Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Pond liner buying guide

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have a hole marked out, or a barrel in the corner, and the amazon.co.uk titles sound heavier than the millimetres underneath. This pond liner buying guide is the order to use before you pick a row: the rectangle the water will actually need, then the material the listing names, then the thickness or gsm that is printed, then what goes under the sheet and what a guarantee line does not say. The twelve listings, with prices in GBP, are on the [pond liner comparison](/hub/garden-ponds/pond-liner). Peter F. read those amazon.co.uk files and the public UK pages named below, and did not run a puncture test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a hole marked out, or a barrel in the corner, and the amazon.co.uk titles sound heavier than the millimetres underneath.

Our top picks

PondKraft PondKraft 4 m × 4 m pond liner

Best overall

PondKraft PondKraft 4 m × 4 m pond liner
9.2/10about £28.99
View offer
Storystore Storystore 3 m × 3 m pond liner

Best value

Storystore Storystore 3 m × 3 m pond liner
8.8/10about £14.99
View offer
WARM&LOVE WARM&LOVE 2 m × 3 m pond liner

Rank 3

WARM&LOVE WARM&LOVE 2 m × 3 m pond liner
7.6/10about £6.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Measure before you pick a sheet
  2. 2.Material is not the same word as heavy duty
  3. 3.Read the thickness that is actually printed
  4. 4.Underlay and the guarantee line

Measure before you pick a sheet

Start with the maximum length, width, and depth of the water. Add twice the depth to the length, and twice the depth to the width, then add an overlap and round up. AllPondSolutions' calculator says a short sheet cannot be extended, and the polyethylene in this set folds rather than stretches. The overlap is not one UK number. The Royal Horticultural Society describes about 15 cm all round. AllPondSolutions uses 30–50 cm. A GARDENIX bullet says at least 50 cm, and says not to cut until the liner is full. Keep each figure with its source. If the banks differ, use the deeper figure twice. The dig and the trim are on how to fit a pond liner.

Material is not the same word as heavy duty

The Royal Horticultural Society treats butyl, with PVC as the cheaper option, as the usual flexible sheet, and gives butyl a life of 25 to 50 years or more. Water Garden publishes 0.5 mm PVC, EPDM at 0.75 mm or 1.00 mm, and butyl at 0.75 mm. That is a catalogue, not a British Standard. None of these twelve rows is EPDM or butyl. The set prints HDPE or LDPE from 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm, PondKraft as tri-laminate LDPE at 0.35 mm and at least 200 g/m², and a GARDENIX square at 200 gsm with no polymer name. Rubber in an HDPE bullet does not change the polymer. Heavy duty does not set a thickness: kanghelong at 0.1 mm and £5.99 has one review calling the pack greenhouse film. The split is on EPDM or HDPE pond liner.
PondKraft PondKraft 4 m × 4 m pond liner

Testsieger

PondKraft PondKraft 4 m × 4 m pond liner
9.2/10about £28.99
View offer

Read the thickness that is actually printed

Do not convert 200 gsm into millimetres. GARDENIX prints 200 gsm at £6.72, and also 0.2 cm and 190 g. Both stay as printed. MIKIICOCO at £9.98 states 3 m by 2 m and no thickness. Storystore's 3 m by 3 m sheet at £14.99 states 0.2 mm, and 300 cm by 300 cm by 0.02 cm matches. PondKraft states 0.35 mm and at least 200 g/m² at £28.99. Elsewhere the lines clash: a 0.5 mm Storystore title prints 1 cm by 1 cm by 1 cm, SDLDEER's 4 m by 6 m sheet at £50.99 carries the part number Teichfolie2X2, and Tezhiie's 0.5 mm bullet sits next to a 0.5 cm dimension. Which row is usable is on best pond liner.

Underlay and the guarantee line

Underlay is puncture protection. AllPondSolutions says it is not waterproof, and Butyl Products says geotextile can wick water out if it bridges the bank. The RHS asks for underfelt, or about 2.5 cm of sand then underfelt on stony ground. YWKJDDM at £9.88 is ranked with underlays while the bullet describes a 0.2 mm sheet. A title that says underlay, including Storystore's 3 m by 4 m listing, is still one sheet unless fleece is listed. PondKraft's title says 25 years. The bullets do not state the terms. The live page, read on 21 October 2026, ties that period to their underlay. Section 9 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 puts satisfactory quality, including durability, on the seller. This page does not name a winner.

Common questions

What should I decide before I look at a model?
Decide the rectangle first, then the material family, then the thickness or gsm the listing prints, then protection under the sheet, and only then a row. Heavy duty does not repair a 0.1 mm line. Specialist EPDM and butyl are not in this set, so they are not a row you can tick here.
How do I turn length, width, and depth into a sheet size?
Add twice the maximum depth to the length and to the width, then add overlap and round up. A pond 2 m by 1.5 m and 40 cm deep needs 2.8 m by 2.3 m before overlap. The RHS figure of about 15 cm, AllPondSolutions' 30–50 cm, and the GARDENIX bullet of at least 50 cm are three different additions. Keep the source's name attached. A short sheet cannot be stretched to fit.
Is 0.1 mm HDPE the same kind of product as 0.75 mm EPDM?
No. Water Garden publishes GreenSeal EPDM at 0.75 mm or 1.00 mm, and butyl at 0.75 mm. The 0.1 mm rows here are HDPE film, and saved UK reviews compare some of them to greenhouse film or a bin bag. A fish-safe sentence is not a certificate. If you want that shop's rubber, you leave this set.
Is underlay waterproof, and does a title that says underlay mean fleece is in the box?
Underlay is not waterproof. It can wick water out if it bridges the rim. YWKJDDM is ranked with underlays while the bullet describes a 0.2 mm sheet. Buy fleece as its own product unless the box line says the fleece is included.
Does a 25 year line on a title prove the sheet lasts 25 years on stones?
No. PondKraft's title says 25 years, and the bullets do not state the terms. The live page, read on 21 October 2026, ties that period to their underlay. Stones still need sand or fleece. The RHS life wording for butyl does not transfer to a polyethylene film.

Related pages

Pond membrane comparison

Pond liner

Best pond liner: stated thickness, not the star line

EPDM or HDPE pond liner: these sheets are not rubber

How to fit a pond liner and when you trim the edge

Wildlife pond liner: shallows, a beach and a cover

Sources

Public UK sources for this comparison. Listings and prices were taken from amazon.co.uk on 21 October 2026.

  1. RHS: How to make a new pond (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Freshwater Habitats Trust: frequently asked questions (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. Planning Portal: permissions for a garden pond (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. Keeping and Introduction of Fish (England and River Esk Catchment Area) Regulations 2015 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK: introduce or keep non-native fish, lobsters and crayfish (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK: great crested newts, protection, surveys and licences (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Water Garden: pond liner materials (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 21 October 2026)