Potties Buyer's Guide 2026: The £5.60 Mamas & Papas Grips the Floor, the £25.50 Liewood Looks the Part, Only the £35.90 BabyBjörn Has Armrests

COMPARISON · POTTY TRAINING

A potty is one of the cheapest bits of kit you will buy for your child, and one of the most argued about. You can pick one up for under £6 or pay six times that for a design-led one, and on the shelf they look like they all do the same job: a bowl, a seat and somewhere to aim.

They don't quite. The differences only show up once a wriggly two-year-old is actually sitting on one: whether it slides across a tiled bathroom floor, whether the back is tall enough to lean on during a long sit, whether you can lift a bowl out to empty it or have to tip the whole thing over the toilet, and whether it still feels comfortable when your child is 18 months older and a lot taller than when you started.

So rather than another long list, we have picked three potties at three clear price points and looked at what each step up genuinely buys you. The £5.60 Mamas & Papas Anti Slip Potty is the budget pick most parents will see first. The £25.50 Liewood Jonatan is the one that looks good enough to leave in the living room. The £35.90 BabyBjörn Potty Chair is the one many parents end up with after a cheaper potty does not hold their child's attention.

We went through the brand specs, retailer listings and a lot of parent feedback on all three, focusing on the things that matter at 7am with a toddler who needs to go now: grip, comfort, splash control and cleaning.

Lil' Bubba's verdicts

• Best Overall: BabyBjörn Potty Chair · 8.5/10 - high back, armrests and a lift-out inner bowl make longer sits and clean-ups easier
• Best Value: Mamas & Papas Anti Slip Potty · 8.0/10 - rubberised feet and a splash guard for £5.60, cheap enough to buy two
• Best for Design-Led Homes: Liewood Jonatan Potty · 7.5/10 - a compact bamboo-blend potty that does not look out of place outside the bathroom

Quick comparison

Potty	Price	Key feature	Grip	Cleaning	Rating
Mamas & Papas Anti Slip Potty	£5.60	High back, splash guard, 372g	Rubberised anti-slip feet	Lift and tip
Liewood Jonatan Potty	£25.50	Bamboo-melamine blend, 28 x 21 x 19cm	Not specified, use on a non-slip surface	One piece, wipe clean
BabyBjörn Potty Chair	£35.90	High back, armrests, about 900g	Rubber rim on the base	Removable inner bowl

How we picked the 3

We started with the potties BubsNest parents add to their registries most often, then kept only those from established brands with stock at UK retailers. To make this a genuine buyer's guide, we wanted one potty in each third of the price range we see in our catalogue: under about £13, between £13 and £30, and above £30.

Within each tier we favoured the potty that best represents that price point, then cross-checked brand specs and retailer listings, and read through parent feedback looking for repeated praise and repeated complaints rather than one-off reviews. We did not include potty and step stool combinations or toilet trainer seats, because those solve a different problem.

What to look for in a potty

Grip on hard floors. The single most common complaint about cheap potties is that they slide or tip when a toddler sits down at an angle or stands up quickly. Look for rubber feet or a rubber rim, especially if your bathroom or kitchen has tiles or laminate.

Back height. A higher back gives your child something to lean against, which helps them relax and stay put for longer. If your toddler tends to hop off after 10 seconds, a supportive back is worth more than a nice colour.

Splash guard. Every potty here has one, but height varies. Parents of boys in particular tell us that a low guard is the difference between a clean floor and a mop.

How you empty it. A one-piece potty has to be lifted and tipped as a whole. A removable inner bowl lifts out on its own, which is easier to carry to the toilet and quicker to rinse. Some children love lifting it out themselves, which is either helpful or alarming depending on the day.

Size and age. Bigger potties suit taller toddlers and older starters, but take up more floor space and are harder to travel with. Check the suggested age and maximum weight, and think about whether you will also want a cheap second potty for upstairs, grandparents or the car boot.

Materials. Plastic potties are the norm. Bamboo-blend options look softer and more natural, but tend to ask for gentler cleaning, with no abrasive sponges.

1. Mamas & Papas Anti Slip Potty / 10 · Best value

At £5.60, the Mamas & Papas Anti Slip Potty is the kind of thing you can buy without thinking twice, and that is exactly its appeal. It is a simple moulded potty with a high back, a front splash guard and rubberised feet on the base, in three soft colours: Blossom Pink, Pebble Grey and Eucalyptus.

It weighs just 372g, is rated from around 18 months with a maximum weight of 25kg, and needs no assembly. It is not trying to be anything more than a reliable first potty, but the anti-slip feet put it ahead of many budget potties that skate across the floor.

What parents love

• Grippy feet for the price. The rubberised feet are the main reason to choose this over a no-name potty. We hear repeatedly from parents that a potty which stays put is half the battle with a fidgety toddler.
• A proper high back. Unusually for a potty this cheap, the back is tall enough for a child to lean on rather than perch.
• Cheap enough to buy two. Many families keep one upstairs and one downstairs, or one in the car for days out. At this price that is an easy decision.
• Light and easy to move. At 372g it is simple to carry from room to room as you follow your child around in the early days.

What to know before you buy

• No lift-out bowl. You empty it by lifting and tipping the whole potty, which is fine but messier than a removable insert.
• No armrests. Some toddlers like something to hold on to, and this potty does not offer it.
• Basic finish. It does the job well, but it looks like a budget potty. If it is going to sit in your living room, you may prefer something more stylish.

Best for

• Families who want to test whether their toddler is ready before spending more
• A second potty for upstairs, grandparents or the car
• Homes with tiled or laminate floors
• Anyone potty training on a tight budget

2. Liewood Jonatan Potty / 10 · Best for design-led homes

The Liewood Jonatan is the potty for parents who would rather not have bright plastic in the middle of the living room for six months. It is made from a 70% melamine and 30% bamboo blend in muted shades such as Oat, Sandy, Dove Blue and Pale Tuscany, with smooth rounded edges and a front splash guard.

At 28 x 21 x 19cm it is compact, and retailers list it from around two years. It is a one-piece design: no removable bowl and no armrests. You pay more for the material and look rather than for extra features, and it is worth being clear-eyed about that.

What parents love

• It looks good. This is the main draw. Parents we hear from regularly say it is the only potty they were happy to leave out in a shared room, which matters when training means having one close at hand all day.
• Sturdy, smooth material. The bamboo-melamine blend feels solid, and the rounded edges are gentle on little legs.
• Compact footprint. It takes up less space than larger potty chairs, which helps in small bathrooms and flats.
• Front splash guard. A moulded guard helps keep things contained.

What to know before you buy

• No dedicated anti-slip base. The brand advises using it on a flat, stable, non-slip surface, so on smooth tiles you may want a mat underneath.
• Gentler cleaning required. The care advice is to wipe clean with a damp cloth and mild soap, and to avoid abrasive sponges and cleaners.
• You pay for looks, not features. At four to five times the price of the Mamas & Papas, it has no lift-out bowl and no armrests.

Best for

• Design-conscious homes where the potty will be on show
• Smaller bathrooms and flats
• Toddlers starting closer to two years old
• Parents who prefer a less plastic-heavy look

3. BabyBjörn Potty Chair / 10 · Best overall

The BabyBjörn Potty Chair is the potty a lot of parents upgrade to, and it is easy to see why. It has a high backrest, armrests on both sides, a high splash guard and a removable inner potty that lifts straight out to empty. A rubber rim around the base helps keep it in place on hard floors.

It is noticeably bigger than most potties, at roughly 36 x 35 x 31.5cm and about 900g, and comes in several colours including Deep Green, Powder Pink and Grey. It is made without PVC. The size is a deliberate choice: it gives taller toddlers more leg room and a proper chair to sit in.

What parents love

• Comfortable for longer sits. The high back and armrests make it feel like a little chair rather than a bowl. One parent told us: "She was much more comfortable on this than on smaller potties."
• Stays where you put it. The rubber rim stops it sliding. A parent shared: "The non-slip feature is fantastic."
• Removable inner bowl. Lifting out just the inner potty makes emptying and rinsing quicker and less messy.
• Grows with your child. The roomy seat suits toddlers who start later or are tall for their age.

What to know before you buy

• It is big. It takes up more floor space than most potties and is not one to pack for a weekend away.
• Splash guard for boys. Most parents find it works well, but a few say it is not quite tall enough and still end up wiping the floor.
• Highest price here. £35.90 is a lot for a potty, especially if your child is only on it for a few months.

Best for

• Toddlers who will not sit still for long on a basic potty
• Taller children or later starters
• Parents who want the easiest emptying and cleaning
• Families buying one potty to last the whole of training

What about mini toilets and 3-in-1 potties?

Mini toilets, which look like a small version of an adult toilet and sometimes make a flushing sound, and 3-in-1 designs that convert into a toilet seat and a step are popular alternatives. They can be great for children who are fascinated by the "big" toilet, but they are a different kind of product and usually bulkier. If your child already wants to use the family toilet, a toilet training seat with a step may be a better buy than any potty.

How to choose

Choose the Mamas & Papas Anti Slip Potty if you are starting out and not sure how quickly things will click. It is grippy, has a decent back and costs so little that buying a second one for upstairs or the car is no hardship.

Choose the Liewood Jonatan Potty if the potty is going to live in a shared space and you care how it looks. Pair it with a non-slip mat on hard floors and accept that you are paying for style rather than extra features.

Choose the BabyBjörn Potty Chair if your toddler struggles to sit for long, is tall for their age, or you simply want the easiest potty to empty. It is the one we would buy if we were only buying one.

Add it to your Nest

Potty training usually comes with a little shopping list: a potty or two, a toilet training seat, a step and a stack of training pants. Add the ones you like to your free BubsNest registry so family and friends can help, and so you can compare prices across retailers in one place.