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Quick list
1. Best overall
2. Best affordable
3. Best under £100
4. Best espresso
5. Best pod
6. Best filter
7. Best affordable bean to cup
8. Best luxury
9. Best affordable espresso
10. Best retro style
11. Best smart
12. Best luxury filter
How we test
FAQs
The best coffee machine can unlock your caffeine fix for you at home, and make mornings that bit more bearable. Whether your caffeinated drink of choice is an iced latte or an espresso, there's an appliance to help you get there, with features designed to secure the taste you want.
This guide features some of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines, the best pod coffee machines and more. There's also a range of brands including De'Longhi, Sage, Nespresso, KitchenAid, and Breville, and a selection of prices and styles to choose from.
The one thing these machines all have in common is that we've tried and enjoyed each of our top picks from our own homes and our testing facility, using them for a prolonged period to see how easy they are to use and clean.
Using our quick list below, you can skip straight to the one you want. Or if you're not sure yet, you can take your time mulling over all of your possible options with all the in-depth individual reviews we link to below.
The quick list
Searching for the best coffee machine but short on time? Look no further than our quick lists which has all of our favourite machines in one easy view.
Best overall
+ Adjustable grind size and volume
+ Manual or pre-dosed grinding
+ In-built tamping
+ Excellent milk steaming
+ Perfect coffee
- Mega-expensive
Best affordable
+ Great value
+ Looks fairly nice
+ Options with pods
- A little on the noisy side
Best under £100
+ Smooth and aromatic crema
+ Compact and stylish
+ Star price
- No preset for size option or milk frother
Best espresso
+ High-quality
+ Makes amazing espresso
+ Excellent range of filters
+ Steam wand is quick to heat
- Though it's small, it's expensive
Best pod machine
+ Sage-inspired design
+ Easy to use
+ Incredibly intelligent steam wand
+ Lovely tasting coffee
- A high-cost investment
Best filter machine
+ Two auto settings for weekday and weekend brewing
+ Larger carafe
+ Great price and look
- Display is on the side of the machine
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Best affordable bean to cup
+ Great value for a bean to cup
+ Sleek and minimalist
+ Adjustable grind settings
- The milk wand could be improved
Best luxury
+ Outstanding milk texturing
+ Recommends adjustments for different drinks
+ Easy to keep clean
+ You can go manual too
+ Touch screen
- Switching between beans can be a faff
Best affordable espresso
+ Budget-friendly
+ Great extraction
+ Powerful steam wand
+ Easy controls
- Won't fit larger mugs
Best retro style
+ Great for lattes and cappucinos
+ Attractive design
+ An affordable choice
+ Comes in 10 different colours for any kitchen
- Drips after each use
- Only 3 beverage choices
Best smart
+ Easy to set up and use
+ Also doubles as a speaker
+ Quality design
+ High-quality coffee
- Not much on-board control
Best luxury filter
+ Made with sustainable and recyclable materials
+ Brew 10 cups in 6 minutes
+ Can keep coffee warm for up to 40 minutes
+ Design that wins you over
- On the large side and expensive
Best coffee machine overall
The caveat that we have to get out of the way with the Sage Barista Impress is that it's a serious spend. At £729.95, this isn't a coffee machine in most budgets, but it might be one to daydream about or save towards if not - thanks to just how incredibly good it is at making coffee.
The unique selling point of this particular machine is the in-built grinder to give you elevated control over your cup of coffee. For coffee lovers, it streamlines the process of getting your brew to exactly how you like it, with a lot less mess at the same time. During testing, our Head of Reviews Millie found the coffee she could make with this machine absolutely delicious, and she was extremely impressed by the steam wand too.
Read our full Sage Barista Express Impress review for more information.
Best affordable coffee machine
With an RRP of £109.99, but with the opportunity to find this machine on sale for much, much less, we can whole heartedly recommend the L'OR Barista Sublime. In terms of cost per use, if you buy the XXL pods in bulk, it works out as around 30p per coffee. That's true value if you still want to have coffee at home admist the cost of living crisis.
Sure, there's also a small cost of running it added to your electricity bill, and the cost of buying a descaler once in a while, but overall we think it's well worth it because coffee is one of those small but important pleasures.
Our reviewer Millie found this machine to not only be excellent value, but easy to use and extremely convenient. The quality of the coffee can't be overlooked either, with Millie saying that this machine yields high-quality coffee, that wasn't too strong but not bitter either, and with a decent amount of crema. All in all, it's a certified bargain.
Read our full Phillips L'OR Barista Sublime review for more information.
Best coffee machine under £100
