The 5 best potties for toilet training
The best potties make toilet training feel calmer for toddlers and easier to clean up for parents. Here are five practical picks for home, travel, comfort and motivation.
The right potty is usually the one your toddler can sit on securely and you can empty without faff. A low, steady shape, a comfortable seat, a splash guard and a bowl that is easy to clean matter more than novelty features, although a travel or interactive potty can be worth it for the right family.
Feature | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Everyday value | Travel and nursery runs | Premium support | Interactive motivation | Easy emptying |
| Style | Simple floor potty | Sealed travel potty | High-back potty chair | Mini-toilet-style potty | Easy-pour floor potty |
| Cleaning | Removable bowl | Sealed carry design | Removable inner potty | Removable tray | Rear pouring duct |
| Standout feature | Non-slip base and splash guard | Carry handle and leak-proof lid | High back and armrests | Lights, sounds and wipe storage | Controlled pouring shape |
| Worth knowing | Best as the main home potty | Bulkier than a tiny fold-up option | Premium pick rather than budget choice | More features to wipe down | Less fun-looking than feature potties |
What to look for in a potty
For most families, the best potty is simple: low enough for your child to sit on without wobbling, stable on the floor, and quick to empty. ERIC makes the same practical point: fancy features are not essential if the potty does the basic job well and your child can use it comfortably.
Look closely at the cleaning design before you buy. A removable bowl, smooth edges and a shape that pours neatly are helpful because potties need emptying, washing and drying often. GOV.UK hygiene guidance for childcare settings supports washing potties with hot soapy water and drying them properly, which translates at home into choosing a potty you will not dread cleaning several times a day.
Splash guards can help, especially for boys or toddlers who sit forward, but they should not make the seat awkward. Travel potties are useful for days out, nursery runs and car journeys; interactive lights or sounds are more personal, working well for some toddlers and distracting others.
The best potties for toilet training
These five potties are all standalone floor options, so the shortlist stays focused on true training potties rather than toilet trainer seats, ladders or accessories.
1. Nuby Beginner's Potty
The Nuby Beginner's Potty is the easiest first pick for most homes because it keeps the basics simple: a removable bowl, integrated splash guard and non-slip base in a compact floor-potty shape.
Why did we choose this product?
Choose it if you want one everyday potty that can live in the loo, bathroom or nursery corner without taking over the room. The removable bowl should make frequent emptying and washing easier, while the splash guard and steady base cover the practical details parents notice quickly during toilet training.
It is also a sensible value-led choice: simple enough for daily use, easy to understand at a glance, and not padded out with features that many toddlers ignore after the first few tries.
Keep in mind
It is not as supportive as a high-back potty chair, so a smaller or nervous toddler may prefer something with more of a chair feel. The grey design is practical rather than playful, which is fine for most families but less motivating than the interactive picks.
Features that may help you
•Best for: everyday home toilet training
•Style: simple removable-bowl potty
•Useful features: splash guard and non-slip base
•Good if: you want an easy-clean potty without extra bulk
•Skip if: your toddler needs a higher back or armrests
2. My Carry Potty Travel Potty
My Carry Potty is the standout travel potty here: a sealed, carry-handle design made for nursery bags, car journeys, holidays and toddlers who prefer a familiar potty when they are away from home.
Why did we choose this product?
The big appeal is that it works as a self-contained potty rather than just a seat or liner system. That makes it useful when public toilets are busy, your toddler needs to go quickly, or you are trying to keep the toilet-training routine consistent between home and nursery.
It also has the strongest travel role in the shortlist because it solves a different problem from a second home-only potty. If your family is often out and about, it earns its place more clearly than another simple potty for the bathroom would.
Keep in mind
It is bulkier than a fold-flat emergency option, so it is better for planned days out than for slipping into the smallest changing bag. The Ladybird version is the option covered here; colour and character designs can vary, so check the listing carefully if you want a specific look.
Features that may help you
•Best for: travel, nursery runs and days out
•Style: sealed portable potty
•Useful features: carry handle and leak-resistant design
•Good if: your toddler dislikes unfamiliar toilets
•Skip if: you only need a simple potty for home
3. BabyBjorn Potty Chair
The BabyBjorn Potty Chair is the premium comfort pick, with a higher back, armrests and a sturdy chair-style shape for toddlers who need more support than a very low, simple potty gives.
Why did we choose this product?
This is the one to choose if your child wriggles, feels unsure on smaller potties, or simply sits for longer when they feel properly supported. The higher back and armrests make it feel more like a little chair, while the removable inner potty keeps cleaning straightforward.
The supportive shape is the main reason to pay more, and the design is clean enough to suit families who want one durable potty rather than a novelty option. It is also a good fit if you are happy to pay more for comfort and build quality.
Keep in mind
The main tradeoff is value: it is the premium pick, not the cheapest sensible potty. It also takes up more floor space than a compact bowl-style potty, so check where it will live before buying.
Features that may help you
•Best for: toddlers who need more sitting support
•Style: high-back potty chair
•Useful features: armrests, splash guard and removable inner potty
•Good if: comfort matters more than the smallest footprint
•Skip if: you want the lowest-cost everyday potty
4. Venture Pote Pals Interactive Potty
The Venture Pote Pals Interactive Potty is the feature-led option for toddlers who need extra encouragement, using a mini-toilet-style shape, lights, sounds, wipe storage and a removable tray.
Why did we choose this product?
This potty makes most sense when motivation is the sticking point. Some toddlers like copying the big toilet, and the lights and sounds can turn sitting on the potty into a clearer routine rather than a random interruption.
It also keeps practical features in the mix: anti-slip feet, a removable inner tray and built-in wipe storage. That practical mix is why it earns the interactive slot rather than feeling like novelty for novelty's sake.
Keep in mind
More features mean more surfaces to wipe down, and not every child needs lights or sounds. If your toddler is easily distracted or you want the quickest clean-up, a simpler removable-bowl potty may be a calmer choice.
Features that may help you
•Best for: toddlers who respond to encouragement
•Style: interactive mini-toilet-style potty
•Useful features: lights, sounds, wipe storage and removable tray
•Good if: novelty helps your toddler sit and try
•Skip if: you want the fewest parts to clean
5. Easy Pour Potty
The Easy Pour Potty is the cleaning-led pick, built around a rear pouring duct that helps you empty the potty with more control after frequent little accidents and quick toilet-training attempts.
Why did we choose this product?
Choose this if the bit you dread most is carrying and tipping a full potty. The rear duct gives it a clearer emptying role than most basic potties, and the compact standalone shape still keeps it useful as a normal floor potty for home.
It is especially appealing for parents who want hygiene and convenience without an interactive design. The easy-empty angle is genuinely practical because cleaning happens over and over during toilet training.
Keep in mind
It is more about easy emptying than comfort or motivation. If your toddler needs a high back, armrests or something that looks like a mini toilet, one of the earlier picks will make more sense.
Features that may help you
•Best for: easy emptying and frequent cleaning
•Style: compact easy-pour potty
•Useful features: rear pouring duct and splash guard
•Good if: you want less awkward tipping after each use
•Skip if: your child needs extra support or interactive encouragement
How to make potty training easier at home
Keep the potty easy to reach, especially in the room where your toddler spends most of the day. Loose clothes, calm reminders and short sits are usually more useful than pressure; UK early years guidance and NHS toileting advice also frame toilet training as a learned skill that children reach at different speeds.
If your toddler is suddenly moving between the loo, bedroom and stairs more independently, it is also a good moment to check the wider home setup, including baby gates and stair gates where they are still needed. That is separate from potty choice, but it can make the rushed trips and "I need a wee" moments feel a bit less chaotic.
Do not treat refusal, constipation or poo withholding as a product problem. If your child is distressed, repeatedly refusing the potty, only wants to poo in a nappy, or seems constipated, pause the pressure and use health visitor, GP or ERIC-style support rather than buying a more complicated potty.
Cleaning and storing a potty
Empty the potty promptly, wash it with hot soapy water, dry it well and store it somewhere hygienic. A removable bowl or easy-pour design helps because it reduces the awkward tipping and rinsing that makes parents put off cleaning.
Keep cleaning products out of children's reach, even if the potty lives near the toilet. The NHS gives the same common-sense safety message for household cleaning products, and it matters here because toilet-training kit often ends up in small bathrooms where bottles can be easy to grab.
