Comparison · Updated 22 August 2026

The best gel nail polish brands for UK nail techs

Gel polish is the service that pays the bills in most UK salons, so the range you commit to matters more than any single bottle. Shade count, how many coats a colour needs, and what a full wall of bottles costs to build are the numbers that decide it. Five professional ranges available in the UK, compared.

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 GelBottle Gel Colour at £19.14 for 20 ml. The brand publishes over 500 shades, the largest professional range in the UK, and at £0.96 per ml it is cheaper per millilitre than most of the competition despite the premium positioning. The Elegelli Gel Polish is second and the pick if you want an entire colour wall that is HEMA-free and TPO-free rather than a HEMA-free sub-range.

The GelBottle Inc Gel Colour product shot

Our number one The GelBottle Inc · Gel Colour £19.14 inc. VAT · £0.96 per ml

Check price at The GelBottle Inc 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 gel polish brands in the UK, ranked

#1 Best overall

The GelBottle Inc

Gel Colour

The GelBottle publishes more than 500 shades, which it describes as the largest professional range in the UK, in 20 ml bottles that work out at £0.96 per ml. The brand quotes up to 30 days of glossy, chip-resistant wear and no shrinkage on cure, both from small panel trials of its own. Soak-off removal. If you are standardising a salon on one colour wall, this is the range with the fewest gaps.

Why it is here

Over 500 shades published, the largest professional range in the UK
Big 20 ml bottles at £0.96 per ml, cheaper than most premium ranges
7 ml minis for trialling shades before committing to the full bottle
Stocked direct and through every major UK distributor

Watch out for: The brand’s wear and shrinkage claims come from panels of 30 to 120 users, not from measurement · A HEMA-free colour line exists but the standard range is not HEMA-free · Free delivery on the brand’s own site starts at £90 including VAT

Price (inc. VAT): £19.14 · £0.96 per ml
Size: 20 ml (7 ml minis also sold)
Level: Professional
Best for: Salons standardising on one large colour range
Price checked at: thegelbottle.com

Check price at The GelBottle Inc

#2 Best HEMA and TPO-free range

Elegelli

Gel Polish

A 10 ml gel polish range that is HEMA-free and TPO-free across every shade rather than in a separate sub-line, made in France, with an ingredients list on each shade page and one safety data sheet covering the range. The UK site lists 64 colours plus eight cat-eye effects, the brand claims one-coat coverage on the cremes and up to three weeks of wear, and each layer cures in 60 seconds under LED.

Why it is here

HEMA-free and TPO-free across the whole range, not a sub-line
Ingredients list on every shade page and a downloadable safety data sheet for the range
One-coat coverage claimed on the cremes, which saves a coat and a cure
Free UK delivery from £50, direct from the brand

Watch out for: 64 shades plus eight cat-eyes, a fraction of the choice in the biggest UK ranges · £1.30 per ml, well above the value options here · Popular shades run low: one shade showed a single bottle left when we checked on 22 August 2026

Price (inc. VAT): £13.00 · £1.30 per ml
Size: 10 ml (cat-eye shades £14.00)
Level: Professional
Best for: A colour wall that is HEMA-free and TPO-free from end to end
Price checked at: elegelli.co.uk

Check price at Elegelli

#3 Best value

Halo

Gel Polish

One of the most widely used professional gel polish systems in UK salons, with 229 shades listed on the Pure Nails site in 15 ml and 8 ml bottles. Halo quotes a 14-day chip-free manicure, and the range is vegan and cruelty-free. At £0.84 per ml it is the cheapest professional option here, which matters when you are buying twenty bottles rather than one.

Why it is here

Cheapest professional option per millilitre at £0.84
229 shades listed, with matching base, top coats and builder gel
8 ml bottles at £7.14 keep the cost of a starter wall down
Vegan and cruelty-free

Watch out for: Wear claim of 14 days, the shortest published figure on this page · HEMA and TPO status is stated on some Halo products but not on the colour range · Pure Nails shows prices excluding VAT, and free delivery starts at £65 ex VAT

Price (inc. VAT): £12.66 · £0.84 per ml
Size: 15 ml (8 ml also sold, £7.14)
Level: Professional
Best for: Building a large colour wall on a budget
Price checked at: purenails.co.uk (£10.55 ex VAT)

Check price at Halo

#4 Best-known brand

OPI

GelColor HEMA Free

The brand your clients already know from the high street, now sold in the UK in a HEMA-free GelColor formulation in 15 ml bottles. Salons Direct lists it at £19.90 excluding VAT, which is £23.88 to pay, with some shades discounted to £13.95 ex VAT. It is the dearest per millilitre on this page, and what you are paying for is a name a client recognises on the shelf.

Why it is here

The most recognised nail brand among UK clients
HEMA-free formulation across the GelColor range now sold in the UK
Widely stocked through UK distributors, with individual shades often discounted

Watch out for: Dearest per millilitre here at £1.59, nearly double the value pick · Prices at trade suppliers are shown excluding VAT · Shade-level stock at UK distributors was patchy when we checked on 22 August 2026

Price (inc. VAT): £23.88 · £1.59 per ml
Size: 15 ml
Level: Professional
Best for: Salons whose clients ask for a brand by name
Price checked at: salonsdirect.com (£19.90 ex VAT)

Check price at OPI

#5 Best for Gelish-trained techs

Gelish

Gel Polish

Gelish is one of the systems UK nail training is most often built around, and Nail Outlet lists the 15 ml soak-off bottles at £8.99, the lowest price per millilitre on this page at £0.60. Worth checking against a second stockist before you build a wall on it, because that figure sits well below the brand’s usual UK positioning.

Why it is here

Lowest price per millilitre on this page at £0.60, as listed on 22 August 2026
One of the systems most widely used in UK nail training
Very large shade library built up over years, with good shade continuity

Watch out for: The £8.99 listing is well below the brand’s usual UK price. Verify with a second stockist before ordering in bulk · HEMA and TPO status is not stated on the listing we checked · Some shades were out of stock at the stockist we checked

Price (inc. VAT): £8.99 · £0.60 per ml
Size: 15 ml
Level: Professional
Best for: Techs trained on the Gelish system
Price checked at: nailoutlet.co.uk

Check price at Gelish

At a glance

Gel polish brands side by side

Gel nail polish compared · Nail Tech Guide, prices inc. VAT checked 22 August 2026
Rank	Product	Key strengths	Price	Level
#1	The GelBottle Inc · Gel Colour	Over 500 shades published, the largest professional range in the UK · Big 20 ml bottles at £0.96 per ml, cheaper than most premium ranges	£19.14	Professional
#2	Elegelli · Gel Polish	HEMA-free and TPO-free across the whole range, not a sub-line · Ingredients list on every shade page and a downloadable safety data sheet for the range	£13.00	Professional
#3	Halo · Gel Polish	Cheapest professional option per millilitre at £0.84 · 229 shades listed, with matching base, top coats and builder gel	£12.66	Professional
#4	OPI · GelColor HEMA Free	The most recognised nail brand among UK clients · HEMA-free formulation across the GelColor range now sold in the UK	£23.88	Professional
#5	Gelish · Gel Polish	Lowest price per millilitre on this page at £0.60, as listed on 22 August 2026 · One of the systems most widely used in UK nail training	£8.99	Professional

#1 The GelBottle Inc · Gel Colour

Key strengths: Over 500 shades published, the largest professional range in the UK · Big 20 ml bottles at £0.96 per ml, cheaper than most premium ranges
Price: £19.14
Level: Professional

#2 Elegelli · Gel Polish

Key strengths: HEMA-free and TPO-free across the whole range, not a sub-line · Ingredients list on every shade page and a downloadable safety data sheet for the range
Price: £13.00
Level: Professional

#3 Halo · Gel Polish

Key strengths: Cheapest professional option per millilitre at £0.84 · 229 shades listed, with matching base, top coats and builder gel
Price: £12.66
Level: Professional

#4 OPI · GelColor HEMA Free

Key strengths: The most recognised nail brand among UK clients · HEMA-free formulation across the GelColor range now sold in the UK
Price: £23.88
Level: Professional

#5 Gelish · Gel Polish

Key strengths: Lowest price per millilitre on this page at £0.60, as listed on 22 August 2026 · One of the systems most widely used in UK nail training
Price: £8.99
Level: Professional

Take away

The short version

The GelBottle leads on shade range (500+ published) and cost per ml among the premium brands.
Elegelli is HEMA-free and TPO-free across the whole range, not just a sub-line, with an ingredients list on every shade page.
Halo is the value option at £0.84 per ml with 229 shades listed.
Building a colour wall is the real cost. Twenty shades from these ranges runs from roughly £250 to £480.

Who it is for

This page is for you if…

Salons choosing one colour range to standardise on.
Mobile techs who need a compact, high-coverage set of shades.
Anyone building a HEMA-free colour menu for sensitised clients.

Buying guide

How to choose between gel polish brands

Cost per ml, then multiply by twenty

Nobody buys one bottle of gel polish. Work out the cost per millilitre, then work out what a starting wall of twenty shades costs, because that is the number you are actually committing to. Across the ranges here, twenty shades comes to roughly £250 at the cheapest and around £480 at the dearest, for very similar bottle counts.

Coverage is where the time goes

A shade that covers in one coat rather than two saves you a coat and a cure on ten nails, every set. Brands that claim one-coat coverage are usually talking about their cremes, not their sheers and pastels, and no range covers in one coat across every shade. Buy two or three shades before you commit to the wall.

Shade consistency between bottles

When you reorder a client’s regular colour, it needs to be the same colour. Larger, well-established ranges are generally better at this simply because their batches are bigger and more frequent. If you are working from a small or fast-changing range, order a spare of your top five shades before they get discontinued.

FAQ

Gel polish brands: questions we get asked

Gel polish or shellac, what is the difference?

Shellac is CND’s brand name, not a product type, in the same way that BIAB is The GelBottle’s. Clients use it as a catch-all for gel polish. Every product on this page is a soak-off gel polish.

How long should a gel polish set last?

Two to three weeks on a well-prepped natural nail is the realistic range, and brands here publish wear claims from 14 to 30 days. Growth, not chipping, is usually what brings a client back.

Do I need the same brand for base, colour and top coat?

You do not have to, but it is the safest starting point because brands formulate their systems together. If you mix, test the combination on a handful of sets before you use it on your whole client list.

Which gel polish brand is best for UK nail techs?

On our criteria, The GelBottle: over 500 published shades in 20 ml bottles at £0.96 per ml. Elegelli is second for a range that is HEMA-free and TPO-free from end to end, and Halo is the value pick at £0.84 per ml with 229 shades listed. OPI is the name clients recognise, at the highest cost per ml here.

Which gel polish brands are HEMA-free?

On this page, Elegelli is HEMA-free and TPO-free across its whole range, with an ingredients list on every shade page and a safety data sheet for the range. OPI sells its GelColor range in the UK in a HEMA-free formulation. The GelBottle has a separate HEMA-free colour line, but its standard Gel Colour range is not HEMA-free. Halo and Gelish do not state HEMA status on the listings we checked. Our HEMA-free gel polish page compares five HEMA-free ranges in more depth.

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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