The best espresso machine 2025: home coffee makers tested by experts

• November 29, 2025

The best espresso machine can set you up for the day with a super-smooth hit of concentrated caffeine, without you even having to leave the house, and we’ve tested all the latest models from big brands like Breville, Gaggia, and De’Longhi to help you choose the right one for you.

There are all sorts of options out there if you’re looking for the best coffee machine, but for many people an espresso maker is the only way to go. Whether you’re looking for a fully manual coffee maker requiring maximum barista skills, or a more beginner-friendly bean-to-cup machine that grinds, brews, and steams at the press of a button, I’ve got the right one for you here.

When I test espresso machines, I check how quickly each one reaches temperature, the quality of the portafilter (or brew group for a bean to cup machine), the type of grinder and the number of settings, the quality of the steam wand, the volume of the machine in decibels, number of drink profiles, customization options, and much more. Most importantly, I look for consistency, so you can be confident that your coffee will always taste perfect.

I’ve also included video clips where possible so you can see exactly what it’ll be like to use each espresso machine in your own kitchen.

The quick list

Below is our quick guide to the best espresso machines around. Use it to narrow down your options, then either hop down to the more in-depth entry, or head straight to a retailer to buy.

Meet the expert

Written by

Written by

Cat Ellis

Cat has been a tech journalist for over 10 years and is an SCA-certified barista, so you can trust her to recommend the very best espresso machine for your kitchen. Whether you’re looking for a manual machine or something fully automatic, she’s got you covered.

The best espresso machines

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The best espresso machine overall

There’s a bit of an expectation when it comes to espresso machines that if you want the absolute best results, you need to learn the ways of the barista. However the Breville The Barista Touch Impress (sold in the UK as the Sage The Barista Touch Impress) is one mighty exception to this rule, and right now we think it’s the best espresso machine you can get.

It’s one of Breville’s most advanced espresso machines, guiding you through all the most difficult aspects of using a manual coffee machine. It combines features from our previous top pick, the Barista Express Impress, such as the compact integrated grinder, assisted tamping and auto-dosing, with the Barista Touch’s touchscreen and automatic milk frothing, to make a brilliantly user-friendly (and surprisingly compact) expresso machine that gives incredible results every time.

Our reviewer spent two months testing the Barista Touch Impress and came away suitably, well, impressed. For novices it’ll automatically take care of the entire process as well as enabling you to save your favorite settings for instant access, while those with barista skills will fined it easy to take more control of the process to achieve better results – you may find it harder than you’d expect to beat the Barista Touch Impress’s own output, though.

Read our full Breville The Barista Touch Impress review

The best budget espresso machine

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The De’Longhi Dedica Duo is the best budget espresso machine I’ve tested this year, and blows most other sub-$300 alternatives out of the water. De’Longhi has a reputation to maintain, and hasn’t skimped on components or features. Despite its entry-level price, this little machine feels solidly made, and performs reliably. It heats quickly, its pump is capable of sustaining the pressure you need to get consistently well-extracted coffee, and its steam wand is excellent.

The Duo is an updated version of the De’Longhi Dedica Style, with a more modern look and useful tweaks like a wider drip tray that lets you fit two espresso cups underneath more easily (thank you, De’Longhi). The main change, however, is a new cold-extraction option, which takes longer than pulling a shot of hot espresso (a couple of minutes rather than 38 seconds), but produces a smooth-tasting drink that’s a great foundation for iced drinks and cocktails.

I’ve been very impressed during my tests. My only quibble is that the machine tends to drip a little after the pump has stopped, but I definitely don’t think that should be a deal-breaker.

Read our De’Longhi Dedica Duo hands-on

The best manual espresso machine

The Seattle Coffee Gear Diletta Bello+ is a new winner of our best manual espresso maker recommendation. It’s expensive, which is why we don’t recommend it for everybody, but it’s very impressive.

An upgraded version of the original Diletta Bello, it includes extra features like a shot timer so you can check that your espresso isn’t under- or over-extracted, a programmable pre-infusion mode, and an eco-mode for faster heating. This last point is particularly welcome, because the original machine took quite a long time to get up to temperature.

During testing, we found that the Diletta Bello+ turned espresso-making into a meditative experience, and with practice we were able to create consistently rich and smooth espresso. The steam wand is particularly well designed too, and able to create smooth microfoam from dairy and non-dairy milks (including oat milk, which is notoriously tricky).

The Seattle Coffee Gear Diletta Bello+ is only available in the US at the time of writing. If you’re somewhere else, we’d recommend instead the Sage the Barista Touch Impress, which is top in this guide.

Read our full Seattle Coffee Gear Diletta Bello+ review

The best automatic espresso machine

The Smeg BCC13 is a compact bean-to-cup espresso machine that handles every part of the process for you, from measuring and grinding the beans to frothing milk for cappuccinos and lattes. Just fill the water tank, add your beans to the hopper, and select your preferred drink using the set of buttons on top of the sleek chassis. You might need to refer to the manual the first few times, since each button can deliver two different drinks and the icons aren’t immediately self-explanatory, but that’s a pretty minor complaint.

Once that’s done, the BCC13 will set about brewing tasty, well extracted coffee that’s impressively consistent. The auto milk frother produces creamy, sweet microfoam when used with dairy milk, though (as Smeg itself warns you) it’s not so great at handling plant-based alternatives.

The whole machine is finished to a very high standard, and is a cinch to keep fresh. There are no awkward nooks and crannies where grounds can get stuck, and the one-minute quick clean cycle keeps things hygienic between full cleanings.

Read our full Smeg BCC13 review

The best small espresso machine

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If you’re tight on space, then the Breville Bambino Plus offers similar features to the Gaggia Classic above but with a more compact footprint and a slightly more affordable price tag. On test, we found the Breville Bambino Plus – known as the Sage Bambino Plus in the UK – heated up in just three seconds. Milk frothing was nice and easy too, with a choice of three temperature and three milk textures, and the metal steam wand was a classy touch.

If you prefer you can instead texturize your milk manually, and however you do things the Bambino Plus will automatically purge the steam wand by pumping water through it once you’re finished. This isn’t a machine for complete beginners – you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the art of choosing the right filter basket and ground coffee, as well as tamping the coffee down and trimming excess grounds – but once you learn its ways you’ll find it to be an impressive and capable espresso maker.

Read our full Breville Bambino Plus review

The best espresso machine for beginners

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The Gaggia Classic was our #1 espresso maker in 2021 and 2022 but it has since been knocked off its perch to make way for new machines. Whilst we do still think that it is one of the best espresso machines it is a little older than some of the others that we now feature in this guide. But it’s still a great choice.

Gaggia says it will produce a shot of coffee with a thick crema without experimenting with the coffee grind size, making it ideal for those who want to learn how to use an espresso machine before attempting to play barista. It also offers complete manual control over how much water is dispensed, allowing you to create the volume of coffee you want.

On test, we were impressed that the coffee was rich and intense. With all three filters, it had a stable crema that reformed when we sprinkled sugar on top. The built-in steam wand ensures you can make milk-based coffee drinks too.

Read our full Gaggia Classic review

The best espresso machine for lattes

If you enjoy milky coffee drinks but can’t quite get the hang of a manual steam wand (or don’t have time in the morning), this is the ideal espresso machine for you. It’s one of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines I’ve tested, and is particularly great when it comes to milk texturizing, producing silky, stable, sweet microfoam that rivals the work of a professional barista.

When it come to espresso, you’re spoilt for choice. This is an espresso machine that encourages tinkering, with a huge color touchscreen that makes it easy to adjust virtually every variable, from dosage and grind size to water temperature and infusion time. If you’re not quite sure where to begin, the machine can suggest optimum settings based on the type of beans you’re using (a system called BeanIdent), which you can then tweak to suit your tastes and save as a favorite in your personal profile. The machine supports up to 10 of these, so your family and guests can store their own preferences.

Another of the EQ900 Plus’s best features is its dual hopper, which lets you switch between two different beans on the fly; ideal if you want to switch to decaf in the evening or you and your partner have different preferences. There’s also a handy smart cleaning system that stores two tablets (one for descaling and one for cleaning) just above the milk container for more straightforward maintenance.

The biggest drawback here is the price, and this is one of the most expensive espresso machines we’ve tested. However, if you don’t mind foregoing the smart cleaning system, you can save a significant chunk of cash by opting for the standard Siemens EQ900, which has the same excellent auto milk frother. Take a look at both and decide which one fits your needs best.

Read our full Siemens EQ900 Plus review

The best espresso machine for flavored coffee

The Jura J10 is a versatile fully automatic espresso machine that makes it easy to recreate complicated coffee shop orders at home, including hot and cold brew, and drinks sweetened with syrup.

It’s controlled via a large, bright full-color touchscreen, which lets you take your pick from an extensive collection of customizable presets, or create your own. Unusually, the J10 has two dispensers (one for espresso and hot water, and another for espresso and milk), and the J10’s Coffee Eye system will detect where you’ve placed your cup and change the menu options accordingly. It’s a smart touch, as is the ability to tap a button to see which drinks in the menu can be brewed cold, or with syrup.

The machine doesn’t adjust the grind size automatically, which is a little surprising. Instead you’ll be promoted to set it manually using a dial next to the hopper, on top of the machine. It’s worth being aware that you don’t get much time to do this, or tinker with other settings before the machine times out and continues to the next step of brewing or returns you to the main menu.

Aside from that, the Jura J10 is hard to fault. Espresso is consistently well extracted with rich, golden crema, milk is perfectly textured, and the Sweet Foam system is a smart way to add plenty of flavor to your drink without using multiple pumps of syrup.

Read our full Jura J10 review

The best espresso machine if money is no object

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The Smeg Mini Pro is an extremely stylish compact espresso machine that gives you a choice – use the single or double shot buttons when you’re in a hurry, or take your time and pull a shot manually using the extremely satisfying lever on the right-hand side. It’s up to you, and during testing it produced consistently excellent espresso both ways.

The machine heats fast (it has separate heating blocks for coffee and steam), and we were surprised by how quiet its pump was in operation. However, for us the standout feature was the steam wand, which delivers a smooth, steady flow and doesn’t lose pressure like some others we’ve tested over the years, so you can spend time stretching your milk exactly the way you want it. The steam is controlled using a large, tactile dial that’s just as smooth and satisfying to use as the lever.

The Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Coffee Machine also looks stunning, with a 1960s-inspired design and solid-feeling build. This comes at a price though, and you’re certainly paying a premium for the look and feel here. The Mini Pro costs almost as much as some commercial espresso machines but without features like flow control or pressure profiles, so you’ll have to really fall in love with it to justify the cost.

Read our full Smeg Mini Pro Espresso Coffee Machine review

How to choose an espresso machine

Espresso machines are some of the best coffee makers. They come in all shapes and sizes, including some of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines, and the best espresso makers help you achieve barista-quality results. They often include their own integrated bean grinder for your convenience but do bear in mind that that extra equipment adds bulk and often increases the price as well. If you’re looking for something fast, cheap and that doesn’t need a lot of counter space you might prefer a single-serve or pod coffee machine.

If espresso is definitely for you, the first decision is to choose whether you want an espresso machine that offers manual control over dispensing water or a device that takes on that work for you; the latter is probably better for those new to playing barista.

Next, consider if you want a machine that you can use with ground coffee, single-serve pods, or a mixture of the two. Coffee pods are less messy than using ground coffee. They can be handy if you occasionally want to make decaf coffee using the machine – but they don’t produce the thick, rich crema you get with freshly ground coffee.

If you regularly make espresso for two or more people, look for a coffee machine with a double spot on the tray that can fill two separate cups simultaneously. And if you like longer coffee drinks with milk, such as cappuccinos and lattes, choose an espresso machine with a built-in steam wand or factor in the cost of a standalone milk frother.

Finally, take note of the size of the espresso maker to see if you have sufficient room for it on your kitchen countertop – or, if you plan to store it away in a cupboard, consider its weight to see that you’ll be able to lift it easily.

If you’re on a budget, take a look at our guide to the best cheap coffee maker deals, too.

How we tested these espresso machines

We take testing espresso machines seriously and put each device through its paces to see if it can live up to its promises. We assess the quality of espresso produced by each machine, analyzing the flavor of the final drink; we look for a rich, intense shot of coffee that doesn’t taste bitter or burnt, along with a thick, stable crema that reforms after the sugar has been sprinkled on it.

The temperature of the espresso is also measured, checking for consistency from one cup to another, and we assess the noise level of the machine. If it has a built-in steam wand, we evaluate its ability to texturize both dairy and plant-based milk, looking for tiny bubbles that create a rich, smooth texture. Again, we assess whether its noise level is acceptable.

We also evaluate how easy an espresso machine is to set up and use, whether it offers enough manual control for those who want to take on the barista role, plus how much space it will take up on your kitchen counter. Finally, we consider if the water tank is removable for easy refills and how the machine looks.

Espresso machine FAQs

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The best espresso machine can set you up for the day with a super-smooth hit of concentrated caffeine, without you even having to leave the house, and we’ve tested all the latest models from big brands like Breville, Gaggia, and De’Longhi to help you choose the right one for you.…