Today, we’re comparing the Alpha JX and TOTO K300, the two bidets I most frequently recommend. I own and use the JX but purchased the K300 to get a good idea of how it works. I’ve tested both bidets extensively and have rated them in various areas of performance like cleaning efficacy, warm water flow, etc.
The Alpha JX performed better on the clean test and offers more features for the money, but the TOTO K300 offers a better warm air dryer, more features overall, and has the high-quality look and feel unique to TOTO bidets.
Feature-wise, the TOTO K300 would be considered the better bidet, but it costs about 1.5 times as much as the JX, while only offering a few additional features. For that reason, the JX is probably the best option for most.
If you go with one of these two bidets, make sure that you choose the correct version of the bidet you want. Both bidets come in multiple versions.
You can compare prices for the K300 Washlet here and also here.
You can check current prices for the Alpha JX here and here.
And for a really good price (cheapest anywhere), check out the open box special. These bidets were opened but not used for toileting purposes. Here, you can check an open-box JX and open-box K300.
I prefer getting TOTO’s at Bidet King, since TOTO has such lackluster customer support. BK has great support which comes in handy with questions about parts, warranty, installation, etc. Also, BK owns and operates Alpha bidet.
TOTO K300 vs Alpha JX: Quick Summary Chart
| Feature(s) | Alpha JX | TOTO K300 |
|---|---|---|
| Compatible Toilets (Elongated vs Round) | Elongated and Round | Elongated Only |
| Cleaning Performance Test Results | Best | Great |
| Dryer Performance Test Results | Average | Best |
| Hot Water Duration | Endless (Instant Heater) | Endless (Instant Heater) |
| Warm Air Dryer w/Adjustable Temp | Y | Y |
| Heated Seat w/Adjustable Temp | Y | Y |
| Control | Wirless Remote w/LCD Screen | Wireless Remote w/Illuminated Touchpad |
| Air Deodorizer | N | Y |
| Wand | Single Aluminum Dual-Action Nozzle | Single Plastic Dual-Action Nozzle |
| Adjustable Nozzle | 3 Positions | 5 Positions |
| Wand Self-Clean Function | Automatic + On-Demand Self-Cleaning | Automatic + On-Demand Self-Cleaning |
| Wand Sanitation | Antimicrobial Technology | Electrolyzed Water (EWATER+) on Wand |
| Auto Toilet Bowl Cleaning | None | EWATER+ Auto Cleanse Bowl Before Each Use |
| Convenience Features | 2 Easy One-Push Operation Modes | 2 User Presets |
| Bowl-Illuminating Night Light | White LED Light w/Ambient Sensor | None |
| Adjustable Water Temperature and Pressure | Y | Y |
| Water Volume/Pressure | Excellent | Average |
| Extra-Soft Spray Modes | N | Y |
| Oscillation Spray Setting (Back-and-Forth Spraying) | Y | Y |
| Massage-Pulse Spray Mode | N | Y |
| Slow-Close Seat/Lid | Y | Y |
| Sittable Lid | Y | N |
| Quick-Release Seat/Lid | Y | Y |
| Power-Saver Settings | 2 Eco Modes | 4 Eco Modes (Including Smart Saver) |
| Warranty | 3-Year | 1-Year |
| Design/Curv | Rear Seat Height: 5.8” (~14.7 cm) | Rear Seat Height: 5″ (~12.7 cm) |
| Price Category | Mid Range | Mid-High |
| Verdict | Best Value | Best Overall |
Alpha JX vs TOTO K300 Washlet: Review Categories
Best Cleaning Performance: Alpha JX
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of how the bidets perform.
As you can see, while they both get the job done, the Alpha JX cleans faster and over a wider area. In my view, this is largely due to how much water it sprays—almost twice as much per minute compared to the K300.
The Alpha JX sprays 0.7 liters (0.185 gal) per minute while the K300 sprays 0.43 L (0.07 gal)/min. The JX thus cleans much faster and covers a greater area than the TOTO K300 in a given cleaning session length.
Again, the difference has to do with water volume: both have good water pressure, but the Alpha JX uses twice as much water.
The stream produced by the JX is sufficiently strong and concentrated but wide enough to cover more area in a given spray session compared to most bidets, not just the K300.
Also, in addition to more coverage, a greater water volume means less moving/shifting around on the part of the user to get water to all of the right places.
The cleansing spray of the TOTO K300 is plenty effective, but the JX goes above and beyond in this respect.
Design Differences
Versions
| Model | EWATER+ | Color | Elongated vs Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha JX-EW | N/A | White | E |
| Alpha JX-RW | N/A | White | R |
| TOTO K300 (SW3036R#01) | Y | White | E |
| TOTO K300 (SW3036#01) | N | White | E |
| TOTO K300 (SW3036R#12) | Y | Sedona Beige | E |
| TOTO K300 (SW3036#12) | N | Sedona Beige | E |
The K300 Is Slimmer and More Aesthetic
Slimmer, less bulky bidets are more desirable, since they look better, take up less space, and provide more sitting room (the user isn’t forced to the front of the seat).
Both bidets provide about the same sitting room (more on that further down) but the the K300 is slimmer than the JX overall and is about 0.7″ lower in the rear. The K300 is about 5″ (exactly 5.12″) high at the rear of the seat while the JX is almost 6″ high (5.8″). This comes to 12.7cm and 14.7cm, respectively.
The K300 also has a more gradual slope to it.
Both bidets are slimmer and lower-profile than the vast majority of bidets on the market.
The Alpha JX Fits More Toilets
Available in Round and Elongated
Like most Alpha bidets, the JX is available in both round and elongated. Round toilets are pretty common in apartments and smaller restrooms, so this is quite a big deal.
If you have a round toilet, your decision just got a lot easier since most bidets (and all but 2 TOTO bidets) are only available for elongated toilets.
Curved Rear
Finally, if your toilet has French curves, the JX is the best option. In fact, it is one of the only non-Kohler bidets that fit the Kohler San Raphael, Santa Rosa, San Souci, etc. This is great news, since the JX is significantly cheaper while offering more features than the over-priced Kohler bidets.
Best Hot Water Performance: Tie
Both bidets have 4 temperature settings: off, low, medium, and high. From low to high, the bidets can be adjusted from the low 90’s Fahrenheit to 104° F (or from about 35° to 40° C).
Both bidets get a 10 out of 10 when it comes to hot water because both come with instantaneous, or continuous, hot water heaters.
Unlike heaters that rely on a tank of water, continuous heaters never run out of warm water since they heat water instantly on demand.
In testing both bidets, I ran the water at full blast for 10 minutes. In both cases, the water reached the high 90’s Fahrenheit and stayed there for the duration, measuring the same temp from start to finish.
An instantaneous heater is a luxury feature.
The JX is Alpha’s luxury option, so it’s the only bidet in their lineup to offer this type of heater. The K300 isn’t marketed as a luxury bidet, but it is luxury-status by industry standards.
This is a great feature, since most bidets run cold in less than a minute. For example, the TOTO C5 and Alpha GX/GXR both run cool at the 30 to 40 second mark.
Like all instant heaters, you may feel cold water for 1-second at the beginning of each cleaning session as water in the nozzle leaves the cleaning wand.
Best Frontal Hygiene: Alpha JX
Both bidets have a great frontal cleansing feature, but I like the dispersed nozzle holes on the JX since it allows for a softer, less concentrated stream of water.
For frontal hygiene, it’s ideal to have a softer wider stream of water since you’re not trying to clean waste as with rear cleansing.
A softer cleansing spray may also help prevent excessive drying of the vaginal mucosa and may prevent water from migrating front-to-back as can happen with higher pressure (source).
Basic and Advanced Spray Settings: TOTO K300
The K300 wins this category because it has two extra spray modes: Massage/Pulse and Rear Soft.
The K300 Has a Rear Soft and Massage Mode
The massage mode continuously alternates between higher and lower water pressure to provide a pulsing sensation.
It’s a subtle effect and I usually don’t feel it very much. But it’s a popular feature and some have found ot to be useful for helping with constipation—although the strong pressure of the JX is more effective for that purpose, IME.
The extra-soft rear wash mode can be used by those who prefer softer pressure or for certain applications. For example, it allows the user to have bidet sitz bath sessions, to soothe irritated/inflamed skin (e.g., hemorrhoids).
Both Offer Nozzle Oscillation
Both bidets have the most important special spray function, which is the oscillation setting.
When something oscillates, it moves from side to side or back and forth in a regular pattern.
When the oscillation mode is active, the cleaning wand oscillates back and forth. This is important because it means the user won’t have to rock back and forth to get full coverage.
For example, when washing the car, it’s easier to wave the hose from side to side instead of moving the car.
Not all oscillation settings work equally well, and some barely cause the nozzle to move at all. But with both bidets, the water stream covers a good area.
Best Controls: TOTO K300
Both bidets come with sleek wireless remotes instead of bulky side panels. Both remotes come with a wall mount/cradle. The K300 cradle is magnetic which is nice.
The main benefit of the JX remote is that it has an LCD display, which means that more can be accomplished with fewer buttons. This saves room and makes the remote smaller than it would be.
But overall, I like the K300 remote. It lacks an LCD screen but it’s double-sided which allows for more buttons.
The TOTO K300 remote just has a higher-quality look and feel unique to TOTO. Plus, it’s a bit more intuitive to use since pretty much each bidet feature has its own button.
With the Alpha JX, at least one or two functions require that you press other unrelated buttons in certain combinations.
For example, you press the Power Save and Rear/Stop buttons at the same time to activate on-demand nozzle cleaning. Whereas, the K300 remote has a dedicated nozzle clean button (two actually).
Energy Efficiency
Both Are Highly Efficient
The water and seat heaters are the main energy-using bidet components and determine how much the bidet costs to run in the long term.
So, the K300 and JX are among the most energy-efficient bidets on the market since they both have tankless water heaters.
I.e., they don’t have to draw power 24/7 to keep a small tank of water warm. Instead, they only use energy when the bidet is in use.
The K300 is a bit more energy-efficient than the JX since it has an eco mode that keeps the seat temperature off when the bidet isn’t in use. Heated seats use a lot of energy, so this feature makes a big difference.
Alpha JX Has Two Energy-Saving Modes
The Alpha JX has 2 power-saving modes, and the K300 has 4.
With the Alpha JX, the Auto Energy Saver mode keeps the heaters to 86° F between bidet uses. The Super Energy Saver setting reduces the water and seat temperatures during darker lighting conditions.
The TOTO K300 Has 4 Energy Saving Modes Including Smart Eco Modes
With the TOTO K300, the Auto Energy Saver modes memorize periods of infrequent bidet use and lower or turn off the heaters during those periods. The Timer Energy Saver lets you choose which hours you want the bidet to go into low-power mode. And there’s a setting that combines the above eco modes.
As mentioned, the Auto+ energy saver feature keeps the seat off completely to provide max energy savings.
Warm Air Dryer: TOTO K300
Both bidets have a warm air dryer with an adjustable temperature setting, but the K300 dryer works better.
Here are the main differences:
- The Alpha JX dryer temp reaches ~122° F (50° C) while the TOTO K300 air temp reaches 140° F (60° C).
- The K300 has a very powerful fan, blowing about 10 ft3 of air volume per minute.
- Finally, one other difference is that the Alpha JX default dry cycle is 1 minute while the K300 dryer keeps going until you hit the off button. This matters less since you can do multiple dry sessions with the JX.
The TOTO never disappoints in this department. Their warm air dryers blow powerfully and at a higher-than-usual temperature. And the K300 is no exception.
Best Convenience Features: TOTO K300
To make the bidet even easier to use, the TOTO K300 has user presets and the Alpha JX has two different one-push auto wash modes.
TOTO User Presets
User presets are typically preferred because the user can save their preferences for certain settings.
In this case, the TOTO K300 lets two users save their preferred water pressure, temperature, and nozzle position. This makes it easier for folks who share the bidet and saves the user from pressing the same buttons over and over.
The Alpha JX Has Easy Operation Modes
The Alpha JX has 2 one-push easy operation modes that let you hit one button to get a generic wash or wash/dry cycle. The user needn’t know which settings to choose which makes it easier for guests, the elderly, kids, etc.
Press the Easy Wash button to Activate a high-pressure rear wash with nozzle oscillation. Press the Wash + dry button for a 1-minute rear wash cycle followed by a minute of drying.
Best Nozzle System and Features: Alpha JX
Both bidets have single instead of dual nozzles, which is a good thing. With multiple holes and adjustable nozzle position for accurate aiming, a single nozzle can clean the entire front and rear regions.
The Alpha JX wins this category, mostly because of the quality of the nozzle. TOTO only includes plastic nozzles with their bidets.
The TOTO K300 has a plastic 3-in-1 nozzle (3 holes, 1 nozzle). The K300 cleaning wand is like the TOTO C5 wand, not the wand of the S550e, so as mentioned, there’s no soft feminine spray mode
The Alpha JX has a sturdy multi-action aluminum nozzle with an antimicrobial coating. The nozzle configuration allows for standard front and rear cleaning, extra-strong rear cleansing, and extra-soft frontal rinsing.
Comfort Features: Tie
Heated Seat
Both bidets have heated seats with 4 temperature settings (off, low, medium, and high).
The Alpha JX seat surface temperature can be adjusted from low (89.6° F or 32° C) to high (100.4° F or 38° C).
The TOTO K300 can be adjusted from 82° to 97° F (or 28° C to 36° C).
Sitting Room
Both bidets offer plenty of sitting room for most. But the seat opening of the TOTO K300 offers a little over 1/2 an inch extra, which might make a big difference for taller/larger folks.
Keep in mind, this is for elongated seats. As mentioned, the K300 is only available in elongated while the JX is available for both round and elongated toilets.
You can subtract about an inch for the round JX seat.
Best Sanitation: Tie
Both bidets offer automatic and on-demand nozzle cleaning. The nozzles self-rinse before and after each use and can be made to self-rinse any time with the push of a button.
Also, both bidets go the extra mile by adding a layer of sanitation.
The JX Has an Antimicrobial Aluminum Nozzle
The JX nozzle is antimicrobial and the K300 nozzle self-rinses with electrolyzed water.
Bidets aren’t known for causing infections but any feature that provides another layer of sanitation can’t hurt and will at least put the mind at ease.
The aluminum nozzle of the JX has a coating that contains antimicrobial nanotechnology, so it’s inherently resistant to microbial growth.
The K300 Nozzle Self-Cleans with Electrolyzed Water
The K300 has EWATER+ which contains electrolytes that form sodium hypochlorite, a natural non-corrosive cleaning agent with antimicrobial properties.
Cool Features: LED Nightlight and Sittable Lid vs Air Deodorizer and PREMIST
The Alpha JX has an in-bowl automatic LED nightlight, while the TOTO K300 has a built-in air deodorizing unit and self-cleaning toilet bowl.
The Alpha JX Has an LED Nightlight
The JX nightlight is quite powerful, much more so than other Alpha bidets.
Unfortunately, TOTO only includes a nightlight with their two most expensive bidets, the S350e and S550e.
The Alpha JX has the best nightlight I’ve used. For one, it’s way brighter than most. For another, it’s white instead of blue, which folks tend to prefer since blue light exposure is thought to interfere with the sleep cycle.
For another, the JX light is much brighter than other bidets.
Finally, the light has an ambient sensor at the back of the bidet that automatically turns the light on/off based on light conditions. So, it not only saves power but is convenient since you won’t have to remember to turn it on/off.
The TOTO K300 Has an Air Deodorizer
Like most TOTO bidets, the K300 has an air deodorizer. Behind the little vent at the back of the bidet, sits a carbon filter. Inside the bidet is a fan that draws stinky air from the toilet bowl, sending it through the filter.
The filter then breaks down compounds that are responsible for embarrassing and offensive odors.
It starts automatically when you sit down. When gyou go to stand up, the power mode kicks on and stays on for a minute. The power mode uses a stronger fan setting.
The Alpha JX Has a Sittable Lid
A sittable lid isn’t as flashy as other features, but you’ll probably get way more use out of it than other higher-tech bells and whistles. And it’s a feature that I’m finding more and more people are asking for.
When people switch from a wooden or ceramic toilet seat to one of plastic, they often find that they miss being able use the toilet as a regular seat when in the bathroom.
The Alpha JX has an extra-sturdy lid meant for sitting. In this way, you won’t have to sacrifice that underrated use of your toilet when switching to a bidet.
Both Bidets Have a Slow-Close Seat and Lid
Slow-close hinges cause the seat and lid to lower slowly and in a controlled manner. This saves wear and tear on the bidet helping it last longer.
You have to nudge the seat and/or lid closed for it to work, so this feature is not to be confused with the auto open/close setting of the TOTO S550e and S350e.
The TOTO K300 Has the PREMIST Function
Of all the features mentioned, this is the one that’s most unique to TOTO bidets. When you sit down, electrolyzed water (EWATER+) is sprayed in a light mist over the surface of the toilet bowl.
The coating of EWATER+ creates a slippery surface that makes it more difficult for dirt and poop to stick to the surface of the bowl.
This makes the flushing action more effective in fully cleaning the toilet. So, in the long run, it means that less manual cleaning of the toilet will be needed.
Alpha JX vs TOTO K300: Conclusion
There you have it.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.