You can rely on the best bottle warmers for hassle-free heating – they're great for warming your baby's milk to the right temperature, taking the guesswork out of the whole process.
Don't take our word for it, though – just ask any new parent and we’ll bet it’s on their newborn baby essentials checklist.
The technology and capabilities of these nifty gadgets have come a long way too – families who are on the move will benefit from the best portable bottle warmer, for example.
It’s not just milk that they heat either – you can use one to warm up some of your favourite baby food recipes.
While it’s important to do what’s right for your baby (and you), we’ve asked a panel of experts – made up of journalists and mums – to crown the best bottle warmers, in case you’re in the market for one. This is how we test and review products, so you can rest assured our method is trusted by parents everywhere.
First thing first – there’s some information about bottle warmers you might be interested in.
To help us answer some of your FAQs on bottle warmers, we’ve borrowed the brains of some of the best experts in the industry.
How to choose the best bottle warmer for your baby
Bottle warmers vary wildly in price ranging from just above £10 to around £150, but they all do the same thing, via different means.
- Cost - Firstly, decide how much you want to spend on a bottle warmer, and shop around for one that matches your budget.
- Space - Secondly, think about how much space you've got in your kitchen. If you're short on worktop space, you won't want another bulky kitchen gadget taking up even more room.
- Multifunctional - Finally, consider whether you'd like a machine you can continue using once your baby starts weaning onto solid food. If so. choose one that's compatible with lots of baby food jars and pouches. (Some bottle warmers only fit certain types of baby bottle or baby food jar.)
- Portability - If you're likely to take the bottle warmer with you on trips away from home, choose one that's practical for packing. For instance, make sure it's light and compact. If you're bottle-feeding your baby most of the time, a bottle preparation machine is a better investment than a bottle warmer. A bottle warmer is handy for heating the occasional bottle of breastmilk, rather than for preparing all your baby's formula feeds.
Best bottle warmer - our top pick
Based on our tried and tested reviews, the best bottle warmer is the Philips Avent Fast Bottle Warmer. It's neat and compact, so you don't need loads of space to store it. You can use it to warm milk and baby food from chilled or frozen, and it's impressively quick and efficient. Our tester found it especially easy to use. That's a major plus, as you don't want to be fiddling around with a gadget when there's a hungry baby in the house.
All the bottle warmers in this line-up are suitable from birth. Our panel of mums and journalists tested them out over a period of several weeks with babies aged under 12 months.
Best bottle warmers as reviewed by our testers
This is the perfect product if you're short on space in the kitchen and need a quick, fuss-free bottle warmer that's easy to operate. It has smart temperature control, which detects the starting temperature of the milk and gently heats it to the optimal temperature in less than three minutes. It also has an easy-to-use status display, which indicates when the milk is ready. This bottle warmer prevents overheating and can keep your baby's milk at a constant temperature for up to 60mins.
"This is a compact and easy-to-use bottle warmer that had my baby's bottle at the perfect temperature in three minutes," says Nansi Hitchman, mum to Jesse, 12 months. "It has a defrost option too, which is handy, and you can also use it to heat baby food."
Nansi found this machine especially easy to set up and use. "You pour the water directly into the warmer, instead of filling a fiddly bottle which you then have to fit to the machine," she says. "It has a simple dial to select how many ounces you're heating, and the 'on' button lights up to indicate when the milk is ready."
Overall, this is a fast, efficient bottle warmer that ticks all the important boxes – it's easy to use, takes up minimal space, and it looks good in the kitchen. "I love how easy to use it is, and how quick it is to fill and get going," adds Lauren.
- Read our full review of the Philips Avent Fast Bottle Warmer