Compare the Best Coffee MakersMarch 2020

Coffee makers work by percolating hot water slowly through ground coffee beans, picking up the flavour of the beans and turning the water into delicious coffee! There are numerous different types of coffee machines on the market, running the gamut from simple pots and mechanical presses to fully automatic electronic machines that not only brew coffee, but also froth milk to create lattes and cappuccinos. Below is an outline of the major different types of coffee makers:

Espresso Coffee Makers

These are the quintessential Italian coffee machines. They work by pushing hot water through finely ground coffee at extremely high pressure, creating a small amount of extremely strong, powerful coffee - an espresso shot. This can be drunk by itself, or can be mixed with hot water (an Americano), hot milk (a cafe au lait), or hot frothed milk (a latte). Espresso machines can be expensive and temperamental, but the coffee they create is perfect for a serious coffee addict.

Automatic ("bean-to-cup") Coffee Makers

These machines automate the entire coffee-making procedure, from grinding the beans and brewing the coffee to frothing the milk and adding it to the coffee. While they are some of the most expensive coffee makers on the market, they are also the most fully-featured, allowing consumers to create most different types of coffee shop-style drinks at the press of a button.

Filter Coffee Makers

Drip, or filter, coffee makers are far simpler machines than the expensive expresso machines. Coffee grounds are placed into top of the machine, then hot water is poured over the top. The water filters through the beans, extracting the coffee from the grounds as it does. The resulting liquid is usually collected in a heated pot, which can then be served whenever needed.

Filter coffee machines are usually significantly cheaper than espresso machines, but are limited in the amount of coffee they can make - espresso-based drinks (lattes, cappuccinos, etc) can’t be made in these machines. These machines are good for serving coffee to lots of people at once, or to a steady stream of people over the course of a day.

Stovetop Coffee Pots

Stovetop coffee pots cover several different types, from moka pots to turkish coffee pots. Coffee grounds and water are added to the pot, then this is placed on a stove or hot plate. As the water heats up it is forced through the grounds and the coffee is brewed. Because they don’t require any electricity, they are perfect for camping or travelling. Most stovetop coffee pots have a smaller capacity - enough for 1 or 2 people - so may be better for single people or for holidays.

Cafetières (French Press)

These are glass cylinders with a plunger on the top. Coffee grounds are loaded into the bottom of the cylinder, then hot water is poured in. This is left for 3-4 minutes to brew, then the plunger pushed down to compress the grounds, extracting the remainder of the coffee from the grounds and preventing them from escaping when pouring. French presses are much cheaper than espresso makers, since they require no electricity, and come in a variety of sizes, from small one person cylinders to giant presses for 10 people. The coffee produced is closer to filter coffee than expresso.

Pod Coffee Makers

Finally, pod coffee makers are the newest type of coffee maker on the market. Instead of measuring out the coffee grinds and loading them into the machine, the coffee grounds come pre-packaged in single-serving ‘pods’. These pods are inserted into a specialist machine, and at a button press it pushes water through the pod and crafts your coffee for you.

Pod coffee makers such as Nespresso have become extremely popular in the last few years, and are extremely easy to use for making high-quality coffee quickly and easily. However the machines themselves aren’t as cheap as other single-cup coffee machines, and some machines are only compatible with certain brands of pods - so double check the compatibility before you buy a 64-pack of pods! There are also environmental issues with pod coffee makers, since the pods generate a lot of waste.

Extras

Some more advanced coffee machines - especially the automatic bean-to-cup machines, may have alternate modes for making other hot drinks. These can include hot chocolate, cold milk, or dispensing hot water for making tea. While not the prime function of a coffee maker, there are a nice extra to have built in to the machine.

Finally, certain brands of coffee makers may have extra functions to aid coffee making. These can include built-in grinders so the beans are always freshly ground, or a milk frother (also known as a steam pipe) to allow you to froth milk for cappuccinos and macchiatos. Finally, some coffee makers have timers, so that you can program your coffee to start brewing for a specific time. These are often found in filter coffee machines - these can be set to start percolating early in the morning, so that coffee is ready for when you wake up!

Coffee Maker Prices

Coffee makers range in price from $12 to $4,600 and in total we found prices for 273 coffee makers. On average, a new coffee maker costs $495 and 80% of coffee makers are priced between $39 and $1,499. The Miele CVA 6401 is the most expensive coffee maker that we found at $4,600, and the Bodum Brazil is the cheapest at only $13.

Coffee Maker Brands - Price Range

The average price of Miele coffee makers is $2,104 which is the highest average price of all coffee maker brands. Miele coffee makers start at $880 and their most expensive coffee maker costs $4,600.

The average price of Jura coffee makers is $1,696 which is the second highest average price of all coffee maker brands. Jura coffee makers range in price from $650 to $2,857.

The average price of Saeco coffee makers is $1,325 which is the third highest average price of all coffee maker brands. Saeco coffee makers range in price from $395 to $2,099.

Coffee Maker Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 229 expert reviews and 15,908 user reviews for coffee makers and used this information to calculate the average rating for each brand of coffee maker. The top rated coffee maker brand is Krups with an average rating of 91%. The second best brand is DeLonghi with 90% and the third best brand is Siemens with 89%.

Biggest Coffee Maker Retailers

The biggest coffee maker retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 127 current coffee maker offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Overstock with 16 offers. That means eBay is over 7 times bigger than Overstock when it comes to coffee makers. Walmart is the third biggest retailer with 12 current offers.

When Are Most New Coffee Makers Released?

We couldn't see any evident trend in the release dates for new coffee makers over the last 3 years. In January 2019, four new coffee makers were released making it the biggest month that year for new coffee maker releases. August was the biggest month in 2018 for new coffee makers, with 59 new coffee makers released that month. 55 new coffee makers were released in September 2017 making it the biggest month that year for new coffee maker releases.

How Fast Do Coffee Maker Prices Drop After Release?

New coffee makers drop in price by an average of 4% in the first 6 months after they were first released.

That means a saving of $18 on a typical $495 new coffee maker if you wait 6 months before buying.

Output

'Output' denotes how much coffee the machine is capable of brewing and delivering at once, measured in cups. This is specifically important for cafetieres or drip-filter machines - however some larger coffee makers can churn out an extremely high level of coffee (in the thousands) while others concentrate on a single very high-quality cup.

Across the range of coffee makers, the output range from 1 cup(s) to 120 cup(s). The output of the majority of coffee makers range from 1 cup(s) to 3 cup(s). The la Pavoni PRG, which can be purchased for $1,215.67, has the most output and is a 16 cup(s) dispensing capacity coffee maker. The coffee maker with the least output is the DeLonghi EN520BK, which is a 1 cup(s) dispensing capacity coffee maker and sells for $200.00.

Coffee Input Types

The type of coffee e.g. coffee beans, ground coffee, coffee pods that is placed into the product in order to produce a cup of coffee.

We found 877 coffee makers that are ground coffee coffee makers, which makes ground coffee the most frequently found coffee input type amongst new coffee makers. We found 444 coffee makers that are capsule / pod coffee makers, making capsule / pod the second most common coffee input type amongst new coffee makers.

Coffee Maker Types

The techniques and machinery used to make coffee.

Amongst new coffee makers, the most frequently found coffee maker type is drip. We found 402 coffee makers that are drip coffee makers. Espresso is the second most common coffee maker type amongst new coffee makers. We found 260 coffee makers that are espresso coffee makers.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Coffee Makers?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying coffee makers. For each retailer it shows the total number of coffee makers where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying coffee makers. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 98 of their coffee maker prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Coffee Makers for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for coffee makers by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of coffee maker prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's coffee maker prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 77.2% of their coffee maker prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.