once. If no tub seats exactly that many, you get the smallest that does.
- Measure the spot, choose what it stands on, and pick the cover lifter you plan to use; add the narrowest gate or path if the tub has to pass one.
- You get every tub the two makers sell for that many, which fit, their weight full, what a deck must carry, the gate they need and where the electrics go, with the spot drawn from above to scale.
Building the patio for it? The paver patio calculator counts the pavers and base. A railing round it? The railing height and baluster spacing calculator.
The rules, and where they come from
The sizes. From the makers: Hot Spring’s 2026 Highlife spec sheets and Bullfrog’s A Series pages. Hot Spring’s full weight “Includes water and 7 adults weighing 175 lbs. each” (for the Grandee; each tub its own seat count). Bullfrog prints a “Max Filled Weight (includes cover)”, water and tub with nobody in it, so the calculator adds 175 lb a seat to compare the two.
The deck. The International Residential Code builds decks for a live load of 40 lb a square foot (Table R301.5). Hot Spring’s pre-delivery guide (2023) lists the load each of its tubs puts on a deck, 115 to 130 lb a square foot, and says “a structural engineer or contractor be consulted before the spa is placed on an elevated deck”.
The pad. Hot Spring: “a reinforced concrete pad at least four inches thick is required for the Grandee® & Envoy® spas, and recommended for the Vanguard®, Aria®, Sovereign®, Prodigy® and Jetsetter® spas.”
The cover lifter. Hot Spring lists the room each needs behind the tub: “UpRite – 7” (18 cm) Clearance required”, “Lift ’n Glide – 14” (36 cm)”, “Cover Cradle – 24” (61 cm)”.
The way in. A tub is delivered “laid on its side”, so the gate must be wider than the tub is tall, plus the delivery cart; Hot Spring allows “No more than 6 consecutive stairs without a landing”.
The electrics. From the National Electrical Code as the City of Springboro, Ohio (2023 NEC) prints it: switches “at least 5 feet from the inside walls of a spa or hot tub unless separated by a solid fence, wall, or other permanent barrier”; a general-purpose outlet “not less than 6 ft. and not more than 20 feet” away, GFCI-protected; no overhead wires within 22.5 feet; safety glass in windows within 5 feet. The City of Idaho Falls: “An accessible disconnecting means shall be provided within sight from the spa, and be located at least 5 ft. horizontally from the spa.”
Hot tub sizes by seats
| Tub | Seats | Size | Gallons | Full |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Spring Jetsetter | 3 | 7′ × 5′8″ × 33″ | 245 | 3,070 lb |
| Hot Spring Jetsetter LX | 3 | 7′ × 5′8″ × 33″ | 250 | 3,125 lb |
| Bullfrog A5D | 3 | 7′ × 5′8″ × 32″ | 221 | 3,395 lb |
| Hot Spring Prodigy | 5 | 7′ × 6′6″ × 33″ | 270 | 3,705 lb |
| Hot Spring Sovereign | 5 | 7′9″ × 6′8″ × 33″ | 330 | 4,230 lb |
| Hot Spring Aria | 5 | 7′3″ × 7′3″ × 36″ | 365 | 4,600 lb |
| Hot Spring Envoy | 5 | 8′4″ × 7′7″ × 38″ | 455 | 5,455 lb |
| Bullfrog A6L | 6 | 7′4″ × 6′8″ × 34″ | 420 | 5,360 lb |
| Bullfrog A6 | 6 | 7′4″ × 6′8″ × 34″ | 459 | 5,720 lb |
| Hot Spring Vanguard | 6 | 7′3″ × 7′3″ × 36″ | 375 | 4,890 lb |
| Bullfrog A7L | 7 | 7′4″ × 7′4″ × 36″ | 508 | 6,340 lb |
| Bullfrog A8L | 7 | 7′10″ × 7′10″ × 38″ | 620 | 7,390 lb |
| Hot Spring Grandee | 7 | 8′4″ × 7′7″ × 38″ | 455 | 5,810 lb |
| Bullfrog A7 | 8 | 7′4″ × 7′4″ × 36″ | 528 | 6,750 lb |
| Bullfrog A8 | 8 | 7′10″ × 7′10″ × 38″ | 644 | 7,725 lb |
| Bullfrog A9L | 9 | 9′2″ × 7′10″ × 38″ | 579 | 8,810 lb |
Full = water and every seat taken at 175 lb. Bullfrog’s gallons are its maximum fill (the A9L’s, its fill line).
Worked examples
A 5-seat hot tub: 7′ × 6′6″ to 8′4″ × 7′7″: all four of Hot Spring’s 5-seat tubs fit a 10′ × 10′ spot.
A 6-seat hot tub: 7′4″ × 6′8″ to 7′3″ × 7′3″: in an 8′ × 10′ spot all three fit with a CoverCradle’s 24″ behind, the Vanguard with 9″ to spare.
A 7-seat hot tub: 7′4″ × 7′4″ to 8′4″ × 7′7″: through a 36″ gate only the Bullfrog A7L (36″ tall) rolls on its side; the A8L and the Grandee stand 38″.
A 3-seat hot tub: 7′ × 5′8″: even the smallest, full, presses 77 lb a square foot, almost twice what a deck is built for.
Common mistakes
- Putting it on the deck you have. A deck built to the code’s 40 lb a square foot is not built for a tub; have it checked first.
- Measuring only the tub. The cover lifter needs up to 24″ behind it, and the switches stay 5′ away.
- Forgetting the way in. The tub comes on its side on a cart: measure gates, side paths, corners and steps.
- Buying by seat count alone. Two tubs the same size can seat 5 or 6: Hot Spring’s Aria and Vanguard are both 7′3″ square.
More on hot tubs at Dreamy Home Style
Planning the whole yard? Draw it to scale in the free 2D floor planner.
Hot tub size questions
What size is a standard hot tub?
A 5-seat tub from Hot Spring is 7′ × 6′6″ to 8′4″ × 7′7″ and 33–38″ tall; across both makers here, tubs run from 7′ × 5′8″ (3 seats) to 9′2″ × 7′10″ (9 seats).
What are the dimensions of a 6 person hot tub?
Hot Spring’s Vanguard is 7′3″ × 7′3″ × 36″; Bullfrog’s A6 and A6L are 88 × 80 × 34″ (7′4″ × 6′8″).
How much does a hot tub weigh full?
With water and every seat taken at 175 lb: 3,070 lb for Hot Spring’s 3-seat Jetsetter up to 8,810 lb for Bullfrog’s 9-seat A9L.
Can a deck hold a hot tub?
Not without checking. Decks are built for 40 lb a square foot (IRC Table R301.5); Hot Spring lists 115–130 lb a square foot for its tubs and says to consult a structural engineer or contractor first.
How much space do you need around a hot tub?
7–24″ behind it for a cover lifter (Hot Spring), switches and the disconnect at least 5′ from its inside walls, and a way in wider than the tub is tall.
How many gallons is a hot tub?
From 221 gallons (Bullfrog A5D) to 644 (Bullfrog A8); Hot Spring’s 5-seat tubs hold 270–455.
What does a hot tub need for power?
A 230–240 V circuit for these tubs (Bullfrog lists 30 or 50 A); Hot Spring’s Jetsetter also runs on 115 V. A licensed electrician wires it, GFCI-protected.