Comfee Toaster Oven (CFO-BB101) vs Breville Smart Oven Pro Side-by-Side Comparison
Comfee Toaster Oven (CFO-BB101) vs Breville Smart Oven Pro. Comparing them showcases the weaknesses that a small and a large unit can have.
Specifications
Design
While being compact, the Comfee CFO-BB101 has a good capacity compared to the similar-sized Hamilton Beach 31401. Moreover, it still has all the standard exterior features, plus a neat detachable crumb tray. However, it’s very lacking in terms of the interior even though it uses quartz heating elements. Its overall construction also leaves a lot to be desired.
The Breville showed a lot of investment in its design from the exterior and interior to the accessories, especially compared to inexpensive units like the Black+Decker CTO6335S. For example, its carrying handles, interior safety hooks, convection system, internal lighting, feature toggles, and additional cooking functions. It does have some room for improvement, however.
Usability Comparison
The Comfee CFO-BB101 doesn’t have anything strong going for it in terms of usability. The simple control has some drawbacks and doesn’t provide much convenience. However, a detachable crumb tray makes it easier to clean the oven, especially if the oven is of this size.
The Breville also shows investment in features of usability including the toggles and extra cooking functions in the user control as well as automatic mechanisms to increase ease of use. However, the actual delivery left a few things to be desired compared to the ones on our list of Best Large Toaster Ovens.
Performance Test
The Comfee CFO-BB101 has only two heating elements, and this often resulted in uneven coloring on our test dishes. Our speculation was that the low power output hinders the oven’s performance in test dishes that require a high temperature (> 400°F), including pizza and fries. One solution could be to decrease the amount of food compared to what we used for our test amount.
In addition, it was hard to input an exact temperature and time due to the limited settings on the control knob, especially for making toast. A small unit that doesn’t have temperature and control problems is the Breville BOV450XL.
The strong power output of 1800 W didn’t seem to help with the Breville’s performance in our test dishes as much as other toaster ovens with the same output, including the Cosori CO130-AO. It performed the best in roasting a whole chicken but not to an outstanding degree.
This unit is advertised as having the Element iQ System™ which is a smart heating algorithm for improving heat distribution. However, our test results showed no significant increase in the cooking time or evenness of caramelization.
Overall Scores
Pros & Cons
- Extra-small size
- Energy-saving
- Quartz heating elements have safeguards
- Cool-touch door handle
- Stay-on feature
- Detachable crumb tray
- Useful toggles
- High-contrast digital display
- Non-stick interior
- Sturdy construction
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- Cool-touch door handle
- Convenient slide-out crumb tray
- No convection fan
- No internal lighting
- No safety mechanism for the door
- No safety mechanism for the door
- In need of an additional oven rack
- Not very budget-friendly
Conclusion
Comparing the Comfee Toaster Oven (CFO-BB101) to the Breville Smart Oven Pro (BOV845BSS), above all else, showcases the weaknesses that a small and a large unit can have. Of course, nothing changes the fact that the Breville is simply better in every way.
The Comfee has a neat detachable crumb tray that makes cleaning its small cooking chamber easier than its peers. However, it lacks the digital control panel, convection system, lighting, and has fewer heating elements than the Breville has. Moreover, the Breville has more accessories and a thicker casing for better heat insulation.
Due to the Comfee’s low power output and lack of convection, it performed below average in terms of toasting bread and baking pizza and fries. It had a decent score in roasting chicken though.
On the other hand, the Breville had good scores across all the tests. However, they aren’t as high as other units with the same power output. We suspected there may be inconsistency in its quartz heating elements.
Behind the Comparison
Alan Nguyen is a writer and product reviewer at HealthyKitchen101. His major in English language teaching taught him to present concise information. In addition to his cooking hobby, he values the practical aspects of household appliances.
Tuyet Pham is an award-winning Saigonese chef passionate about delicious and healthful foods. At HealthyKitchen101, she develops recipes and collaborates with our Research, Testing, and Review lab to evaluate the performance of cooking appliances. Her assessments add a strong authoritative voice to our product scoring process.
Lap is Head of the Research, Testing, and Review Team (RTR Team) at HealthyKitchen101.com, where he directs and supervises the testing of kitchen gadgets and appliances.
