A water dispenser countertop unit is the small option: it sits on a kitchen counter, reception desk or bar top and gives you cold, and often hot, water without a floor-standing cabinet. It suits flats, bedrooms, consulting rooms, small shops and offices with a handful of people. Some take a small bottle, some have a tank you fill by hand and some connect to a tap. Tell us what you need and suppliers in your area quote you directly. The request is free and there is no obligation to accept.
Three ways a countertop unit gets its water
Not every small dispenser works the same way, and the difference decides how much effort it takes every week:
- Small bottle on top: takes a 5 to 10 litre bottle. Easy to lift, but you refill or swap it often.
- Manual fill tank: you pour water in from a jug. No bottles to buy, but you must keep the tank clean and use safe water.
- Mains-fed with a filter: plumbed to a cold tap under the counter. No lifting at all. See plumbed-in dispensers.
If you drink more than a few litres a day, a full-size water dispenser is less work.
What to check before you buy
Measure the space first, including the gap above the unit if the bottle loads from the top. Check the cup height under the tap, because a tall mug or a sports bottle may not fit. Most small units use thermoelectric cooling: it is quiet and light, but it cools only a few degrees below room temperature on a hot afternoon, so do not expect ice-cold water in a sunny kitchen.
If you want hot water, look for a child lock on the hot tap and a switch that turns the heater off. Make sure the tank or bottle can be removed and washed, and that spare parts such as taps and drip trays are easy to get. A unit with no replacement parts becomes waste the first time a tap cracks.
What drives the cost
Basic countertop units are the cheapest dispensers on the market. Prices rise with hot water, compressor cooling and a built-in filter. Remember the running cost too: small bottles cost more per litre than an 18.9 litre bottle, and a thermoelectric unit still draws power all day unless you switch it off at night. If your supplier also delivers, ask about bottled water delivery in the size your unit takes, since not every depot stocks small bottles.
Getting quotes you can compare
Give every supplier the same facts: how many people will use it, whether you want hot water, the counter space you have, and whether there is a plug and a cold tap nearby. Ask whether delivery is included, what the guarantee covers and who fixes it after that. Compare the price per litre of the bottles as well as the price of the unit. A cheap dispenser tied to expensive small bottles can cost more over a year than a slightly dearer one you fill from the tap.
What to include in your request
- How many people will use it each day
- Hot and cold, or cold only
- Counter width, height and nearest plug
- Small bottle, hand-fill or tap-fed
- The suburb or town for delivery
Countertop Water Dispensers for different sites
- Households: a small hot and cold unit on the kitchen counter or in a flat with no space for a cabinet
- Offices and business parks: a table top dispenser at reception or in a small team kitchen where a full unit is too big
- Schools, crèches and colleges: a compact unit in the staffroom or the school office, kept out of reach of small children
- Clinics, practices and care homes: a small dispenser in a consulting room or nurses' station, with a hot tap lock and a wipe-clean tray
- Lodges, hotels, restaurants and events: a mini dispenser in a guesthouse breakfast room or a self-catering unit's kitchenette
- Factories, mines and building sites: a compact unit in a site office or foreman's cabin where there is room for little else
- Shops, gyms and refill stations: a small dispenser behind the counter or on a salon shelf for staff and waiting customers
- Farms, smallholdings and villages: a hand-fill tank unit in a farm office or cottage, filled from a tank or treated borehole
Frequently asked questions
How much does a countertop water dispenser cost?
Do you sell countertop water dispensers?
Can a countertop dispenser make ice cold water?
Is it safe to fill the tank from the tap?
Countertop Water Dispensers by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg