Swing vs bouncer - what is better?

I'm looking for opinions from Mums on what is better - a baby swing (e.g. battery-operated style) or a baby bouncer (e.g. one with battery-operated vibrating function).

I already have a swing I got on lay-by a few months ago (still in box) but I'm thinking now that a bouncer would be better, since I don't want to continously buy batteries for the swing. I'm figuring that the swing won't actually swing unless the batteries are running, whereas the bouncer can be bounced by bub's movement or a well-placed foot :)

Also it's been mentioned that the swings are not so portable (e.g. a pain to throw in the car and take to friend's house) whereas the bouncers are lighter and easy to move about.

Any suggestions are most welcome!!

I have both and wouldnt be with out either :)
we have the fisher price soothing vibrations bouncer and its just the best

We have both and neither have ever needed batteries changed!!

Swing we got when DS1 was 5 weeks old and we used it multiple times a day from 5 weeks till 11 months. Gets used maybe once a day now by DS2.

Swing is much better i find, DS1 hated bouncer. DS2 I havent put him in it as I forget we have it as crap sitting on it!

We have both. DD was not a fan of the Fisher Price swing at all. It's one of the cheaper swings that swings like a normal swing, not the fancy ones that swing from side to side. I think she would have liked the expensive side-to-side swing better as she LOVED her hammock. The Maclaren rocker (battery operated for vibration) was and still is a huge hit for both of us. She loved it when she was little and the toy bar was perfect when she started swatting things. I still put her in it while I have a shower (have done so since buying it when she was 10 weeks old!) only now I give her a rusk or cruskit to keep her busy while I shower.

If you can afford both then they won't go to waste but I'd get a rocker any day over a swing as they are so much more versatile.

PS: I should point out that both ours are easy to move around and fold away easily to take in the car. The major differences are: 1. the toy bar and hood on the rocker which is great when they're little and 2. the rocker can be adjusted from an almost flat position to a a full sitting position which is great as they grow 3. the rocker has stabilising legs that flip out so it can be a stable seat or easily folded away again to be a rocker.

Two hands up for a swing,
We sold our bouncer, but LOVE the swing
I take it into the shower
It doesn't go through many batteries at all and you can still swing it with your foot if it was out too.
DD got bored in the bouncer
We're going for the swing/Bumbo combination with DS, just about to get a bumbo to take to others houses etc

DD has never been in a swing. But we are a huge fan of bouncers. She loves her fisher price Aquariam one that our neighbour gave us, but she also loves the basic old-style ones. The type that is a wire frame and a netting cover for baby to lay in.

I've had both. DD loved the swing, but like you said it wasn't portable. However, I'm a baby wearer anyway so having somewhere for her to sit wasn't usually a bog deal as she had the best seat in the house ;). For her I also had a rocker and a bouncer. The bouncer won hands down over the rocker, though the rocker was only a cheapie.
DD grew out of the swing at about 6 months but we used the bouncer until she was almost 1 and too fidgety to sit in there safely.
Both bouncer and swing had a toy bar, but often a well placed mat (ie near a window or mobile etc - something different to look at) does exactly the same thing.

Poor DS didn't get a choice as he only had a bouncer. Both my bouncers had a vibrating function but TBH I never ever put batteries in there once....don't know why just didn't see it as a necessary function.

We have both, and our wee one hates the swing (it's also a pain in the butt to carry it around) but he looooooooves his vibrating bouncer. The batteries last ages in it. He loves the vibrationg function. Very easy & light to carry around too :p

I have used both, dd1 loved her swing and bouncer. Dd2 hated the swing but was happy in the bouncer with the vibrations. They did take up a lot of room though, so this time I have found a fisher price space saving swing that is both and also compact so you can take it out with you.

BOTH!!! lol
Our swing saved our butts in the first few months and the bouncer was an easy place to bub down asleep, shes 10 months old and still uses both!
Depending on what kind of bouncer ur looking at u'll probably need batteries for it anyway if it vibrates and things like that.
Have fun, i love buying things like that for babies!!

Both, I had a bouncer/rocker first that vibrated and it was ok, but she would only settle for short periods in it, I got the swing when she was a few months old and it was HEAVEN!! She loved it, the best thing was it could swing either front to back or side to side and and sometime sshe preferred one over the other, so for a swing I would definitely chose one that has the option of both swinging directions :D

With DS1 my swing was a lifesaver as it gave me a few moments to have some dinner, but as more kids came along I found it took up too much space to reverted to a bouncer, which I would just rock with my foot. I think the biggest advantage of the swing is that baby is higher up, closer to your level, which they love.

Wow - so many great responses!! So taken all into consideration I think I'm going to keep the swing for now (since I paid for it a few months ago) and I'll see how bubs likes it. Then I can always get a bouncer later. Also I know some family members want to buy us something when bub arrives so I might suggest a bouncer hee hee.