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How long an extension lead should be

Updated: 23 October 2026

The socket is behind the chest of drawers and the lamp is on the far side of the bed. How long an extension lead should be is the route you will actually lay, with a little slack, and no more. Buy the shortest lead that reaches without being taut. Do not coil the rest under a rug, and do not plug a second lead on the end. The Products Compared editorial team used twelve amazon.co.uk listings checked on 21 October 2026. Prices and the full rows are in the [extension lead comparison](/hub/sockets-and-extension-leads/extension-lead). A qualifying Amazon purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

The socket is behind the chest of drawers and the lamp is on the far side of the bed. How long an extension lead should be is the route you will actually lay, with a little slack, and no more.

Our top picks

Masterplug Masterplug 4-way switched 2 m

Best overall

Masterplug Masterplug 4-way switched 2 m
9.6/10about £9.50
View offer
Masterplug Masterplug 4-way 5 m

Alternative

Masterplug Masterplug 4-way 5 m
9.4/10about £9.99
View offer
Desiretech Desiretech 4-gang 2 m

Best value

Desiretech Desiretech 4-gang 2 m
9.2/10about £6.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Measure the route, not the straight line
  2. 2.1 m and 2 m when the socket is in the same piece of furniture
  3. 3.3 m and 5 m when the socket is across the room
  4. 4.10 m is a long lead, not a better lead
  5. 5.If the length is not printed, do not guess

Measure the route, not the straight line

Take a tape from the wall socket, around the furniture, to the plug that has to arrive. A straight line of 1.5 m often becomes 2.5 m once the cable goes behind a bedside table. County Durham and Darlington say not to stretch a cable taut. If the tape ends on the exact length, choose the next length up. The 121 Wholesale guide says more cable is not automatically better, because spare cable has to be managed and a short lead tempts a second extension. Electrical Safety First says not to solve that by daisy-chaining. The other checks are on the extension lead buying guide.

1 m and 2 m when the socket is in the same piece of furniture

One metre is enough when the socket is in the same bay as the desk. The black Desiretech, B0D26GT76B, is 1 m at £4.99. Buy it only if the tape says the route is under a metre. Buyers who skipped the tape found it too short. Two metres is the normal desk length on the same wall: the white Desiretech at £6.99 and the switched Masterplug at £9.50. If the tape says 2.4 m, those leads will be pulled taut. Both Hanycony leads are 1.8 m, also written as 6 ft. Treat 1.8 m as a short 2 m, not as a 3 m lead.
Masterplug Masterplug 4-way switched 2 m

Testsieger

Masterplug Masterplug 4-way switched 2 m
9.6/10about £9.50
View offer

3 m and 5 m when the socket is across the room

Three metres is the middle step, and only the DEWENWILS sits there: 3 m at £16.99, with 270 joules in the bullet. Choose it when 2 m would be taut and 5 m would leave a coil. It is still one 13 A lead. Five metres is the across-the-room length. The unswitched Masterplug, B0001P0GDK, is £9.99 with a BS 1363-2 bullet and no surge claim in the title. Ignore the table’s 1 joule. The PARTH 3026-5m, B09TFC1CG5, is £23.99 with switched sockets and surge claimed without joules. Pay that price for switches. Pay the Masterplug price when a basic 5 m lead is the whole job. The PARTH bullet says H05VV-F 3G 1.25 mm². That is the seller’s text, not a measurement of the copper.

10 m is a long lead, not a better lead

Ten metres is one product here: the PARTH 3026-10M, B0CGHTNFS9, at £29.99, the dearest lead in the set. Buy it when the tape says about 8–10 m. Do not buy it to be safe for a 3 m gap. The spare has to lie loosely, not under a rug. County Durham and Darlington recommend no more than 15 m, as advice rather than a statute. If 5 m reaches with slack, the 5 m lead is the better buy. How to lay the spare is on how to use an extension lead.

If the length is not printed, do not guess

The TESSAN tower, B09C29CGMS, does not state a cable length. It is £25.99, with 1,700 joules claimed and a dry-conditions limit. Do not invent a metre from the photograph. If the route needs a known 2 m or 5 m, pick a lead that prints it. If the lead you have is too short, use one longer lead or a new socket, not a second extension, and not a cable reel left wound.

Common questions

Is 1 m enough for a bedside table?
Yes, if the socket is in the same piece of furniture and the tape, taken around the table, is under a metre. The black Desiretech is that 1 m lead at £4.99. Several buyers found it too short because they had not measured. If the cable would be taut, step up to 2 m rather than pulling the 1 m plug crooked.
Is 2 m the normal length for a desk?
It is the common length in this set for a socket on the same wall: the £6.99 Desiretech, the £9.50 switched Masterplug, and the £10.82 six-way Masterplug. It is not enough once the route goes behind a large chest or across the room. The Hanycony leads at 1.8 m are slightly shorter than those 2 m bars.
When is 5 m the right buy?
When the socket is on the far wall and 2 m or 3 m would be taut. The basic option is the unswitched Masterplug at £9.99. The switched option is the PARTH at £23.99, which claims surge protection and does not print joules. Five metres is still a 13 A lead. The extra length is not extra current.
Is 10 m too much cable?
It is too much when the route is 3 m or 4 m, because the spare will be coiled or covered. It is the right band when you have measured a run that 5 m cannot do. The only 10 m lead here is the PARTH at £29.99. Lay the spare loosely along the skirting. Do not put it under a rug.
What if the tower listing never states a length?
Do not guess. The TESSAN tower’s bullets and table omit the cable length, and some reviewers wanted it longer. The 14.7 cm by 10 cm size is the body. Buy it for the footprint and the 1,700 joule claim only if an unknown flex is acceptable. Otherwise pick a 2 m or 5 m lead that states the metres.

Related pages

Best extension lead UK

Extension lead

Extension lead buying guide before you pick a brand

How to use an extension lead safely, on one socket

Surge protected extension lead versus a basic lead

Sources

Sources taken from the research digest. Prices and review counts are a stored amazon.co.uk snapshot, not a live check. This page did not run a lab test.

  1. SI 1994/1768 — Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. GOV.UK — Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. Electrical Safety First — Extension leads, cable reels and block adaptors (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Electrical Safety First — Plugs and fuses (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. London Fire Brigade — Cables, fuses and leads (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service — Electrical safety (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service — Extensions and leads (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. HSE — HSG107 Maintaining portable electrical equipment (retrieved 22.10.2026)