Real or artificial Christmas tree: the cost over ten years in 2026
A cut tree is a cost every December. An artificial tree is a cost once. The question is how many Decembers before the second is cheaper, and the answer is usually two.
The assumptions
A 6ft cut Nordmann fir in the UK costs around £55 in 2026 from a garden centre or a lot, more in a city, plus £5 where the council charges for collection or you drive it to the tip. An artificial tree in this shop costs £99 to £160 for a standard 6ft tree, £130 to £200 for a pre-lit one, and £300 to £460 for a luxury real-feel fir, all including delivery. The artificial tree is assumed to last ten years, which a tree stored dry and handled gently does.
The sums
| Option | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 5 | Year 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cut tree at £60 a year with disposal | £60 | £120 | £300 | £600 |
| Artificial tree at £99 | £99 | £99 | £99 | £99 |
| Pre-lit artificial tree at £160 | £160 | £160 | £160 | £160 |
| Luxury real-feel fir at £330 | £330 | £330 | £330 | £330 |
A £99 tree is cheaper than cut trees from the second Christmas. A £160 pre-lit tree pays for itself in the third. A £330 luxury fir takes six Christmases, and over ten years costs just over half what the cut trees would.
The electricity
A 600-LED set draws about 4W; a 1,000-LED set about 6W. Six hours a night for 42 days is 1 to 1.5kWh, which at the Ofgem cap for October to December 2026 of 26.32p per kWh is 25p to 40p for the season. It is the same for a cut tree with the same lights, so it does not change the comparison.
What the sums leave out
A cut tree costs an hour of needle-sweeping and a car boot full of needles in January; an artificial tree costs a storage bag and a square metre of cupboard. A cut tree smells of pine; a tube of scented hangers at £6.99 gives an artificial one the same. An artificial tree has an environmental cost in manufacture and transport that is repaid over several years of use, which is the argument for buying one you will keep rather than one you will replace.
Buying for ten years
If the tree is meant to last a decade, pay for density and PE tips rather than for lights, store it dry, and fluff the branches rather than forcing them. The price bands show what each step up buys.
Common questions
When does an artificial tree become cheaper than a real one?
From the second Christmas for a £99 tree, the third for a £160 pre-lit tree, and around the sixth for a £330 luxury fir, against a £60 cut tree each year.
How long does an artificial tree last?
Seven to ten years is typical, longer for PE trees stored properly. The lights on a pre-lit tree are the part that ages first.
Do LED lights add much to the bill?
No. A 1,000-LED set costs about 40p to run through December at the current price cap.