What's the best first cup to transition a baby off the bottle?

Across the reviewers we read, soft-spout learner cups like the NUK Learner/First Choice line and the Munchkin Gentle Transition are the most-recommended bottle-to-cup bridges because the flexible spout mimics a nipple. High-trust threads in r/beyondthebump and r/toddlers repeatedly cite NUK as one of the few that doesn't require biting a valve. Many feeding-focused parents then move quickly to a straw or open cup for oral development.