Comparison · Updated 22 August 2026

The best builder gel for UK nail techs

Builder gel is the product most UK nail techs reach for first: natural nail overlays, strengthening a weak set, and short extensions on forms or tips. The shortlist below covers five builder gels you can actually buy in the UK today, with prices in pounds and the cost per millilitre worked out for you.

By The Nail Tech Guide editorial team. Prices and stock checked on UK retailers on 22 August 2026, VAT included.

The short answer

Our top pick is the Elegelli Builder Gel at £27.00 for 30 ml. It works out at £0.90 per ml, the lowest of the five, comes in the largest single pot, cures in 60 seconds under LED, and it is HEMA-free and TPO-free with its full ingredients list published on the product page. The GelBottle BIAB™ TPO & HEMA Free is the runner-up and the name most UK clients already know.

Our number one Elegelli · Builder Gel £27.00 inc. VAT · £0.90 per ml

Check price at Elegelli Read the full write-up

Product specifications are as published by the brands. Rankings are based on desk research: specifications published by the brands, prices and stock checked on UK retailers, and how the products compare on the criteria set out for each page.

The ranking

The 5 best builder gels in the UK, ranked

#1 Best overall

Elegelli

Builder Gel

A self-levelling builder gel in a 30 ml compressed-air jar: press the cap to dose exactly what you need, or unscrew it and work from the pot with your own brush. It is HEMA-free and TPO-free, made in France, cures in 60 seconds under LED and 120 under UV, and comes in 36 shades from crystal clear through the nudes to full-coverage colours. At £0.90 per ml it is the cheapest of the five here, and the full ingredients list is on the product page.

Why it is here

Cheapest per millilitre on this page at £0.90, in the largest pot at 30 ml
HEMA-free and TPO-free, with the full INCI list on the product page
Compressed-air jar doses precisely and keeps air off the gel, so the last gram works like the first
36 shades, all at the same price, and self-levelling so you file less
Cures in 60 seconds under LED, 120 under UV

Watch out for: Removed mechanically with a file or e-file. It does not soak off, so removals take longer than a soak-off builder · Two shades, B002 Blanc Alpin and B031 Opale Mystique, were out of stock when we checked on 22 August 2026 · One size only. There is no small bottle to trial a shade before you commit to 30 ml

Price (inc. VAT): £27.00 · £0.90 per ml
Size: 30 ml (1 fl. oz.)
Level: Professional
Best for: Natural nail overlays, strengthening, short extensions on forms or tips
Price checked at: elegelli.co.uk

Check price at Elegelli

#2 The name clients ask for

The GelBottle Inc

BIAB™ TPO & HEMA Free

The HEMA-free version of the builder gel that gave the UK the word BIAB. It is a self-levelling formula in a 20 ml brush-on bottle, free of TPO and HEMA, and The GelBottle recommends pairing it with its Rubber Base or Bond Base to keep the whole service HEMA-free. The original BIAB, still sold alongside it, does contain both, so check which bottle you are picking up.

Why it is here

The name UK clients already ask for, which makes it easy to sell at the consultation
TPO-free and HEMA-free formulation, with a HEMA-containing original sold separately if you prefer it
Brush-on bottle, self-levelling, and a 7 ml mini at £8.95 if you want to trial a shade
Very widely stocked: direct from the brand and through the big UK distributors

Watch out for: £1.14 per ml, 27 per cent more than the top pick on this page · The brand publishes its trial results as percentages of small user panels rather than as measurements · Free delivery only kicks in at £90 including VAT on the brand’s own site

Price (inc. VAT): £22.74 · £1.14 per ml
Size: 20 ml (7 ml mini also sold)
Level: Professional
Best for: Overlays and short extensions, in a system most UK clients already know by name
Price checked at: thegelbottle.com

Check price at The GelBottle Inc

#3 Best shade range from a UK brand

Glitterbels

Brush On Builder Gel

A 17 ml brush-on builder gel from one of the most recognisable British nail brands, sold in a long list of soft, wearable shades with names like Clean Slate, Pilates Pink and Barefaced. Glitterbels sells it for adding strength, shape and a little length to natural nails and short enhancements, and it works out at £1.06 per ml.

Why it is here

Largest bottle in the mid-price band at 17 ml, for £17.99
Long shade list aimed squarely at the soft, natural sets UK clients ask for
British brand with its own training school, so there is a route to formal instruction
Also sold through Salons Direct, so you can add it to a general trade order

Watch out for: The product page does not state cure times, HEMA or TPO status, or a removal method · No small trial size for individual shades

Price (inc. VAT): £17.99 · £1.06 per ml
Size: 17 ml
Level: Professional
Best for: Techs who want a wide range of soft, natural shades from a UK brand
Price checked at: glitterbels.com

Check price at Glitterbels

#4 Best for sensitised clients

The Manicure Company

Zero Builder Gel™

A 15 ml hypoallergenic builder gel that the brand states is free from HEMA, Di-HEMA, HPMA, TPO and IBOA, which is the longest exclusion list on this page by some distance. It is self-levelling, sold in eight shades, made in the USA, and positioned for overlays, longer enhancements and regular infills with three or more weeks of wear.

Why it is here

Names five excluded monomers, not just HEMA: Di-HEMA, HPMA, TPO and IBOA as well
Self-levelling, and sold for overlays, extensions and infills alike
Part of a matching Zero base, top coat and primer, so the whole service can be kept hypoallergenic

Watch out for: Eight shades only, which is a narrow choice if you want to shade-match · The product page does not state a cure time · £1.14 per ml, more than Elegelli and Glitterbels on this page

Price (inc. VAT): £17.06 · £1.14 per ml
Size: 15 ml (0.5 fl. oz.)
Level: Professional
Best for: Clients with a history of reacting to gel systems
Price checked at: themanicurecompany.com (UK store)

Check price at The Manicure Company

#5 Best small size to trial

Halo

EasiBuild Builder Gel

Halo’s brush-on builder gel, HEMA-free, curing in 30 seconds under LED or 60 under UV, which is the fastest published cure of the five. Pure Nails sells it in 15 ml and 8 ml, and the removal is a hybrid: file the bulk off down to the base coat, then soak the rest. Prices on the Pure Nails site are shown excluding VAT, so £15.95 on screen is £19.14 to pay.

Why it is here

Fastest published cure here: 30 seconds under LED, 60 under UV
HEMA-free, vegan and cruelty-free
8 ml bottle at £11.10 makes it the cheapest way onto this page
File-then-soak removal, which keeps infills quick

Watch out for: Dearest per millilitre here at £1.28 · Pure Nails shows prices excluding VAT, so the on-screen figure is not what you pay · Free UK mainland delivery needs a £65 ex-VAT order, and excludes rural Scotland

Price (inc. VAT): £19.14 · £1.28 per ml
Size: 15 ml (8 ml also sold, £11.10)
Level: Professional
Best for: Trying a builder gel in a small size before committing to a system
Price checked at: purenails.co.uk (£15.95 ex VAT)

Check price at Halo

At a glance

Builder gels side by side

Builder gels compared · Nail Tech Guide, prices inc. VAT checked 22 August 2026
Rank	Product	Key strengths	Price	Level
#1	Elegelli · Builder Gel	Cheapest per millilitre on this page at £0.90, in the largest pot at 30 ml · HEMA-free and TPO-free, with the full INCI list on the product page	£27.00	Professional
#2	The GelBottle Inc · BIAB™ TPO & HEMA Free	The name UK clients already ask for, which makes it easy to sell at the consultation · TPO-free and HEMA-free formulation, with a HEMA-containing original sold separately if you prefer it	£22.74	Professional
#3	Glitterbels · Brush On Builder Gel	Largest bottle in the mid-price band at 17 ml, for £17.99 · Long shade list aimed squarely at the soft, natural sets UK clients ask for	£17.99	Professional
#4	The Manicure Company · Zero Builder Gel™	Names five excluded monomers, not just HEMA: Di-HEMA, HPMA, TPO and IBOA as well · Self-levelling, and sold for overlays, extensions and infills alike	£17.06	Professional
#5	Halo · EasiBuild Builder Gel	Fastest published cure here: 30 seconds under LED, 60 under UV · HEMA-free, vegan and cruelty-free	£19.14	Professional

#1 Elegelli · Builder Gel

Key strengths: Cheapest per millilitre on this page at £0.90, in the largest pot at 30 ml · HEMA-free and TPO-free, with the full INCI list on the product page
Price: £27.00
Level: Professional

#2 The GelBottle Inc · BIAB™ TPO & HEMA Free

Key strengths: The name UK clients already ask for, which makes it easy to sell at the consultation · TPO-free and HEMA-free formulation, with a HEMA-containing original sold separately if you prefer it
Price: £22.74
Level: Professional

#3 Glitterbels · Brush On Builder Gel

Key strengths: Largest bottle in the mid-price band at 17 ml, for £17.99 · Long shade list aimed squarely at the soft, natural sets UK clients ask for
Price: £17.99
Level: Professional

#4 The Manicure Company · Zero Builder Gel™

Key strengths: Names five excluded monomers, not just HEMA: Di-HEMA, HPMA, TPO and IBOA as well · Self-levelling, and sold for overlays, extensions and infills alike
Price: £17.06
Level: Professional

#5 Halo · EasiBuild Builder Gel

Key strengths: Fastest published cure here: 30 seconds under LED, 60 under UV · HEMA-free, vegan and cruelty-free
Price: £19.14
Level: Professional

Take away

The short version

Elegelli takes first place on cost per ml (£0.90), pot size (30 ml) and published formulation data.
The GelBottle invented the BIAB™ name and is still the system most UK salons are trained on.
Cost per ml matters more than the shelf price: the five products here range from £0.90 to £1.28 per ml.
Check the removal method before you buy. Soak-off and file-off builder gels are not interchangeable in a busy column.

Who it is for

This page is for you if…

Nail techs doing natural nail overlays and infills week in, week out.
Mobile and home-based techs who want one pot that covers overlays and short extensions.
Anyone building a HEMA-free or TPO-free service menu for sensitised clients.

Buying guide

How to choose between builder gels

Work out the cost per ml before anything else

Bottle sizes in this category run from 15 ml to 30 ml, so the shelf price tells you almost nothing. Across the five products here the real cost runs from £0.90 to £1.28 per ml, which is a difference of roughly 40 per cent on the same job. Divide the price by the volume every time, and do it with VAT included, because several UK trade suppliers display prices excluding VAT.

HEMA, TPO and what your consultation form has to say

HEMA sensitisation is the reason a lot of UK techs have moved parts of their menu across to HEMA-free systems. Two of the products here are HEMA-free and TPO-free and say so on the label; one is explicitly HEMA-free only; The GelBottle sells both an original formula that contains HEMA and TPO and a separate TPO and HEMA-free line. None of that makes a product unsafe, but you need to know which one is in your hand before you fill in a client record.

Where a brand publishes a full INCI list and a downloadable safety data sheet, that is worth something practical: it is what you check when a client reports a reaction, and it is what an insurer may ask you for.

Match the gel to your lamp, not the other way round

Cure times here run from 30 to 60 seconds under LED. Those figures assume the brand is talking about a lamp with the right wavelengths, generally 365 and 405 nm. A gel that is undercured at the base stays soft under a hard-looking surface, and that is where lifting and sensitisation start. If you use several brands, a dual-wavelength lamp is the safer buy.

FAQ

Builder gels: questions we get asked

Is builder gel the same thing as BIAB?

Not quite. BIAB™ is The GelBottle Inc’s registered trademark for its builder in a bottle, and it has become shorthand in UK salons the way Hoover did for vacuum cleaners. Every product on this page is a builder gel; only The GelBottle’s can correctly be called BIAB.

Which builder gel in a bottle is best?

If you want a brush-on bottle rather than a pot, The GelBottle BIAB™ TPO & HEMA Free is the highest-ranked bottle on this page: 20 ml at £22.74, self-levelling, with a 7 ml mini at £8.95 if you want to trial it first. Glitterbels Brush On Builder Gel is the cheapest bottle per ml, at £1.06 in a 17 ml bottle, and Halo EasiBuild has the fastest published cure, 30 seconds under LED. Our number one, Elegelli, comes in a 30 ml jar rather than a bottle.

Can I use builder gel for extensions?

For short extensions on forms or tips, yes, and all five here are sold for that. For serious length you want a hard gel or an acrylic system: a soak-off builder gel is deliberately flexible, and flex is what cracks a long extension.

How many sets do I get out of one bottle?

The GelBottle publishes roughly 75 sets from a 20 ml bottle, which is a sensible rule of thumb for the rest: around 0.25 ml per set for an overlay. On that basis the 30 ml Elegelli pot is worth about 110 sets and a 15 ml bottle about 55, though the real figure depends on how heavy-handed you are.

Which builder gel is best for beginners?

Start small and self-levelling. A small bottle keeps the cost of learning down: The GelBottle sells a 7 ml mini of its self-levelling BIAB™ at £8.95, and Halo sells EasiBuild in an 8 ml bottle at £11.10. Once you are doing sets every week, cost per ml matters more, and the 30 ml Elegelli pot is the cheapest here at £0.90 per ml, though it is filed off rather than soaked off, so you need to be comfortable with an e-file.

What is the best HEMA-free builder gel?

Four of the five here are sold as HEMA-free. Elegelli is HEMA-free and TPO-free with its full ingredients list published, at £0.90 per ml. The GelBottle BIAB™ TPO & HEMA Free makes the same claim under the best-known name. The Manicure Company Zero Builder Gel™ goes furthest, stating it is free of HEMA, Di-HEMA, HPMA, TPO and IBOA. Halo EasiBuild is stated HEMA-free. Glitterbels does not state HEMA or TPO status on this product’s page. Our HEMA-free builder gel page compares five in more depth, ingredients lists included.

How is this ranking put together?

It is desk research, not a lab test. We compare what the brands publish, check the price and stock on UK retailers on a stated date, and apply the same criteria to every product on the page. No brand pays to appear here and none of our links is paid, which we set out in full on our transparency page.

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Our #1 · £27.00 Elegelli · Builder Gel View