Kettle Nook

The Best Coffee Makers

Seven drip machines from $30 to $330, and what the coffee from each one is like on an ordinary weekday morning.

By Nora Pell · Updated Sep 28, 202612 coffee makers compared

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One switch runs the Moccamaster, and it makes the best pot of the seven machines here. Moccamaster says it heats the water to 196 to 205°F, which is where coffee comes out sweet and full instead of sour or flat, and it has a 40 oz pot ready in four to six minutes. A second switch brews half a pot just as carefully, for the mornings when it's only you.

At about $327 it's a lot of money for a machine with one job. What makes it easier to justify is how long it's meant to last: Moccamaster gives it five years of warranty and says it will repair any brewer it has built, for life. If that's more than you want to spend, the Cuisinart makes a big pot on a timer for about $100, and the Black+Decker makes a decent one for $30.

Our picks

Best overallTechnivorm Moccamaster KBGV SelectCheck price on Amazon
Best valueCuisinart PerfecTemp DCC-3200Check price on Amazon
Best for two to four cupsOXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee MakerCheck price on Amazon
Best under $50Black+Decker CM1160BCheck price on Amazon

At a glance

Coffee makerBest forWarrantyFull potCarafeAbout
1. Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV SelectThe best pot, for years5 years, repairs for life40 ozGlass, hot plate$327
2. Cuisinart PerfecTemp DCC-3200A family pot on a timer3 years14 cups, about 70 ozGlass, hot plate$100
3. OXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee MakerSmall pots, better cups2 years40 ozSteel, thermal$198
4. BUNN GRB Velocity BrewA pot in four minutes3 years50 ozGlass, warmer plate$128
5. Ninja Fresh Brew CE251Filling at the sink1 year60 ozGlass, hot plate$70
6. Black+Decker CM1160BSpending under $502 years12 cups, about 60 ozGlass, hot plate$30
7. Zojirushi Fresh Brew Plus EC-YTC100A pot that lasts all morning1 year1.5 L, about 50 ozSteel, thermal$217

What makes one pot better than another

Not the number of buttons. What matters most is how hot the water is when it reaches the grounds. Around 195 to 205°F, the range the Specialty Coffee Association's Golden Cup standard asks for, a medium roast tastes like caramel and nuts. Cooler than that, the same beans taste thin and sour. The Moccamaster, the OXO and the Zojirushi all publish a brewing temperature in that range.

Next comes what happens after the brew. A glass carafe on a hot plate keeps the coffee hot by heating it, and after an hour or so it starts to taste cooked and bitter. A thermal carafe holds the heat without a burner, so the last mug is closer to the first. The filter changes the cup too: paper gives a clean cup, and a metal mesh gives a heavier one with some silt at the bottom.

Then there's how long the machine will keep going. Warranties here run from one year to five, and that belongs in the price, because the cheap machines tend to get replaced rather than fixed.

Every machine below is a drip brewer, which is what "coffee maker" means on most American counters. Espresso machines and pod brewers are different purchases, and the pod brewer gets its own paragraph in the skip list.

Seven machines, best first

1 · Best overall
Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV Select

Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV Select

Water at the right temperature, a full pot in four to six minutes, and one switch to run it. Moccamaster backs it for five years and repairs it for life.

$327.03$369.0011% off · as of 9:50 AM ET
Check price on Amazon
Buy it if

A pot most days is your habit, and one good machine kept for years sounds better than a cheap one replaced every couple of years.

Skip it if

You want the pot to start before you wake up: there's no timer. Or you're shopping to keep plastic away from hot water, in which case my plastic-free coffee maker guide goes brewer by brewer.

One switch, and a pot in six minutes

You pour water into the tank at the back, put a paper filter and your grounds in the basket, and flip the switch. That's all there is to it. There's no pump: a copper element heats the water and sends it up to the showerhead, quietly, and in four to six minutes you have 40 oz of coffee (Moccamaster calls that 10 cups). Pull the carafe out halfway and the basket stops dripping so you can pour a mug.

The coffee is the reason to buy it. With water in the right range, good beans come out at their best, and the half-pot switch slows the brew for smaller batches, so four cups aren't weaker than ten. I'd brew a medium roast in it and drink the first mug black. The hot plate keeps the pot warm and shuts off at 100 minutes.

The other reason is how long it lasts. Moccamaster builds these by hand in the Netherlands, sells replacement parts for every model it makes, and promises repairs for the life of the brewer on top of the five-year warranty. It asks one thing of you: descale it. Skipping that voids the cover, which is fair, since scale is what kills heating elements.

Flaws but not dealbreakers
  • No timer and no delay start: the switch is on or off.
  • Moccamaster lists the parts touching water as metal and BPA-free plastic, so it isn't a plastic-free machine despite its reputation.
  • The hot plate shuts off at 100 minutes, so a pot brewed at 7 is cooling by 9. The thermal carafe versions exist for that reason.
  • At about $327 it costs more than three Cuisinarts.
  • Moccamaster calls it "SCA approved," but the Specialty Coffee Association's current list of certified home brewers starts with 2023 models and doesn't include it.
Handmade in the NetherlandsHalf or full pot switchAuto-off at 100 minutesParts sold for all models
2
Cuisinart PerfecTemp DCC-3200
Best value

Cuisinart PerfecTemp DCC-3200

A big 70 oz pot that can be brewing before you wake up, a warming plate you can turn down, and three years of warranty, all for about $100.

$99.95as of 9:50 AM ETCheck price on Amazon
Buy it if

You want coffee waiting when you get up, for more than two people, and you'd like to spend about $100.

Skip it if

You drink one or two mugs a day. A 70 oz machine making 10 oz is working at the bottom of its range, and the OXO is better at small pots.

Read the full write-up

A big pot, ready when you come downstairs

This is the coffee maker a lot of American kitchens already have, and it's a good one. Set the 24-hour timer at night and you come down to a full pot, with a tone to tell you it's done if you want one. It makes 14 of Cuisinart's 5 oz cups, about 70 oz, enough for a family or an office.

Consumer Reports gives it top marks for brewing and puts that down to the water staying at the right temperature, so you get a hot, clean pot of whatever you put in it. There's a bold setting for stronger coffee and a 1 to 4 cup mode for the days you only want a couple of mugs. The warming plate has three settings, low, medium and high, and low is the one that keeps the pot from cooking. A charcoal filter in the tank takes out chlorine, which you'd otherwise taste if your tap water is from the city.

Cuisinart covers it for three years. On a $100 machine that's generous: the $70 Ninja gets one.

Flaws but not dealbreakers
  • A warranty claim costs you $10 for shipping and handling unless you live in California, according to Cuisinart's own warranty text.
  • The coffee sits on a hot plate, not in a thermal carafe, and Amazon lists the machine as glass and plastic.
  • The charcoal filter needs replacing, and Cuisinart sells it in multipacks.
Regular or bold1 to 4 cup modeCharcoal water filterWarming plate: low, medium, high
3
OXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker
Best for two to four cups

OXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker

The only machine here on the Specialty Coffee Association's certified list, with a thermal carafe that keeps the second mug tasting like the first.

$197.99as of 9:50 AM ETCheck price on Amazon
Buy it if

It's coffee for one or two, and taste matters more to you than the size of the pot.

Skip it if

You're buying for a busy household: its 40 oz is just over half of what the Cuisinart makes.

Read the full write-up

The best cup from a small pot

If taste comes first for you and you don't need a big pot, look here. It's the only machine in this guide on the Specialty Coffee Association's current certified list, added in 2025. OXO says the water reaches the grounds at 194 to 205°F, and a wide showerhead it calls the Rainmaker wets them evenly, which OXO says makes a smoother cup.

The coffee lands in a double-walled steel carafe instead of on a burner, so a mug poured at ten tastes like one poured at eight. The manual has a dosing chart built on the SCA's standard, 8 grams of medium-ground coffee per 5 oz cup, so you're not guessing with the scoop. And there's a small basket that takes a Kalita Wave 185 filter for 2 to 4 cups, into the carafe or straight into your mug: close to a pour-over without standing over a kettle.

Flaws but not dealbreakers
  • Two years of warranty on a $198 machine is short for the money.
  • OXO's manual says there are no user-serviceable parts inside and that opening the bottom voids the warranty.
  • The carafe can't go in the dishwasher: OXO warns it would damage the vacuum insulation.
SCA certified, 2025Kalita Wave 185 single-serve basketRainmaker showerheadVacuum-insulated carafe
4
BUNN GRB Velocity Brew
A pot in four minutes

BUNN GRB Velocity Brew

It keeps 70 oz of water hot inside, so a full pot comes out in about four minutes, with no heat-up wait. Three years of warranty.

$128.40as of 9:50 AM ETCheck price on Amazon
Buy it if

Your mornings are a race and you want a full pot now, not in ten minutes.

Skip it if

The machine will sit unused for days at a time. A tank that's always hot is always drawing power unless you switch it off.

Read the full write-up

Coffee before your shoes are on

BUNN is best known for commercial brewers, and this home model borrows the trick: a steel tank inside keeps 70 oz of water hot all the time. You pour cold water in the top, it pushes hot water out over the grounds straight away, and a 50 oz pot is done in about four minutes, a travel mug in about two. There's no warming-up.

BUNN pitches the multi-stream sprayhead as café taste at home. What you'll notice first is speed: the pot is ready while you're still looking for your keys. The carafe is shaped so the last drop runs back inside instead of down the side, and BUNN gives three years of warranty and says it assembles these in the USA.

Flaws but not dealbreakers
  • 70 oz of water kept hot around the clock is the whole design.
  • Coffee sits on a warmer plate, not in a thermal carafe, and Amazon lists the machine as plastic and stainless steel.
Full pot in about 4 minutes70 oz tank held hotTravel mug in about 2 minutesAssembled in the USA
5
Ninja Fresh Brew CE251
Filling at the sink

Ninja Fresh Brew CE251

A water tank that lifts off, a Rich setting for a stronger pot, and a small-batch mode, for about $70. The warranty is one year.

$69.99as of 9:50 AM ETCheck price on Amazon
Buy it if

Your coffee maker lives under upper cabinets, and you want a good pot on a timer without spending $100.

Skip it if

You keep machines until they die. One year of warranty on a $70 brewer is the shortest cover here.

Read the full write-up

Easy to fill, and better coffee than you'd expect for $70

The Ninja's water tank lifts off, so you can fill it at the sink instead of pouring into a machine tucked under a cabinet. You get two strengths, Classic and Rich, a small-batch setting for 1 to 4 cups, a warming plate you can set for up to four hours, and a gold-colored permanent filter in the box.

People who own it talk about the coffee more than you'd expect at this price. One buyer who normally makes coffee in a French press, a moka pot or a percolator found the first small Classic pot just okay, then tried Rich the next morning, programmed the night before, and changed their mind: a good cup at the right temperature, better than their Keurig. Another, two years in, poured a glass straight after brewing, held it up to a flashlight, and saw how many grounds the mesh filter was letting through. They switched to #4 cone paper filters and say the grit, the oily film on top and their upset stomach all went away, and the coffee tasted better. Paper filters from day one skip that step.

The tank sits higher than the basket and apart from it, so if you forget to put the carafe back, the overflow ends up on the counter instead of in the water tank.

What owners report

Most of the complaints are about the carafe lid: it's thin plastic, and it slides and turns off rather than flipping up, which takes two hands.

Flaws but not dealbreakers
  • One-year warranty, the shortest in this guide along with the Zojirushi.
  • The included mesh filter lets fine grounds through; buy #4 cone paper filters.
  • Four hours on a warming plate keeps coffee hot and makes it taste cooked. The first hour is the good part.
Classic or RichSmall-batch modeWarming plate, up to 4 hoursPermanent filter included
6
Black+Decker CM1160B
Best under $50

Black+Decker CM1160B

A timer, a pause for pouring mid-brew and a paper filter basket for $30, with two years of warranty.

$29.73as of 9:50 AM ETCheck price on Amazon
Buy it if

You need a working pot this week for under $50, for a first apartment, an office or a rental.

Skip it if

You want your coffee hot past two hours, or kept in a carafe that doesn't sit on a burner.

Read the full write-up

A decent pot for $30

For $30 this does the basics properly. The 24-hour timer starts the pot before your alarm, a pause lets you sneak a cup mid-brew, a window shows how much water is in, and the basket takes an ordinary paper filter, which makes for a clean cup. The hot plate switches itself off after two hours.

Mind the cup math. Black+Decker counts a cup as about 5 oz, so "12 cups" is about 60 oz, closer to five big mugs than twelve. It comes with two years of warranty, twice what Ninja and Mr. Coffee give.

Flaws but not dealbreakers
  • The hot plate turns off after two hours, and the glass carafe cools quickly after that.
  • Amazon lists it as glass and plastic, with no thermal option on this model.
  • "12 cups" is 60 oz, which surprises people who pour into 12 oz mugs.
24-hour delay brewSneak-A-Cup pause2-hour auto shutoffWashable brew basket
7
Zojirushi Fresh Brew Plus EC-YTC100
A pot that lasts all morning

Zojirushi Fresh Brew Plus EC-YTC100

It brews at 200°F into a steel carafe Zojirushi rates at 125°F a full day later, so there's no burner cooking your coffee. One year of warranty.

$216.60as of 9:50 AM ETCheck price on Amazon
Buy it if

Your pot has to stay drinkable for hours, and you don't want it sitting on a hot plate.

Skip it if

You count on a long warranty. One year on a $217 machine is thin.

Read the full write-up

A pot that's still good at 11

The Zojirushi is for the house where coffee is brewed at 7 and still being poured at 11. It brews at 200°F in its Time Saver mode, and it starts with a short pre-infusion that wets the grounds before the main pour, the same step a pour-over fan does by hand to let fresh coffee bubble and settle. The coffee then goes into a vacuum-insulated steel carafe that Zojirushi rates at 125°F a full day later, with no burner under it to cook the pot.

It comes with a stainless mesh filter, so expect a fuller cup with a little silt at the bottom. The tank lifts out, the timer runs 24 hours ahead, and Zojirushi says you can brew a strong half pot over ice for up to five glasses of iced coffee. A full pot is 10 cups, 1.5 L, about 50 oz.

Flaws but not dealbreakers
  • One-year warranty at about $217, against two years on the thermal OXO for less money.
  • 125°F after a day is warm, not hot. The first half of the pot is the good half.
200°F brew in Time Saver modeRemovable water tankStainless mesh filterPre-infusion cycle

Four things to settle before you buy

Glass on a burner, or a thermal carafe

A hot plate keeps coffee hot by heating it, and it starts to taste cooked within an hour or two. A thermal carafe holds the heat without cooking it, which is why the OXO and the Zojirushi cost more. If you drink the pot soon after it's made, glass is fine and cheaper.

Paper or metal filter

Paper gives a clean, bright cup. A permanent metal filter saves you buying paper and makes a heavier cup, with some fine grounds in the bottom. The Ninja and the Zojirushi come with metal filters; if you like a clean cup, buy paper anyway.

Read cups as 5 ounces

Cuisinart, Black+Decker and OXO count cups of about 5 oz, and Moccamaster's 10 cups come to 40 oz. A mug holds 10 to 12 oz, so halve the number on the box, or more. The Cuisinart's 14 cups fill about six mugs, the OXO's 8 about three. If you usually make two mugs, the Ninja's small-batch mode or the OXO's single-serve basket will do better than a big pot run half-empty.

How long it's covered

The warranty tells you how long the maker expects the machine to last. Here it runs from one year (Ninja, Zojirushi) to three (Cuisinart, BUNN) and five with repairs for life (Moccamaster). On a machine you use every day, a longer one is worth paying for.

Four machines I left out

Keurig K-Classic

A pod brewer does a different job, but it gets bought as a coffee maker, so read its promise. Keurig's user guide gives one year of warranty and says only Keurig-brand pods guarantee the brewer's proper functioning and lifetime, with damage from other pods possibly excluded or charged a service fee. It's like a car warranty that wants to know where you buy your gas.

Breville Precision Brewer

Still sold on Amazon at about $180, and plenty of people who own it love the control it gives: one owner two years in brews 20 oz at a time several times a day for two, using their own saved settings. But Breville's product page now marks it discontinued, replaced by the Luxe Brewer, and I wouldn't buy a discontinued machine new.

Mr. Coffee 12-Cup

About $34, with a one-year warranty per Mr. Coffee's help pages. People love how simple it is, one button for on and off. But one owner has been through about ten of them in ten years, each lasting from six months to just over a year, and finally bought a 12-cup Black+Decker instead. For the same money, the Black+Decker gives you twice the cover.

Bonavita Enthusiast 8-Cup

An 8-cup brewer at about $230 on Amazon, sold on the SCA's brewing standard, with a one-year warranty according to Bonavita. The OXO costs less, is on the SCA's current list and gives two years.

If you buy whole beans, the grinder matters as much as the machine. My burr grinder guide covers that half of the cup.

How I picked

Drip brewers sold on AmazonBrewing temperature and carafe, from the makerWhat owners say about the coffeeReal capacity in ouncesWarranty on the maker's own page or manual

I started from the drip machines Amazon returns for "coffee maker" and "drip coffee maker," plus the best-known models on other buying lists, and ended with twelve machines whose makers publish enough to compare. For each one I read the maker's page or manual for brewing temperature, carafe, capacity and warranty, and read what owners wrote where Amazon showed their reviews. Capacities are converted to ounces using each maker's own definition of a cup, and prices are Amazon's on September 28, 2026.

Your budget, your machine

  • Under $50: the Black+Decker, with the savings spent on good beans.
  • Around $100: the Cuisinart for a family pot, or save for the OXO if you brew small.
  • The best pot, for years: the Moccamaster.
Pinterest pin for The Best Coffee Makers
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Common questions

What is the best brand of coffee maker?

For drip coffee, Moccamaster: its machines brew in the right temperature range, and the company backs them for five years with repairs for life. OXO makes the best small machine here and is on the SCA's certified list. Cuisinart is the best value for a big programmable pot.

What is the best coffee machine to buy for home use?

For pots of drip coffee, the Moccamaster if you want the best cup and a machine that lasts, and the Cuisinart for a big pot on a timer at about $100. If what you actually want is espresso and milk drinks, that's a different machine and a different price range, and none of these will do it.

How many ounces is a cup on a coffee maker?

About 5 oz on most drip machines. Black+Decker's page says so directly, and Cuisinart's 5-cup model holds 25 oz. Moccamaster counts smaller, 4 oz to the cup, which is why its "10-cup" pot fills three or four real mugs.

Is a Moccamaster worth the money?

If you drink drip coffee every day, yes. It brews at the right temperature, it's quick and simple, and the five-year warranty plus repairs for life mean you probably won't buy another. It's not worth it if you want a timer, a thermal carafe at this price, or a plastic-free water path.

Do I need to descale a drip coffee maker?

Yes, and the warranties say so. Moccamaster lists lack of descaling among the things that void its coverage, and the Cuisinart DCC-3200 has a light that tells you when it's time. How often depends on your water; hard water means more often.

The verdict

The Moccamaster for the best pot, the Cuisinart for a family

The Moccamaster KBGV Select makes the best pot here: water at the right temperature, a full pot in about six minutes, one switch, and a maker that promises to keep fixing it. It doesn't have a timer. For a big pot waiting when you get up, the Cuisinart DCC-3200 does it for about $100, and for one or two careful mugs a day, the OXO 8-Cup makes the best small pot here.

Check price on Amazon$327.03 as of 9:50 AM ET

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