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I don’t know about you, but I don’t actually wake up in the morning until after I’ve had a cup of coffee—which is why a good drip coffee maker comes in handy. It can prep a brew in a matter of minutes, and depending on the machine, it can be programmed the night before so that piping-hot coffee awaits first thing in the morning. But with a slew of different models available on the market at a wide range of price points, it can be a chore to figure out what the best drip coffee maker is for you. “I think sometimes people get overwhelmed and buy bells and whistles they don’t actually need,” says Klatch Coffee CEO Heather Perry, a two-time U.S. champion barista. “Or they buy a batch brewer but just want to be making a cup every day. Buy something that fits your lifestyle.”
Experts in This Article
two-time U.S. champion barista of Klatch Coffee
coffee professional, Seattle Coffee Gear commercial and residential sales manager
vice president at Cafe Aroma
Still, there are lots of factors to consider when buying the best drip coffee maker for your home. Will an affordable coffee maker do the trick, or are you better off investing in an expensive one? To give you a hand, we consulted some of the buzziest names in the coffee business for their expertise on how to choose a machine, their picks for the best drip coffee makers on the market, and their tips for making the perfect cup of joe.
Best drip coffee makers, at a glance
- Best overall: Breville Precision Brewer 12-Cup Coffee Maker with Thermal Carafe
- Best budget: OXO 8-Cup Coffee Maker
- Best splurge: Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker
- Best for small spaces: Ratio Four Coffee Machine
- Best smart machine: Terra Kaffe TK-02
- Best for strong coffee lovers: Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV Select
- Best looking: Ratio Six Coffee Maker Series 2
- Best single serve: Moccamaster Cup-One
- Best grind-and-brew: xBloom Studio
What is a drip coffee maker?
A drip coffee maker, not to be confused with pod machines like the editor-loved Keurig Vertuo Next and the Bruvi, is a small kitchen appliance that features three key components: a water tank, a basket for holding coffee grounds, and a glass or thermal carafe. Drip coffee makers are available in two models:
- Single-serve coffee makers: As you might have guessed, single-serve coffee makers brew a single cup of coffee.
- Batch-brewer coffee makers: Batch brewers make an entire pot of coffee (or about six to eight cups).
Both types of machines come in simple and high-tech versions. “I’m very picky about my coffee appliances—however, picky doesn’t always mean fancy!” says Bernadette Gerrity, vice president of Cafe Aroma, a family-owned and operated Cuban espresso brand established by her grandfather in 1960. “To put it simply, a good coffee maker should create ease in preparation and simultaneously enhance the aroma and flavor of your coffee in the process.”
How does a drip coffee maker work?
Though they may come with a variety of special features, all automatic drip coffee makers have the same basic function. They boil water, which moves up into the lid above the coffee basket, rains down from a showerhead to saturate the grounds, then drips coffee into a cup or carafe. The larger the showerhead and the more spray holes it has, the better it will distribute water over the grounds. “This is one of the most important factors in proper brewing, that all grounds are properly saturated for even extraction,” says Seattle Coffee Gear commercial and residential sales manager John Holmquist. Adds Gerrity, “A good drip coffee maker should get to the right temperature and evenly distribute the water over the coffee grounds so you get a well-balanced cup of coffee.”
To guarantee the best results, follow these pro tips for brewing in a drip coffee maker:
- 1.Use fresh, filtered water. “Drip coffee is 99% water,” says coffee pro Lance Hedrick, who has tested and reviewed countless coffee makers. “Get some kind of filter that will remove minerals.” This will not only improve the taste of your coffee but also lengthen the life of your machine by removing impurities that cause scaling. As Perry puts it, “Never use water that you wouldn’t drink on its own.”
- 2.Grind your beans. “Freshly grinding your coffee is of utmost importance,” says Hedrick. “The longer it stays ground, the more the aroma is sapped out of it.” If you don't opt for a coffee maker with a built-in grinder, Hedrick says a hand grinder is a good budget-friendly option, while Holmquist recommends a burr or conical grinder to create consistent and properly sized grounds. As for the grind size, medium/coarse is best for drip coffee machines.
- 3.Invest in a kitchen scale. “You want to measure the weight of your coffee beans; volume is not sufficient,” says Hedrick. “Different beans, different roasts, all have different densities. The purpose of having the weight is so you can have a specific ratio.” And focusing on the ratio is key, says Gerrity. “Over time, you’ll figure out your preferred ratio of coffee to water—I like a stronger brew, personally.”
- 4.Clean that machine. “Get on a good schedule to properly care for your machine,” says Holmquist. “Removing any scale or coffee oil buildup will dramatically extend the life of your equipment and improve your cup quality.”
What to consider when looking for a drip coffee maker
Build quality
Look for a machine that’s made with quality parts and manufactured by a reputable company. “You’re not going to want something to die after a few weeks, which happens oh-so-often with cheaper machines,” says Hedrick. Holmquist echoes the sentiment: “It’s important to consider the quality of materials that the brewer is built with, including spray arms, carafes, and the basket type.”
Basket geometry
Consider the size, depth, and width of the coffee basket, says Hedrick, and be careful not to overfill or underfill it. “An easy rule of thumb is to use two tablespoons of coffee for every six ounces of water,” says Perry. “For most people, it's gonna feel like a ton of coffee. And the reality is it’s probably more than most people are using. But when people are like, ‘It never tastes the same when I make it at home,’ It’s because you're not using enough coffee.”
Capacity
Think about whether the brewer will fit your daily coffee needs or if it will grow with you over time. “If you really only want to brew two or three cups at a time, make sure you're buying a batch brewer where that is the optimal-sized dose for that brewer,” says Hedrick. In other words, don’t brew two cups of coffee in a 12-cup machine because the coffee bed will be too shallow to get a good extraction.
Water temperature
“We like to reference the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Golden Cup water temperature recommendations of 194° F to 205° F for brewing,” says Holmquist. “If it goes above 205° F, you will start to OVER-extract your coffee, leaving unwanted bitter notes if you like medium to darker roasts. Lighter roasts can handle higher temperatures, but in general, look for brewers that provide temperature stability within this range.”
Features
“It’s important to consider the features that are most important to you so you can pick the best machine for your lifestyle,” says Gerrity. “If you’re quite busy and looking to make coffee quickly and easily, a simple and affordable drip machine will provide a perfectly delectable cup.” On the other hand, some of those fancy functions can be a game-changer. “What about a timer, pre-infusion, smaller batch settings vs. full pot, or slow drip settings for cold brew options?” says Holmquist. “There are a lot of options out there to make brewing fun!”
Shop the 9 best drip coffee makers, according to pros
Dimensions: 12.25" x 6.75" x 15.75" | Capacity: 12 cups | Carafe style: Thermal | Features: Brews single cup or full pot; cone filter basket and gold-tone filter basket; programmable Auto Start; Auto pour-over mode; six brewing modes; descaling alert and automatic descaling cycle; LCD display with rotary dials
When it comes to the very best of the best drip coffee makers, the Breville Precision Brewer is the hands-down winner. For starters, it’s super easy to use. “It has a lot of simple features that make it functional in a home,” says Perry. “It holds up really well, it makes a really good cup of coffee, it gets plenty hot, and it has a stainless steel carafe. If you want to do some experimenting, it absolutely has those opportunities.” Indeed, Holmquist says, “It has multiple brew basket options for single cup, full pot, or large pot brewing as well as adjustable brew temperatures and profiles.” No matter how you like your coffee, the Breville Precision can craft it to perfection, thanks to its six brewing modes: Fast, which brews 12 cups in 7 minutes; Gold, which meets the SCA Golden Cup standard; Over Ice, a strong brew for iced coffee; Cold Brew; and My Brew, which lets you customize the temperature, bloom time, and flow rate.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Includes filters to brew a single cup or a full pot
- Adjustable water temperature control
- Lots of custom drink features for a reasonable price
Cons:
- It goes into descale mode quite frequently, which users may find annoying
Dimensions: 13.5" x 10.5" x 7" | Capacity: 8 cups | Carafe style: Thermal | Features: Brews single cup, travel mug, or full pot; wide shower head; automatically regulates water temperature and brew cycles; descaling mode
Both Hedrick and Gerrity agree that the OXO 8-Cup Coffee Maker provides the biggest bang for its buck. “It offers consistently high-quality single-cup and full-pot brewing at an affordable price,” says Gerrity. It’s no surprise that the machine gets it right every time: The OXO 8-Cup Coffee Maker uses BetterBrew technology to regulate water temperature and has a wide RainMaker shower head that evenly distributes water into the coffee bed, then pauses briefly to let the grounds “bloom” and extract flavor. Instead of a warming plate, which continues to “cook” coffee and can make it taste bitter or burnt, it comes with a double-wall, vacuum-insulated thermal carafe that keeps the rich brew piping hot for up to two hours. All in all, says Hedrick, “It does a solid job for the price.”
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Includes optional 2-4 cup insert
- Sleek, compact design
- Removable parts are easy to clean
Cons:
- User cannot control water temperature
- Requires coffee filters
Dimensions: 9” x 9” x 12” | Capacity: 12 cups | Carafe style: Thermal | Features: Brews single cup or full pot; dual shower heads; precision temperature control, removable water tank
Fellow, the brand behind the popular Stagg electric kettle, has done it again with the Aiden Precision Coffee Maker, which earned raves from several of our experts. “It’s a multifaceted machine that hits everything the market has been wanting,” says Hedrick. “The water distribution out of the shower head is fantastic, it's a really cute cubie design, it's got a well-built carafe and a very easy-to-use interface, and it has prebuilt recipes. It can also do cold brew.” The Aiden is like an agreeable barista, giving you ultimate control over your coffee and letting you adjust brew time, ratio, and temperature via app. As if all that weren’t enough, the Aiden even provides guidance on how much ground coffee to use for your specific brew. (At this point, the machine seems almost human, so we should just drop “the” and call it Aiden.) Sure, it’s a bit splurgy, but making café-quality brews at home has never been easier. “It’s the best batch brewer you can get outside of owning a commercial Fetco machine,” says Hedrick.
Pros:
- Beautiful design
- Removable water tank for spill-free refilling
- Built-in presets for light, medium, and dark roasts, as well as cold brew
- Tells how much ground coffee to use for each brew
- Aiden app lets you schedule and customize brews
- Available in matte black or matte white
Cons:
- Mostly made of plastic
- Pricey
Dimensions: 10.75" x 7.5" x 11.5" | Capacity: 2 cups | Carafe style: Glass | Features: Single-button operation; flat-bottom basket filter; moveable water reservoir; wide shower head; blooms coffee
If you don’t have enough counter space for the Ratio Six (see our Best Looking pick below), let us introduce you to its little sister, the Ratio Four Coffee Machine, which gets high marks from both Hedrick and Holmquist. “It is very compact and the water reservoir can be moved to better suit more spaces,” says Holmquist. Like the Six, the Four has just a single button to brew coffee, and users can’t program the machine or control the water temperature. The biggest difference, though, is that the downsized model has a major upgrade: You can not only switch the position of the water reservoir on the Four but also remove it completely when it’s time to replenish the water supply at the sink or fridge. Kiss those countertop spills goodbye!
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Compact design
- Water reservoir can be removed for spill-free refilling
- Brews two cups or one large travel mug in four minutes or less
- Wide stainless steel showerhead
Cons:
- Glass carafe can shatter
- Users can’t program or control their brew
Dimensions: 17.5” x 10.4” x 14.3”| Capacity: 10 oz. cup | Carafe style: N/A | Features: Brews hot and iced drip coffee, plus 8 other drinks; built-in coffee grinder; filtered water tank, milk-frothing system; self-cleaning
Technically a “Superautomatic Espresso Machine,” the Terra Kaffe TK-02 is the ultimate smart drip-coffee machine, with enough functions to turn your kitchen into a fancy Italian coffee bar. “It has all the bells, all the whistles,” Gerrity says of the TK-02, whose celeb fans include Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox. I'm not a celebrity, but I do own the machine and can vouch that it’s a game changer. The water tank houses a filter, so already your coffee is going to taste better. While you can use pre-ground coffee, the TK-02 has a built-in bean grinder for optimal flavor. Then there are the endless drink options: hot and iced drip coffee, Americanos, cappuccinos, espressos, lattes, cortados, macchiatos, flat whites, all of which can be customized using the unit’s touchscreen panel or the Terra Kaffe app. And that app is probably the best feature of the TK-02, as it unlocks even more functions and drink options, letting you create user profiles and save preferred beverages; choose bean grind size and dosage as well as water temperature; schedule brewing; and update the touchscreen panel's drink menu. Prefer milk in your coffee? Use the included milk carafe and turn the knob on the side of the machine to take things from hot to frothy. Sure, the Terra Kaffe TK-02 is on the expensive side, but considering all the money you’ll save by not going to the coffee shop, it’s a smart investment.
Pros:
- Makes single servings of hot and iced drip coffee, plus more than 10 other beverages
- Has built-in coffee bean grinder, but can also use pre-ground
- Water tank comes with a filter
- Milk carafe for specialty drinks
- Terra Kaffe app lets you create user profiles, customize drinks, schedule brewing, control water temperature and grind size, and more
- Available in black or white
Cons:
- Pricey
- Can only brew a single cup
- The many options can be overwhelming and tricky to navigate
- Slow to power up
- Drip tray is a bit difficult to clean
Dimensions: 4" x 12.75 x 6.5" | Capacity: 10 cups | Carafe style: Glass | Features: Brew half or full carafe in 6 min.; heats water to 196°F - 205°F, cone-shaped brew basket; heating plate; automatic drip stop
It may not have a lot of bells and whistles, but the stunning Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV Select doesn’t need them to brew a perfectly strong cup of coffee. It works its magic by pulsing super hot water over the cone-shaped basket’s coffee grounds and allowing them to bloom. The result? A brew that rivals the best pour-over you've ever had. “Moccamasters are built to last and brew coffee fast while extracting the full flavor and complexity of the coffee’s aroma,” says Gerrity, who appreciates that the machine has a hot plate to help maintain the coffee’s temperature in the glass carafe. Perry also counts herself among the Moccamaster’s many fans. “It’s really simple," she says, "and it does it really well."
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Brews half or full pots at ideal times and temperatures
- Cone-shaped brew basket optimizes flavor extraction
- Hot plate keeps glass carafe warm
- Available in a whopping 18 colors
Cons:
- Lacks the adjustability of other brewers
- Glass carafe can shatter
Dimensions: 3.5" x 6.75" x 14.25"| Capacity: 8 cups | Carafe style: Thermal | Features: Single-button operation; flat-bottom basket filter; blooms coffee
If this were a beauty contest, the Ratio Six Coffee Maker would take the crown. “It’s glass and metal, and it has a nice form factor,” says Hedrick of the stylish drip machine. “You have a super high-quality build and a really supreme water distribution system. It's a really light trickle that essentially settles on top of the bed of coffee grounds without digging craters into it. That allows for an even flow of water through the grounds, which gives you much tastier, smoother coffee.” Designed to mimic pour-over-style coffee, the Ratio Six blooms and brews with just the touch of a single button, making the entire process as smooth as the beverage it produces. Holmquist applauds the drip coffee maker for its simplicity, calling it, “minimalistic with just the right amount of information.”
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Features bloom phase to extract flavor from grounds
- Slim profile
- Glass water tank with measurement indicators
- Includes removable heat shield to control temperature and extraction
- Available in black or white
Cons:
- Users can’t program or control their brew
Dimensions: 11.75'' x 10.25'' x 6.5''| Capacity: 10 oz. cup | Carafe style: N/A | Features: Brews directly into mug; heats water to 196°F - 205°F; cone-shaped brew basket
Honey, they shrunk the Technivorm Moccamaster! The Moccamaster Cup-One is pretty much a teensy version of the Technivorm that “does exactly what it says,” says Holmquist. “It makes one 10-ounce cup of coffee at a time.” And a damn good one at that! Like the larger Moccamaster, the Cup-One uses a pulsing technique to bloom the cone basket’s coffee grounds, producing a smooth pour-over flavor. While this mini machine may be pricier than the typical single-cup pod brewer, the coffee’s taste can’t be beat. And how cool would that machine look sitting on your counter?
Pros:
- Brews a single 10-ounce cup in about four minutes
- Removable cup holder accommodates different-sized mugs
- Cone-shaped brew basket optimizes flavor extraction
- Easy to clean
- Available in polished silver and off white
Cons:
- Pricey
- No thermal carafe or vessel
Dimensions: 6.7” x 8” x 16.8”| Capacity: 1 cup | Carafe style: Thermal | Features: Built-in scale and grinder; uses coffee grounds or pre-dosed pods; removable water tank
The xBloom Studio has so many outstanding features that it just might become the MVP of your kitchen. “It provides automatic pour-over-level coffee, either with pre-measured coffee directly from the roaster or from the coffee of your choice,” Holmquist says of the drip coffee maker, which uses the brand’s pre-dosed xpods or the included coffee dripper. Hedrick, who consulted on the xBloom Studio’s design, calls it “an all-in-one machine. It has a top-of-the-line grinder, a scale, and hot water already built in.” Hedrick adds that coffee aficionados are particularly impressed with the grinder, comparing it to stand-alone models that cost as much as $400. The xBloom Studio has three different operating modes: Autopilot, in which you scan a recipe and let the machine do the rest; Copilot, which allows you to customize recipes and control the variables; and Freesolo, which enables you to operate the grinder, scale, and brewer independently for other kitchen tasks. The xBloom app provides even greater flexibility and control, letting users program the machine, save recipes, determine grind size, water temperature, and pouring patterns, and so much more. To sum it up, “it does everything,” says Hedrick.
Pros:
- User-friendly LED display
- Brews coffee using ground beans or pre-dosed pods
- Grinder, scale, and hot water can all be used for separate kitchen tasks
- Removable water tank for spill-free refills
- xBloom app lets you save recipes and control water temperature, grind size, brew ratio, bloom, pour speed, and pour type
Cons:
- Pricey
- Can only brew a single cup
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