“Tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen,
Pour myself a cup of ambition…”
Videos by VICE
Dolly Parton nails it every time someone pushes play on 9 to 5 and her crystalline voice belts out those opening words. Seven out of 10 Americans wake up to the black nectar every day, and it all adds up to a lot of money leaving your wallet when you’re ordering out for every pull of espresso.
Save yourself a boatload of cash and a fair bit of stumbling by making yours at home. We’ve rounded up the most-loved espresso makers on the market, from 1933’s original Moka Pot to the latest enthusiast models that pack more advanced technology than a Star Wars robot.
Quick Look at the Best Budget Espresso Machines
- Best budget espresso machine overall – Breville Bambino Plus
- Best automated all-in-one machine – Breville Barista Express Impress
- Best all-in-one for tinkerers – Breville Barista Pro
- Best espresso maker under $100 – De’Longhi Stilosa
- Best compact pod machine – Nespresso Essenza Mini
- Best jack-of-all-trades for pods – Nespresso Creatista Plus
- Best for the analog crowd – Bialetti Moka Espress
- Best for travel – Wacaco Picopresso
- Best for camping – GSI Outdoors Moka Espresso Pot
How We Evaluated
Espresso is tough to get right. Compared to a brewed carafe of coffee, the machinery is more specialized and there’s more room for user error, so ease of use was a top priority when researching espresso machines. Features, such as bean grinders and steam wands for frothing milk, were another key metric we looked at.
And then there was tastiness. Customers had to be pleased with the flavor of the finished product. What’s the point of an easy-to-use, feature-packed espresso machine if all it produces is used motor oil? An espresso maker is only as good as the quality of the cup of brew it squirts out.
Best Budget Espresso Machine Overall – Breville Bambino Plus
Customers praise how well this compact machine’s automatic steam wand froths milk. They also praise how well it maintains brewing temperatures so that pulling multiple shots in quick succession brew consistent cups, as well as how quickly they can use the steam wand after pulling a shot. Many machines require a bit of a waiting period to get the wand up to temperature, but not this one.
Whether you have a minuscule kitchen or just prize counter space for food preparation above all else, the Bambino Plus measures only about a foot high, a foot deep, and 7.7 inches wide, giving you back kitchen space without forcing you to compromise on espresso quality.
Best Automated All-in-One Machine – Breville Barista Express Impress
For a completely automatic machine with all the bells and whistles, customers report that the Express Impress’ automatic tamping and “intelligent” dosing was spot on for measuring exactly the right amount of grounds to use for each cup, taking the guesswork out of dealing with all the subtle ways grounds can vary from coffee to coffee.
There’s also a built-in steam wand and a conical burr grinder, which means consistently sized grounds versus blade grinders, and 25 grind settings so that you can dial in the perfect fineness (or coarseness) for each new bag of beans.
Best All-in-One for Tinkerers – Breville Barista Pro
Control freaks, this machine is for you. Like Breville’s Express Impress, the Barista Pro has a built-in conical burr grinder (but with 30 fineness settings) and Breville’s excellently performing milk steaming wand. But compared to the Express Impress’ RoboCop approach to automating everything, the Barista Pro gives the operator completely manual control over the variables of tamping pressure and grind timer.
That means a steeper learning curve and more demands on your attention, in exchange for finer control over the finished cup that results. If that sounds like a plus to you rather than a groan-inducing burden on your time, then the Barista Pro might just be your animal.
Best Espresso Maker Under $100 – De’Longhi Stilosa
For little more than the price of a drip brewer, you can make good espresso at home on the cheap with the De’Longhi Stilosa (if you don’t mind a lack of automation for measuring grounds and tamping them down). Customers say the single-knob interface is easy to use and understand, even if it doesn’t offer a huge choice in customizability or automation, and the steam wand produces milk foam that could be better.
Don’t expect the final results to taste as impressive as the rest of the machines in this guide, nor as good as a competent barista will hand you over the counter of your local café. But if you want to dip your toe into the espresso realm before committing big bucks, are tight for cash at the moment, or just don’t drink it often enough to justify spending MacBook money on a machine, then the Stilosa is as good as you’ll find for an electronic machine at this price.
Best Compact Pod Machine – Nespresso Essenza Mini
The Essenza Mini uses Nespresso pods to take the sweat and guesswork out of making espresso. You don’t have to (or aren’t able to, depending on your view) control the amount or coarseness of grounds, or even have to tamp them down at all. You simply load a pod, like a Keurig machine. There are numerous third-party pods on the market, too, so that you have wide choice in grounds.
There’s no frothing wand for milk, though, and you can’t use it to make any other coffee drinks aside from espresso in two sizes: 0.84 and 1.35 fluid ounces. Far from being a jack of all trades, the Essenza Mini is a specialized, single-use tool that makes espresso and espresso only. But that’s what helps keep the price down on this ultra-easy Nespresso machine.
Best Jack-of-All-Trades for Pods – Nespresso Creatista Plus
Few budget espresso makers blend versatility and ease of use like this premium Nespresso machine. Single and double shots of espresso are part of the menu, obviously, but also regular coffee from 5 fluid ounce cups to 18 fluid ounce carafes.
And then there are the milk-based coffees, too. The integrated milk frother will whip you up a cappuccino, flat white, latte, or latte macchiato if you punch into the controls your desired drink. The Nespresso requires no other equipment, not even a grinder, since it uses Nespresso pods of premeasured and prepackaged grounds. That leaves you with less choice in espresso beans and customizability, but also less work and an ultra-low learning curve.
Best for the Analog Crowd – Bialetti Moka Espress
Thirsty for an analog espresso because everything these days being digital leaves a bad taste in your mouth? This is the original stovetop maker unveiled by Italian company Bialetti in 1933. It’s become so much an icon of elegant, functional design that the Museum of Modern Art keeps one on display.
But is it easy to use? Well, it’s simple, but there’s more of a learning curve than the automatic espresso makers. You have to get the coffee ground amounts and boiling time just right to get the most out of this maker. The downside? No extra features. You have to look elsewhere for steaming your milk and grinding your beans. But if you want total control in a way that harkens back to espresso’s birth years, this is the time-honored approach.
Best for Travel – Wacaco Picopresso
Look, you may love your Breville, but it can’t come with you on vacation in your carry-on bag. A travel espresso maker is a better option. Without any parts to stick out and break in transit, and small enough to fit in your palm, the smoothly cylindrical Picopresso is designed for tossing into a duffel or suitcase.
You don’t need a stove or electricity, just hot water, which you could get from the drip-style coffee makers prevalent in hotel rooms. Once the hot water and grounds are put into the Picopresso, you use good, old-fashioned hand power to pressurize the espresso and squeeze it into a cup. Customers largely rave about the quality of the brew, too. There’s no milk steamer, though, so you’ll have to either bring a standalone one or drink your espresso straight until you get back home.
Best for Camping – GSI Outdoors Moka Espresso Pot
Who says sleeping underneath the stars has to mean drinking instant coffee from foil packets? If you can stomach lack of a bed more than lack of espresso, get yourself a machine made for the outdoors. Set it directly upon a camp stove, such as a common canister stove or Coleman propane stove, but the instructions say not to put it over a campfire.
A single pot brews a batch of six 2-fluid-ounce shots in minutes, so there’ll be enough for everybody. But of course you can brew less if you’d like. Unlike the Wacaco (but like the Bialetti), there’s no manual work required beyond filling it with water and grounds. GSI Outdoors offers a lifetime guarantee, as well; how’s that for confidence? Like other analog espresso makers, there’s no steam wand for frothing milk. But then again, if you’re camping or hiking, the hard part would be keeping fresh milk on hand in the first place.
