The figures below are ballpark market ranges for the Cape Town area at the time of writing. Pool pricing moves with the rand, import costs and spec, so treat them as a guide for budgeting rather than a quote. For a real number on your pool, ask us or phone 084 483 1774.
Pool cover prices range from a couple of thousand rand for a solar bubble cover to well into six figures for an automatic slatted system, and the gap between them is not just luxury. Each type does a different job. Here is what each one costs and, more importantly, what each one actually saves you.
Pool cover prices by type
- Solar bubble cover. Roughly R2,500 to R7,000 depending on pool size, plus R3,000 to R6,000 for a reel. Best value for heat retention.
- Thermal blanket. Roughly R6,000 to R14,000. Thicker, lasts longer, better in wind.
- Solid PVC safety cover. Roughly R15,000 to R35,000 depending on size and anchoring. Keeps everything out, including a child.
- Automatic slatted cover. R80,000 upwards, more if it needs a hidden recess built.
- Winter or debris cover. Roughly R3,000 to R9,000.
What a cover actually saves
Evaporation is where an open pool loses most of its water and most of its heat, and the Cape southeaster makes it dramatically worse by stripping the surface. Covering overnight roughly halves what heating costs you to hold temperature, cuts your top ups noticeably and slows chlorine burn off because UV is not hitting the water all afternoon.
Put differently: the cheapest pool cover prices on this list will often save you more per season than they cost, on a heated pool. If you are already spending on pool heating, running the pool uncovered is pouring money into the air.
Safety covers are a different product
This is worth being blunt about. A floating bubble cover is a heat and evaporation cover. It is not a safety device, it will not hold a child, and treating it as one is dangerous. If safety is the goal you want an anchored solid cover, or safety nets and fencing.
Solid safety covers cost several times more than bubble covers because they are template measured, anchored into the coping and built to carry weight. They also keep leaves out completely, which is a real bonus under Cape oaks.
What drives pool cover prices up
Pool shape. A rectangle is cheap to cover. Freeform, kidney and L shapes need templating and cost more.
Size. Obvious, but covers are priced by square metre so a large pool escalates quickly.
Reels and handling. A cover that takes two people and fifteen minutes to remove does not get used, and a cover that is not used is worth nothing. Spend on the reel.
Anchoring and coping condition. Safety covers and nets need sound coping to anchor into. If your paving is failing, that gets sorted first, which is pool paving and coping work.
How long covers last in the Cape sun
Three to five years for a bubble cover, longer for a thermal blanket, ten years plus for a good solid safety cover. The thing that kills bubble covers early is leaving them bunched on the reel in full sun rather than rolled out or properly stored.
Working out what a cover saves you
The maths is simpler than people expect. An uncovered pool in Cape Town loses a significant volume of water a week to evaporation in summer, and considerably more on a windy site. Every litre that evaporates is a litre you pay to replace, and it takes heat with it.
Multiply your weekly top up by the current water and sanitation tariff, which the City of Cape Town publishes here, and compare that to a bubble cover at the bottom of the pool cover prices range. On most pools the cover wins inside a season or two, before you count the heating saving or the chlorine you stop burning through.
Which cover for which pool
- Heated pool, sheltered garden. Bubble cover on a reel. Cheapest way to keep the heat you paid for.
- Exposed coastal or windy site. Thermal blanket or a solid cover. Light bubble covers get shifted by serious wind.
- Small children or pets at home. Anchored solid safety cover, or a net and fence. Nothing that floats.
- Under heavy trees. Solid cover. It ends the leaf problem rather than reducing it.
- Holiday home standing empty. Solid or winter cover, paired with a light off season service schedule.
- Budget is no object and you want it easy. Automatic slatted cover, because the one you actually use is the one that works.
Fitting and lifespan
Bubble and thermal covers are cut to your pool shape on site so they sit into the corners properly. Reels want positioning where you can work them one handed. Safety covers are template measured and anchored into the coping with recessed fittings that sit flush when the cover is off.
Automatic systems need their recess or bench housing planned before anything is built, which is why it is worth raising during a renovation rather than after one.
Frequently asked questions
Do pool covers really keep the water warmer?
Substantially. Most overnight heat loss is evaporative off the surface, and a cover stops it. It is the cheapest heating upgrade available.
Can I run the pump with the cover on?
Yes, and you should. Filtration carries on normally underneath.
Will a cover stop my pool going green?
It helps by keeping debris out and slowing chlorine loss, but the water still needs balancing. A cover is not a substitute for regular servicing.
Which cover is best for a windy Blouberg or Table View pool?
A thermal blanket or a solid cover. Light bubble covers get lifted and shifted in serious wind.
Not sure which cover suits your pool? Phone or WhatsApp Kwik Pools on 084 483 1774 or request a free quote.
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