In short
A bioethanol stove and a wood-burning log burner solve different problems. The log burner is a heating appliance: 5 to 8 kW, but it needs a chimney, a hearth, annual sweeping, firewood storage and, in many cities, a permit or a smoke-control exemption. The bioethanol stove is a fireplace you simply place in the room: 2.5 to 4 kW of real flame with no flue, no ash and no installation, at a higher cost per kWh. If you have a chimney and heat a whole floor, wood wins; if you live in a flat, a new-build or a smoke-control area, bioethanol is the only real fire you can have.
Key takeaways
- Heat: log burner 5 to 8 kW nominal, bioethanol stove 2.5 to 4 kW; but the bioethanol heat all stays in the room.
- Installation: wood needs a flue, hearth, building control and often a permit; bioethanol needs a floor and, for automatic models, a socket.
- Running cost per hour: wood is cheaper per kWh, bioethanol costs about 1 to 2 EUR per hour at full flame with zero maintenance.
- Daily life: no ash, no soot, no sweeping, no firewood, no smoke with bioethanol; a fire ready in seconds.
"Bioethanol log burner" is one of the most searched phrases in the UK fireplace market, and it shows what people want: the look and warmth of a wood stove without the chimney. This comparison puts the two side by side on heat, installation, cost, maintenance and rules, and ends with the honest answer about which homes each one suits.
Comparison table
| Criterion | Wood-burning log burner | Bioethanol stove |
|---|---|---|
| Heat output | 5 to 8 kW nominal, part of it lost up the flue | 2.5 to 4 kW, 100 percent into the room |
| Chimney / flue | required, lined and swept yearly | none |
| Installation | hearth, clearances, building regulations, installer | place it and light it; automatic models need a 230 V socket |
| Permits and smoke control | smoke-control areas, Ecodesign rules, local bans in some cities | no permit; allowed in flats |
| Fuel | seasoned logs or briquettes, storage space | bioethanol in 1 or 5 litre packs |
| Running cost | low per kWh if you have cheap wood | about 1 to 2 EUR per hour at full flame |
| Maintenance | ash, glass cleaning, sweeping, door seals | wipe the glass, nothing else |
| Emissions in the room | particulates when opening the door, smoke on bad draught | water vapour and CO2 like a few candles |
| Time to fire | 10 to 20 minutes of kindling | seconds (automatic ignition on BEV models) |
| Safety | hot surfaces, sparks, embers, chimney fire risk | sensors, closed tank and child lock on automatic models |
Heat: who warms the room more
On paper the log burner wins: a typical 5 kW stove delivers more than any freestanding bioethanol model. In practice part of the wood stove's energy leaves through the chimney and the output depends on how dry the wood is and how you run the air controls. A bioethanol stove gives a steady 2.5 to 4 kW and all of it stays in the room, with no draught pulling warm air out of the house. For a 25 to 35 m² living room a 3.5 kW model such as Arcticon is a comfortable supplement; for heating a whole open-plan floor, wood or a heat pump does the job, not either fireplace. The numbers behind this are in our heat guide.
Installation and rules: the deciding factor for most homes
A log burner is a building project: a flue or lined chimney, a non-combustible hearth, clearances to combustibles, building control sign-off and an installer. In a flat or a house without a chimney it is usually impossible or very expensive. Many cities now restrict wood burning: smoke-control areas in the UK, Ecodesign requirements for new stoves, local bans on bad-air days in parts of Germany and France. A bioethanol stove has none of that. It is a freestanding appliance: no flue, no permit, no installer, allowed in rented flats and new-builds. Automatic models need a power socket for the electronics; portable manual models do not even need that.
Cost: buying and running
Buying: a quality log burner plus flue and installation typically costs several thousand euros; a freestanding bioethanol stove costs from a few hundred euros for a manual portable model to around two thousand for an automatic BEV stove, with nothing to add. Running: dry firewood is the cheapest heat per kWh if you have space and a supplier; bioethanol costs roughly 1 to 2 EUR per hour at full flame and half that at a medium flame, with no sweep, no service and no storage. For a fire two or three evenings a week bioethanol is cheaper in total; for heating every day all winter, wood is.
Daily life: what you actually do
With wood: carry logs, build the fire, manage the air, empty ash, clean soot off the glass, book the sweep, store a winter's fuel dry. With bioethanol: press a button (BEV) or light the burner, enjoy, and top up the tank every few evenings from a 5 litre canister of Fanola. No smoke in the room when you open a door, no sparks on the rug, no ash dust.
What you give up with bioethanol
Three things: the crackle and smell of wood, the higher peak heat, and the lower cost per kWh. If those matter more than the chimney problem, buy a log burner. If you live without a chimney, rent, or simply do not want the work, a bioethanol stove gives you real fire tonight.
Which to choose
- House with a working chimney, heating a large space daily: log burner.
- Flat, new-build, rented home, smoke-control area: bioethanol stove.
- Fire a few evenings a week for atmosphere plus some warmth: bioethanol stove, automatic if children or pets live with you.
- Both: many owners keep a wood stove in the main room and a bioethanol fireplace in the bedroom wing, office or conservatory where a flue is impossible.
FAQ
Can a bioethanol stove look like a log burner?
Freestanding models such as Arcticon have the column shape and three-sided flame of a modern stove; ceramic log sets are available for burners that want the classic look.
Is a bioethanol stove allowed in a smoke-control area?
Yes. It produces no smoke and is not a solid-fuel appliance.
How long does a bioethanol stove burn on one filling?
From 3.5 hours on portable 1.5 litre models to 20 hours on Arcticon's 5 litre tank. Our ranking of freestanding bioethanol stoves lists every model.
Is bioethanol safer than wood?
No sparks, embers or chimney fires; the one rule is never to refuel a warm burner, which automatic models enforce. More in are bioethanol fireplaces safe.
Planika Team, October 2026. Planika manufactures bioethanol fireplaces and does not sell wood stoves; wood-stove figures are typical values for modern 5 kW appliances and vary by model.
