There’s certain breastfeeding products that, in my opinion, don’t need full, individual write ups. Collection cups fall into this category. Here, I’m going to expand my thoughts on a handful of collection cup options currently available as of February 2026.
March 19, 2019: Baby Buddha and Freemie Closed Cups
Post walk 2019
Let’s take this back to 2018, where it all began and when my experience with collection cups started. The Freemie Standard Cups, previously known as Closed System cups, AKA Next Generation cups. Yep, they switched the name up a few times over the last eight years. Don’t ask why, because I don’t know. These cups originally came as open system cups that required you adding backflow protectors. It was annoying and cumbersome but they’re no longer available so it's not really worth diving into -- let’s talk closed system, how they currently are offered. Back in the day these cups did the trick and let me tell you, I felt unstoppable. I LOVED them, I’d pop them into my bra attach to my BabyBuddha and walk the Chicago streets. They have plastic flanges, a tapered shape with a flat base to help steady cups once out of your bra, and all propriety silicone replacement parts (making it a closed system cup). These cups leave nothing to the imagination when in use. They’re pretty pronounced; but hey, ya gotta start somewhere when designing innovative ways to pump while on-the-go. You can hack these cups with any external motor, they’re easy peasy if you ask me. This is where our love story ended, if you don’t continue to innovate and offer new products, well don’t be surprised when you get replaced. *Cue* Legendairy Milk collection cups.
Oh boy, did my love for the Freemie cups fall flat with the release of Legendairy Milk Collection Cups. Being completely honest here, the current cup design is basically the same cup they started with. The only exception is the collection cup part, itself. Their first generation cup, if you will, was more of a soft clouded cup - flash forward to what's currently on the market - it’s a harder, transparent plastic. Nonetheless, I have no beef with the Legendairy collection cups. These cups provided the same freedom, but with more comfort than I found with Freemie. The Legendairy cups rock a silicone flange. Hands down, first silicone flange collection cup on the market, gotta give props to the OG! I love the contour of these flanges, and you’ll soon learn there are other cups on the market which share the same flange slope design. Considering these were the first of its kind, I still think it’s worth mentioning. My biggest hold up with these cups, which contributed to me replacing by my next cup mentioned, is due to its assembly, suction inlet port, and pour spout. It doesn’t sound like much but when presented with another cup option that shares the same basic cup design, size and flange but different assembly, the switch was easy for me.
September 6, 2021: Pouring the Legendairy Milk Cups
The Legendairy Milk cups are made up of your basic components, duckbill, housing connector, and silicone backflow protector (BFP), but the extra piece that puts the nail in the coffin for me is the BFP saucer extra piece. The purpose of this piece is to close the BFP assembly, adding the port where the tubing inserts. Is this a big deal? No, it’s not awful but again, when presented with basically the same cup but a simpler assembly, the choice is more than clear. Since the house adapter which all components anchor into is essentially loose, it can be a little annoying when pushing the tubing into the suction port, because in turn this pushes the connector into the cup, thanks to minimal resistance. But the bigger issue is the pour spout and suction port sharing the same location. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I have never had milk flow back into the suction port while emptying my cups but it’s a semi-common complaint from others. I’d just prefer to keep them separate… and with these next cups in my list, they are.
I feel like we are walking down memory lane, this write up is literally a play-by-play through the last 7+ years of my pumping life. Next up on the list are Zomee Collection Cups and BabyBuddha Collection Cups. Which came first in my life? 100% Zomee did. Why am I lumping BabyBuddha cups in this section? What I’m about to say next needs to stay here because I don’t need a target on my back... but I’m also not going to blow sunshine up anyone’s who-ha. They are the same damn cup. There, I said it. Is this a bad thing? No, I don’t think so, not for us. At the end of the day, I’m going to suggest the less expensive cup is likely going to be the set you go with. These cups are both equally awesome. Same literally everything, so note to self - if you need replacement parts, those can be swapped for each other, too. I can already feel my ears ringing, I’m not trying to upset anyone over here but if you come to me with the question, which should I pick? Well, you’re going to be hearing this all over again. Same great cup, go for the best price point. Now why do I like these both so much? The silicone flange is as comfortable as Legendairy Milk's, again VERY similar if not the same, and again, keep your targets off my back. More importantly, the suction insertion point and the pour spout are separate. Love this detail. In addition, the backflow protector piece that closes the cup has a male end nipple, so all you have to do is slip the end of your tubing onto this port and get to pumping. It’s just that easy.
Okay let’s move on to some tea, that’s right. If anyone has the tea in this space you know it’s me. Not because I love to gossip, I actually hate it. But due to my strong opinions, trustworthy resource, some companies either try to use me as leverage (or so it would seem) or straight up hate me and send my content to one another, talking trash about me. So now you must be thinking, cut to the chase what does this have to do with collection cups. One word, Medela. I’m sure half of you aren’t surprised by this. Before my second run-in with this company I was sent their Freestyle breast pump and collection cups. When I say I loved the Medela cups, I mean it. I ranted and raved about them. I used them everywhere. Planes, trains and automobiles, seriously. Problem was these cups were not yet available, but who had a set? Yep, me. This is where it gets annoying. So here I am using and genuinely sharing, no contracts, no conversations, just a love for these new (plastic) flange cups. I remember vividly telling the community that I had faith that Medela would price these cups at an accessible price while staying competitive.
Boy, was I wrong.
When Medela launched these unique and innovative cups to the market they were super expensive, a price I’d never pay. But here I had moms sending me private messages which read, “I ordered the Medela cups! They were super expensive and I would never have paid that but you had me convinced.” It was those messages that really put a bad taste in my mouth, I felt awful that moms were spending all this money on something they were reluctant to order, all based on my sharing. Second part to the butt chapping, Medela sold out immediately... but as luck would have it they restocked a day later. They really worked the lactation community by building demand, pulling the rug out from under our feet and then magically replenishing at a ridiculously high price point. Years later, now you’ll find them at a more affordable price point I can support. So why didn’t we just start there, Medela?! I think that’s enough tea, let’s chat more about the actual cups.
February 18, 2023: first gen collection cups
Medela Hands-Free Collection Cups, the next cup on the list that I found super effective and even more comfortable. Oddly, I loved these cups despite having a plastic flange. I used them during my third breastfeeding journey, paired with my Pumpables Genie Advanced. This was really an excellent pairing, you may pair with the BabyBuddha too, but I’m going to recommend the Pumpables Genie Advanced for a better fit. The cool thing about these cups is the overall design, it’s also only three pieces. Flange, cup and silicone piece that covers both duckbill and diagram. I also love the way it pours, unlike other robust designs, this cup is tear drop shaped so it sits up, center balanced on any opening. A minimal detail, but one I have used to my advantage often. The last detail that needs to be mentioned with the latest cup design (they modified it once - that I’m aware of) is the added gasket in the seal of the smaller flange closure. A minor annoyance, because who needs an extra piece to deal with.
Let’s toss some cups in this conversation that I, personally, was not a fan of but may be a better fit for others. Back to Freemie, in the recent years they released Freemie Slim Cups. These cups come in pink with a 5 ounce capacity, and blue with a 6 ounce capacity. I find these flanges to be about as effective as biting a hole in a pancake and putting your nipple through it. I say that because the flange is super flat, so if your breasts are doughy and big like mine they don’t sit well. I can appreciate the thought as everyone wants slim, but these two flange contours may only benefit those who have minimal to no breast tissue to fill the deeper slope of a flange. That’s why these Freemie Slim designs are a huge no for me. This is going to be a similar (but opposite) issue with the Rumble Tuff Slim cups, again super flat and not doing much good for big, ol' boobs, like my own.
Now this is where it gets weird. A few other options are the Rumble Tuff Slim-Cup and the Rumble Tuff Go-Cup. The weird thing is unlike the flat flange on the Freemie Slims, the Rumble Tuff cups have the deepest slope - think Willow 360. I have the opposite issue with these cups, my boobs are too round to comfortably fit in the flange of these cups. I haven’t personally ran across it yet but if I had to make an educated guess, I’d say women with more tubular breasts would fill these flanges well.
Another popular option out there is the Spectra CaraCups. A bulbous, plastic flange, closed cup. I really don’t have much to say about them other than, "hard pass". If I want a bulbous collection cup in my bra it won’t be this plastic flange, I’ll be going with the BabyBuddha or Zomee. If I want a plastic flange I’m going with the Medela cup because profile is far more complimentary in the bra. You’re going to notice a lot of similarities when it comes to cups, thing is, there’s only so many ways to skin a cat and there’s only so many manufacturers. Another example of this is the Idaho Jones Pump-a-Collect Cups, different name, similar case.
Let me chat quickly on two sets of cups that you’ll more likely land on when buying the associated pumps. That’s the Elvie Stride Cups (1st Gen, haven’t used the 2nd gen yet) and the Momcozy Cups. Difference with these cups is that you’ll be able to buy the Momcozy cups separately if you’d like while you’re only getting the Stride cups if you’re ordering the pump. Yes, technically you can piece the Stride cups together but you’ll be paying for it. I had a lot of luck with the Stride cups paired with my Pumpables Genie Advanced but I would never recommend spending bookoo bucks to piece them together. So what I’ll say to this is if you have the Elvie Stride pump and found it as disappointing of a pump as much as I did, you can easily hack these cups with another pump. As for the Momcozy cups, I was surprised I liked them as much as I did. However I find they work best with the pump provided in the order. That combination of the Momcozy V1 Pro and paired cups are just a perfect match. They aren't as hackable when it comes to using with other pumps.
A set of cups which I had high hopes for were the Phanpy Cups. I had found these while pregnant with my third singleton, I placed my order and gave them a fighting chance. I still would agree they are a fair fit for a slim design but personally I found them a little difficult to stay responsive to. In other words, I would respond fine right way but then I found it hard to respond to trigger subsequent letdowns. Also, based on the design and the way the cups assemble, I worry about the hard plastic tunnel that meets the flange tunnel, which is exposed to the motion of your nipple being pulled in and out. This minor detail can be a major issue for some. If you're looking for a slim cup with a silicone flange, keep on reading...
Now, not saving the best for last, or have I? I’ve given you a pretty accurate timeline of my cup usage, up until what I’m currently favoring and that is the NeneSupply Cups. I found these cups in 2025 and honestly, I haven’t looked back. They’re slim, they have silicone flanges, and oh boy are they effective at moving milk. The NeneSuppy cups are super easy to hack with the BabyBuddha (or any pump for that matter). Similar to the backflow protector cap with nipple port, these cups offer the same for suction inlet. I have grown to love these, but I 110% need inserts to respond best to the size of the flange hole. The flanges come as 24mm, but I’ll argue they’re oversized. More good news, they come with inserts!
Thanks for reading my collection cup saga, I’ll be sure to keep you updated on any new advances that may come out along the way! For a product cross comparison - Collection Cups included, snag a copy of my Pump Comparison Chart! It's free and you'll get an email any time a new product is added!
* Cup section coming soon! download now to receive an email alert for when the cup section is added!
