Pick in 30 seconds
- You want a latte or cappuccino without learning anything: the Ninja Luxe Café, above.
- You want to learn to make espresso by hand: the Breville Barista Express, above.
- You already own a good grinder and want milk done for you: Breville Bambino Plus.
- You want a low-cost machine: the De’Longhi Stilosa, with pre-ground coffee.
Already own a grinder?
TechRadar found its shots smooth with thick crema, and it steams the milk for you. Ready in seconds. Warranty: 2 years. With a hand grinder it comes to $594.00.
Watch out for: no grinder in the box, and a small drip tray.
Buying it as a gift?
Get the Ninja Luxe Café. Someone who loves café cappuccinos but has never made espresso will find it the easier machine to start with, because it measures the coffee and froths the milk for them. The Barista Express is a great gift for someone who wants a new hobby.
Your first latte
Here’s what making one actually looks like on our top two.
Ninja Luxe Café
- Fill the water tank and pour beans into the top.
- Turn it on. Ninja says it’s ready in under 30 seconds. CoffeeGeek saw 30 to 45 seconds.
- Choose your drink. It grinds the right amount of coffee by weight.
- Pull the lever. It packs the coffee down for you. Lock the handle in and press brew.
- Pour milk into the jug, pick a foam setting, and let it froth on its own.
- Pour the milk over the espresso. Empty the drip tray often.
Barista Express
- Fill the water tank and pour beans into the top.
- Turn it on. Testers timed it at 30 to 48 seconds to ready (who timed it).
- Hold the portafilter (the handle with the coffee basket) under the grinder. It fills the basket with fresh grounds.
- Press the grounds flat with the tamper, lock the handle in, and brew.
- Steam the milk yourself with the wand. Expect a few tries before it’s silky.
- Pour the milk over the espresso, then wipe the wand.
Once you’re comfortable, a common starting point is about 18 grams of ground coffee, stopping at about 36 grams of espresso, in about half a minute. Tom’s Guide got exactly that, 18 in and 36 out in 28 seconds, on the Breville Bambino.
What each one costs, all in
Every machine here is under $500. The ones without a grinder can go over once you add one, so here’s the real total with the cheapest grinder that can handle espresso.
machine grinder you’d need to buy
Grinders in this chart: KINGrinder K6 ($109.00).
Amazon prices as of Oct 14, 2026, 8:29 PM PT.
Will it fit under your cabinets?
The Ninja and the Barista Express carry their bean hoppers on top, so leave room to open the lid. Measure from your counter to the bottom of your upper cabinets. Many kitchens have about 18 inches.
Drawn to scale from each maker’s listed height and width.
What can go wrong
Ninja Luxe Café
- The plastic funnel that guides the coffee can crack, and the machine won’t grind without it. CoffeeGeek calls the reports widespread. (owner report)
- Shot size can swing a lot. One reviewer who owns one saw 42 grams one shot and 50 or more the next. (owner report)
- It rinses itself often, so the drip tray fills and the tank empties faster than you’d think. (owner report)
Barista Express
- The built-in grinder varies a bit from machine to machine. Some owners can’t grind fine enough, so the espresso runs through fast and thin. (owner report 1, owner report 2)
- New owners often turn the grind dial the wrong way. Finer means a lower number. (owner report)
- If you skip descaling (clearing out mineral buildup), water flow and steam get weaker over the years. (owner report 1, owner report 2)
Also looked at
- Gaggia Classic E24 ($455.09). A classic for tinkerers: a pro-size 58 mm basket and a strong steam wand, but no temperature control, so expect practice. Needs a grinder. See it on Amazon
- Breville Bambino ($299.95). The Bambino Plus without the automatic milk. Ready in seconds. Needs a grinder. See it on Amazon
- De'Longhi Magnifica Start (auto milk) ($749.95). Press a button and it grinds, brews and froths. Coffeeness found the grinder loud and the coffee a little cool. See it on Amazon
- De'Longhi Stilosa. A low-cost machine that works. Its pressurized baskets forgive pre-ground coffee, so you can skip the grinder. Plastic parts. On Amazon right now, only a reseller has it, at well above its usual price.
- De'Longhi Dedica Maestro Plus. Automatic milk, but Coffee Blog timed it at 86 seconds for a small jug, almost twice the Bambino Plus, and found the foam stiff. On Amazon right now, only a reseller has it, at well above its usual price.
- CASABREWS CM5418 ($118.99). Low-cost and compact, but pressurized baskets only, and Tom’s Coffee Corner rated its build below the De’Longhi Dedica. See it on Amazon
We left out pod machines like Nespresso. They’re easy, but you can’t use your own beans.
Words you’ll see
- Grinder
- Turns whole beans into grounds. Espresso needs them very fine, finer than most drip-coffee grinders can go.
- Shot
- One small espresso. A latte is a shot plus steamed milk; a cappuccino has less milk and more foam.
- Portafilter
- The handle with a small basket that holds the coffee. You lock it into the machine.
- Tamp
- Pressing the grounds flat in the basket so water flows through evenly.
- Pressurized basket
- A forgiving basket that makes a decent shot even from pre-ground coffee. Also called dual-wall.
- Steam wand
- The metal pipe that heats and foams milk.
- Descale
- Running a cleaning solution through to clear mineral buildup from your water.
Questions people ask
Do I need a grinder for an espresso machine?
For real espresso, yes. Espresso needs very fine, fresh grounds, and most grinders made for drip coffee can’t go fine enough. The Ninja and the Barista Express have one built in. A hand grinder like the KINGrinder K6 ($109.00) is the cheapest add-on.
Can I use pre-ground coffee?
Yes, with a pressurized (dual-wall) basket. The De’Longhi Stilosa, both Bambinos, the Barista Express and the Gaggia come with one. Shots come out smooth, but flatter than with fresh grounds.
Is an espresso machine better than a Nespresso?
If you want to use any beans you like, yes. A pod machine is easier, but you’re limited to pods.
Should I get one with a built-in grinder?
If you don’t own a good grinder, yes. It saves money and counter space. Buy them separately if you’d like to upgrade the grinder later.
Compare the specs
Show every spec, with sources
Each figure links to where it came from, usually the maker. “Maker doesn’t say” means we couldn’t find it in the maker’s specs or another source we can link.
How we picked
We read each maker’s manual, the reviews where testers used these machines, and owner forums, and we link every fact. Brands don’t pay us to be picked. How we check.