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

1/2 vs 3/4 garden hose

Updated: 22 October 2026

You already own a 12.5 mm hose, the gun still clicks on, and a 1/2 vs 3/4 garden hose search makes the wider pipe look like an obvious upgrade. It can move more water. It does not raise the pressure your tap receives, and it will not fit the tails you already own. Choose a stated 19 mm bore when a long run or a sprinkler is the limit, and you will buy 19 mm tails and carry the weight. Stay with 12.5–13 mm when hand watering and the current click system matter more. The flow lines below are supplier guides, not a lab test of these amazon.co.uk listings. The listings themselves are the [garden hose 3/4 inch comparison](/hub/garden-watering/garden-hose-3-4-inch).

You already own a 12.5 mm hose, the gun still clicks on, and a 1/2 vs 3/4 garden hose search makes the wider pipe look like an obvious upgrade. It can move more water.

Our top picks

Vartco Vartco 19 mm 20 m

Best overall

Vartco Vartco 19 mm 20 m
6.2/10about £27.60
View offer
Faithfull Faithfull 19 mm 30 m

Alternative

Faithfull Faithfull 19 mm 30 m
6.1/10about £43.00
View offer
Flexi Hose Flexi Hose 50 ft expandable

Rank 3

Flexi Hose Flexi Hose 50 ft expandable
7.4/10about £19.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Flow is not the same as pressure
  2. 2.What 19 mm weighs in this set
  3. 3.When 12.5 mm is the better hose
  4. 4.The recommendation with a condition

Flow is not the same as pressure

Two Wests, in their hosepipe guide, call 1/2 inch, about 13 mm, the common UK diameter, and they say a 3/4 inch hose will deliver up to 2½ times more water at the same time. That is their buying guide, not a measurement of Faithfull, Vartco, or any expandable in this set. More water through the pipe is the claim. Ofwat's published floor is 0.7 bar in the communication pipe. A wider hose does not create pressure the supply does not have. Easy Garden Irrigation's around 2 bar line is their rule of thumb, not an Ofwat average. The English Garden's guide puts half-inch hose with most gardens and 3/4 inch with sprinklers and larger systems.

What 19 mm weighs in this set

Faithfull's 30 m hose, which states 19 mm, is listed at 7.24 kg. Vartco's 20 m hose, which also states 19 mm, is 4.8 kg, with almost no UK review text, so the weight is the usable fact and the stars are not. Gardena Liano's 20 m textile hose is 3.5 kg here. Its title says 3/4 inch and the listing prints an outside diameter of 21 mm, so do not file those 3.5 kg as a confirmed 19 mm bore. The expandable hoses in this set sit at about 0.4–1.4 kg. The 3/4 inch mark is on the nut, and they are not 19 mm bores. ManoMano's UK guide adds that 50 m of 19 mm hose needs a cart. The best 3/4 inch garden hose page names who each listing is for.
Vartco Vartco 19 mm 20 m

Testsieger

Vartco Vartco 19 mm 20 m
6.2/10about £27.60
View offer

When 12.5 mm is the better hose

A 12.5 mm or 13 mm hose is the better hose when you are filling cans, watering pots, or running one spray gun that already reaches. Waterpump.co.uk says a 13 mm hose is enough for one spray gun or one oscillating sprinkler, and that a sprinkler around 800 litres an hour wants at least 19 mm. Two sprinklers, on their rule, want 25 mm. Use the 800 litre line as their threshold, not as a measurement of your sprinkler. Hozelock's ordinary hose ends are for 12.5 mm and 15 mm. They will not grip a 19 mm wall, even if the tap nut is a true 3/4 inch BSP thread of about 26 mm. Keep 12.5–13 mm if you will not buy new tails. The order of those checks sits in the 19mm garden hose buying guide.

The recommendation with a condition

Move to a stated 19 mm bore if a sprinkler is starving, a long run loses flow, or you want faster filling, and you will buy 19 mm tails and accept the weight. Faithfull is the 30 m example, at 7.24 kg, hose only. Vartco is the 20 m example, at 4.8 kg, with almost no UK review text. Otherwise keep 12.5–13 mm. Do not buy an expandable 3/4 inch nut as that upgrade. The hose that leaves the nut is still a narrow tube, around 0.4–1.4 kg in this set.

Common questions

Will a 3/4 inch hose give me more pressure at the gun?
It can pass more water at the same supply pressure. It does not increase the pressure in the communication pipe. Ofwat's floor there is 0.7 bar, and a wider hose does not lift that floor. You may notice a fuller flow at the far end of a long run, compared with 12.5 mm, if the tail is also 19 mm.
How much more water is 19 mm, honestly?
Two Wests say a 3/4 inch hose will deliver up to 2½ times more water at the same time. That is their guide, not a test of these listings, and up to means you should not budget on the full multiple. Judge it on your run: if 12.5 mm already fills the can and covers the border, the multiple is spare.
Do I need 19 mm for one sprinkler?
Not automatically. The English Garden's guide points 3/4 inch hose at sprinklers and larger systems, and half-inch hose at most gardens. Waterpump.co.uk say 13 mm is enough for one spray gun or one oscillating sprinkler, and that a sprinkler around 800 litres an hour wants at least 19 mm on their rule. If it starves at the far end, a stated 19 mm bore is the condition that justifies the weight.
Will my 12.5 mm fittings fit?
The tap connector may still screw onto a 3/4 inch BSP tap, because that thread is not the hose bore. The hose tail will not. Ordinary click fittings at 12.5 mm and 15 mm are the wrong grip for a 19 mm wall, and that is the end that blows off. Budget for 19 mm tails if you move bore. If you will not change the fittings, keep the 12.5 mm hose.
Is an expandable hose with a 3/4 inch nut the same upgrade?
No. In this set the expandable hoses use 3/4 inch as a connector and weigh about 0.4–1.4 kg. Faithfull and Vartco are the listings that state 19 mm, at 7.24 kg for 30 m and 4.8 kg for 20 m. A large nut on a light hose can water a small garden. It is not the flow step Two Wests describe.

Related pages

How to connect a 3/4 hose to an outside tap

Garden hose 3/4 inch

Best 3/4 inch garden hose: who the 19 mm listing is

19mm garden hose buying guide: decide bore and length

Hosepipe ban and a garden hose: read your supplier

Sources

Public UK sources for tap size, hosepipe bans, pressure and backflow. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured for these nine listings on 21 October 2026. Last checked 22 October 2026.

  1. Hozelock, how to measure your tap (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Hozelock, 3/4 inch and 1/2 inch outdoor tap connector (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. Ofwat, hosepipe bans and non-essential use bans (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Ofwat, water pressure (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, Schedule 2 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. WaterSafe, hosepipe backflow (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. BBC Gardeners' World, best garden hoses (2026) (retrieved 21 October 2026)