Artificial Christmas trees compared: Dunelm vs B&Q and M&S, from £20 for a 6ft tree
A 6ft artificial tree costs from £20 at Dunelm and B&Q, and M&S's pre-lit trees start at £30. We've compared 16 trees across the three, whether pre-lit is worth it, and how artificial stacks up against real.
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Christmas is less than eight weeks away and artificial trees are now in stock, with 6ft trees from £20 to £250 or more depending on where you shop. The difference isn't just looks: it's whether the branches are hinged or need fixing on, whether lights are built in, and how much the tree weighs and fills out.
We've compared 6ft artificial trees at Dunelm, B&Q and M&S, using the prices and details on their own websites on 25 October 2026, and looked at how an artificial tree compares with a real one. Prices were correct at the time of writing.
At a glance
- Cheapest 6ft tree: £20 at both Dunelm (6ft Essentials) and B&Q (6ft Wintergreen), both with wrapped branches and no lights.
- Cheapest pre-lit 6ft tree: M&S's 6ft Pre-Lit Spruce, £30.
- Cheapest hinged tree: B&Q's 6ft Prancer, £35.
- Best-specified mid-range tree: Dunelm's 6ft Kingsley Fir, £89, with 537 tips and a five-year guarantee, or B&Q's 6ft Olber pre-lit, £95, with 280 LEDs.
- Real tree delivered: M&S's Full Size Real Christmas Tree with Lights, £150, including 300 LED lights, a stand and a tree skirt.
6ft trees compared
| Tree | Shop | Price | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6ft Essentials, wrapped branches | Dunelm | £20 | No |
| 6ft Wintergreen, wrapped branches | B&Q | £20 | No |
| 6ft Pre-Lit Spruce | M&S | £30 | Warm white LED, mains |
| 6ft Prancer, hinged | B&Q | £35 | No |
| 6ft Slim Trevalli, pre-lit | B&Q | £40 | 40 warm white LEDs |
| 6ft Western Pine | Dunelm | £49 | No |
| 6ft Pre-Lit Slim Monterey and Scots Pine | M&S | £60 | Yes |
| 6ft Olber, hinged | B&Q | £80 | No |
| 6ft Kingsley Fir | Dunelm | £89 | No |
| 6ft Full Olber, pre-lit | B&Q | £95 | 280 warm white LEDs |
| 6ft Pre-lit Oxford Pine | Dunelm | £99 | Warm white LED, dimmable |
| 6ft Pre-Lit Monterey and Scots Pine | M&S | £100 | Warm white or multicoloured |
| 6ft Pre-lit Fraser Fir | Dunelm | £109 | 200 warm white |
| 6ft Pre-Lit Noble | M&S | £150 | Yes |
| 6ft Full Nordmann, hinged, pre-lit | B&Q | £160 | Warm white LED |
| 6ft Pre-Lit Grand Fir | M&S | £250 | Yes |
Dunelm
Dunelm's 6ft trees start with the 6ft Essentials (£20), a flat-pack tree with wrapped branches that needs full assembly. Above that come a 6ft Flocked tree with a snowy finish (£39) and the 6ft Western Pine (£49), which has a mix of textured tips. The 6ft Kingsley Fir (£89) is the stand-out on paper, with 537 bristle tips, a 106cm diameter and a five-year guarantee. For pre-lit trees, the Oxford Pine (£99) has hinged branches and dimmable warm white LEDs, and the Fraser Fir (£109) has 200 warm white lights with different settings. Dunelm's 6ft range goes up to £199 for the Pre-lit Maypine.
B&Q
B&Q's own trees are sold by B&Q and list the most detail on materials and weight. The 6ft Prancer (£35) is hinged, made of PVC and weighs 5.06kg. The 6ft Aumont (£70) is also PVC, with a 109.2cm diameter and a weight of 8.78kg. The 6ft Olber (£80) mixes polyethylene (PE) and PVC, with a 109cm diameter, and weighs 9kg. The pre-lit version, the 6ft Full Olber (£95), adds 280 warm white LEDs with eight settings and uses 6W. At the top, the 6ft Full Nordmann (£160) is hinged and pre-lit, 116.8cm across and uses 12W. If you want something narrow, the 6ft Slim Trevalli (£40) is 53cm across, with 40 LEDs.
B&Q's website also sells trees from other companies through its marketplace. Check the "Sold & shipped by" line, because delivery and returns can differ.
M&S
All of M&S's 6ft artificial trees come with lights. Prices start at £30 for the 6ft Pre-Lit Spruce, which runs off the mains, and £60 for a slim Monterey and Scots Pine tree. The full-size 6ft Pre-Lit Monterey and Scots Pine (£100) has eight light settings, a choice of warm white or multicoloured lights and a quick-fit stand. M&S also has a 6ft pre-lit potted tree for £125, the 6ft Pre-Lit Noble for £150 and the 6ft Pre-Lit Grand Fir for £250. The product pages we checked don't list branch tip counts, so it's harder to compare how full the trees are.
Pre-lit or add your own lights?
A pre-lit tree saves stringing lights, but it isn't always the cheaper way to get a lit tree. Dunelm's 6ft Western Pine (£49) plus its 400 warm white LED set (£15) comes to £64, against £99 for its pre-lit Oxford Pine. At M&S, the cheapest 6ft tree is already pre-lit at £30.
Running costs are tiny. At Ofgem's current average electricity rate of 26.32p per kWh, B&Q's 6W Full Olber left on for six hours a day for 40 days uses 1.44kWh, about 38p for the season. The 12W Full Nordmann would cost about 76p.
Real or artificial?
If you'd rather have a real tree, M&S delivers a Full Size Real Christmas Tree with Lights for £150. It's about 210cm to 240cm tall and comes with 300 LED lights, a stand and a tree skirt. B&Q's website has pot-grown trees, mostly from marketplace sellers, from £37.99 for a 2.5ft to 3.5ft Serbian spruce. We couldn't find cut 6ft trees on sale online at any of the three when we checked.
On the environment, Euronews reported Carbon Trust figures that a two-metre artificial tree produces about 40kg of carbon dioxide, against about 3.5kg for a similar-sized real tree without roots. Euronews says you'd need to use an artificial tree for about 10 to 20 Christmases to make up the difference. So if you buy one, it pays to choose something you'll keep for years.
Where each wins and falls short
- Dunelm has plenty of choice between £20 and £110, and its £89 Kingsley Fir comes with a five-year guarantee. But details such as tip counts and weights aren't listed on every tree.
- B&Q matches Dunelm's £20 starting price, has the cheapest hinged tree at £35, and gives the clearest specifications, including LED counts and wattages. But its website mixes its own trees with marketplace sellers.
- M&S has the cheapest pre-lit 6ft tree at £30 and delivers a real tree with lights and a stand. But every 6ft artificial tree it sells is pre-lit, and it doesn't list tip counts.
Your questions answered
What does hinged mean?
Hinged branches are already attached to the trunk and fold down into place, so there's less to put together. Wrapped-branch trees like Dunelm's Essentials need more assembly: Dunelm describes it as flat pack, with full assembly required.
Can I return an artificial tree?
Dunelm offers 28-day change-of-mind returns, B&Q has a 90-day returns policy and M&S offers free returns on online orders. Check the policy for marketplace sellers on B&Q's website, as they can differ.
Ways to save
Dunelm has free standard delivery on orders over £60, so its £89 and £99 trees qualify, and free same-day Click & Collect. At B&Q, you can get £5 off a £30 spend when you join B&Q Club, with free Click + Collect and free standard delivery over £100. M&S has free standard delivery on home orders over £75, so its £100 tree goes free, plus free Click & Collect.
Sources: Dunelm: Christmas trees, Dunelm: 6ft Kingsley Fir, B&Q: 6ft artificial Christmas trees, B&Q: 6ft Full Olber pre-lit, B&Q: 6ft Prancer, M&S: Christmas trees, M&S: Full Size Real Christmas Tree with Lights, Ofgem: price cap unit rates, Euronews: are real or artificial Christmas trees better for the environment?
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