If you want to renovate your kitchen or bathroom, or you are building a new home from scratch, having the best plumbing fixtures around is a pretty big deal.
Simply put, you want the best bath and kitchen fixtures that your money can buy. One of the ways to ensure that is to choose a good brand. Two very popular ones in this field are Duravit and Toto.
If you had to choose between the two, which one would it be?
A Brief History of Duravit and Toto
When it comes down to it, Duravit is one of the oldest, if not the very oldest producer of bathroom fittings in the world. To be precise, the company focuses mostly on porcelain bathroom fixtures, but in recent years has diversified its offerings to include other categories as well.
Duravit as a company was founded all the way back in 1817, making it well over 200 years old at this point. It was first started in the Black Forest, Germany, by Georg Friedrich Horn, and it all started out as a very small earthenware factory. Duravit products are currently available in a whopping 130 countries worldwide.
The company currently has somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,500 employees, with estimated annual revenues totaling nearly 600 million dollars.
On the other hand, we have Toto, a Japanese maker of toilets, as well as of selected other bathroom fixtures. Toto as a company was founded in 1917, and since that time has become an extremely popular brand. It is currently based out of Kitakyushu, Japan.
The number one thing which Toto is known for is the invention of the Washlet. A Washlet is like a combination of a bidet and a regular toilet, or, in other words, it’s a toilet with a built-in bidet to wash the behind of the user with.
Yes, for its time, this was quite innovative indeed, as it removed the need for toilet paper. Some modern Washlet models from Toto even feature cool additions such as air fresheners, seat warmers, and more.
At this time, Toto is actually quite a large company, with roughly 35,000 people in its employ. The current estimated annual revenue for Toto is roughly 5.5 billion dollars, which is no small number. As you can tell, Toto is a much larger company in terms of employee numbers and revenue than Duravit.
Duravit vs. Toto: Which Offers Better Quality?
When it comes to Duravit, something you can be sure of with this brand is that their products are high in quality, very much so. Duravit is well known for producing some of the highest quality toilets and bathroom fixtures worldwide, which is why it has been able to thrive as a company for the last 200+ years.
The general consensus on all Duravit products is that not only are they durable and long-lasting, but also some of the most fashionable too. On a side note, throughout its history, Duravit has employed some of the world’s leading designers, such as Philippe Starck, thus resulting in some of the most beautiful bathroom fixtures known to man.
Now, do keep in mind that Duravit is not a cheap brand by any means, rather expensive in fact. Besides top-notch designers, another reason why Duravit products are so high in quality because most of the products are made in German and French factories. Yes, some products are also made in Tunisia, Egypt, India, and China, although these also appear to be very high in quality too.
On the other hand, we have Toto, which in terms of quality is seen as being about average, or maybe a little bit above average. It’s not the best or worst plumbing fixture brand in the world, nor is it the cheapest nor the most expensive.
Something that can be said about Toto is that for the most part, the products are very well priced, and based on their prices, tend to be fairly high in quality. In other words, you can buy above-average products for below-average prices.
Toto products are seen as being ideal for all sorts of residential applications. It is interesting to note that Toto makes its products in the USA, Mexico, China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan. Currently, Toto is looking to expand its production facilities in Georgia, USA, something that may very well lead to a higher quality of products.
Which Offers a Better Warranty?
Duravit does appear to have good warranties on their products. Generally speaking, it offers 5-year warranties for ceramic items, 2-year warranties for toilet seats, furniture, acrylics, and cisterns, and 12-month warranties for parts on seals and washers.
For Toto, the warranties are as follows. Cartridges feature lifetime warranties, finishes have lifetime warranties, and mechanical parts have lifetime warranties too.
Therefore, as you can see, Toto does appear to have better warranties overall.
Duravit vs. Toto: Which Has a Better Product Portfolio?
Generally speaking, both brands have a wide selection of products and make roughly the same things. Products that both brands make include toilets and toilet seats, shower faucets and accessories, sinks and sink faucets, bathtubs and related products, as well as bidets and washlets too.
Yes, Duravit makes washlets, although they are referred to as SensoWash shower toilets. Which brand has a better selection does depend on the specific product category, although, for the most part, Duravit does have a larger portfolio.
For instance, Duravit has about twice as many bathtubs for sale on its website than Toto does. Duravit also has a much larger selection of bidets.
Which Brand Offers a Better Selection of Wall-Hung Toilets?
If you are a fan of wall-hung or wall-mounted toilets, both brands have a good selection of these. Toto, at this time, has 26 of these products available for sale on the website, whereas Duravit has over twice that amount.
Which of the Two Brands Should You Choose?
If you are looking for a decent selection of affordable products with great warranties, Toto is the way to go. However, if you want a huge selection of super high-quality bathroom fixtures, ones that look really stylish and modern, then Duravit is the way to go.
Summary
At the end of the day, both Toto and Duravit are highly respected brands with massive presence around the world. Although Duravit may be the more expensive of the two, if you like fancy designer items, it’s definitely the brand to choose.