Baby bottles
Philips Avent vs Tommee Tippee: which bottles should you buy?
Two wide-nipple systems at different prices. One is the safer long-term bet; the other is the cheaper way to find out if your baby agrees.
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The short answer
Buy Philips Avent Natural Response. The flow-on-demand nipple paces the feed better, and the parts ecosystem is the biggest on the shelf, which matters more than any single feature when something is not working. Buy Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature if you want to test whether a wide nipple suits your baby for as little money as possible, or if the short, squat bottle shape suits your grip better.
Quick picks
Our ranking, with the reasoning underneath. Tap any row to jump to the full write-up.
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Philips Avent Natural Response The safest default buy: a wide nipple that only releases milk when the baby actively drinks, inside the biggest parts ecosystem on the shelf. | Most babies | 8.9 | Check price on Amazon #ad Affiliate link · We show no price until we can verify it live |
| 2 | Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature The cheapest way to find out whether a wide, soft nipple suits your baby before you commit to a full set. | Trying a wide nipple cheaply | 8.0 | Check price on Amazon #ad Affiliate link · We show no price until we can verify it live |
Scores are our own research scores on the rubric published at how we choose. They are not star ratings from customers, and we do not show a price we cannot verify live.
Side by side
| What matters | Philips Avent Natural Response | Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature |
|---|---|---|
| Nipple | Wide, releases milk only when the baby actively drinks. | Wide and soft, continuous flow. |
| Bottle shape | Standard tall. | Short and squat. |
| Parts ecosystem | The largest: bottles, nipples, sippy tops, pump parts all interchange. | Good, smaller. |
| Materials available | Polypropylene, glass and PPSU, all sharing nipples. | Polypropylene and glass. |
| Price | Mid-range. | Budget, often in cheap multi-packs. |
| Warmer fit | Fits most wells. | Squat shape does not fit some. |
| Venting | Mild. | Basic. |
The real difference is the nipple behavior
Avent's Natural Response nipple only releases milk when your baby actively sucks. It sounds like a marketing line and it has a practical effect: the feed is paced more like nursing, and a baby who pauses does not get a mouthful of milk while they are not ready. For a baby switching between breast and bottle, that is worth something real.
Tommee Tippee's nipple is soft and wide but flows continuously, as most bottle nipples do. For many babies that is completely fine. For a gulper, it is a reason to take paced feeding seriously, and to consider the slower flow level.
Pick Avent if
- You want one system for the whole first year and beyond: bottles now, sippy tops later, and nipples that fit an Avent pump if you buy one.
- You might move to glass or PPSU later and want to keep the same nipples.
- You are combination feeding and want the more nursing-like flow.
- You want the bottle least likely to be the wrong choice. It is our overall winner in the main ranking for exactly that reason.
Pick Tommee Tippee if
- You are testing whether your baby takes a wide nipple at all, and want to spend as little as possible finding out.
- You prefer a short bottle for one-handed holding.
- You want something you can top up in any supermarket.
Pick neither if
Your baby is genuinely gassy — both have mild venting, and Dr. Brown's Options+ is the bottle built for that. Or if your baby has flatly refused wide-nipple bottles already, in which case the Comotomo or Mimijumi are the next things to try.
Worth saying plainly
Whichever you buy, clean every part after each feed and sanitize daily while your baby is under two months old, was born premature, or has a weakened immune system, per CDC guidance.
What we would buy
Now that the decision is made, these are the products we would actually put in the basket, and why.
Photo for illustration, not a photograph of our own unit.
Philips Avent Natural Response
Philips Avent
The safest default buy: a wide nipple that only releases milk when the baby actively drinks, inside the biggest parts ecosystem on the shelf.
- Latch
- 9
- Colic control
- 8
- Cleaning
- 9
- Durability
- 9
- Value
- 9
- Material:
- Polypropylene, glass and PPSU versions
- Parts to wash:
- Three
- Nipple shape:
- Wide
- Price tier:
- Mid-range
What works
- Flow-on-demand nipple paces the feed more like nursing
- Bottles, nipples, sippy tops and pump parts all interchange
- Available in plastic, glass and PPSU with the same nipples
What to know first
- Venting is milder than Dr. Brown's for a severely windy baby
- Nipple flow numbering confuses first-time buyers
- Wide base does not fit narrow warmer wells
#ad Affiliate link · We show no price until we can verify it live
Photo for illustration, not a photograph of our own unit.
Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature
Tommee Tippee
The cheapest way to find out whether a wide, soft nipple suits your baby before you commit to a full set.
- Latch
- 8
- Colic control
- 7
- Cleaning
- 9
- Durability
- 7
- Value
- 10
- Material:
- Polypropylene, glass version available
- Parts to wash:
- Three
- Nipple shape:
- Wide, squat bottle
- Price tier:
- Budget
What works
- Sold in cheap multi-packs, so trialling is low-risk
- Short, squat bottle is easy to hold one-handed
- Widely stocked in US supermarkets
What to know first
- Venting is basic
- Squat shape fits fewer warmers
- Nipples collapse more readily on a strong suck
#ad Affiliate link · We show no price until we can verify it live
Common questions
Are Avent and Tommee Tippee nipples interchangeable?
No. Different threads and nipple bases. Mixing brands is the usual cause of a leaking bottle, so pick a system and stay in it.
Which is better for a breastfed baby?
Avent, slightly, because the flow-on-demand nipple paces the feed more like nursing. Comotomo still beats both for an outright refuser.
Do Tommee Tippee bottles fit bottle warmers?
Some warmers, not all — the squat shape is the issue. Our warmer picks note which models take wide, short bottles.
Is Avent worth the extra money?
If you will use the system for a year and might add a pump, sippy cups or glass bottles, yes. If you need bottles today and money is tight, Tommee Tippee multi-packs are a perfectly reasonable purchase.