What is the difference between the Franke Instante and the Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical?

The Franke Instante lists at £750, £239 less than the Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical at £989. The Franke Instante dispenses filtered drinking water; the Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical does not. The Franke Instante ships with a 3-year warranty; the Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical with a 2-year warranty.

Which is better for hard water, the Franke Instante or the Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical?

The Franke Instante has a built-in filter, the better choice in a hard water area: it reduces scale build-up in the tank and improves taste. The Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical has no built-in filtration, so its tank will scale faster without a separate softener.

Model vs model

Franke Instante
vs Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical

The Franke Instante lists at £750, £239 less than the Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical at £989.

Every number below comes from the manufacturers' own specification sheets. We highlight which tap leads on each spec; what matters most for your kitchen is your call.

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Franke

Franke Instante

Franke's current 4-in-1: boiling, filtered, hot and cold

Typical price: £750

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Franke

Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical

Boiling water from a pull-and-turn knob, with no electronics above the sink

Typical price: £989

Full review →

The differences at a glance

The Franke Instante lists at £750, £239 less than the Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical at £989.
The Franke Instante dispenses filtered drinking water; the Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical does not.
The Franke Instante ships with a 3-year warranty; the Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical with a 2-year warranty.

Full specification, side by side

Sourced from manufacturer datasheets. A tick marks the better number on specs where more or less is objectively better.

Franke Instante vs Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical specifications from manufacturer datasheets
Spec	Franke Instante	Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical
Typical price	£750✓	£989
Boiling temperature	100°C	100°C
Tank capacity	4 L	4 L
Idle power	-	14 W
Peak power	-	1650 W
Flow rate	-	-
Filtered water	Yes✓	No
Sparkling water	No	No
Chilled water	No	No
Filter type	Franke 08 cartridge: carbon core, sold as boiler limescale protection	Franke Pro M: five-stage, with ion-exchange resin and a 5 micron carbon block
Finishes	2	3✓
Warranty	3 years✓	2 years
Released	-	-

Strengths and trade-offs

Franke Instante

What we like

Current Franke 4-in-1: boiling, filtered, hot and cold from one tap
Built-in filtration and tank included, no separate module needed
Genuine 100°C boiling water
Three-year Franke guarantee on the working parts, one year on the tap finish

Watch out for

Filtered cold water, not actively chilled
Narrow finish range at launch
Newer model with a thinner independent-review record than the Omni it replaces
Guarantee depends on the filter being replaced at the interval Franke specifies, and Franke asks for proof of cartridge purchases before it pays out

Franke Maris Water Hub 3-in-1 Mechanical

What we like

The mechanical control needs a deliberate pull and turn, so a wiped worktop or a stray hand cannot start boiling water
Pan-fill lock holds the flow open, which a spring-loaded control will not do
A genuine 100°C rather than the 98°C most rivals settle for
Around £140 less than the electronic version of the same system

Watch out for

No filtered cold drinking water, and unlike the electronic model it cannot be upgraded to 4-in-1 later
Two-year guarantee on tap, tank and filter housing, shorter than the Instante
The Pro M cartridge runs about £80 a year and skipping it invalidates the guarantee
Needs a 35 mm tap hole and a worktop no thicker than 50 mm

Common questions