skip to main content
The Best Bottle Warmers to Quickly (and Easily) Warm Milk For Baby
Updated on
June 28, 2024

The Best Bottle Warmers to Quickly (and Easily) Warm Milk For Baby

Babylist editors love baby gear and independently curate their favorite products to share with you. If you buy something through links on our site, Babylist may earn a commission.
Pinterest logo.
The Best Bottle Warmers to Quickly (and Easily) Warm Milk For Baby.

Some types of baby gear may leave you wondering, do I really need that?—and a bottle warmer is one of them. For parents who plan to bottle feed their baby either expressed breast milk or formula, or if you discover your baby specifically prefers their milk served warm, bottle warmers can feel like a must-have baby product. The Baby Brezza Safe & Smart Bluetooth Connected Bottle Warmer checked all of the boxes we looked for in a bottle warmer—ease of use, time to heat and convenience features—making it our best overall pick. We also cover a few other options with budget and lifestyle in mind.

A bottle warmer is a quick, safe way to uniformly heat a chilled bottle, freezer bag of milk or even refrigerated baby food so you can use it right away. But if you plan to exclusively breastfeed (and only occasionally offer bottle feedings) it might be more important to save the counter space and use the bowl of warm water method instead.

If you do decide a bottle warmer is a registry must-have, we gathered our top picks to help you pick the best one for you and your family.

Babylist’s Top Picks for the Best Bottle Warmers

Babylist’s Picks for Best Bottle Warmers

Best Overall Bottle Warmer

Pros:

  • Can control with an app
  • 9 different warming settings
  • Fits any bottle

Cons:

  • Pricey
  • Machine must be on to work with the app
  • Parents say frozen milk storage bags don’t fit
What Our Experts Say

Baby Brezza’s bottle warmer is packed full of warming options and other unique features that make it stand out from the crowd. There’s a separate setting for heating different types of milk and food, a useful feature if you’re heating breast milk and are concerned that too much heat that can impact the milk’s nutrients. (“Quick Warm” uses steam for a faster warm, while “Steady Warm” uses a warm water bath to slowly warm breast milk.) You can control the warmer from the LCD screen or wirelessly via an app on your phone, another nice perk for when you’ve stepped away and want to know when your bottle is ready.

Real Parent Reviews

“My second daughter is now 4 months old and although I exclusively breastfeed, she is given a bottle occasionally. On those occasions, we are fortunate for our Baby Brezza bottle warmer! With my first daughter, I nursed for over a year but she also was offered bottles on occasion. During that time, we went through over 3 bottle warmers because none had all the features I was looking for until I found the Baby Brezza! It’s easy to use; you simply input the starting temperature (room, refrigerator/cold, or frozen and the ounces of the bottle and it automatically warms it to the perfect temperature and shuts off when complete. Other warmers require you to input how long you want to heat a bottle for (how was I supposed to know how long a 4oz bottle would take to warm? Or a 6oz? ) I also wasted so much time from previous bottles overheating the milk without the automatic shut-off feature the Baby Brezza has. I love that it fits almost every bottle type and every pouch type! Highly recommend! “ — Samantha

“As a breastfeeding mom who had an oversupply, I froze a lot of breastmilk and figuring out how to warm the milk up after it was defrosted was a challenge. I wanted all of the good stuff in my milk to be saved and not damaged from overheating. I bought this product and it’s amazing. There’s no other bottle warmer like this that I’ve seen. I’m giving this 5 stars because it’s quick, effective and I love the different options it gives you to warm up your milk. A must-have on your baby registry.” — Jaime M.

Best Affordable Bottle Warmer

Pros:

  • Quickly warms milk
  • Automatic shut-off

Cons:

  • Bottles can get hot
  • Hard to clean the inside
What Our Experts Say

With its minimalist style, this warmer is a nice departure from most other bottle warmers and won’t hog a ton of counter space, either. It warms up bottles in 2-5 minutes and can also handle baby food. It’s big enough to fit even wide bottles and accommodates all bottle materials (glass, plastic and silicone) up to 11 ounces. An auto shut-off feature helps to prevent overheating. Just be sure you choose the right settings to heat the milk correctly; some parents note their bottles either heat up too much or not enough which can be frustrating when you’ve got a hungry baby to feed. A few say the inside, below where the bottle sits, is difficult to clean thoroughly.

Real Parent Reviews

“This is the only bottle warmer we’ve used and we’ve had this for 2 months now. We use wide-mouth Dr. Brown’s (5 oz), Lansinoh (8 oz), and Philips Avent (8 oz) bottles—all glass. The warmer fits all of them except Lansinoh when the nipple is on—when we warm those bottles, we use the purple cap. I most frequently warm bottles (breast milk) from the fridge. I usually hold my baby with one arm and use the other to turn this on. It does NOT do a great job of warming the bottles, however, I end up having to still dunk the bottles for another minute or so in hot water. Frustrating with a crying infant. The instructions say to fill the warmer with 40ml of water before turning it on. The 40ml measuring cup and marker inside are useful for this…but the warmer doesn’t use all the water each time, so to remove the water, you have to unplug the warmer from the wall and flip it upside down. I don’t know what would make the design better, but I hate this part. Also, the amount of water doesn’t seem to change how effectively it warms the bottles. My husband likes it because it’s easy to program—only wishes it were easier to clean. The plastic top and green basket are cleanable, but there’s no way to separate the water basin from the actual machine.” — A

“Things I love: it does well for the price point. Once you know to use 40ml per warm-up, and using 20ml after it helps get the bottles consistently warm. It looks cute on the countertop and doesn’t take up too much space on the counter. There are many settings to choose from, very easy to use and know what your material and ounce total needs to be. Things that could be better: temperature control, there isn’t one. I don’t necessarily mind it, the bottles have always been a good temperature and I always check beforehand anyway. Things I hate: cleaning it. There is no way to get all the water out so I don’t know how much exactly to use each time, so I’ll try and dump all or use half. Has worked so far, but can be an annoyance.” — J

Best Bottle Warmer for Travel

Pros:

  • Attaches directly to bottles
  • Compact design
  • Rechargeable

Cons:

  • Some bottle brands need a specific adapter (sold separately)
  • Colder or larger bottles drain battery faster
  • Gasket can come loose, causing leaks
What Our Experts Say

“I swore I was going to be one of those parents who handed their baby a bottle as-is…but my kid would only take it warm,” says Jen, mom of two. Enter Baby’s Brew: the first-ever battery-powered bottle warmer. No cords or warm water needed; just screw on your bottle, hit one button and you’ll have warm milk in under ten minutes. Baby’s Brew is designed to fit most major bottle brands and also sells separate adapters for those that aren’t compatible. Some parents do complain about occasional leaks and inconsistent heat times, but it seems to be dependent on which brand of bottle you’re using and how much milk or formula is in the warmer.

Real Parent Reviews

“Super easy to use, LED light tells you exactly the temperature of the milk. Only took a few minutes to get to 98°, the perfect temp for breastmilk!” — Jessica R.

“We kept coming back to look at the baby brew for a few reasons. 1. It’s extremely travel-friendly. Our family travels a lot. It’s been wonderful to travel and not be concerned about how we are going to warm our son’s bottle. 2. We can take it on an airplane! 3. It’s travel-friendly and easy to use. 4. It’s easy to charge. We have an anker charging block so if we are out and need to charge it we have the ability to do so. Another huge plus is we didn’t have to buy a certain type of water to warm his bottle. We plan on ordering one for my brother and his wife for their baby next year! We have been telling everyone about this bottle warmer!” — Jennifer R.

Best Bottle Warmer for Breastmilk

Pros:

  • Wider than most bottle warmers
  • Large water reservoir means less refilling

Cons:

  • Some parents say it stops working after a few months of use
  • Cumbersome to clean
What Our Experts Say

This bottle warmer is a popular pick with tons of great real parent reviews to back it up. It’s uses a low-temperature water bath to heat up bottles in about five minutes as well as breast milk storage bags and baby food jars or pouches. (Some parents do note that it can take two cycles to defrost frozen milk and food, though.) There’s a built-in timer and an auto shut-off so you don’t have to worry about overheating if (when) you get distracted. And the Kozii is one of the larger warmers on the market, making it ideal for wider bottles like the Comotomo. The water reservoir is larger than most other warmers on the marking, making it convenient for parents of twins who need to warm multiple bottles back to back. One thing to note: the cleaning process is rather involved, with different steps you need to follow very few days, weeks and months,in order to maintain the warmer’s performance.

Real Parent Reviews

“Makes bottle prep super easy and prevents you from overheating and damaging the nutrients in your breast milk. We chose to use a Mason bottle setup and it fits Mason jars perfectly. Super simple and easy to use. Takes a couple minutes to set up and then all you have to do is make sure the water level is at the full mark.” — Shelby

“I love this warmer!! I had a First Years warmer before and ended up just warming milk under the tap water. With this warmer I don’t have to add water every time, and the water level isn’t the temperature control. I can add milk and confidently go change the baby or any other activity, and know I’ll find back to perfectly warm milk every time.” — Sarah H.

Fastest Bottle Warmer

Pros:

  • Keeps bottles warm without overheating
  • Defrost setting
  • Easy to clean

Cons:

  • Doesn’t fit wide bottles
  • Some say it takes a long time to heat from frozen
What Our Experts Say

This warmer from Philips Avent is a mid-priced warmer that quickly heats up bottles and baby food. A medium-sized bottle takes about three minutes to evenly warm, and there’s a smart temperature control that prevents milk and food from overheating. Another benefit we love? The defrost setting is specifically for warming frozen breast milk or baby food (though some parents say it takes a long time to warm from frozen). This bottle warmer works best for narrow baby bottles, wider options won’t fit.

Real Parent Reviews

“If you have bagged breast milk that needs to be warmed or thawed this little machine is an animal. It will have your frozen boob juice thawed in minutes and your breast milk warmed in less than 30 seconds. I have only had success with this machine when using bagged milk though. I have tried several bottles and they just took way too long.” — Sweetdee

“I love how [quickly] this bottle warmer works. I think it is easy to use and understand. It heats well and seems to heat it all the way through. My only complaint is that if the bottle isn’t full, you need to put something on top of it so it doesn’t float. I feel like something could have been done to help prevent this. Other than that, I really like this bottle warmer. It makes my husband’s life a lot easier when I am not around.” — Deniellem “I like being able to easily select the ounce size and let it warm up while I change our baby. Once I’m finished, the bottle is warm and ready to go! It would be neat if it came with inserts depending on the bottle size but for its compact design, it works well for our situation!” — Pross07

How We Chose Our Best Bottle Warmers

  • We analyzed results from Babylist’s Best Baby Products survey, which polled 6,000 Babylist users and asked them to share the baby products they love the most and why.
  • We utilized insight from the Babylist editorial team, including Gear Editor Jen LaBracio, an expert in the baby space for over six years and a mom of two who has written hundreds of baby gear guides and personally researched and tested hundreds of baby products, including many bottle warmers. And from me, Briana Engelbrecht, a certified lactation counselor (CLC) and mom of two.
  • We reviewed customer reviews from hundreds of real parents.

Do You Need a Bottle Warmer?

Whether or not you need a bottle warmer comes down to personal preference—both yours and your baby’s. Some parents choose to let frozen breast milk thaw overnight in the fridge and serve it cold. Others choose to warm breast milk or formula by placing the bottle in a bowl or a mug of hot water to slowly heat it up. Microwaving breast milk or formula is a no-go to avoid hot spots and potential chemical leaching, so skip that method.

But some babies are pickier than others, and some parents don’t have the time to wait around for milk to thaw or slowly warm in the sink. A bottle warmer is a small, generally affordable piece of baby gear that helps speed up the heating process and gets warm milk to your hungry baby’s mouth quickly and safely.


Jen LaBracio,

Senior Gear Editor, CPST

Jen LaBracio is Babylist’s Senior Gear Editor and a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST). When she’s not geeking out over car seats, testing out a new high chair or pushing the latest stroller model around her neighborhood, she likes to run, do all things Peloton, listen to podcasts, read and spend time at the beach. In her past life, she worked for over a decade in children’s publishing. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and their two boys, Will and Ben.


Briana Engelbrecht

Assistant Editor

Briana Engelbrecht is Babylist’s Assistant Editor, where she brings her passion for early childhood development and the perinatal period, plus experience as a mom of two to Babylist articles and guides. She’s also a certified lactation counselor. A former preschool teacher, she loves children’s picture books, cats, plants and making things.

This information is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. We do not accept any responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, from any information or advice contained here. Babylist may earn compensation from affiliate links in this content. Learn more about how we write Babylist content and review products, as well as the Babylist Health Advisory Board.