EuroMillions vs Lotto and other UK lottery games

Prices and draw days

Top prizes and odds

Figures are per line and per draw, as published by The National Lottery in September 2026.

EuroMillions vs Lotto

Lotto is The National Lottery's own game, played only in the UK. A line costs £2 and you choose 6 numbers from 1 to 59. Since the game was redesigned in 2026, each draw has two rounds: two separate sets of balls are drawn, and your line can win in either round or in both. That's why its jackpot odds, 1 in 22,528,738 per draw, are around six times better than EuroMillions'.

Lotto's lower prizes are fixed: £1 for 2 numbers, £10 for 3, £50 for 4, £1,000 for 5 and £1 million for 5 plus the Bonus Ball. With a prize of some sort roughly 1 in 4.9 times, it pays out far more often than EuroMillions (1 in 13). The trade-off is the jackpot: Lotto's is funded by UK sales alone, so it's far smaller, and it can only roll over five times: the fifth rollover is a Must Be Won draw.

In short, EuroMillions is the game for the biggest possible prize; Lotto gives you better odds of the jackpot and of smaller wins.

EuroMillions vs Thunderball

Thunderball is the cheapest draw game at £1 a line, with four draws a week. All its prizes are fixed and there's no rollover: the top prize of £500,000 for 5 numbers plus the Thunderball isn't shared with other winners, and you win £3 just for matching the Thunderball. Its odds of any prize, 1 in 13, are the same as EuroMillions', but its top prize is a fraction of a EuroMillions jackpot.

EuroMillions vs Set For Life

Set For Life pays its top prize as income rather than a lump sum: £10,000 a month for 30 years for 5 numbers plus the Life Ball, with odds of about 1 in 15.3 million. The prize doesn't roll over if nobody wins it. The National Lottery says the game is designed so that top-prize winners receive at least £10,000 a month after tax. A EuroMillions jackpot, by contrast, is paid in one go and tax-free.

EuroMillions HotPicks: same draw, different game

HotPicks uses the EuroMillions main numbers but works completely differently. You decide how many numbers to play, from one to five, and you only win if all of them are drawn. In return the prizes are fixed and not shared: £1,500 for Pick 3, £30,000 for Pick 4 and £1 million for Pick 5, at odds of 1 in 2,118,760. That's the best chance of a £1 million prize among The National Lottery's draw games. The full table is in UK Millionaire Maker and HotPicks.

EuroMillions vs Powerball

The National Lottery also sells Powerball, the US lottery, at £4 a line. You choose 5 numbers from 1 to 69 and a Powerball from 1 to 26, and the draws take place in the US early in the morning, UK time, after sales close at 11.55pm the night before. Its jackpot has no cap and can reach far higher than EuroMillions', but UK winners receive it over 30 years, not as a lump sum, and the odds of the jackpot are about 1 in 292 million, roughly twice as long as EuroMillions'.

Which game suits you?

• The biggest one-off prize: EuroMillions, with jackpots of up to €250 million paid in one go.
• The best odds of winning something: Lotto, at about 1 in 4.9.
• Fixed prizes you won't have to share: Thunderball or HotPicks.
• A regular income instead of a lump sum: Set For Life.
• Whichever you choose, no game gives you an edge: set a budget first and stick to it. Our tips and responsible gambling pages can help.

Frequently asked questions