Little Dutch Mio vs Trixie 360 Cup: The Bigger Cup Is the Lighter One

COMPARISON · FEEDING TIME

Somewhere between six and twelve months, the bottle starts to look like the wrong tool. Health advice in the UK nudges parents towards an open or free-flowing cup from around six months, and a 360 cup is the halfway house most families land on: it drinks like a real cup from any point on the rim, but a silicone valve shuts the moment your baby stops sipping, so a tipped-over cup on the high chair tray does not become a puddle.

The two 360 cups we are putting side by side here look almost identical in photos. Both have a 360 drinking rim, both have two handles, both are made from Tritan, polypropylene and silicone, and both sit around the £14 to £16 mark. The Little Dutch Mio is made in partnership with Dutch homeware brand Mepal, and the Trixie 360 Cup comes from the Belgian brand best known for its animal-faced bibs and bowls.

The non-obvious bit is in the numbers. The Mio holds 300 ml and is listed at around 112 g. The Trixie holds 240 ml and is listed at 186 g. So the bigger cup is also the lighter one, which matters more than you might think for a nine-month-old who is still working out how to lift something to their mouth. The Trixie fights back with an earlier start age, a proper travel cap and a slightly chunkier grip. We compared both on retailer and brand specs, cleaning and parts, and the feedback we hear from parents about 360 cups day to day.

Lil' Bubba's verdicts

• Best Overall: Little Dutch Mio 360° Trainer Cup 300 ml · 8.5/10 - more capacity, less weight, and lids that swap with other Mepal cups as your toddler grows
• Best for Younger Babies and Days Out: Trixie 360 Cup With Handles · 8.0/10 - rated from 6 months, with a snap-on cap that keeps the rim clean in the changing bag

Quick comparison

	Little Dutch Mio 360°	Trixie 360 Cup
Rating
Price (from)	£15.95	£13.46
Capacity	300 ml	240 ml
Listed weight	Around 112 g	Around 186 g
Suggested age	9 months+	6 months+
Handles	Yes, fixed	Yes, easy-grip
Travel cap	No dust cap listed	Yes, snap-on lid
Materials	Tritan, PP, silicone	Tritan, PP, silicone
Dishwasher safe	Yes	Yes (top rack)
Steriliser safe	Not stated	Yes, per brand
Best for	Home use and growing toddlers	First cups and nursery bags

How we picked the 2

We started with every 360-style trainer cup in our catalogue that is in stock at a UK retailer we work with, then dropped multi-packs, unbranded marketplace cups and anything that is really a straw bottle with a 360 label. That left a handful of genuine 360 cups from established brands. We picked these two because they are the closest like-for-like match on price, materials and design, so the differences that remain are the ones that actually decide which suits your child. We compared retailer listings and brand specifications, looked at cleaning and part counts, and weighed what parents tell us about living with 360 cups over months rather than days.

What to look for in a 360 cup

The valve, and how easy it is to clean. Every 360 cup works the same way: a flexible silicone disc seals the rim and lifts when your child presses their lips to the edge and sucks gently. That disc is also where milk residue and water hide. We hear repeatedly from parents that the cups they gave up on were the ones where the valve was fiddly to pop out, or where they found mould under it weeks later. Before you buy any 360 cup, check that the silicone part comes out and that you can see both sides of it.

Weight when full. A 240 ml cup of water adds 240 g on top of the cup itself. For a baby under a year, the difference between a 350 g and a 410 g full cup is the difference between a confident sip and a cup that ends up on the floor.

Handles. Two handles help a baby who is still using a two-handed grip. Older toddlers often prefer to hold the body directly, so fixed handles are a small trade-off later on.

Age and suck strength. Younger babies sometimes struggle to open a firm valve. A cup rated from six months usually has a softer seal; one rated from nine months may need a bit more effort, which is fine for an older baby but can frustrate a younger one.

Lid or cap for travel. The valve stops spills when the cup tips over, but a cap keeps the rim clean in a bag full of crumbs and wipes.

Where it will live. If the cup mostly stays at the table, capacity and weight matter most. If it lives in a changing bag, a cap and a slimmer shape matter more.

1. Little Dutch Mio 360° Trainer Cup 300 ml / 10 · Best Overall

The Mio is the result of Little Dutch putting its soft illustrated prints (Forest Friends, Fairy Garden, Little Farm and more) onto a cup engineered by Mepal, a Dutch brand that has been making lunchboxes and drinkware for decades. It is a 300 ml cup with two fixed handles, a 360 rim and a valve that closes automatically when your child stops drinking.

What sets it apart is efficiency. At around 112 g it is one of the lighter 360 cups you will find, yet it holds 60 ml more than the Trixie. The lids are also designed to swap with other cups in the Mepal Mio range, so the same cup body can move from a 360 rim to a straw or spout lid as your child's preferences change. It is rated from nine months, which reflects a slightly firmer valve.

What parents love

• Light in small hands. The lower cup weight leaves more of the total for the water itself, which makes a real difference for babies still learning to tip and sip. We hear regularly from parents that lighter cups are the ones babies pick up on their own, rather than waiting to be helped.
• A cup that lasts the day. 300 ml covers a nursery morning or a long car journey without a refill, and grows with toddlers who drink more.
• Lids that grow with your child. Swapping to another Mepal Mio lid means you are not buying a whole new cup when your toddler decides they prefer a straw.
• Prints that look good on the table. The Little Dutch designs match a lot of plates, bowls and bibs parents already own, which is a small win for gift lists.

What to know before you buy

• Rated from 9 months. A six-month-old may find the valve harder to open, so this is better as a second cup or for babies who are already confident sippers.
• No dust cap listed. The valve stops leaks, but the rim is exposed in a changing bag. A small zip pouch solves it.
• Not for the microwave or freezer. Dishwasher safe, but you cannot warm milk in it or freeze water for teething days.

Best for

• Babies from around 9 months moving off the bottle
• Toddlers who drink a lot and need a bigger cup
• Families who like the idea of one cup body with swappable lids
• Parents already collecting Little Dutch tableware

2. Trixie 360 Cup With Handles / 10 · Best for Younger Babies

Trixie is a Belgian brand known for its animal characters (Mr. Dino, Mr. Fox, Mr. Lion, Mrs. Cat and friends) that turn up on bibs, bowls and bags across a lot of UK nurseries. The 360 Cup With Handles brings that look to a 240 ml trainer cup with a Tritan body, a polypropylene spout ring and a silicone 360 mechanism.

The brand rates it from around six months, once your baby sits steadily, which makes it one of the earlier-age 360 cups. It also comes with a snap-on lid that covers the rim between drinks, and the brand lists it as both dishwasher safe on the top rack and steriliser safe. The trade-off is weight: at around 186 g listed, it is noticeably heavier than the Mio while holding less.

What parents love

• An earlier start. Rated from six months, so it can be the very first cup you introduce alongside solids.
• A cap for the bag. The lid keeps the rim clean between sips. Parents we hear from regularly say the cup with a cap is the one that ends up in the nursery bag.
• Steriliser friendly. Handy in the early months when you are still sterilising bottles anyway and want the cup to go in the same cycle.
• Characters children recognise. If your little one already has a Trixie bib or bowl, a matching cup can make the switch from bottle feel like a treat.

What to know before you buy

• Heavier for its size. At around 186 g empty, a full cup is a fair weight for a six-month-old, so expect to help hold it at first.
• Smaller capacity. 240 ml is plenty for a baby, but busy toddlers may outgrow it on warm days.
• Colours sell out. Some characters come and go in stock at UK retailers, so if you have your heart set on one design, buy it when you see it.

Best for

• Babies from 6 months taking their first sips
• Changing bags and nursery days, thanks to the cap
• Parents who still run a steriliser
• Families matching a Trixie bib and bowl set

What about the Munchkin Miracle 360?

The Munchkin Miracle 360 is the cup most people picture when they hear "360 cup", and it is very cheap. We have not given it a card here because it is not currently available through the retailers we work with in a form we can recommend. It is a perfectly reasonable budget option, but the common gripe we hear is the same one that applies to every 360 design: the silicone valve needs taking out and cleaning properly, and chewed valves start to leak. Whichever cup you choose, a spare valve and a weekly check underneath it will save you a lot of grief.

How to choose

Choose the Little Dutch Mio 360° Trainer Cup if your baby is around nine months or older, mostly drinks at home or at the table, or is already a thirsty toddler. It is lighter, holds more and can switch lids later, which makes it the better long-term cup for most families.

Choose the Trixie 360 Cup With Handles if you are starting with a six-month-old, want a cup that goes in the steriliser with the bottles, or need something with a cap that lives in the changing bag. It is the better first cup, even if it is the heavier one.

Plenty of families end up with one of each: a Trixie in the nursery bag and a Mio by the high chair.

Add it to your Nest

Weaning gear is one of the easiest things for friends and family to buy, and one of the easiest to end up with three of. Add your chosen cup to your free BubsNest registry so gifts land where they are useful, and browse more feeding guides in our community.