Tommee Tippee vs Philips Avent bottle warmer: the cheap one or the fast one
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Our verdict, if you don’t read another word: in the Tommee Tippee vs Philips Avent bottle warmer choice, the Avent is the better warmer and the Tommee Tippee Easiwarm is the cheaper one. We own both. The Avent rates 5 out of 5 for speed and a dial that explains itself. The Easiwarm rates 4, because it works well once you learn that the light going off does not mean the heat is off.
One honest note first. We review gear. How to store and warm your baby’s milk, and what temperature it should reach, is a question for the CDC and your pediatrician rather than a blog. What we can tell you is what owning each of these warmers is like.
The quick verdict
On paper these two look similar. Both are compact corded countertop warmers controlled by a single dial. In use they feel different, and the difference is not speed so much as how much each one asks you to think.
Buy the Philips Avent if you want the warmer that needs no explanation and warms fastest. Buy the Tommee Tippee Easiwarm if price is what decides it and you are happy to make “dial to off” a habit from the first day.
The difference that decides it: how much each one asks of you
The Avent is fill, dial, bottle in. Its dial gives settings rather than temperatures, which took us about a week to learn, but there is nothing else to understand. You switch it off at the end because older units have no auto shut-off, and you know that from the start.
The Easiwarm looks just as simple, and mostly it is. It has an automatic shut-off timer, three settings for warming from frozen or from the fridge, and it warmed a bottle within five minutes in our use. The catch is what happens when the bottle is ready. The timer switches off and the light goes off with it, which reads as “finished”. But the dial is still on, and the water keeps heating until you turn it off. The instructions did not make that clear to us.
So both end the same way, with you turning the dial off. The difference is that the Avent never pretends otherwise, and the Easiwarm’s light suggests it has handled it for you.
Side by side
| Philips Avent Fast | Tommee Tippee Easiwarm | |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 5 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Price, of the two | Higher | Lower |
| Warm time | About 3 to 4 min, fridge-cold 5 oz, our stopwatch | Within 5 min in our use |
| Controls | One dial, three modes | One dial, three settings |
| What stops it | You, older units have no auto shut-off | Timer stops, water heats until the dial is off |
| Bottle fit | Narrow, wide and food jars, no adapters | Most brands of bottle |
| Size | Compact countertop | Compact countertop |
| Learning curve | About a week to read the dial | Learning what the light does and does not mean |
Our ratings are our judgment of each warmer as a whole, not a total worked out from this table.
Philips Avent: fast and simple
The Avent is a circulating warm-water bath with three modes: warm milk, gentle keep-warm and defrost, and warm baby food. It takes narrow and wide bottles and food jars with no adapters, and it heats evenly rather than blasting one side of the bottle. Our stopwatch averaged about 3 to 4 minutes for a 5 oz bottle from the fridge.
Its weak points are honest ones. No auto shut-off on older units, dial settings rather than temperatures, and it warms milk storage bags poorly. The full write-up, with the step-by-step routine, is our Philips Avent bottle warmer review.
What we like
- The fastest warmer we have timed, about 3 to 4 minutes from the fridge
- A single dial that works one-handed and half-asleep
- Takes narrow bottles, wide bottles and food jars without adapters
What we don't
- Costs more than the Easiwarm
- No auto shut-off on older units
- Warms milk storage bags poorly
Tommee Tippee Easiwarm: cheaper, with one habit to learn
The Easiwarm is a compact countertop warmer for expressed breast milk and ready-made formula. In our use it warmed a bottle within five minutes, fits most brands of bottle, and takes up little room on the counter. It has three settings and an automatic shut-off timer. Tommee Tippee states that all its warmers, sterilizers and bottles are BPA-free.
That is the whole reason for the 4. It is a learning curve, not a fault that stops it working, and once you know it is one extra turn of the dial. If this is your first bottle warmer you will not have another machine’s habits to unlearn, so it may never catch you out. The full detail is in our Tommee Tippee bottle warmer review.
What we like
- The cheaper of the two
- Warmed a bottle within five minutes in our use
- Fits most brands of bottle and stays compact on the counter
What we don't
- The instructions confused us about what the light means
- The timer and light switch off, but the water keeps heating until you turn the dial off
Which one fits your house
If speed at 3 a.m. is the thing you are paying for, buy the Avent. It is the fastest warmer we have timed, and the dial is simple enough that nobody in the house needs it explained.
If the budget is tight, buy the Easiwarm. It is the lower spend, it warms well, and its quirk costs you a turn of the dial rather than anything worse. Learn that on day one.
If more than one person does the night feeds, lean towards the Avent. A warmer whose light suggests it is finished when it isn’t is easy for a tired partner or grandparent to misread, even if you have learned it yourself.
If this is your first warmer and you have never owned another one, the Easiwarm’s habit is easier to pick up, because there is nothing to unlearn.
If you want a warmer that truly stops on its own, neither of these is the answer. The Momcozy, which ends its cycle by itself and also thaws and sterilizes, is compared against the Avent in Momcozy vs Philips Avent.
The off-switch habit, whichever you choose
Both of these leave the final step to you. On the Avent there is no auto shut-off on older units. On the Easiwarm the timer stops but the heating does not until the dial is off. So the routine is the same for either: bottle out, dial off, every time.
Whether a finished bottle can sit in a warmer is a separate question, and we go through it in can you leave a bottle in a bottle warmer. A warmer whose water keeps heating also scales up faster, so a regular descale matters on both, and our routine is in how to clean a bottle warmer.
Where these two sit among the warmers we own
We also own the Momcozy all-in-one, which sits between these two on price. All three are ranked, with a comparison table and a pick for each kind of household, in the best mid-range bottle warmer. For travel warmers and the rest of our lineup, see the best baby bottle warmers we have used.
The bottom line
The Philips Avent is the one we would buy again first. It earns its 5 out of 5 by being fast and needing no explanation. The Tommee Tippee Easiwarm earns its 4 by doing the same core job for less money, as long as you remember that the dial, not the light, is what stops the heat. Choose on whether you would rather pay a bit more or learn one habit.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Tommee Tippee or the Philips Avent bottle warmer better?
We rate the Philips Avent 5 out of 5 and the Tommee Tippee Easiwarm 4. The Avent is faster, about 3 to 4 minutes for a fridge-cold 5 oz bottle on our stopwatch, and its single dial needs no explanation. The Easiwarm costs less and warmed a bottle within five minutes in our use, but its light and timer switch off while the water keeps heating until you turn the dial off.
Which is cheaper, the Tommee Tippee or the Avent?
The Tommee Tippee Easiwarm is the cheaper of the two. The Avent sits at the top of the three mid-range warmers we own. Prices move on Amazon, so check the current price before you buy.
Do the Tommee Tippee and the Avent turn themselves off?
Neither one fully stops heating on its own in our use. Older Avent units have no auto shut-off, so you switch them off. The Easiwarm has an automatic shut-off timer, and the timer and light switch off when the bottle is ready, but the water keeps heating until you turn the dial to off. With either one, make turning it off part of the routine, and follow the manual that ships with your unit.
Which one fits more bottles?
Both are flexible. The Avent takes narrow bottles, wide bottles and food jars with no adapters. The Easiwarm fits most brands of bottle in our use and stays compact on the counter. The Avent warms milk storage bags poorly, so if you store milk in bags, check that point before you buy either one.