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

Broad beans vs runner beans: hardy or frost-tender

Updated: 21 October 2026

You have room for one bean crop, and the names sound like the same plant. They are not. Broad beans vs runner beans is a hardy broad bean, Vicia faba, against a frost-tender runner, Phaseolus coccineus. Choose the broad bean for autumn on a mild, well-drained site, or for spring without waiting for about 12°C soil. Choose a runner only if you can wait out the frost, put supports up, and the listing does not cap the height at 65 cm. French beans and mung sprouts are not the second column. The full table is the [bean seeds comparison](/hub/herb-seeds/bean-seeds). Peter F. used the RHS guides. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have room for one bean crop, and the names sound like the same plant. They are not. Broad beans vs runner beans is a hardy broad bean, Vicia faba, against a frost-tender runner, Phaseolus coccineus.

Our top picks

Unwins Unwins Aquadulce Claudia

Best overall

Unwins Unwins Aquadulce Claudia
9.6/10about £2.48
View offer
Just Seed Just Seed Aquadulce (80)

Best value

Just Seed Just Seed Aquadulce (80)
9.4/10about £1.75
View offer
Unwins Unwins Equator

Alternative

Unwins Unwins Equator
8.2/10about £2.48
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Hardy broad bean or frost-tender runner
  2. 2.Sow window and supports
  3. 3.Packets on each side of this set
  4. 4.The choice, with one condition

Hardy broad bean or frost-tender runner

A broad bean stands cold that would finish a runner. The RHS allows autumn sowing only for a hardy variety in a mild, well-drained spot. A runner will not survive frost. Outdoor sowings wait for soil of about 12°C, usually mid-May in the south and early June in the north. Sowing a runner in November loses the packet. If you can sow in October, November or March, buy a broad bean. If you want a summer climber and can wait for the frost to pass, buy a runner whose listing does not say 65 cm. Flavour is not this choice. French beans share the late spring window, so do not autumn-sow them either. The mung packet is sprouts.

Sow window and supports

The RHS example for November is Aquadulce, also spelled Aguadulce on two Mr Fothergill's listings. After mid-April, broad-bean sowings produce fewer pods. May and June runner sowings fill that later gap. They are a different job, not a better crop. Runners want canes of about 2.5 m before you sow. Broad beans want stakes and string. Model 22397 states 100 cm. The Just Seed Aquadulce rows state 65 cm. Equator, the runner at about £2.48, states 65 cm and does not say climbing. Do not build a 2.5 m frame for that line. Depth and the module trick against mice are on how to sow bean seeds.
Unwins Unwins Aquadulce Claudia

Testsieger

Unwins Unwins Aquadulce Claudia
9.6/10about £2.48
View offer

Packets on each side of this set

Six listings are broad beans, from the 80-seed Aquadulce at about £1.75 to model 22397 at about £4.00 with a stated height of 100 cm. Claudia at about £2.48 has no count and no window. The Sutton says dwarf and the height field says 65 cm. It is still a broad bean. Three are runners. Polestar and Mergoles are about £3.99 for 40 seeds, about 10p per stated seed, with no height. Equator is about £2.48 for 35 seeds and 65 cm. Skip Equator for a 2.5 m cane crop. The 80-seed Aquadulce wins on pence per stated seed. It does not win if the gap is a June runner.

The choice, with one condition

Pick a broad bean for a hardy packet: autumn on a mild, well-drained site, or spring without waiting for 12°C. Pick a runner for the later crop if you can put supports up first, and leave Equator aside when 65 cm is too short. There is no price winner that ignores the species. French beans and the mung packet stay off this URL. Drop the packet that does not match the month you can sow.

Common questions

Are broad beans hardier than runner beans?
Yes. Broad beans are the hardy crop, and the RHS allows autumn sowing of a hardy variety on a mild, well-drained site. Runner beans, Phaseolus coccineus, will not survive frost. Their outdoor sowing waits for soil of about 12°C. That difference is the whole choice on this page. It is not a claim about flavour or about which pod is more popular.
Can you sow runner beans in autumn?
No. A November sowing that suits Aquadulce will kill a runner. Polestar, Mergoles and Equator print spring and summer windows, from April onwards, not October. If you want an autumn sowing, use a broad bean packet and the site rules for a mild, well-drained plot. Fleece does not turn a runner into a winter crop.
Do runner beans need canes that broad beans do not?
Runners need supports of about 2.5 m before you sow, if the listing is a climber without a short height. Broad beans need stakes and string so the plants do not flop. Model 22397 states 100 cm. Equator states 65 cm, so the 2.5 m frame is the wrong assumption for that packet. The support is a reason to choose, not a joinery plan.
Which packets in this set are broad beans, and which are runners?
Broad beans: both Mr Fothergill's Aguadulce listings, both Just Seed Aquadulce counts, Unwins Aquadulce Claudia, and The Sutton. Runners: Polestar, Mergoles and Equator. Prices run from about £1.75 for the 80-seed Aquadulce to about £4.00 for model 22397, and the runners sit at about £2.48 and £3.99. French beans and mung are in the main comparison and are not part of this pair.
What if a runner listing states a height of 65 cm?
Treat 65 cm as the height, not as a misprint for 2.5 m. Equator is the packet in this set with that field, 35 seeds, and April to June on the listing. Skip it when you are building a tall cane frame. Polestar and Mergoles do not state a height at all, which is a different gap: you cannot read a cane length off those pages either.
Is there one winner on price?
No. The 80-seed Just Seed Aquadulce at about £1.75 is about 2.2p per stated seed, and Polestar and Mergoles are about 10p. That arithmetic does not make the broad bean the right crop in June, and it does not make the runner the right crop in November. Claudia is about £2.48 with no count, so it is not in the pence-per-seed sum. Match the month first.

Related pages

Sowing broad beans in autumn

Best bean seeds

Bean seeds buying guide

Bean seeds

How to sow bean seeds: the depth, frost and spacing

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts on these twelve listings were read on 19 October 2026. Page updated 21 October 2026.

  1. RHS, How to grow broad beans (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. RHS, Sowing broad beans in autumn or spring (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. RHS, How to grow French beans (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. RHS, How to grow runner beans (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, Organic food: labelling and advertising rules (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. FSA, Home food fact checker (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. RHS, Blackfly on beans (retrieved 19 October 2026)