Finned tubes increase outside the surface area. By having a finned tube in place, it increases the overall heat transfer rate. This then decreases the total number of tubes required for a given application which then also reduces overall equipment size and can in the long-run decrease the cost of the project. In many application cases, one finned tube replaces six or more bare tubes at less than 1/3 the cost and 1/4 the volume.

For applications that involve the transfer of heat from a hot fluid to a colder fluid through a tube wall, fin tubes are used. Usually, for an air heat exchanger, where one of the fluids is air or some other gas, the air side heat transfer coefficient will be much lower, so additional heat transfer surface area or a fin tube exchanger is very useful. The overall pattern flow of a finned tube exchanger is often crossflow, however, it can also be parallel flow or counterflow.

Fins are used to increase the effective surface area of heat exchanger tubing. Furthermore, finned tubes are used when the heat transfer coefficient on the outside of the tubes is appreciably lower than that on the inside. In other words, heat transferred from liquid to gas, vapor to gas, such as steam to air heat exchanger, and thermic fluid to air heat exchanger.