The honest answer to "which commercial water tap is best" is not a single brand. BRITA and ZIP both build premium boiling and chilled filtered water taps, but they make very different engineering decisions under the counter. This guide profiles each product in full, sets out their specifications side by side, and then breaks the choice down into the points that actually matter on site, naming a winner for each. That way you can pick on evidence rather than brand positioning. If you would rather talk a spec through with a specialist, Sovereign Water is happy to help.
TL;DR
- The two units are the BRITA Extra C-Tap (model C2HM) and the ZIP HydroTap G5 (BCS60), both premium boiling, chilled and sparkling filtered taps in a similar price class.
- BRITA is the more robust, longer-lived and more hygienic unit, with an automatic heat-disinfection system (ThermalGate) that ZIP does not have.
- ZIP wins on finish options and smart, configurable controls, in a more compact single under-bench unit.
- Filtration outcome depends on your inlet water: good European water suits the supplied filter, but hard or high-TDS water needs a Sovereign treatment system ahead of the tap.
- The right choice is the one matched to your water, your space, your design brief and your hygiene priorities.
In This Article
- The Two Units at a Glance
- BRITA Extra C-Tap (C2HM): Full Profile
- ZIP HydroTap G5 (BCS60): Full Profile
- Filtration and Water Quality
- Robustness and Longevity
- Disinfection and Hygiene
- Undercounter Footprint
- Smart Features and Controls
- Finish Options and Design
- Safety Features
- Power Consumption
- Pricing and Running Costs
- Warranty and Support
- The Verdict
The Two Units at a Glance
We are comparing two specific products, not two brands in the abstract. On the BRITA side is the Extra C-Tap, model C2HM, configured for still, sparkling and hot water at a 330 millimetre dispensing height. On the ZIP side is the HydroTap G5, model BCS60, delivering boiling, chilled and sparkling filtered water. Both are commercial-grade under-counter systems that live out of sight and deliver filtered water through a designer tap on the worktop. They share the same job and the same rough price band, which is precisely why the differences between them are worth understanding before you commit.
Where they diverge is in how they are engineered, how much electronics sit behind the tap, how much space they need, how they keep themselves clean, and how much choice you get over the finish. Each of those is covered in its own section below, with a clear winner declared on the evidence.
BRITA Extra C-Tap (C2HM): Full Profile
The BRITA Extra C-Tap is the company's signature hot and cold water dispenser, and the C2HM is the version configured for still, sparkling and hot water with the taller 330 millimetre tap. It is built around BRITA's filtration expertise, which spans more than half a century, and its dispensers are assembled in Italy from filters made in Germany. It is a deliberately simple, robust design aimed at busy kitchens, offices, conference rooms and banqueting.
brita-extra-c-tap
What it delivers:
- Up to five water types depending on configuration: unchilled still, chilled still, chilled semi-sparkling, chilled sparkling, and hot water on demand.
- Hot water for drinks such as tea, with anti-scalding programming built in.
- A swirl flow design that creates a clean, splash-free pour.
Filtration:
- The CLARITY Protect filter combines activated carbon with a hollow-fibre membrane, rated to 11,500 litres.
- The membrane filters out 99.999% of bacteria and 99.95% of cysts, and reduces microplastics, sand, lead and chlorine taste.
- An optional PURITY C Dispenser hardness filter protects the boiler and controls limescale, with bypass settings to tune the hardness for a perfect cup of tea.
Performance and capacity:
- Cooling capacity: 85 litres per hour.
- Hot water: medium boiler at 20 litres per hour, or a large boiler at 30 litres per hour.
- Flow rates: cold still at 2 litres per minute, sparkling at 1.6 litres per minute, hot at 1.6 litres per minute from the medium boiler.
- Boiler capacity: 1.8 litres at up to 95 degrees centigrade on the medium boiler, 6 litres on the large.
Dimensions and weight:
- Tap including drip tray: 134 by 339 by 269 millimetres (tall version).
- Cooler appliance: 272 by 490 by 473 millimetres, weighing 38.5 kilograms.
- Medium boiler: 230 by 415 by 234 millimetres, weighing 7.8 kilograms.
- Needs an under-counter cabinet of roughly 600 by 800 by 600 millimetres.
Power:
- Cooler: maximum 540 watts.
- Boiler: maximum 2.1 kilowatts.
Hygiene and safety:
- ThermalGate automatic thermal disinfection of the tap's inner hose.
- Leak detection and automatic shut-off in the event of a fault.
- Anti-scalding programming on hot water.
- Optional Easy Access Panel for barrier-free, wheelchair-accessible operation.
BRITA Extra C-Tap
Mains-fed water tap and dispenser delivering up to five water types, with ThermalGate self-disinfection and robust BRITA filtration.
ZIP HydroTap G5 (BCS60): Full Profile
The ZIP HydroTap G5 is the latest generation of ZIP's iconic HydroTap, and the BCS60 model delivers boiling, chilled and sparkling filtered water for offices of between roughly 41 and 60 people. ZIP is one of the most established names in instant filtered water taps, and the G5 is its feature-rich commercial flagship, built around a single under-bench command centre and a full colour interactive touchscreen.
What it delivers:
- Boiling, chilled and sparkling filtered water from one tap.
- Continuous flow mode for filling bottles.
- A boiling-water safety lock and pin-code protection.
Filtration:
- A 0.2 micron carbon filter for taste and particulate removal.
- Refillable CO2 cylinder for the sparkling water.
Performance and capacity:
- Boiling: 160 cups per hour.
- Combined chilled and sparkling: 175 cups per hour.
- Rated for 41 to 60 people.
Dimensions and weight:
- Single under-bench command centre: 395 by 487 by 333 millimetres.
- Compact, integrated unit with an integrated ventilation tray for airflow.
Power:
- 2.15 kilowatts, 220 to 240 volts, 50 hertz.
- Runs from a single 10-amp socket outlet.
Smart features:
- Full colour interactive touchscreen display with pin-code lockout.
- Two boiling-water safety modes.
- Three energy-saving modes, including timers and a sensor that sends the unit to sleep when the room goes dark.
- Quiet mode with automated intelligent fan speed adjustment.
- Antimicrobial protection impregnated into key water paths and the touch pad.
- 100% water-efficient air-cooled technology.
Approvals and warranty:
- WaterMark, RCM and ARC approvals.
- Five-year warranty, comprising 36 months on the appliance plus 24 months on the tank.
zip-hydrotap-g5-classic-plus
ZIP HydroTap G5 (BCS60)
Boiling, chilled and sparkling filtered water from a single under-bench command centre, with smart touchscreen control and a wide range of finishes.
Filtration and Water Quality
Winner: depends on your water — a Sovereign treatment system ahead of the tap is the real answer
Both taps ship with their own filtration, and both are decent. BRITA's CLARITY Protect is the more sophisticated of the two on paper, combining activated carbon with a hollow-fibre membrane that filters out 99.999% of bacteria and 99.95% of cysts, and it is rated to 11,500 litres. It also offers an optional hardness filter. ZIP uses a solid 0.2 micron carbon filter, which handles taste and fine particulates well.
But the point that matters most is what the supplied filter is designed for. Both are engineered around good-quality mains water, which is what most of Europe supplies: relatively soft, low in dissolved solids, already treated to drinking standard. On that kind of water, the built-in filtration is generally acceptable and will keep your tap producing clean, great-tasting water with routine cartridge changes.
The story changes where the water is harder or higher in total dissolved solids, which is common across the Middle East and parts of the GCC. A cartridge designed for European supply works harder, exhausts faster and protects nothing upstream. In those conditions, we recommend a Sovereign Water treatment system installed ahead of the tap, sized to your actual water analysis. The tap is the user interface; the water quality outcome is decided upstream.
Robustness and Longevity
Winner: BRITA
As installers who maintain these units year after year, we see BRITA as the more robust machine. It is simpler under the skin, built around proven filtration and designed to be repaired and refurbished rather than replaced. It is the unit that keeps working with minimal fuss through heavy use in kitchens and public spaces, and its design philosophy is clearly longevity first.
ZIP, by comparison, is a more complex, electronically dense unit. That gives it more features and a richer user experience, but it also means more electronics to service and, over a long life, more that can go wrong. For a building manager who wants a machine they can set and largely forget, the BRITA's simpler, sturdier construction is the stronger long-term bet.
Disinfection and Hygiene
Winner: BRITA
This is BRITA's clearest advantage, and for many buyers it is decisive. The ThermalGate system automatically heats the tap's inner hose to around 120 degrees centigrade on a regular schedule, at peak times, overnight and at weekends. It is specifically designed to stop germs from the outside, such as from touching or splashing, getting back into the water path, and it was developed over more than 20 years of service in stringent healthcare environments.
ZIP has no equivalent automatic disinfection. It relies on antimicrobial material built into key water surfaces, plus a manual cleaning product used during installation and servicing. That is a reasonable passive defence, but it is not an active, self-cleaning routine. For any site where demonstrable hygiene matters, such as healthcare, food preparation, schools or high-traffic public areas, the BRITA ThermalGate is a genuine step ahead.
Undercounter Footprint
Winner: ZIP
ZIP wins clearly on the amount of space it needs. It is a single under-bench command centre, roughly 395 by 487 by 333 millimetres, running off one 2.1 kilowatt circuit from a single 10-amp socket. That makes it an easy fit in a compact cabinet and a comparatively clean install.
BRITA is two separate appliances, a cooler and a boiler, which together need a full under-counter cabinet of about 600 by 800 by 600 millimetres, plus more electrical supply to cover both. The cooler alone weighs 38.5 kilograms, so it also needs a floor capable of taking the load. If under-counter space is tight, or you want the least obtrusive install, ZIP is the easier option.
Smart Features and Controls
Winner: ZIP
ZIP has the more advanced user experience by a clear margin. The full colour interactive touchscreen gives you pin-code lockout, customisable settings, two boiling-water safety modes, three energy-saving modes including on/off timers and a sensor that sends the unit to sleep when the room goes dark, a quiet fan mode, and continuous flow for filling bottles. It is a genuinely configurable, smart piece of equipment.
BRITA offers a cleaner, simpler glass touch pad with boiler standby and night modes and an optional easy-access panel, plus portion and temperature presets. It is pleasant to use, but it does not offer the same depth of control or configurability. If you want smart, customisable control over your tap, ZIP is the stronger choice.
Finish Options and Design
Winner: ZIP
For design-led projects this matters more than most people expect, because the tap sits on the worktop and becomes part of the interior. ZIP offers a genuinely wide range of finishes across its tap ranges, from chrome and brushed chrome to matte black, brushed gold, brushed rose gold, nickel, gunmetal, bronze and brass, with around ten finishes available on its top tier. That makes it much easier to match an interior or brand.
BRITA essentially offers polished chrome and brushed stainless steel. It is an excellent-looking, understated tap, but if you need a specific finish to work with a design, ZIP gives you far more to choose from.
Safety Features
Winner: draw
The two units take safety seriously, but in different ways, and neither is lacking. ZIP adds a boiling-water safety lock and pin-code protection so restricted users cannot dispense boiling water, which is valuable in offices and public areas. BRITA adds anti-scalding programming, leak detection and automatic shut-off in the event of a fault, which is valuable for protecting both people and the building.
The right call depends on your priority. If you need to control who can access boiling water, ZIP's lock and pin code lead. If you want protection against leaks and scaling injury, BRITA's fail-safes lead. That is why we call it a draw.
Power Consumption
Winner: draw
Both are similar-level consumers, and neither is a power hog. ZIP runs as a single unit at about 2.15 kilowatts, with three energy-saving modes including timers and a sleep-when-dark sensor. BRITA splits its load between a 540 watt cooler and a 2.1 kilowatt boiler, roughly 2.6 kilowatts combined, with standby and night modes on the boiler.
In practice, when both are in their efficiency modes and correctly sized to demand, the running costs sit in the same class. The bigger lever on energy is matching the unit and its upstream treatment to actual usage, rather than the difference between the two taps.
Pricing and Running Costs
Winner: draw
The two units sit in the same premium price class, so the purchase price is not the deciding factor between them. The real cost difference lives in total cost of ownership: filtration cartridges, servicing, and the protection of your water quality. Match the upstream treatment to your water and the lifetime cost is what you should compare, not the sticker.
Because filtered hot and cold taps replace bottled and pre-boiled water, both typically pay themselves back through reduced bottle purchasing, lower energy and less waste, but the exact figure depends on your usage and water.
Warranty and Support
Winner: draw, with an installer note
The manufacturer terms differ. ZIP advertises five years, comprising 36 months on the appliance plus 24 months on the tank. BRITA lists two years from retailers. As the installer, Sovereign Water provides a one-year manufacturer warranty on the equipment we install, with longer-term cover available through a maintenance agreement. What matters in practice is that servicing and filtration are planned, because that is what keeps either unit performing and protects your warranty.
The Verdict
On the points that affect the installed outcome, the winners split cleanly, and that is the honest answer. BRITA is the more robust, longer-lived and more hygienic unit, with automatic disinfection and strong fail-safes, and is our recommendation where longevity and demonstrable hygiene matter. ZIP wins on design choice, smart controls and a compact single-unit install, and is the recommendation for design-led or space-constrained projects.
On both units, the water quality outcome depends on what is upstream, which is where a Sovereign Water treatment system makes the difference, especially in harder or higher-TDS water regions. The right tap for your site is the one that matches your water, your space, your design brief and your hygiene priorities.
Get in Touch and we will assess your water, your space and your design brief, and recommend the unit that genuinely fits.
Products mentioned in this article
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