What is the difference between the Ella Big4Two and Companion?

The Ella Big4Two and the Ella Companion are both true two-seat walk-in tubs, and they differ in size, door and seat width. The Big4Two is the largest two-seater at 36 by 80 by 40 inches with 22 and 24 inch seats behind an outward-swinging U-shape door, while the Companion is designed for a standard 60 inch alcove at 32 by 60 inches with 23 and 25 inch seats behind an inward-swinging brushed stainless steel door with frosted glass. The two-seat family is laid out from the size side in What is the difference between the Ella Tub4Two and Big4Two?, and this page puts the longest tub next to the compact inward-door tub, a pairing the family tables answer only in passing.

The Two Models Side by Side

The Big4Two figures come from its spec sheet dated 6/7/23, and the Companion figures from the Companion video and the published model guides. The Tub4Two and Escape rows are included because each one is the other door style in the same footprint. Where no figure is published in those sources the cell says not listed.

What the table means: the Big4Two and the Companion differ in every column, so the choice is rarely close. If the bathroom has a standard 60 inch opening, the Companion fits and the Big4Two does not. If the wall can take 80 inches and you want the white outward door and the most interior room, the Big4Two is the tub. The one surprise is seat width, which is covered below: the smaller Companion carries seats an inch wider than the Big4Two's. The Tub4Two and Escape rows show that each footprint comes with one outward-door tub and one inward-door tub, so if the door is the deciding factor you can hold the footprint and switch models.

Size, and What 80 Inches Means for the Room

The Big4Two stands 40 inches tall and is 36 inches wide and 80 inches long, and it arrives in a 38 by 82 by 50 inch crate weighing 531 pounds, with the tub itself at 328 pounds net. Plan the path through the house against that crate, not the tub. The Companion is the tub Ella built for medium to petite bathers who want two seats inside a standard 60 inch tub alcove, and its video describes a comfortable seat width and ample legroom inside that footprint. The Big4Two holds 145 gallons unoccupied and 85 to 135 gallons with two bathers in it, a figure worth sharing with your plumber when sizing the water heater; the Companion's capacity is not listed on this page, so ask for its spec sheet. The 60 inch and 80 inch lengths are the figures to compare against your wall, and the 32 inch and 36 inch widths are the ones to compare against the doorway.

Door Swing: Outward Composite or Inward Stainless

The Big4Two's door is plastic composite and tempered glass, swings outward, and locks with the 3-latch gear and shaft mechanism. The Companion's door is a custom crafted brushed stainless steel door with frosted glass and a chrome locking handle, it swings inward, and it is removable for easy cleaning; the Companion video shows it lifting out. The Companion only comes with the inward door, so if you want a white outward door in the same 32 by 60 inch footprint, that tub is the Tub4Two, compared in What is the difference between the Ella Tub4Two and Companion tubs?. The practical rule is floor space: an outward door needs room in front of the tub to swing, and an inward door does not, which is why the inward-door models are the answer when there is no floor space in front of the tub.

Seats: The Smaller Tub Has the Wider Seats

Seat width is the figure to compare against the person who will use the tub, and here the Companion comes out ahead of the much larger Big4Two. The Companion's seats are 23 and 25 inches wide; the Big4Two's are 22 and 24 inches. The Big4Two's extra size goes into length and interior room rather than seat width, so a bather who mainly wants hip room gets it from the Companion in a 60 inch opening, and a bather who wants the most leg room and the longest tub gets it from the Big4Two. The widest seats in the family, 27 and 29 inches, are on the Escape, which shares the Companion's inward door in a 36 inch wide shell.

Therapy Systems on Each Tub

Neither tub is offered without jets, because the two-seat models are built around the digital controller and always include at least one massage system, as Common Model Questions explains. The Big4Two spec sheet lists three included systems. Hydro massage for the seat jets runs 16 upper seat jets, 8 at each seat, from a 9A 1250W pump with an intensity dial and the digital controller. Hydro massage for the feet runs 4 foot and 4 calf jets from a separate 7A 1000W pump with its own dial and an on/off push control, with a 6A 800W in-line water heater and 0.04A ozone sterilization. Air massage runs 18 seat jets, 9 at each seat, and 4 foot jets from a 4.5A 500W three-speed pump with Auto Purge, which starts about 20 minutes after the pump is turned off and runs for 120 seconds to clear the air lines. A multicolor LED chromatherapy light rated 0.5A runs from the digital pad, and a microbubble system with a 1 HP 7.3A pump and a heated seat and backrest are the two options.

The Companion video shows its package in use: a digital touch pad that engages a 14 jet three-speed air massage with Auto Purge, a hydro massage with 20 massage jets, an in-line water heater for consistent temperature, an intensity control dial, eco-friendly ozone sterilization, and Ella's exclusive independent foot massage so you can enjoy a foot massage without filling the entire tub. It also comes with the patented 360 degree swivel tray and a stainless steel towel bar. On any Ella three-speed air control the first press is high, the second is medium, the third is low, and a fourth press turns it off. Both tubs are listed in the Available On box of the digital controller schematic, explained in What the Air + Hydro + Hydro Foot Digital Controller Schematic Shows.

Faucets, Showers and Accessories

The Big4Two spec sheet lists two two-piece fast fill faucets, so each seat has its own high-flow faucet, each rated up to 16 GPM at 60 PSI with two 5 foot supply lines and a pull-out chrome hand shower limited to 1.9 GPM on a 5 foot braided hose. The Companion ships with the single two-piece fast fill set and an extendable multi-function hand shower, and its video notes that a dual two-piece set can be ordered so both bathers have a hand shower. Which Ella Walk-In Tubs Come With the 2-Piece or 5-Piece Faucet? lists the set for every model. The Big4Two accessories video on this page shows the four-fold glass screen combined with a three-fold screen as an alternative to a shower curtain, dual rain shower heads so one bather can stand while the other sits, and dual extendable hand showers. Both tubs use Ella's dual drain arrangement with two 2 inch drains, and the Big4Two spec sheet includes a stainless steel wall-mounted grab bar and calls for dedicated GFCI protected 115V 60Hz electrical lines.

Related Guides

• Choosing a Two-Seat Walk-In Tub: Companion, Escape, Tub4Two, and Big4Two Compared
• Your Two-Seat Tub Owner's Manual, Section by Section (Tub4Two, Companion, Escape, Big4Two)

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