The short answer
Buy the glass Switch unless you have a specific reason not to: it is cheaper, holds more, and lets you see the water line while you learn hybrid recipes. Buy the Arita porcelain version if your usual recipe is a long closed immersion, because porcelain gives up less heat during the steep - but note it holds 200 ml, which is less than the glass 02, and it costs more for an identical valve and identical filters.
What is actually different
Hario changes the body material and nothing about how the brewer works. The stainless steel ball valve, the 60-degree cone, the rib pattern and the size 02 paper filters are the same on both.
So this is not a brewing comparison. It is a decision about heat, capacity, visibility, durability and price.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Quick picks
The answer first. Tap any row to jump to the full reasoning for that pick.
| # | Product | Best for | Award | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Anyone buying their first Switch | Top pick for most people | |
| 2 |  | Long immersion recipes, light roasts, and cold kitchens | Best heat retention | |
| 3 |  | Pour-over only, with ceramic's heat stability | If heat retention is the only thing you want |
1. Top pick for most people
Hario Switch Immersion Dripper 02
Budget tier · A V60-style glass dripper with a ball valve, so it can steep like an immersion brewer and then drain.
The standard glass Switch: cheaper, brews more, and you can see the water line.
This is the version almost everyone means by the Hario Switch: a heatproof glass cone with the stainless steel ball valve, in size 02, on a plastic holder.
Glass has one real advantage beyond price, and it is more useful than it sounds. You can see the water level and the state of the bed, which matters a great deal when you are learning hybrid recipes and need to know how much water is actually sitting above the valve.
It is also the cheaper of the two by a clear margin for an identical mechanism. The valve, the cone angle and the filters are the same, so the extra money on the porcelain version buys heat retention and an object, not better brewing.
Size 02 glass handles a generous single mug, which is more than the 200 ml porcelain version holds. If one full mug is your daily brew, this is the one that does it without running to the rim.
Thin heatproof glass loses heat faster than porcelain during a long steep, and it is the more fragile of the two in a crowded sink. The Switch review covers the mechanism in full.
Specification
- Size
- 02; W118 x D115 x H133 mm
- Finished capacity
- 200 ml (listed)
- Materials
- Heatproof glass bowl, silicone base, PCT resin switch, stainless steel ball valve
- Filters
- Standard V60 02 papers; 40 tabbed filters included
- Model
- SSD-200-B
What it does well
- Brews as a normal V60 with the valve open, or steeps and then drains with it closed
- Immersion makes the cup far less dependent on pour technique
- Takes the standard V60 02 papers you can buy anywhere
Where it gives ground
- Glass bowl is more fragile than plastic or stainless
- One more moving part than a plain cone to keep clean
- Immersion mode trades some of the V60's clarity for consistency
Skip it if
Skip it if your usual recipe is a long immersion and your kitchen is cold - that is the one case where the porcelain earns its premium.
2. Best heat retention
Hario Switch Ceramic Immersion Dripper 02
Specialty tier · The Switch valve mechanism in an Arita porcelain body instead of heatproof glass.
Arita porcelain holds brew temperature better through a long steep, and ships with 40 filters.
Hario makes the Switch in porcelain as well as glass. The body is Arita ware, the Japanese porcelain tradition from Saga prefecture, on a silicone rubber holder, with the same PCT resin switch and the same stainless steel ball valve.
Porcelain is thicker and more thermally massive than heatproof glass, so it gives up less heat to the room during a brew. That matters specifically on immersion: a four-minute closed steep has four minutes to lose temperature, and temperature is what extracts a light roast.
Hario lists it at 200 ml capacity, 118 by 115 by 133 mm, and about 500 g including the box. Note the capacity: 200 ml is one modest cup rather than a large mug, and it is less than the glass 02 holds.
It ships with 40 tabbed size 02 white filters, so there is nothing else to buy to start brewing. The filters are the same ones the glass version takes.
It costs meaningfully more than the glass Switch, it is heavier, and preheating it takes longer precisely because it has more mass to warm up. Being opaque, you also cannot see the water line - the thing the glass version is genuinely good at.
Specification
- Capacity
- 200 ml
- Body
- Porcelain (Arita ware), made in Japan
- Other materials
- Silicone rubber holder, PCT resin switch, stainless steel bulb
- Dimensions
- 118 x 115 x 133 mm
- Weight
- About 500 g including its box
- Filters
- Size 02; ships with 40 tabbed white filters
What it does well
- Porcelain holds heat better than thin glass, which matters most on a long immersion
- The same valve and the same 02 filters as the glass version
- Arita porcelain is the nicest object in this part of the range
Where it gives ground
- 200 ml is one cup; the glass 03 brews more
- Heavier and more fragile in the wrong direction than glass
- Costs more than the glass Switch for the same mechanism
Skip it if
Skip it if you are new to the Switch, want the larger capacity, or want to watch the brew while you learn the hybrid recipes.
3. If heat retention is the only thing you want
Hario V60 Ceramic Dripper 02
Manual tier · The 60-degree cone dripper that defines modern pour-over.
Ceramic V60: the same thermal benefit, far cheaper, no valve.
If what attracted you to the porcelain Switch was heat retention rather than the valve, the ceramic V60 gives you the thermal behavior for much less money.
It is the same 60-degree cone with the same spiral ribs and the same 02 papers. Ceramic holds heat the same way the porcelain Switch does, and for a straight pour-over that is the whole benefit.
What you lose is immersion. There is no valve, so there is no steeping and no hybrid recipe - it is a percolation brewer and nothing else.
That is only a loss if you would have used the valve. Plenty of people buy a Switch and brew pour-over with it every day, which is a lot of money for a mechanism sitting open.
Preheat it either way. A cold ceramic cone pulls several degrees out of the first pour, which is the one thing that undoes the material advantage you paid for.
Specification
- Geometry
- 60-degree cone, single large hole
- Ribs
- Inner spiral ribs
- Capacity
- 1-4 cups
- Material
- Arita-yaki ceramic, made in Japan
- Size
- W140 x D120 x H102 mm
What it does well
- The single large hole hands flow control to you rather than the dripper
- Ceramic holds heat far better than plastic
- More published recipes exist for the V60 than for any other brewer
Where it gives ground
- Unforgiving: an uneven pour shows up in the cup
- Ceramic needs preheating and can chip
- Needs a gooseneck kettle to be worth owning
Skip it if
Skip it if the point of the purchase is the valve. A V60 cannot steep, and that is the Switch's entire reason to exist.
Why heat retention matters on this brewer specifically
On a normal pour-over, water is in contact with the cone for two or three minutes and most of it is moving. On a Switch used as an immersion brewer, water sits still in the cone for the whole steep.
Still water in a thin glass cone in a cool kitchen loses temperature steadily, and extraction slows as it does. Porcelain's extra thermal mass slows that loss. This is the one brewing-relevant difference between the two bodies, and it only shows up with the valve closed.
It matters most on light roasts, which are denser and need heat to give up sweetness. On a medium or dark roast, in a warm room, you will struggle to tell the two apart.
The capacity catch, which is easy to miss
The porcelain version is listed at 200 ml. That is one modest cup, and it is less than the glass 02 comfortably brews.
If your daily brew is a large mug, the upgrade to porcelain is also a downgrade in volume, and that is the single most common reason to regret the purchase. Check the number against the mug you actually use before buying.
Which to buy
- First Switch, any roast, any kitchen. Glass. Cheaper, larger, and you can see what is happening.
- Long closed immersions on light roasts. Porcelain, and preheat it anyway.
- You want ceramic heat but will never close the valve. A ceramic V60 instead, for much less.
- You want the nicest object on the counter. Porcelain, honestly stated as the reason.
If you are still deciding whether the Switch is the right brewer at all, the Switch against the plain V60 is the comparison to read before this one.