Best electric blanket 2023: Heated blankets to keep the chills away

One of the more expensive electric blankets, the Slumberdown Wonderfully Warm Electric Blanket is also one of the best and ideal for the very cold months. This blanket is available in single, double, king and super-king sizes, catering for even the largest of beds.

While the single version comes with just one control, rated at 60W, the double and larger sizes come with dual controls, rated at 60W each. With dual controls set to maximum, this electric blanket costs just over 4p an hour to run, which is quite conservative.

Cleverly, the controls don’t just focus on whole-body heating but have a separate feet-only option, which we found great for taking the chill out of cold feet. We also loved the timer, as it prevents the blanket from being left on.

What makes this electric blanket different from the competition is its soft, fleecy cover, which we found very comfortable to lie on. We also didn’t feel any discomfort from where the controls connected. But this cover meant that it took a little while longer than the competition for the heat to penetrate this blanket. However, we found that the cover helped retain heat for longer.

Excellent edge-to-edge heat – going from a gently warming effect to a more full-on heat pad – made this electric blanket suitable for various conditions, from chilly weather to Arctic blasts.

We found the Slumberdown Wonderfully Warm Electric Blanket simple to fit and remove thanks to its elastic straps. The quilted cover can be washed separately from the blanket, making it easy to maintain. If you don’t use an electric blanket often, then this product may be an overkill. But if you need something to keep you warm in any weather conditions, this is the best.

Review: Slumberdown Wonderfully Warm Electric Blanket review

Reviewer: Rachel Ogden

Available for just under £50, the Vonhaus King Size Electric Blanket is just about the best-value dual-control blanket. Note that there is also a version for a double bed, called the Vonhaus Double Electric Blanket.

Each control can draw a maximum of 60W, which gives a total of 120W and a maximum cost of just over 4p per hour at current electricity prices.

Heat controls range from a gentle 30°C to a more powerful 55°C, giving a fair amount of adjustment to cope with different weather throughout the year. Thanks to overheating protection, this blanket is suitable for use on the lowest setting all night long, so you can keep warm even on the coldest nights of the year.

We found that this blanket fitted our bed brilliantly from edge to edge. One minor complaint is that there’s a hard lump where the controls plug in: we needed extra padding to make the bed more comfortable. The other options are to flip the blanket around, so that the controls are at your feet, or to use the king-size version on a double bed, so the blanket folds over the sides.

We didn’t find any cold spots with this blanket and, on the top setting, it took 10mins to become pleasantly warm and 30mins to reach maximum temperature.

The Vonhaus King Size Electric Blanket is easy to keep in tip-top condition, as it’s washable and simple to fit and remove.

Review: Vonhaus King Size Electric Blanket review

Reviewer: Rachel Ogden

Are you feeling the cold? If so, the Dreamland Scandi Sherpa Mattress Warmer could well be the electric blanket for you, as it’s one of the warmest we’ve reviewed.

While most electric blankets typically have 60W or 70W controls, the Dreamland Scandi Sherpa Mattress Warmer has dual 150W controls. Sure, that pushes up the maximum running cost to 11p per hour, but the advantage is that this electric blanket gets much warmer than its rivals.

In fact, combined with its fleecy top, we found it too hot in many cases, such as on milder nights. If you like sleeping in a relatively cool environment, you may want to choose one of the lighter electric blankets on this list. However, we found that this blanket heated evenly from edge to edge.

For all-night use, there’s the Intelliheat+ option, where the blanket adjusts to your body temperature automatically throughout the night. That’s good news for anyone who gets cold in the middle of the night. Otherwise, there’s a selection of temperatures and timers if you want to use it more like a regular electric blanket.

The Dreamland Scandi Sherpa Mattress Warmer was easy to fit and remove. It can be washed and tumble-dried, and it’s supremely comfortable to sleep on. If you tend to get very cold at night, this is the model for you.

Review: Dreamland Scandi Sherpa Mattress Warmer

Reviewer: Rachel Ogden

The simple truth is that electric blankets have one job to do: warm up the bed for you. To that end, the Silentnight Yours & Mine Dual Control Electric Blanket is reassuringly easy to use. While it provides dual controls, so that each sleeper can pick their own preferred temperature, this blanket is simple to use: each controller has a slider with a choice of three heat settings.

Each side of the bed can run at a maximum of 60W, which gives a maximum running cost of 4p per hour, which is pretty efficient.

We found this electric blanket simple to fit thanks to its elasticated straps and, also, easy to remove (it’s machine washable). It covers most of the mattress, but not the pillow area (which is fine, as most people don’t want to heat their pillows anyway). We did find that the plastic lump where the controls attach was inconveniently placed at shoulder height, so we needed to use a bit of padding for a comfortable night’s sleep.

There are electric blankets out there with more settings, but for the basic job of heating your bed, this one is hard to beat in terms of value and quality.

Review: Silentnight Yours & Mine Dual Control Electric Blanket review

Reviewer: Rachel Ogden

Although most electric blankets are washable, doing so is quite the chore. If you don’t fancy this kind of hassle in your life, then the Dreamland Anti-Bacterial Heated Underblanket could well be for you.

As its name suggests, this blanket has anti-bacterial properties, thanks to the microfleece polyester fabric enriched with silver. As a result, this blanket won’t need to be cleaned as often as its rivals. When you do have to wash it, the blanket can be washed and tumble dried, so at least there’s a quick turn around.

Available for double and king-sized beds only, this blanket had good coverage, taking up all of our mattress bar the pillow area, and we found it very easy to fit. There’s only a single heat control on this model, so both occupants of a bed will have to agree on a setting, choosing from the four heat settings.

Drawing a maximum of 150W, this blanket will cost around 5p per hour to run on its maximum setting. That’s more expensive than many rivals, but the advantage is that this blanket heats up very fast, so is ideal for those that forget to preheat their bed. The only thing missing from the controls is a timer, although this blanket turns off automatically after nine hours.

The Dreamland Anti-Bacterial Heated Underblanket is a little more expensive than its rivals, but it’s a good choice for those that can’t wash the blanket often and for anyone that wants quick heat.

Full review: Dreamland Anti-Bacterial Heated Underblanket

Reviewer: Rachel Ogden