The 9 Best Baby Bottle Warmers We Tested for Sensitive Littles

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Whether thawing breast milk or heating formula, these bottle warmers make little tummies happy in no time.

In This Article

Parents / Leticia Almeida

One thing that you don’t often realize until you have a baby of your own is just how fickle they can be. Between their erratic sleep schedules to their often trial-and-error feeding sensitivities and preferences, no baby is the same, and it can take time to figure out what they want. When it comes to feeding a newborn, whether you’re breastfeeding or using formula, many babies prefer a warm bottle, and baby bottle warmers are a helpful tool for quickly and safely heating up their next meal. This is why we tested 20 bottle warmers to find the best options for your late night and “oh no I forgot to prep the next bottle and my baby is screaming” feedings.

Bottle warmers aren’t absolutely necessary, but they’re like a cheat code that makes a caregiver’s life easier by warming or defrosting breast milk or formula quickly. This is especially helpful if you have a stash of frozen milk stored up and need to heat it to within a Goldilocks zone temperature range. You want your baby to like it, but you don’t want it too hot for consumption. Overheated breast milk also loses nutritional value, so you want to warm it slowly and carefully.

Some baby bottle warmers also pull double duty as bottle sanitizers. Others are made to accommodate breast milk storage bags and food pouches. Depending on your needs and budget (our picks range from $28 to $400—yes, there’s a splurge in there), these tools might be an invaluable helper on several levels. Along with lab testing and real-world reviews, we also talked with experts and real parents to get their feedback on what you need to know when shopping for a baby bottle warmer.

As much as we’re all for high-tech baby gear, there’s something to be said for a simple analog design that doesn’t require six re-reads of the manual to master. Philips Avent is a staple in the baby gear space and the brand’s Premium Fast Bottle Warmer is an affordable water bath solution for heating up breast milk and formula, thawing frozen breast milk, or warming baby food. The straightforward interface relies on a simple dial with eight settings to choose from.

Simply select the corresponding milliliters or ounces, or select the thaw or baby food choice, pour water into the reservoir, and insert the bottle, breast milk container, or baby food jar. Tap the button and it’s ready to go. Total runtime will vary depending on the size you selected but our tester was able to warm 3 ounces of milk in just under four minutes. While Philips suggests using its bottles, our lab tester felt that any bottle could fit in this warmer, as long as it didn’t have a flared base.

If you want something simple and fairly affordable, this is a solid choice that can accommodate a wide range of bottle shapes and liquid volumes without creating hot spots. In the lab, we did feel that the lack of a visible temperature gauge was concerning. Similarly, if you’re seeking something more high-tech that comes with a companion app so you can adjust the settings remotely, this isn’t it. Additionally, there’s no night-light, even though there is an on-device dial that lights up as a countdown for how much time is remaining.

The Details:

Budget doesn’t have to equal basic, and The First Years Gentle Warmth Digital Bottle Warmer proves that you can have plenty of features while still saving a few coins along the way. Core features you’ll appreciate include a built-in night-light and a digital interface with customizable temperature adjustments. Additionally, this water bath bottle warmer can also double as a sterilizer for bottles and pacifiers as well as a baby-food warmer. Note, this device can also thaw breast milk.

While it’s affordable and comes with a solid set of value-added features, this isn’t the most user-friendly option that we reviewed. One major drawback we experienced was that it took two attempts to warm a bottle of milk to 102 degrees Fahrenheit. While this might not seem like a big deal, anyone who’s experienced a hungry infant screaming in their ear knows that every second counts from the first hunger wails to filling those little bellies.

Additionally, we deducted marks for a somewhat complicated assembly process. Still, with a modest price of just $34 at regular retail (and this pick often goes on sale), it’s an incredibly affordable option that will work for parents with modest budgets or those who need to buy a second bottle warmer to keep at the grandparents’ house.

The Details:

If you’re not familiar with breast milk, the one thing to remember is that when warming it, you need to keep it within a very specific temperature range of 98 to 105 degrees. This is because if you heat the milk above that range, it destroys the high nutrient content. This is also why many parents choose to nurse over using the bottle—milk from the source is always the “right” temperature. But not all parents have that luxury, and ensuring that you don’t destroy the nutrients when warming or thawing breast milk is critical.

Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow MilkSPA bottle warmer is specifically made with breast milk in mind, allowing for precise temperature adjustments as well as size configurations. You can choose from 12 pre-programmed settings, which include thawing and warming from room temperature versus refrigerated milk. While you can absolutely use this water bath bottle warmer with Dr. Brown’s bottles, in the lab we found that it was compatible with all but the widest bottom bottle brands like the Momi bottles. Likewise, you’ll appreciate that this has a compact footprint that won’t overpower your countertops. This also runs quietly, which is another nice feature, along with a digital interface that is fairly goof-proof.

One troubling issue with this warmer is that you can’t solely rely on the pre-programmed settings to tell you how long to heat the milk. In the lab, our milk reached temperatures as high as 123 degrees—well beyond what’s recommended for anything you put in a baby’s mouth, let alone breast milk. You may need to experiment with it a few times to learn the settings are right for you, based on the starting temperature of your milk. Additionally, our tester disliked that in order to use this device, they constantly had to unscrew the internal basket that holds the bottle, add water, and then re-assemble the basket.

The Details:

Some parents and caregivers balk at the idea of serving their hungry babies a bottle of cold formula. For the record, you absolutely can serve them cold formula, and it’s a myth that it causes gas or upset stomach. But if you have a picky baby who flat-out refuses to drink cold formula, that’s another story. This is where the Baby Brezza Instant Warmer Advanced comes in.

The biggest draw here is convenience, especially for late-night feedings. This product instantly dispenses water, with your choice of three color-coded settings: room temperature (blue), body temperature (yellow), and slightly warmer than body temperature (red). When we tested it in the lab, it really did heat the water to 99.4 degrees when set to yellow and 105.2 degrees when set to red.

It also comes with an airtight 50-ounce capacity water reservoir with the option to set it so that warm water is always ready to be dispensed. Better still, you can use it with all bottle types.

That being said, this is not a true bottle warmer, as it can’t warm up pre-made formula or breast milk. Additionally, it’s one of the largest products we tested, about the size of a standard single-serve pod coffee maker. Given the price, this might fall into the splurge category for some parents.

The Details:

Dr. Brown’s Deluxe Bottle Warmer and Sterilizer leverages steam heat not only to warm the milk, but also to sterilize bottles, parts, and pacifiers to remove 99.9% of bacteria, yeast, and mold that can cause thrush. This device features a backlit LCD screen that allows you to program for various bottle sizes and desired temperatures. You’ll also get an auto shut-off function for safety and convenience.

Be prepared for a little trial and error to get the temperature right, based on our experience with this product in the lab. You choose various bottle sizes on the screen, but it’s only preset to even numbered quantities, so if you want to warm 3 ounces of milk or formula(which was our testing standard), you’ll have to subtract from the 4-ounce setting or add to the 2-ounce option. That meant that at first, our refrigerated formula got a little too hot (106 degrees) after four minutes, and on the second try, it was less than the ideal temperature after two and a half minutes. In practice, that just means you’d get it just right after three feedings. You do also need to watch out for that steam heat, which real-world users shared can burn you when removing the warm bottle from the device if you’re not careful.

This isn’t the most user-friendly device if you’re trying to prep a bottle while holding a baby in your arms. Even though the bottle warmer comes with a measuring cup to fill the reservoir, that cup has a rounded bottom. You also have to flip the reservoir upside down quickly to insert it without spilling. So, you can’t simultaneously pour water into the reservoir and add the bottle while also holding a hungry, irritated baby. We definitely recommend doing that step in advance, when everyone is wide awake and well-fed.

The Details:

You don’t need to spend crazy money on a bottle warmer to get nice features. This is a water bath warmer that comes with an anti-scald basket, a nice touch after many of the bottle warmers we tested were on the verge of burning our fingers when we removed the heated bottles.

Additionally, you’ll get a two-hour keep-warm function and a memory function, which comes in handy when you use the same bottle size for every feeding. There’s also a sterilization feature. With fool-proof graphic buttons, you can adjust the bottle warmer between three size ranges (1-3 ounces, 4-6 ounces, and 7+ ounces), container material, and whether you’re heating up frozen, refrigerated, or room temperature liquid.

While there’s lots to love here, we found that this warmer is particularly sensitive to the type of bottle your milk is in. Whereas 3 ounces of milk in a silicone bottle reached a temperature of 97.8 degrees in four minutes, that same amount reached 108 degrees in the plastic bottle. For breastfed babies, this means the milk is losing nutrients in plastic containers, and 108 degrees is on the edge of being too hot to consume for any baby with any liquid. This just means you’ll have to pay close attention when first using this warmer to find the right amount of time for your particular needs. For its very reasonable price, we think you can handle that little bit of trial and error.

The Details:

Feeding a baby on the go is an art. So, if you need to give your baby a bottle of formula or prefer not to nurse in public, having a bottle ready to go is critical. The Baby’s Brew Portable Bottle Warmer Pro is a TSA-friendly option you can take anywhere and use to keep little bellies filled.

Note that this is just a bottle warmer and does not provide any other support such as sterilization. But we do like that this pick is designed to work with most bottle brands, which makes it easier when you don’t have to hunt down a specialty bottle design. This USB-C rechargeable bottle warmer is designed to warm up to six bottles on a single charge, with the battery lasting eight to 12 hours. Plus there are four temperature settings with a digital display for easy use.

In the lab, we loved that at the 98-degree setting, refrigerated milk reached that temperature almost exactly in just over three minutes. The only oddity with this bottle warmer is that it has a long list of incompatible pre-made formulas. For most formulas, the brand recommends heating the water on its own and then mixing it.

The Details:

If you’re going to add one or two products to your baby registry as an “I hope someone will find it in their hearts to give me this” option, the Ember Baby Bottle System should be one. If you or a loved one has an extra $400 lying around, this sleek and modern portable bottle warmer is pretty great. The system comes with two bottles, four nipples, a warming puck with a power adapter, two nipple adapters, and a thermal insulating bottle cover. And there’s a companion app.

The biggest feature here is that you’re warming your bottles without relying on water or steam. In the lab, we appreciated that the bottles only reach body temperature, so you’re not likely to burn your hands or your baby’s mouth. The insulating bottle cover fits on top of the warming puck so you can take this thing on the go, too. Better still, all the components (minus the warming puck and power adapter) are dishwasher-safe for fast cleanup. The simple app allows you to control the warming function as well as keep a feeding log.

The biggest bonus for this product is that it’s nearly impossible to overheat the milk—which is clutch for breastfed babies. But we can’t ignore the sticker shock price tag this thing carries at $400. Likewise, the incompatibility with other bottles forces parents to buy more bottles from Ember to avoid having to clean a bottle every time the baby needs to eat.

The Details:

We tested 20 bottle warmers with prices ranging from about $28 to $400, focusing on an assortment of the highest-rated, best-reviewed baby bottle warmers currently available at most major retailers. In our New York City lab, our team of testers looked at the following factors:

For most people, baby bottle warmers fall into the “nice to have” category, as opposed to being must-have baby gear. That being said, there are many reasons a person would use one, including the fact that many of them can heat milk or formula more quickly than other methods. Some can even be stored bedside, or have “keep warm” functions that let you have a bottle ready for the next feeding—although this is probably most useful in the first month or two when your newborn is eating almost every other hour.

Before we address how to safely use a bottle warmer, it’s probably even more important to discuss how to safely store breast milk and formula. Certified lactation consultant and former NICU nurse Kate Arquilla suggests abiding by the “rule of fours.” “Freshly expressed or pumped breast milk can stay out for four hours at room temperature before you have to put it in the refrigerator. Then that milk can stay in the refrigerator for up to four days before you either use it or freeze it.” Arquilla adds that it’s optimal to use frozen breast milk within six months, though it’s still good for up to a year, though the milk may lose nutrients over time.

Once thawed, milk can stay out at room temperature for up to two hours, or in the fridge for up to 24 hours. “Unfortunately if you don’t use it within 24 hours, you should discard it, and you can’t re-freeze human breast milk,” Arquilla says. Once a baby has sipped from a bottle of milk, the contents must be consumed within two hours. Any contents that the baby doesn’t drink in that time will need to be thrown out as a result of bacteria from the baby’s mouth being introduced to the bottle.

Ensuring that breast milk is heated to the right temperature is critical. As with formula, babies don’t need to drink warm breast milk. However, if your baby normally nurses, they might prefer warm milk since it matches the body-temperature milk they’re used to. Since cold temperatures can cause milk fat to separate while being stored, warming can help to mix it back together. However, too much heat can destroy the added nutrients found in breast milk.

The optimal temperature is considered body temperature, or 98.6 degrees. However, you can still serve a bottle of breast milk to a baby that’s between 99-105 degrees. This still qualifies as lukewarm and won’t damage the nutrient content. Anything over 106 degrees isn’t recommended because it’s potentially too hot for your baby to safely consume and deteriorates the nutrient content.

Arquilla explains that the most important thing is to follow the instructions on the packaging, as different brands of formula may require different things. “If you’re not using ready-to-feed formula, it’s important to follow the directions on the back of the formula can, because each formula could potentially have a different ratio for how you’re supposed to mix the water with the scoops of formula.” And as for properly mixing formula, she states it’s important to always add water first, and scoops of formula second to ensure the proper nutrient ratios your baby needs.

You can warm a bottle of mixed formula in the same way that you would a bottle of breast milk using a bottle warmer or warm water bath (or by using the Baby Brezza Instant Advanced Warmer listed above!) but Arquilla states that it is not recommended to pre-mix formula and freeze it for later use..

If you follow the recommended guidelines per your bottle warmer’s user manual, they are safe. Most caution against opening the chamber while heating is in progress to avoid the risk of steam burns or other heat-related injuries, and all of them require you to regularly change out the water used to create the water bath or steam heat to reduce bacteria and reduce mineral buildup. As long as the machine is kept clean and used according to the instructions, it poses no risk to your baby.

Whether or not you’ll use a bottle warmer also depends on your personal needs, your milk supply, and your baby. For many people, they’re not a necessity, so long as you understand the proper guidelines regarding how to warm milk properly.

“It’s important to never thaw or heat breast milk in a microwave,” Arquilla says, “A microwave can create hot spots in the milk; not only can those destroy nutrients in the milk, but it can be dangerous if the baby were to sip from a hot spot. It can burn the baby’s mouth.” Similarly, leaving a bottle or storage bag of breast milk to thaw in a bath of too-hot water can also diminish the nutrients in it, so it’s best to let your milk thaw in the refrigerator and to bring it to a drinkable temperature without overheating it if you’re not using a bottle warmer.

Not every warmer universally fits every bottle on the market. In fact, if you scan the comments and customer reviews of products, many people are quick to note that certain brands, especially wide-mouth and wide-base bottles, don’t fit in some warmers. Other warmers explicitly state that they shouldn’t be used with bottles made of certain materials like glass, which can be bulkier than plastic. To make sure your warmer and bottles are compatible, you can check the manufacturer's information for recommendations and guidelines, and check user reviews for relevant feedback. If having the ability to warm baby food jars and pouches and breast-milk storage bags is important to you, look for information about those specific features in the product descriptions as well.

Dorian Smith-Garcia is a commerce, health, and parenting writer at Parents, and a mom of one kindergarten-bound daughter. She primarily nursed her daughter for eight months but did occasionally bottle-feed since she also pumped to build a surplus on days when she had to go outside the home for work. While she owned a simple Philip Avent bottle warmer, she found that the stovetop method was more convenient.

Additional reporting by:

As a mother of two boys, Elizabeth Kocan has spent her fair share of nights feeding, pumping, and washing spare bottles and flanges because where did they all go? After nearly 10 years of researching the best products to help make her own parenting a little easier, she’s sharing what she’s learned with other (exhausted at times, possibly desperate) parents.

Bransburg-Zabary S, Virozub A, Mimouni FB. Human milk warming temperatures using a simulation of currently available storage and warming methods. Simeoni U, ed. PLoS ONE. 2015;10(6):e0128806. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0128806

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Proper Storage and Preparation of Breast Milk.