Whether you’re a fan of cappuccino, macchiato, espresso, mocha, ristretto or just plain-old filter coffee, only the very best coffee machines will make you the coffee you want time after time. Thing is, choosing the right machine for you depends not only on your favourite type of coffee, but also on how much time, effort and money you want to invest in the brewing process.
If you’re not quite sure what you’re after, then read on and we’ll quickly run you through the basic types of coffee machine and pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses. Scroll down a little further and you’ll find a longer list of our favourite coffee machines at a wider range of prices, including the best manual espresso, bean-to-cup, pod and capsule, and filter coffee machines we’ve ever tested, along with links to our full, in-depth reviews.
How to buy the best coffee machine for you
Should you buy a manual espresso machine?
Pros: Best-tasting coffee; flexibility | Cons: Time-consuming; messy
If you want the flexibility to create anything from espresso to ristretto to cappuccino, a manual espresso machine similar to what you find in coffee shops is the best choice. The downside is that you’ll need to learn to manually grind and tamp the coffee, steam your own milk to perfection, clean the machine and repeat the process for every cup, but the added control makes it possible to get the absolute best from every variety of coffee.
Should you buy a bean-to-cup machine?
Pros: Easy to use; great coffee | Cons: Expensive; daily cleaning is tedious
If manual espresso sounds like too much work then a bean-to-cup machine is a great choice. Simply pop water and coffee beans in the machine, and you can get a shot of coffee at the press of a button – and without cleaning the machine between every single shot. Pricier machines include integrated milk frothers that dispense a cappuccino or white coffee at the press of a button. The results are never as good as manual machines though, and prices start at around £400.
Jump to the best bean-to-cup machines
Should you buy a coffee pod or capsule machine?
Pros: Quick, consistent results; mess-free | Cons: Coffee pods can be expensive
This is the simplest option of all – and basic machines start around £50. Each pod or capsule contains the perfect amount of coffee, so you simply buy the type with the strength and flavour you like best. For no-hassle, no-mess coffee that tastes consistently good, they’re hard to beat. Some machines add built-in milk frothing so you can get a latte or cappuccino at the touch of a button. The results don’t taste as good as manual espresso or bean-to-cup machines, though, and pods can be pricey.
Jump to the best capsule machines
Should you buy a filter coffee machine?
Pros: Cheap, quick, easy | Cons: Only makes black coffee
If you just want plain and simple coffee to fill a mug, or want to be able to make enough coffee for several people at once, a filter coffee machine is a great choice. These generally require you to use ground coffee (although a few do have integrated grinders), but they’re a good bet for making simple, unfussy black coffee.
Jump to the best filter coffee machines
The best coffee machines: At a glance
- Best manual espresso under £200: De’Longhi Dedica Style | Buy now
- Best manual espresso under £400: Sage Bambino Plus | Buy now
- Best bean-to-cup machine under £400: Gaggia Naviglio | Buy now
- Best bean-to-cup machine under £600: Gaggia Anima | Buy now
- Best cheap Nespresso machine: Nespresso Essenza Mini | Buy now
- Best all-round Nespresso machine: Nespresso Creatista Uno | Buy now
- Best filter coffee machine: Melitta Look Timer | Buy now
The best manual espresso machines to buy
1. De’Longhi Dedica Style: The best under £200
Price: £190 | Buy now from Amazon
Looking for a basic espresso machine around the £200 mark? The De’Longhi Dedica Style has reclaimed the top spot. It’s a simple machine with little in the way of frills, but the slimline design means that it squeezes into even the tightest kitchens and it makes a reasonable espresso to boot. It has risen a little in price – from around £140 to its current £190 – but it’s still very affordable.
Is it perfect? No. You don’t get anywhere near the depth of flavour of even the Sage Bambino Plus, and it’s a million miles from the likes of the Gaggia Classic or pricier Sage machines. If you’re serious about espresso, then you simply need to spend more.
That said, the Dedica is very simple to use. You can bung in supermarket ground coffee or grind the coffee yourself, and the Dedica’s pressurised baskets mean that it’s pretty forgiving if the grind is too coarse or too fine, or when you haven’t got the amounts quite right. The downside is that the results can be rather inconsistent – if you want the very best results from expensive single-origin coffees, then we’d strongly recommend that you spend more.
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 330 x 149 x 303mm; Water capacity: 1.1 litres; Cup warmer: Yes; Milk frothing: Manual (steamer wand); Coffee type: Ground
2. Sage Bambino Plus: A compact machine with automatic milk frothing
Price: £399 | Buy now from John Lewis
Sage’s entry-level manual espresso machine might cost more than most, but it does a good job of justifying the expense. Its brushed metal and fancy plastic exterior look the part, and the compact, sturdy design fits easily into small kitchens.
It also helps that it makes a mean espresso, but the clincher is the automatic milk texturing. Even if you haven’t got the faintest idea what you’re doing, the Bambino produces steamed milk with a dense, creamy microfoam at the touch of a button. Our only complaint is that it doesn’t eke the most flavour from the finest coffee – taste-tested alongside the pricier machines here, the Bambino Plus struggles to deliver the rich, complex taste profiles from top-notch coffee. For example, the Gaggia Classic (reviewed below) is simply in a different league.
That said, the Bambino Plus is head and shoulders above cheaper machines, so if you want a compact, affordable, easy-to-use espresso machine it’s a very smart choice.
Read our Sage Bambino Plus review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 320 x 200 x 310mm; Water capacity: 1.9 litres; Cup warmer: Yes; Milk frothing: Automatic/Manual (steamer wand); Coffee type: Ground
Buy now from John Lewis
3. Gaggia Classic: The best under £500
Price: £425 | Buy now from Gaggia Direct
At around the £400 mark you used to have two choices: Sage’s excellent Barista Express or Gaggia’s superb Classic. Thanks to the global pandemic, however, that’s all changed. Prices have soared on many of the Sage machines, and as a result the Barista Express is now closer to £600 than it is to £400. That’s left the Gaggia Classic as the undisputed champion in the sub-£500 category.
The Classic lacks the integrated burr grinder of the Sage – and bear in mind that a basic one of those will cost at least £50 or more – but it makes vastly better coffee. It might take a little more effort to get the very best out of the Classic, but at its best, it’s unbeatable for the money and capable of serving up the kind of coffee which equals or betters even far pricier machines.
If you really want to get the best from top-notch coffee beans, then this is the machine to buy. The metal exterior, clunk-click buttons and simple, basic engineering combine to make an espresso machine to aspire to.
Read our full Gaggia Classic review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 380 x 230 x 240mm; Water capacity: 2.1 litres; Cup warmer: Yes; Milk frothing: Manual (steamer wand); Coffee type: Ground
4. Sage Barista Pro: The best under £750
Price: £700 | Buy now from Lakeland
If you’re looking for an all-in-one manual espresso machine, then the Barista Pro takes some beating. While cheaper all-in-one machines can make a half-decent espresso, the Barista Pro is capable of ekeing almost every drop of flavour from the finest coffee beans.
It’s also far more consistent than cheaper machines – its integrated burr grinder accurately delivers the same amount of ground coffee time after time, and the volumetric sensor pushes the same amount of water through the coffee for a simply pitch-perfect cup of espresso.
Unlike some of Sage’s recent models, the Pro is a fully manual machine, but it’s well worth taking the time to dial in the perfect settings – do that, and the quality of coffee is impressive. The thermojet technology means that you won’t be waiting around, either, as it takes just 3 seconds to get up to temperature.
Read our Sage Barista Pro review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 406 x 354 x 406mm; Water capacity: 2 litres; Cup warmer: Yes; Milk frothing: Manual (steamer wand); Coffee type: Beans (built-in burr grinder)
Buy now from Lakeland
5. Sage Dual Boiler: The best high-end manual espresso machine
Price: £1,299 | Buy now from AO
The Dual Boiler from Sage by Heston Blumenthal is a serious machine aimed at people who want the full coffee shop experience at home. It’s exceptionally well made, has industrial-quality components and dual boilers so you can steam milk and pour espresso at the same time. More importantly, it delivers amazing coffee. It’s expensive, but for the real enthusiast, it’s the best. If, however, you want (or need) more of a helping hand but still want the very best espresso, then you should definitely consider Sage’s Oracle Touch instead: it has the same coffee-making skills as the Dual Boiler, but adds a touchscreen to help you make the perfect coffee time after time (read our full review here).
Read our Sage the Dual Boiler review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 405 x 378 x 377mm; Water capacity: 2.5l; Cup warmer: Yes; Milk frothing: Manual (steamer wand); Coffee type: Beans (built-in burr grinder)
Buy now from AO
6. Sage Oracle Touch: A high-end manual machine with an automatic twist
Price: £1,999 | Buy now from AO
If Sage’s Dual Boiler is just too daunting a prospect, but you still want a high-end espresso machine, then the Oracle Touch could be for you. Where the Dual Boiler requires a healthy dash of skill, and the standard Oracle assaults you with an array of buttons and LCD displays, the Oracle Touch replaces the lot with a friendly, bright, colourful touchscreen. Pick from one of the preset drink types and it will take you from coffee bean to delicious cappuccino, latte, flat white or more without befuddling you along the way.
At its heart, this is the Sage Dual Boiler with a friendlier face. It, too, has a dual boiler design which allows you to steam milk and pull espresso simultaneously, and the results are – it has to be said – equally impressive. The difference is in the sheer ease of use. The Oracle Touch automatically grinds the right amount of coffee and tamps it down, and also warms and froths milk to perfection. You can still tweak and perfect every recipe with the on-screen settings, or dabble with manual control, and once you’ve got your recipe nailed, the Oracle Touch will let you save your efforts as a preset drink which you can recreate at the touch of a button.
If you want vastly better coffee than any automatic bean-to-cup machine can make – and no, if you’re wondering, not even the £2,800 De’Longhi Maestosa gets close – then the Oracle Touch is an amazing machine. Just don’t blame us if it sets on you on the slippery slope towards full-blown manual espresso obsession.
Read our Sage Oracle Touch review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 454 x 392 x 373mm; Water capacity: 2.5l; Cup warmer: Yes; Milk frothing: Automatic/manual (steamer wand); Coffee type: Beans (built-in burr grinder – 280g capacity)
The best bean-to-cup coffee machines to buy
1. Gaggia Naviglio: Best affordable bean-to-cup machine
Price: £301 | Buy now from Gaggia Direct
If you want a good quality bean-to-cup machine for a rock-bottom price, they don’t come much better than the Naviglio. Although it’s comparatively cheap, it produces excellent espresso and it doesn’t need too much tweaking to get the best results. With a manual steam wand, you can froth milk in a jug and make excellent milk-based drinks, such as latte or cappuccino. At this price, it’s hard to beat, and you have to spend a chunk more money before you start getting truly better results.
Read our Gaggia Naviglio review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 340 x 440 x 256mm; Water capacity: 1.5l; Cup warmer: Yes; Milk frothing: Yes (manual); Adjustable grind: Yes; Adjustable strength: Yes (three)
Buy now from Gaggia Direct
2. DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart: Quick, tasty espresso from a super-stylish machine
Price: £450 | Buy now from John Lewis
If you’re seeking a bean-to-cup machine with smart Wi-Fi connectivity for under £500, then you may be a little disappointed. The ‘Smart’ in this coffee machine’s title has nothing to do with the latest in smart home tech. Thanks to its all-round excellence, however, it’s still a very smart buy.
Build quality and design is a cut above many of its similarly-priced rivals. The machine feels sturdy and well put together, and the water tank, drip tray and used coffee grounds bin all slot home with a reassuring thunk. The 1.8 litre water tank means that it can make a good few coffees before needing a refill, and the included water filter simultaneously reduces limescale build-up and makes sure that your coffee tastes its best.
Out of the box, we weren’t too impressed – you’ll definitely need to tweak the settings. Thankfully, a simple dial on the front of the machine allows you to control how much coffee is ground for each drink, so you can bump up the strength to suit your tastes. After dialling down the grind size a little and cranking the coffee taste dial most of the way up, the results were vastly improved. The design of the manual milk frothing wand won’t please budding baristas, but everyone else will appreciate the button which allows you to flick between hot milk and frothy cappuccino modes – it’s very easy to use.
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 220 x 430 x 340mm; Water capacity: 1.8l; Cup warmer: Yes; Milk frothing: Yes (manual); Adjustable grind: Yes; Adjustable strength: Yes
Buy now from John Lewis
3. Gaggia Anima: Best mid-range bean-to-cup machine
Price: £499 | Buy now from Gaggia Direct
While many bean-to-cup machines soar effortlessly towards the £1,000 mark, Gaggia’s Anima hits a rather keener price point. You don’t get luxuries such as one-touch cappuccino options (you’ll need to up your budget if that’s what you’re after), but the Anima is capable of making a very decent espresso lungo, and you’ll get the chance to refine your own milk frothing skills with the Anima’s steam wand. There are some minor moans – the espresso isn’t quite up there with the best, and we would like a finer grind option from the Gaggia’s in-built grinder – but the overall quality is enough to make for a fine buy.
Read our Gaggia Anima review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 220 x 430 x 340mm; Water capacity: 1.7l; Cup warmer: No; Milk frothing: Yes (manual); Adjustable grind: Yes; Adjustable strength: Yes
Buy now from Gaggia Direct
4. Melitta Caffeo Barista TS Smart: Best high-end bean-to-cup machine
Price: £749 | Buy now from Amazon
The Melitta Caffeo Barista TS has been our favourite fully automatic coffee machine ever since we first tested it – and the Smart version only improves matters. It produces a range of espresso-based drinks that are almost as good as a manual machine can make. Almost.
It’s incredibly fully featured, with two bean hoppers allowing you to produce a variety of coffees. It can produce a huge variety of different drinks, right from the touch panel on the front. The new Smart version, which is currently the same price, adds Bluetooth, which allows you to control the entire drink creation process down to the temperature and the order in which the various elements are delivered to your cup.
It also lets you download new recipes and even step your way through the machine’s various maintenance tasks directly on the screen of your smartphone. The Melitta Caffeo Barista TS and TS Smart are the kings of automatic coffee machines: they produce great coffee and are incredibly easy to use and maintain.
Read our Melitta Caffeo Barista TS Smart review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 365 x 255 x 465mm; Water capacity: 1.8l; Cup warmer: Yes; Milk frothing: Yes (automatic); Adjustable grind: Yes; Adjustable strength: Yes (five steps)
The best pod and capsule coffee machines to buy
1. Nespresso Essenza Mini: Best affordable Nespresso machine
Price: £90 | Buy now from Amazon
The Essenza is a classy, petite Nespresso machine. There are no frills or fancy features – it makes only espresso and lungo coffees – but the tiny footprint, fuss-free styling and consistent coffee quality are a great combination.
You get to choose from a range of colours and the same machine is made by two different manufacturers: Krups and Magimix. In practice, the only difference between the two is their shape: the Krups is a classic slimline rectangle, and the Magimix is a more unusual rounded triangle shape. The price and coffee options are identical for both, so it’s just a matter of choosing which you like the look of best – or which is cheaper.
Whichever you choose, the Essenza is supremely easy to use: insert the capsule on the top, then press the button and wait for your coffee to be poured. If you’re a fan of milky coffees, though, bear in mind that you’ll probably want to shell out for a separate milk frother to help make lattes and cappuccinos.
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 205 x 110 x 325mm; Water capacity: 0.6l; Cup warmer: No; Milk frothing: No; Heat up time: 25 secs; Coffee sizes: Espresso, Lungo; Maximum cup size: 110mm; Used capsule capacity: 6 capsules
2. Lavazza Jolie Plus: Best affordable Lavazza coffee machine
Price: £100 | Buy now from Amazon
Lavazza’s answer to Nestle’s Nespresso family is its range of A Modo Mio coffee capsules and compatible machines, and it’s fair to say they’re every bit as good as the competition.
The design is superbly simple. The capsules simply drop into place in the top of the machine and the large silver handle locks them into position. Two backlit buttons on top let you choose from either espresso (30ml) or lungo (100ml) shots of coffee, and you can tailor these to get just the right amount of coffee in your morning cup. Dab either button and you’ll get a fresh coffee in under 30 seconds, and you can accommodate larger cups or mugs by removing the plastic insert.
The water capacity is a little on the low side, but it’s only a problem if you’re planning on making a lot of coffees. Otherwise, you can take your pick from 16 different strengths and blends of A Modo Mio capsules – significantly fewer than Nespresso, but there is a decaffeinated option if that’s important to you – and the Jolie Plus serves up decent coffee with zero faff.
Want frothed milk with that coffee? Lavazza’s Jolie & Milk adds an integrated milk frother for around £20 more. You’ll need to manually pour the milk into the cup, but it’s superb value for an all-in-one machine.
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 330 x 125 x 215mm; Water capacity: 600ml; Cup warmer: No; Milk frothing: No
3. Nespresso Vertuo Next: Best mid-range Nespresso machine
Price: £149 | Buy now from AO
Nespresso’s Vertuo range of machines all use the company’s latest capsule design. Where standard Nespresso capsules will give you an espresso or a lungo, these new capsules contain more coffee so are designed to deliver a range of coffee sizes, and that allows Vertuo machines to produce extra-long 414ml coffees without ending up watery and tasteless. If you want the ability to brew up anything from a morning espresso to a huge afternoon lungo, then the Vertuo Next needs to be on your shopping list.
The Vertuo Next builds on what made its predecessor, the Vertuo Plus, so special. It’s shrunk in size, and the new design gets top marks. Yes, it’s available in a range of colours, so you can match it to your kitchen decor. It couldn’t be simpler to use: it warms up in five seconds, and as the capsules are seamlessly dumped into an internal bin there’s none of the clean-up or mess which you get with manual machines.
That said, the only major downside here is that you’re limited to the Vertuo capsules and coffee varieties on offer. You can’t use standard Nespresso capsules, so the range of choice – not to mention third-party options – is more limited. We’d also advise against spending the extra on the Premium and Deluxe models, as the only differences are aesthetic.
Read our Nespresso Vertuo Next review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 320 x 140 x 380mm; Water capacity: 1.1 litres; Cup warmer: No; Milk frothing: No
4. Nespresso Creatista Uno by Sage: Best high-end Nespresso machine
Price: £329 | Buy now from AO
If you’re looking for more freedom than a Nespresso machine, but less faff than a manual espresso machine, then consider the Creatista Uno. It makes a speedy shot of Nespresso – but rather than dolloping milk on top automatically, it passes the baton back to you.
You don’t need to be a milk frothing expert, though. Just fill its stainless-steel jug with milk, pop the wand in, select how hot and frothy you’d like it, press the steam button and walk away. A special temperature sensor within the drip tray keeps an eye on how warm the jug becomes and stops frothing when it’s ready. This means that once you’ve brewed a shot of coffee, you can then pour the milk in to make any shape you like on the top. Plus the wand will clean itself every time it’s used with a few sprays of water.
That isn’t to say the Creatista Uno is lacking in other smart features – the design of it as a capsule machine has come on leaps and bounds. So you’ll find a push-to-open used capsule holder and handy espresso cup platform, generous water tank and a drip tray that’s wide enough for the largest mug. Essentially, this is perfect for time-starved coffee lovers everywhere.
Read our Nespresso Creatista Uno review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 310 x 170 x 410mm; Water capacity: 1.5l; Cup warmer: No; Milk frothing: Yes (steamer wand); Coffee type: Capsules
Buy now from AO
The best filter coffee machines to buy
1. Melitta Look Timer: Best filter coffee machine
Price: £76 | Buy now from Amazon
This is one of the best filter machines that you can buy. It takes paper filters, which we much prefer to the washable metal filters on some machines, and the all-round build quality is solid. It doesn’t just look and feel the part, however, and one novel addition is that the AromaSelector dial which adjusts the strength and flavour of your coffee; this is handy for subtly tweaking the brew to suit different types of supermarket ground coffee.
The sizable glass jug allows you to make lots of coffee in one go, and a hotplate underneath keeps your coffee warm once it’s brewed. Another welcome feature with this machine is that you can adjust the time the hotplate comes on for – so you don’t have to put up with horribly stewed coffee if you’ve left it sitting for a while. If you want your coffee to stay hot for longer, though, then the slightly pricier ‘Therm’ model of this machine swaps the glass carafe for a metal insulated jug.
There’s now a newer version of the Look Timer – the Look IV Timer has been replaced by the Look V Timer – but we’d buy whichever is cheapest. The addition of a removable water tank to the latest model isn’t worth paying a big premium for.
Read our Melitta Look V Timer (2020) review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 330 x 240 x 225mm; Water capacity: 1.5l; Machine type: Filter; Stay warm: Yes (hot plate); Warranty: One-year RTB
2. Melitta Aroma Elegance Therm Deluxe: Best high-end filter coffee machine
Price: £115 | Buy now from Amazon
If you want the best-quality filter coffee, the Melitta Aroma Elegance Therm Deluxe is the machine for you. It’s extremely easy to use, has a removable water reservoir for easy filling and, most importantly, produces excellent coffee with no hassle.
One big difference to many filter coffee rivals is that this machine dispenses coffee into a thermal jug. It doesn’t hold quite as much coffee as the glass carafes on cheaper rivals, but it has one huge advantage: it keeps your coffee hot without the need for a hotplate underneath to keep it hot. That means the coffee doesn’t end up tasting stewed and unpleasant after a while – so it’s great for people who like to keep coming back for coffee over the course of a long, lazy (or not so lazy) morning.
The styling of this machine is a cut above cheaper models, but it’s practical, too. The clock and timer controls on the front allow you to quickly set your coffee to start brewing at a set time – so you can wake up to fresh coffee every morning.
Read our Melitta Aroma Elegance Therm Deluxe review
Key specs – Dimensions (HWD): 335 x 265 x 270mm; Water capacity: 1.25l; Machine type: Filter; Stay warm: Yes (thermal flask); Warranty: Five years RTB
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