I Tested 17 Cheap Coffee Makers to Find the Ones That Make Excellent Coffee on a Budget

When I was a barista, my day used to begin by brewing batch after batch of drip coffee, tweaking things so it was ready for customers. Now, I'm making coffee just for myself. So, I need a brewer that’s going to do a good job every single time. 

For this review, I tested 17 cheap coffee makers—ones that cost $150 or less. I know that might not seem inexpensive, but our favorite automatic drip coffee makers go for hundreds of dollars. Plus, having been in the specialty coffee industry for 15-plus years, I also know the engineering and design considerations that (sometimes rightfully) drive up the cost of these brewers.

The Tests

• Dark Roast Brew Test: I brewed a dark roast coffee using the SCA Gold Cup Ratio of 60 grams of coffee for every liter of water and assessed the flavor of the resulting cup. I also used a thermocouple to track brew temperatures, assessed how evenly the grounds were saturated, and took a Total Dissolved Solids reading using a coffee refractometer to check for consistency between each brewer. 
• Light Roast Brew Test: I brewed a light roast coffee and assessed the flavor of the resulting cup, using a thermocouple for temperature evaluation and checking the TDS.
• Cleanup and Usability Tests: I looked at how each carafe poured, how easy water reservoirs were to fill, how intuitive controls were, and any preset functions. I also cleaned each brewer by hand.

What We Learned

Brew Time Impacted Flavor

High-end, expensive brewers can make a full pot of coffee in under six minutes thanks to their high-wattage boilers. The cheaper brewers I tested struggled to finish in under eight minutes, with some models taking over 10 minutes. The fastest of the bunch was our winner from Zojirushi, finishing in six minutes and 45 seconds. 

Why is faster better? The longer a brew cycle goes the more it pulls bitter, dry flavors into the finished coffee. Faster brews are noticeably sweeter tasting, except when the brewer had a poor spray head design (more on that in a bit). 

Stable, Higher Brewing Temperatures Produced Better Coffee

Coffee makers that keep brewing temperatures consistent (between 195 to 205°F) and get to this ideal temperature range quickly produce nicely extracted and balanced coffee. Too-high temperatures make for bitter brews and too low results in sour coffee.

While the cheap brewers weren’t as powerful or consistent as high-end models, this was to be expected: Simply put, they have less oomph behind them. However, both of the Zojirushi brewers reached 200ºF in about three minutes—relatively slower, but far faster than the others I tested.

Why a Good Showerhead/Spray Head Design Was Crucial

I told you we’d come back to the showerhead. A good spray head evenly saturates the brew bed, leading to uniform extraction—no craters or depressions. If a showerhead isn’t well designed, this can lead to both under-extracted and over-extracted coffee, with some of the grounds receiving more water and other parts less.

Thermal Carafes Were Ideal but Pricey

We’ve long recommended coffee makers with thermal carafes over ones with glass carafes and hot plates. Hot plates can continue to cook the coffee, causing a chemical change that creates more bitterness and sourness. The one issue with thermal carafes? They’re expensive. Our original (inexpensive) top pick was a Bonavita brewer with a thermal carafe, but shortly after publication, the price exceeded our maximum threshold of $150. While all of our update picks feature a glass carafe, they also brew better coffee than the thermal carafe options in the same price range. It’s a bit of a trade-off, but in the end, I would rather have better coffee than a brewer that keeps mediocre coffee hotter for longer. 

Why Are Some Coffee Makers So Expensive?

There are a few things that add to a coffee maker's price tag. The first is power: Pricier machines often have higher wattages, which means they brew faster. Expensive machines also have heating coils that wrap around the water chamber, bringing water to temperature quickly, while cheaper machines sport horseshoe-shaped heating elements that are sluggish. Temperature controls are another feature that distinguishes expensive machines from low-cost ones, as is the shape and material of the spray head and the overall build quality of the coffee maker. You can read more in our deep dive on the differences here.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Cheap Coffee Maker

The best cheap coffee makers make great, well-extracted coffee (surprise!). My favorite brewer made a full pot of coffee in under seven minutes and featured a simple control panel I didn’t need to reference an instruction manual to use. Its carafe also had a wide opening that was easy to clean.

Our Favorite Cheap Coffee Makers

The Best Cheap Coffee Maker

Zojirushi Dome Programmable Coffee Maker

$150 $122 at Amazon $140 at Walmart $150 at Wayfair

What we liked: Zojirushi's Dome brewers feature spray heads that splash the water against a clear plastic dome; this dispels water, causing it to rain down on the coffee. In every taste test, the Zojirushi Dome brewed sweet coffee with a clean finish. Even with a lower-powered boiler, this brewer was able to reach an ideal temperature of 200ºF (though it took a few minutes to get there) and brew times hovered around eight minutes, this was still much faster than the competition. This model has a programmable timer, a small batch option for one to four cups, a built-in bloom cycle, and an iced coffee setting.

What we didn’t like: Even though I liked the coffee from this brewer, it just wasn’t as vibrant and complex as I would have liked. This is likely because half the brew cycle is spent below 195°F as the brewer is still heating up, and the lower temperature water isn’t able to pull the more dynamic flavors out of the coffee. Still, it’s impressive that a lower-cost brewer with a less powerful boiler is even able to hit these temperatures at all when most of the competition couldn’t. 

Key Specs

• Materials: Plastic, stainless steel, glass
• Dimensions: 10.75 x 8.13 x 15.25 inches
• Weight: 10.25 pounds
• Average brew time: 6:45
• Capacity: 12-cup 
• Wattage: 1050 watts
• SCA certified: No
• Programmable: Yes

The Best Cheap Coffee Maker Under $100

Zojirushi Dome Brew Classic Coffee Maker

$130 $102 at Amazon $113 at Wayfair $113 at Kohls.com

What we liked: A stripped-down version of its programmable sibling, the Dome Classic has the same dome-shaped showerhead, only with a simple on/off switch instead of a control panel. It also quickly reached ideal brew temperatures between 195 and 205ºF, too. If you’re looking for a bare-bones coffee maker that consistently delivers a good cup at a low price, this brewer fits the bill. 

What we didn’t like: Like the programmable model, this brewer lacks some of the complexity of higher-end coffee makers with more powerful boilers, and I wish it had a thermal carafe.

Key Specs

• Materials: Plastic, stainless steel, glass
• Dimensions: 10.75 x 8.13 x 15.25 inches
• Weight: 8.8 pounds
• Average brew time: 8:15
• Capacity: 12-cup
• Wattage: 1050 watts
• SCA certified: No
• Programmable: No

Alternative Pick

AeroPress Original Coffee Maker

$50 at Amazon $30 at Walmart $40 at Target

Fellow Prismo Pressure-Actuated Attachment for AeroPress Coffee Maker

$30 at Amazon $25 at Fellowproducts.com

What we liked: Brass tacks: The Aeropress is really cheap and super portable. It's lightweight (half a pound), and can be popped in a backpack or carry-on bag. It also makes great coffee, and it's respected within the industry. The Aeropress is good on its own, but the Fellow Prismo makes it even better. The Aeropress works best when it's inverted, which can be precarious. The Prismo allows you to brew right-side up and avoid flipping it upside-down.

What we didn't like: The Aeropress is inexpensive and reliable. But it's not an automatic drip machine, so your brewing experience will be interactive, even once you've mastered the technique. The plastic components pick up scents and oils and will need to be deep-cleaned occasionally.

Key Specs

• Materials: Plastic, rubber, metal
• Surface diameter: 6 centimeters
• Base diameter: 9.5 centimeters
• Length: 17 centimeters
• Weight: 8 ounces
• Capacity: Makes one 10-ounce cup of standard coffee or up to three shots of espresso with one standard press
• Programmable: No

The Competition

• Bonavita Metropolitan: While this was our top pick for its fast brew time and delicious coffee, it's been discontinued.
• Braun BrewSense: This model took a long time to make coffee.
• Braun BrewSense with Thermal Carafe: This model is now discontinued. 
• Ninja Programmable Brewer: Because this coffee maker’s hot plate made coffee hotter, it tasted burnt. It appears discontinued, too.
• Cuisinart Programmable Coffee Brewer: The Cuisinart’s brew temperatures were too high. It’s also now discontinued.
• Hamilton Beach Programmable Front-Fill Coffee Maker: This brewer had a poorly designed showerhead, leading to uneven extraction.
• BLACK+DECKER 12-Cup Thermal Coffeemaker: This model’s brew temperatures weren’t high enough. 
• Mr. Coffee 10-Cup Coffeemaker: Our original budget pick, this brewer was unseated by the Zojirushi models. It brewed bitter coffee that fell flat compared to our top picks, even if we originally liked its thermal carafe and slightly faster brew times. 
• Cuisinart Programmable 12-Cup Coffee Maker: This model is discontinued.
• Simply Good 8-Cup Coffee Maker: A centered spray head caused water to channel through the center of the grounds, leaving every cup tasting bitter. 
• Bonavita 8-Cup Drip Coffee Maker: Our previous winner, this coffee maker is now too pricey for us to call it "inexpensive."
• Beautiful by Drew Barrymore 14 Cup Programmable Touchscreen Coffee Maker: This brewer took over 17 minutes to brew a full pot of coffee. 
• Calphalon 14-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker: Too-long brewing times and poor temperature consistency plagued this model.
• BUNN GRB Velocity Brew 10-Cup Home Coffee Brewer: This was tricky to operate and made bland coffee.

FAQs

What coffee filters should you buy? 

Most brewers take flat bottom filters or #4 cone filters. Brewers often come with a mesh filter, but using a paper filter with it will produce a cleaner, grit-free coffee.

How can I keep coffee hot? 

Try preheating your coffee mug or your carafe (add hot water, then pour it out) before brewing. Otherwise, investing in a coffee maker with a thermal carafe will keep coffee hot for hours. You could also buy a temperature control mug or use a travel mug or thermos.

How can I make stronger coffee?

There are three ways you can do this: Use more coffee, grind coffee beans finer, and use and grind whole beans, which will have a more robust flavor than pre-ground coffee. 

Why We’re the Experts

• Jesse Raub was a Serious Eats writer and spent over 15 years working in the specialty coffee industry.
• To find the best inexpensive coffee makers, we tested 17 brewers. After realizing our favorite brewer, from Bonavita, had changed its price and was now well over $150, we decided to test a handful of inexpensive coffee makers we hadn't previously evaluated—including models from Zojirushi. We've also included our favorite single-serve coffee brewer, the Aeropress.