Sparkling water taps UK: Quooker CUBE vs integrated systems

Sparkling water from the kitchen tap used to be a commercial-catering feature. It is now a consumer choice with three realistic routes in the UK, and they arrive at very different prices. This comparison sets them side by side on hardware cost, published consumable prices and the kind of kitchen each one suits. Specs and prices come from the manufacturers'' UK pages and our model database, checked on 5 August 2026.

The three routes at a glance

One route that no longer exists: Fohen sold a 5-in-1 sparkling model, the Futura Fizz, at £1,599. It left the range in 2026 and Fohen currently lists no sparkling tap, which leaves the three routes above.

Route 1: Quooker plus CUBE

The CUBE is a £1,250 box in the cupboard that adds filtered chilled and sparkling water to an existing Quooker tap. Nothing changes above the worktop. That is its whole appeal: if a Quooker is already fitted and the reservoir passes Quooker''s compatibility check (produced after October 2017, serial containing W or starting with R), sparkling water costs £1,250 plus fitting and no new tap.

The consumable side is unusually transparent for this category. A set of four CO2 cylinders costs £70 and each carbonates roughly 60 litres, so the gas runs at about 29p a litre. The filter costs £70 a year. At one litre of sparkling a day that adds up to £176 a year; at two litres, £283. The full arithmetic, including the SodaStream comparison, is in our Quooker CUBE review.

Starting from zero the sums change. The cheapest current Quooker in our catalogue is the Nordic Round Single Tap at £1,050, which puts the tap-plus-CUBE route at roughly £2,300 in hardware. That is £300 less than the Franke below, but it is two systems under one sink: two boxes, two installations, two things to service.

Route 2: Franke Mythos Water Hub 6-in-1

The Mythos Water Hub 6-in-1 is one tap and one integrated system that covers boiling, normal hot and cold, filtered chilled and sparkling. At £2,599 it is the cheapest single-appliance route to sparkling water in our catalogue, and because it also handles mains hot and cold it replaces the kitchen tap entirely rather than sitting next to it.

The honest caveat is consumables. Franke does not publish UK consumer prices for the Mythos CO2 cylinders and filters the way Quooker does for the CUBE, so we cannot put a verified pence-per-litre figure against it. Before committing, ask the dealer for the CO2 and filter price list in writing and run the same sums we ran for the CUBE. A system this integrated is also a single point of failure: when it is serviced, the whole tap is out of action, boiling water included.

Route 3: Zip HydroTap Classic

Zip built its name in offices, and the HydroTap Classic is that commercial machine in domestic trim: boiling, chilled and sparkling from one under-bench unit at £4,365. It is the most expensive route here by some margin.

What the price buys is capacity and pedigree. Zip''s systems are engineered for continuous use in workplaces, and the domestic models inherit that. For a busy household that treats the tap as the kettle, the water bottle and the soda maker at once, capacity matters. Like Franke, Zip routes consumables and servicing through its own service arrangements rather than publishing simple consumer prices, so ask for the running-cost schedule before signing. For most homes the practical question is simpler: whether the extra £1,700 over the Franke buys anything you will notice.

What the running costs look like side by side

That table is the quiet argument for the CUBE route: Quooker is the only one of the three that publishes its consumable prices on a public page where you can check them before you buy. For the other two routes the running costs may be perfectly reasonable, but you have to ask, and you should, in writing, before installation day.

Which route for which kitchen

• A compatible Quooker is already on the sink. The CUBE at £1,250 wins on price and disruption. No other route comes close, because the tap you would otherwise be paying for is already there.
• New kitchen, no tap yet, one appliance preferred. The Franke Mythos at £2,599 is the cheapest integrated route and the only one that also covers mains hot and cold. Get the consumable price list first.
• High usage, or a kitchen specified like a workplace. The Zip Classic is built for exactly that. Budget £4,365 plus a service arrangement.
• The bubbles are the whole point and budget is tight. None of the three. A £90 SodaStream makes sparkling water at around 22p a litre; the comparison is in the CUBE review.

Boiling performance, tank sizes and warranties for the two integrated models are on their model pages, and every Quooker in the range can be compared against them tap by tap via our comparison tool. For the total cost of any of these over a decade, the 10-year cost calculator takes electricity and filters into account alongside the purchase price.