The Best Coffee Makers That Also Have Counter Appeal

We all know and love the power of the best coffee makers on the market: They’re efficient and practical for making excellent brews at home. And while we love a coffee maker that does its job, as design editors, we care about the counter appeal of these appliances (that is, how aesthetically pleasing it is in the kitchen) just as much as we care about cup capacity and self-timers. From artfully designed glass carafes to machines available in elevated earth tones, we’ve combed through catalogues of coffee makers that you’ll actually want to accent your countertop. Plus, we’ve tested what works and what doesn’t for every kind of coffee preference—drip, combination coffee-espresso machines, pour-overs, and French presses—to find out which ones truly deserve the distinction of “best.”

Added perk: Lots of the machines highlighted on this list have extra special features, like a thermal carafe that keeps coffee warm without a hot plate, built-in milk frothers, or smart features that allow you to program your coffee maker from your phone. Prefer a built-in coffee grinder? Maybe you like the ritual of scooping grounds into a filter basket? Or you want a model that lets you do both—we’ve got you covered for every approach to great coffee.

Ahead, read our thorough reviews to find out which coffee maker is right for you.

• Best Drip Coffee Maker: Oxo Brew 9-Cup Coffee Maker, $230 $197
• Best Coffee and Espresso Combo Maker: De’Longhi Magnifica Evo Coffee and Espresso Maker, $900 $800
• Best French Press: MuellerLiving French Press Coffee Maker, $50
• Best Espresso Machine: Terra Kaffe TK-02 Connected Super Automatic Espresso Machine, $1,695
• Best Pour-Over Coffee Maker: BODUM 17oz Pour Over Coffee Maker, $20 $18
• Best Single-Serve Coffee Maker: Oxo 12-Cup Single-Serve Coffee Maker, $300
• Best Pod Coffee Maker: Keurig K-Duo Plus Single Serve & Carafe Coffee Maker, $230 $169
• Best Coffee Maker for Cold Brew: AeroPress Original Coffee Press, $40
• Most Stylish Espresso Machine: Breville Barista Express, $800
• Best-Looking Coffee Machine: Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT Coffee Maker, $349 $324
• Best Budget Coffee Maker: Braun BrewSense 12-Cup Drip Coffee Maker, $100 $84

After you’ve added a coffee machine to cart, circle back to our guides on the best stovetop espresso makers and coffee grinders to shop, as well as how to clean a coffee maker (including Keurig and Nespresso models).

If you don’t like punching a bunch of buttons and dials, you’ll love this drip coffee maker because it has a single button for setting the time, programming the timer, starting the coffee maker, and selecting the quantity. The digital display shows the time and the brew status, and a freshness timer will keep you aware of how long since the last pot’s been brewed. The double-wall stainless-steel thermal carafe ensures hot coffee for pouring throughout the day. For those of us who can’t wait on a full pot of coffee to brew, there’s a clever pause and pour feature at hand: When you remove the carafe before the brew time, the cycle will automatically pause for 60 seconds so you can pour a cup and place the carafe back in place for it to continue brewing. Perhaps its best trick? A rainmaker showerhead that evenly disperses water over the coffee grounds, leading to better flavor extraction. The Oxo Brew 9-Cup is the perfect drip coffee maker and consistently provides a delicious cup of joe without a lot of fuss.

If you want to hone your barista skills, impress your friends and family members, and spend less time at the coffee shop, consider the De’Longhi Magnifica Evo Coffee and Espresso Machine. Not only does it brew delicious coffee, but the high-quality machine can also make espresso, cappuccinos, macchiatos, lattes, and any of that over ice. The LatteCrema System technology uses a manual froth maker to create textured art, and the frother can be used with regular milk and alternative milks.

In addition, the coffee and espresso maker has a conical burr grinder with 13 settings, but it can be bypassed to use ground coffee instead to make a pot or cup of coffee. Even though the programmable coffee and espresso machine has a lot of functions, using it is a breeze thanks to the color touch icons on the top of the coffee brewer.

For those of us that love the flavor of the French press method, the most frustrating drawback is how quickly you have to consume the coffee before it gets cold (particularly irritating for those of us who refuse to microwave our brews). The MuellerLiving French Press has abandoned the need for immediate consumption thanks to its stainless steel and insulated design to keep your coffee hot throughout your morning. It can also make up to eight cups, a rare quality for a French press which aren’t usually the most suitable for entertaining. Its filtration method makes for a strong, balanced, and piping hot cup of coffee.

Our list includes espresso machines that can also make coffee. However, this is a coffee maker that can also make espresso drinks. In fact, it can make drip coffee, espresso, red eye, iced coffee, iced latte, and café au lait—and that’s just a partial list of the many drinks the Terra Kaffe TK-02 Connected Super Automatic Espresso Machine can whip up. The machine has an integrated bean grinder, but also accepts pre-ground coffee as well. The grinder has five settings, which is fewer than many other coffee makers with grinders, but nevertheless, provides some degree of adjustability. The grinder also automatically adjusts the grind depending on the type of drink and the bean’s weight.

Amazon’s #1 best-seller in pour-overs, this Bodum is a favorite for its ability to create a balanced taste with a low-waste approach. Its stainless steel filter makes for a rich and unimpeded flavor, and its high-heat borosilicate glass carafe keeps those flavors intact.

And while we love the Oxo Brew 9-Cup Coffee Maker for its simplicity, we love the newer Oxo 12-Cup Coffee Maker because it’s anything but simple. Oxo packed as many features into this model as possible—and we’re certainly not complaining. For starters, as a stainless-steel 12-cup brewer, it has the largest brewing capacity of any of the Oxo coffee makers on the market. And since the single-serve option is podless (instead using ground coffee), it cuts down on waste. The SCA-certified coffee maker also uses a rainmaker showerhead to evenly distribute water over the grounds and provide an integrated bloom cycle for, like the 9-cup, the best flavor extraction. In addition, it keeps water at the perfect brew temperature. When brewing large batches of coffee, the thermal carafe keeps the coffee warm (actually hot) without the need for a hot plate.

The Keurig K-Duo Plus Single Serve & Carafe Coffee Maker is versatile for a single-serve coffee maker. It has a multiposition removable water tank that can be placed on the right, left, or back of the machine and it’s programmable, so the auto brew can be set up to 24 hours in advance. It also has the capability to pull a single brew or a whole carafe depending on your company.

Although very manual, the Aeropress takes the cake when it comes to brewing a robust and well-balanced single cup of coffee. It’s highly portable, easy to clean, cheap to use and maintain (it only requires that you purchase its custom filters, but 600 are only $8), and otherwise gives your forearms a welcome light workout. Out of all our listed options, this one is the most fool-proof—simply boil water, place filter, pour grounds, pour boiled water on top, and wait a few. It’s also a great camping accessory, if you’re looking for a hot cup in the chilly outdoors.

This is the at-home espresso maker of all at-home espresso makers. We love the earth-tone colorways available, like Olive Tapenade and Sea Salt, to make this coffee maker a standout accessory in your kitchen. It has full barista-grade capabilities so you can create the illusion of an $7 latte without having to get yourself to a trendy coffeeshop. Though it might look complicated, it’s not so much harder to operate than a regular drip coffee maker, in our experience. The intelligent dosing feature automatically calculates and adjusts the amount of ground coffee based on your last grind and tamp, and the precision measurement feature autocorrects your next setup, so you don’t have to do the guesswork of manually measuring your grounds.

If you don’t like complex coffee makers, the Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT Coffee Maker is as simple as it gets. There’s only one on/off button—and when you switch it on, coffee starts brewing. The Technivorm is also one of only a handful of SCA-certified coffee brewers.

The Technivorm can brew cup sizes from 10 ounces to 40 ounces (however, the company recommends a minimum brew volume of 16 ounces for best results). It provides two coffee lids—the regular, brew-thru lid is used when making coffee but if you want to take the carafe with you, the travel lid can be used to prevent spills. It’s also important to note that the automatic drip-stop pauses the brew cycle if the carafe is removed.

All of the KBGT models have a stainless-steel thermal carafe, which eliminates the need for a warming plate, and keeps coffee warmer for a long time. However, the body of the coffee maker is available in four colors: polished silver, black, stone grey, and off-white.

Your trusty razor brand also makes…a coffee maker? And a good one! AD readers have been loving this handsome 12-cup drip coffee maker with all the necessities—programmable brewing, dishwasher safe parts, brew strength customization, a self-cleaning feature, and even a charcoal filter for purifying brewing water to give you a morning cup without any traces of fluoride.

While the rest of the machines on this list don’t necessarily warrant a best of label, they’ve still got our stamp of approval. In fact, we think serious coffee connoisseurs will love the sleek Ratio Eight Coffee Maker, which can mimic the rich flavor of handmade pour-over coffee. And if your kitchen has a contemporary design, our pick from De’Longhi will easily fit your vibe. Shop those picks and more of the best coffee makers you can buy below:

It’s not just cool-looking, this coffee maker is also designed to function like a drip coffee maker that mimics the depth of flavor of handmade pour-over coffee, and it does so quite well (giving your favorite coffee shop some serious competition).

Made with hand-assembled premium materials, the Ratio Eight coffee maker consists of precision-machine aluminum, a handblown borosilicate glass carafe and supply lines, hardwood, and a stainless steel showerhead. You can also get the model with the thermal carafe (although it’s almost $200 more). The power cord is detachable, which makes it easy to store on your countertop, and, though it looks complex, it’s really easy to operate. Touch one button to turn it on, and that’s all you’ll need to do until the coffee is ready. The coffee maker goes through a sequence of phases: bloom, brew, and ready. These let you see and smell the brewing process without having to manually brew the coffee.

The Nespresso Vertuo Lattissima can brew a variety of sizes, including espresso, double espresso, gran lungo, mug, XL (12 ounces), and an 18-ounce carafe. In addition to one-touch coffee and espresso brewing, the user-friendly machine has three different one-touch buttons for making cappuccino, latte macchiato, and hot foam. Regarding the Vertuo Lattissima’s capacity, it has a 54-ounce water tank, 15-ounce milk jug, and the used capsule compartment can hold 10 small capsules or six large ones.

Luckily, for having such generous containers, the machine doesn’t take up much space, and the matte black and glossy design looks stylish on any countertop (though it’s also available in white). The machine only uses Nespresso Vertuo capsules, but this line of capsules is extensive and includes such blends as roasted hazelnut, sweet vanilla, golden caramel, and rich chocolate.

A coffee maker with a built-in grinder? Yes, please! The Breville Grind Control Coffee Maker has an integrated grinder with stainless steel burrs that can hold up to half a pound of coffee beans. The six adjustable settings let you choose the right strength depending on the coffee bean, and you can look at the screen to view grind time and grind settings. However, you can turn the grinder off when you want to brew ground coffee.

The Breville Grind Control Coffee Maker uses a 12-cup thermal carafe, but it also accommodates various other sizes as well. For example, you can brew directly into a coffee cup or a travel mug using the intuitive controls, and the latter is quite convenient when I’m about to leave the home—not to mention that it eliminates the need to wash the carafe. The coffee maker has a soft-opening swing-out door that houses the coffee basket and filter. This makes it easy to fill and clean the basket. There’s also a brew pause feature (20 seconds) for pouring a cup of coffee in the middle of the brew cycle.

If you have the money and the countertop space, the De’Longhi Dinamica Plus Coffee and Espresso Machine is a gloriously advanced appliance that takes coffee making to another level. The bean hopper has a 10.5-ounce capacity, and the integrated burr grinder has 13 settings–although I also have the option to use pre-ground coffee. There’s also a large 3.5-inch touch screen color display that includes both icons and text.

You can select from 16 one-touch coffee drinks, including regular coffee, iced coffee, lattes, espresso, cappuccino, and flat white. Almost everything can be adjusted, including the volume and strength, and these preferences can also be saved. The LatteCrema System textures the milk to delectably creamy consistency—and there’s an auto self-cleaning function that makes it easy to keep the milk from clogging.

Like all of the categories we review at AD, we tested the best coffee makers by our editors and contributors giving them a whirl in their kitchens. Each team member assessed based on factors that help them make a delicious cup of coffee. Plus, our team looked for options that could boost the design appeal in our kitchens along the way.

Setup: Our team keeps streamlined setup in mind when testing the best coffee makers, including intuitive controls that make it easy to make mocha. We also look for machines that are easy to disassemble for routine cleaning.

Price: Coffee makers in our list range from $20 to over $1,000. While a desired price is largely dependent on your preference, we included options that are backed by thorough, positive reviews (including from our team) that makes any of the coffee makers in our list a worthwhile investment.

Flavor: One of the most important factors is how well these machines can make a cup of coffee. We included machines that offer different brewing methods and coffee types, from cappuccinos to latte macchiatos.

Features: As we’ve mentioned above, we are fans of bells and whistles that can fill up your cup (literally). We like special features like built-in frothers that can help add a creamy, frothy layer to coffee, built-in grinders to create fine grounds in one fell swoop, and thermal carafes to keep coffee warm for hours on end.

We chose the best coffee makers based on a variety of factors, including a range of price points, designs (think: glass carafes and grand espresso machines), and versatile features to ensure there are options for every shopper and their space. We also included top-tested names on the market that have a history of creating well-rounded coffee machines, like De’Longhi and Breville.

Do more expensive coffee makers make better coffee?

Like anything, research makes for better quality than simply price point. We love coffee’s tried and true brands, like Oxo, Breville and Bodum, and are willing to shell out for the knowledge that these brands know their stuff. But we’re also always making room for new and innovative designs, like the Aeropress, which creates a rich and nonacidic cup at a $40 price point. What you should really be looking for is nontoxic materials, specifically those that don’t alter the taste of the grounds—stainless steel and glass are great indicators of thoughtful design. We also love coffee makers with built in water-filters that create a purer taste, and those often come at a higher price point.

How many years should a coffee maker last?

Unfortunately there’s no simple answer to this one and the measure of years depends on a variety of factors. When purchasing a coffee maker, a reliable brand will usually offer a warranty with purchase as well as a generous return policy. Another benefit of a higher-cost machine is its durability—where something in the $50–100 price point might only last three to five years due to the quality of its materials and construction, a more expensive machine might last over a decade, or have a better warranty or return policy. As with any big ticket purchase, we highly recommend doing your research before you add to cart.

We’ve got a bevy of beverage stories. Whether you’re looking for the best gifts for java aficionados or trying to figure out how to create the perfect at-home coffee setup, we’ve got you covered.

• The Best Gifts for Coffee Lovers: Find something for everyone, from coffee mugs to moka pots.
• The 7 Best Cold Brew Coffee Makers: Cold weather is not deterrent for cold brew.
• 11 Beautiful Alternatives to Your Automatic Drip Coffee Maker: Expand your coffee-making horizons with the best French presses, pour-overs, and more.
• Creating Your Ideal Coffee Setup at Home: Working from home? Discover everything you need to brew coffee with the best of them.
• The Best Espresso Machines for Pulling Robust, Smooth Shots: When fresh espresso awaits, it’s easier to resist the temptation to press snooze.