Choose a walk in tub if you want a seated soak and can step through a low door; choose a walk in shower if you use a walker or wheelchair or want the quickest daily routine. Both remove the climb over a tub wall.
Updated October 2026. General information, not medical, tax, insurance or legal advice.
Choose a walk in tub if you want a seated soak and can step through a low door, and choose a walk in shower if you use a walker or wheelchair or simply want the quickest daily routine. Both remove the climb over a standard tub wall, which is where CDC researchers found bathroom injury rates were highest. This guide compares them on safety, bathing style, space, install time and typical installed cost.
Both are much safer than a standard tub, and the safer one is the one that matches the person's mobility. A CDC study in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report estimated 234,094 nonfatal bathroom injuries treated in emergency departments in 2008, reported that “Falls were the most common primary cause of injury (81.1%)”, and found the highest rates in or around the tub or shower, at 65.8 per 100,000.
A walk in tub replaces the tall tub wall with a door and a low threshold, and you bathe seated on a built in bench. A walk in shower replaces it with a low threshold that is easy to step over, with room for a seat, grab bars and a caregiver. If someone in the home uses a walker or wheelchair, talk with a designer about your needs at the free in home consultation. For someone who is steady on their feet but tires standing, a walk in tub's seat and grab bars make bathing restful and secure.
A walk in tub is a seated soak. You step in, close the door, sit, and fill the tub around you, then wait for it to drain before opening the door, so a fast drain matters for comfort. The deep, warm soak is the point, and many people with sore joints value it. A walk in shower is a standing or seated shower with a handheld sprayer on a slide bar and a seat, and it takes no longer than any shower.
Think about how the bathroom is used now. If the tub is used for baths most nights and a soak is part of managing pain, a walk in tub keeps that routine and makes it safe. If everyone in the house already showers and the tub mostly holds the shower curtain, a walk in shower fits how the household actually bathes and opens the room up. In a home with one bathroom, think about everyone who uses it, not only the person the change is for.
A walk in shower usually costs less. Typical Bath Planet installed ranges run $14,000 to $20,000 for a walk in tub and $20,000 to $36,000 for a fully loaded walk in tub with a shower and rain shower head. A walk in shower runs $10,000 to $18,000, and a low step walk in shower with the standard low threshold runs $15,000 to $24,000.
Those ranges are the same across Arkansas. Features move the price most: a wide door and a larger shell on a tub; a seat, glass and a larger footprint on a shower. A fully loaded tub sits at the top because the shower, rain shower head and extra controls are built into the tub itself. Your exact price comes from a free in home consultation, and that written figure is the one to plan around.
| Walk in tub | Walk in shower | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Door with a low threshold; sit, then fill | Low step threshold, easy to step over |
| Bathing style | Seated deep soak | Standing or seated with a handheld sprayer |
| Caregiver help | Works over the tub wall | Room beside the seat |
| Typical installed range | $14,000 to $20,000 | $10,000 to $18,000 |
| Install time | As little as one day in the tub space | As little as one day; one to two days |
Source: Bath Planet typical installed ranges; CDC MMWR on bathroom injuries.
A walk in shower usually fits a small bathroom better, because it keeps the floor open and lets light through a glass door. A walk in tub is designed to fit a standard tub alcove, so it rarely needs the room to change, but it is a large unit with a door that swings, and someone has to be able to sit down and stand up inside it.
Measure the path as well as the alcove. Older Arkansas homes often have narrow hallways and doorways to the bath; Census ACS data show 40.5 percent of homes in the state were built before 1980. A walk in tub arrives as one piece and needs a clear path, while shower panels are easier to carry through a tight space. Both are checked at the in home measurement before anything is ordered, so you know which one will fit before you decide on features.
Original Medicare pays for neither as a bathroom remodel. Medicare.gov limits durable medical equipment to items “Typically only useful to someone who is sick or injured”, and the CMS National Coverage Determination 280.1 marks bathtub seats as a “comfort or convenience item; hygienic equipment; not primarily medical in nature.” Some Medicare Advantage plans offer bathroom safety devices as a supplemental benefit, usually grab bars or a seat.
The difference shows up in grant programs. The VA HISA grant lists bathroom changes as an example of a medically necessary improvement, with a lifetime $6,800 for a service connected disability and $2,000 for other eligible Veterans. Arkansas's ARChoices waiver pays for adaptations written into a care plan, which often favors a low threshold walk in shower over a tub. See our Medicare guide for every rule and source.
Answer three questions. First, how does the person bathe now and want to bathe: a soak points to a tub, a quick shower points to a shower. Second, how do they move: steady on their feet but tired standing suits a tub seat; trouble with a tall step suits a low threshold walk in shower, and a designer can talk through walker or wheelchair needs at the free in home consultation. Third, who else uses the bathroom, especially in a home with one full bath.
Plan for the next several years, not only today. Census ACS figures show 26.4 percent of Arkansans 65 and older report an ambulatory difficulty, and 52.1 percent of those 75 and older report a disability, so mobility needs tend to grow. Include the person who will use the bathroom in the free in home consultation, look at both options in the space, and choose the one they will be safe and comfortable using every day.
It depends on mobility and bathing habits. A walk in tub suits seniors who enjoy a soak and can step through a low door to a built in seat; a low step walk in shower, with a low threshold that is easy to step over, suits seniors who would rather shower. CDC data show falls caused 81.1% of nonfatal bathroom injuries, with the highest rates in or around the tub or shower, so either option beats climbing over a standard tub wall.
You stay seated with the door closed until the water drains, so drain speed is part of comfort. A fast drain option shortens the wait, and some people keep a towel over their shoulders while it empties. Ask about drain speed and door width at your free in home consultation, where each model's features and price are laid out in writing, so you only pay for the features you will use.
Not quite. Typical Bath Planet installed ranges are $14,000 to $20,000 for a walk in tub and $10,000 to $18,000 for a walk in shower, with a low step walk in shower at $15,000 to $24,000. Wide doors, larger tubs, seats and glass add cost, and the ranges are the same across Arkansas. Your written price comes after a free in home consultation.
Usually yes. Walk in tubs are designed to fit a standard tub alcove, so the old tub comes out and the new one goes into the same footprint, often in as little as one day. The in home measurement confirms the alcove size, the plumbing and the path from the front door, since a walk in tub arrives as one piece and needs a clear route to the bathroom.
A low step walk in shower is usually easier, because there is room beside the seat for a caregiver to help and a handheld sprayer lets them direct the water. A walk in tub keeps the bather seated and secure, but the caregiver works over the tub wall and the bather must wait for the tub to fill and drain. Plan the choice with whoever helps with bathing.
No, for most elderly parents a walk in shower is the better fit, though a walk in tub suits someone who can transfer to a seat and wants a seated soak. According to Bath Planet of Arkansas' published price table, a walk in shower typically costs $10,000 to $18,000 installed and a walk in tub $14,000 to $20,000, so the shower usually costs less, but price rarely decides it. A walk in shower has a low step that is easy to step over, with room for a seat and grab bars. If someone in the home uses a walker or wheelchair, talk with a designer about your needs at the free in home consultation. A walk in tub has a door with a low threshold, but your parent must sit, wait for the tub to fill, and wait again for it to drain before leaving. A tub designed for a standard alcove can go in as little as one day, and a shower takes one to two days. What should decide it is balance, whether a seat transfer is manageable, where grab bars and seating go, and whether your parent wants a soak or safe daily washing. A free in home design consultation can compare both in your parent's actual bathroom.
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