Short answer
The De’Longhi Rivelia is the best bean-to-cup machine for most kitchens: one-touch milk drinks from its LatteCrema Hot carafe, sixteen drinks and two bean hoppers that swap over, so decaf can sit ready. To spend less, the Philips Series 3300 LatteGo makes cappuccino at a touch from a two-part jug that goes in the dishwasher. If you never want to descale, the JURA E8 stops asking while its CLARIS Smart+ filter is in.
A bean-to-cup machine grinds, doses and brews at a button, so the coffee is rarely what separates one from another; milk and cleaning are. We ranked the eight machines we track on those first, then on what each maker says about descaling and water filters, and finally on tank, hopper and size. Compare every model in our bean-to-cup machine comparison.
Our picks at a glance
-
Best overall
De’Longhi Rivelia EXAM440.55
Two swappable bean hoppers, 16 one-touch drinks and automatic milk
- 1.4 L tank
- 38.5 cm tall
- 2-yr warranty
-
Best value
Philips Series 3300 LatteGo EP3347/90
One-touch milk drinks from an easy-clean LatteGo jug, for less
- 1.8 L tank
- 37.1 cm tall
- 2-yr warranty
-
Best for large households
Siemens EQ.700 classic TP715GB1
Big 2.4 L tank, two drinks at once and app control
- 2.4 L tank
- 38 cm tall
- 2-yr warranty
-
Best for milk drinks
De’Longhi Eletta Explore ECAM450.86.T
Hot and cold milk carafes plus cold brew in one machine
- 1.8 L tank
- 38.5 cm tall
- 2-yr warranty
-
Best budget
De’Longhi Magnifica S ECAM22.110.B
Simple, proven bean-to-cup with a steam wand for milk
- 1.8 L tank
- 34 cm tall
- 2-yr warranty
Side by side
| Specification | De’Longhi Rivelia EXAM440.55 | Philips Series 3300 LatteGo EP3347/90 | Siemens EQ.700 classic TP715GB1 | De’Longhi Eletta Explore ECAM450.86.T | De’Longhi Magnifica S ECAM22.110.B | JURA E8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £749 | £369.99 | £649 | £930–£999 | £349.99 | £929–£1,245 |
| Milk system | One-touch (automatic) | One-touch (automatic) | One-touch (automatic) | One-touch (automatic) | Steam wand | One-touch (automatic) |
| Removable brew unit | not listed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | not listed |
| Water tank | 1.4 L | 1.8 L | 2.4 L(best in this row) | 1.8 L | 1.8 L | 1.9 L |
| Height | 38.5 cm | 37.1 cm | 38 cm | 38.5 cm | 34 cm(best in this row) | 34.8 cm |
| Our score | Our score: 8.2/10 out of 10 | Our score: 8.3/10 out of 10 | Our score: 8.3/10 out of 10 | Our score: 7.8/10 out of 10 | Our score: 7.6/10 out of 10 | Our score: 7.7/10 out of 10 |
Best overall
1. De’Longhi Rivelia
- Milk system
- One-touch (automatic)
- One-touch drinks
- 16
- Water tank
- 1.4 L
- Bean hopper
- 250 g
- Height
- 38.5 cm
- Warranty
- 2 years
The Rivelia gets the two big things right without the price of the dearest machines. Milk drinks come from the LatteCrema Hot carafe at a touch, and the touchscreen holds sixteen drinks and four user profiles. Its best idea is the second 250 g bean hopper: the two swap over, and a Switch mode empties the grinder first so the beans don’t mix. Cold milk drinks need the LatteCrema Cool set (DLSC032), sold separately, and the 1.4 litre tank is the smallest of our picks. We couldn’t read its English manual, so we can’t give its brew-unit routine. Among the owner reviews we read, the commonest complaint was lukewarm milk drinks, and a few owners reported first-year faults or slow replies from De’Longhi: a handful of reports, not a failure rate. More in the De’Longhi Rivelia review.
Pros
- Two 250 g bean hoppers swap over, so two kinds of beans can sit ready
- 16 one-touch drinks on a 3.5 in colour touchscreen, with four user profiles
- LatteCrema Hot carafe froths and pours milk drinks automatically
Cons
- 1.4 litre water tank is small for a busy household
- Cold milk drinks need the separately sold LatteCrema Cool upgrade set
Where to buy the De’Longhi Rivelia EXAM440.55
- De’Longhi£749.99Go to De’Longhi (opens in a new tab)
- Hughes£749Go to Hughes (opens in a new tab)
- John Lewis£749Go to John Lewis (opens in a new tab)
Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.
Best value
2. Philips Series 3300 LatteGo
- Milk system
- One-touch (automatic)
- One-touch drinks
- 6
- Water tank
- 1.8 L
- Bean hopper
- 275 g
- Height
- 37.1 cm
- Warranty
- 2 years
The 3300 brings one-touch cappuccino and latte macchiato to a mid-range machine. LatteGo is a 0.26 litre jug in two parts with no tubes, rinsed under the tap or put in the dishwasher after each drink. Six drinks sit on the touch panel, with three strengths, three temperatures and 12 grind settings. Change the AquaClean filter when the machine asks and Philips says you can make up to 5,000 cups without descaling; Brita filters don’t fit. The catches: the brew group wants a weekly rinse, a monthly tablet clean and greasing every two months, and milk drinks come one cup at a time. See the Philips 3300 LatteGo review, or how it measures up in De’Longhi vs Philips bean-to-cup.
Pros
- LatteGo milk system is two parts with no tubes; rinse it or use the dishwasher
- Six one-touch drinks including iced coffee, plus hot water
- Philips says AquaClean filters allow up to 5,000 cups between descales
Cons
- The brew group needs a weekly rinse and greasing every two months
- Milk drinks are made one cup at a time
Where to buy the Philips Series 3300 LatteGo EP3347/90
- Philips£369.99Go to Philips (opens in a new tab)
- John Lewis£369.99Go to John Lewis (opens in a new tab)
Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.
Best for large households
3. Siemens EQ.700 classic
- Milk system
- One-touch (automatic)
- One-touch drinks
- 35
- Water tank
- 2.4 L
- Bean hopper
- 320 g
- Height
- 38 cm
- Warranty
- 2 years
The EQ.700 is built for busy kitchens. Its 2.4 litre tank and 320 g bean container are the largest here, oneTouch DoubleCup makes two drinks at one touch, and Siemens counts up to 35 hot and cold drinks across the machine and its Home Connect app. There is no milk jug: a pipe draws milk from any container, and autoMilk Clean steam-cleans the milk system after every drink. The brewing unit comes out, and Siemens keeps functionally relevant spare parts for ten years on machines made since 2023. The catch is size: 30.9 cm wide and 46.7 cm deep, the most worktop of our picks. More in the Siemens EQ.700 review.
Pros
- 2.4 litre tank and 320 g bean container, the largest of our bean-to-cup picks
- oneTouch DoubleCup makes two drinks at the touch of a button
- Up to 35 hot and cold drinks across the machine and the Home Connect app
Cons
- No milk jug in the box: the milk pipe goes into your own container
- 46.7 cm deep and 30.9 cm wide, the biggest footprint of our picks
Where to buy the Siemens EQ.700 classic TP715GB1
- John Lewis£649Go to John Lewis (opens in a new tab)
Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.
Best for milk drinks
4. De’Longhi Eletta Explore
- Milk system
- One-touch (automatic)
- Water tank
- 1.8 L
- Bean hopper
- 300 g
- Height
- 38.5 cm
- Width
- 26 cm
- Warranty
- 2 years
If your household drinks lattes and iced coffee far more than espresso, the Eletta Explore does the most with milk: hot and cold milk carafes in the box, and Cold Extraction for cold brew on demand. After a milk drink, run the carafe’s Clean function; the hot carafe can then wait in the fridge for up to two days and the cold one for one, but a carafe left out for more than 30 minutes must be taken apart and washed. Among the owner reviews we read, several couldn’t get the app to connect and a few found drinks only just warm: a handful of reports, not a failure rate. It is 45 cm deep, and sold at John Lewis and Hughes rather than on De’Longhi’s own UK shop. More in the Eletta Explore review.
Pros
- LatteCrema Hot and LatteCrema Cool carafes make hot or cold milk foam
- Cold Extraction makes cold brew coffee on demand
- App connection, four user profiles and a 3.5 in touchscreen
Cons
- Premium-priced; the Rivelia covers hot milk drinks for less
- 45 cm deep, so it needs a deep worktop
Where to buy the De’Longhi Eletta Explore ECAM450.86.T
- Hughes£930Go to Hughes (opens in a new tab)
- John Lewis£999Go to John Lewis (opens in a new tab)
Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.
Best budget
5. De’Longhi Magnifica S
- Milk system
- Steam wand
- One-touch drinks
- 2
- Water tank
- 1.8 L
- Bean hopper
- 250 g
- Height
- 34 cm
- Warranty
- 2 years
The Magnifica S has long been the simple way into bean-to-cup: buttons, a strength dial and a steam wand you work yourself, which also gives hot water for tea. It suits espresso and black-coffee drinkers, and anyone happy to froth milk by hand. Upkeep is light: De’Longhi’s manual has you lift out the infuser (its brew unit) at least monthly, soak it for about five minutes and rinse it. At 34 cm tall it is the shortest of our picks. Owners we read report long service, one machine lasting six years of daily use, alongside a few early failures, and one found the wand’s small rubber rings slipped off when wiping: anecdotes, not a failure rate. When we checked, it cost about the same as the Philips 3300, so buy it for simplicity rather than savings. More in the Magnifica S review.
Pros
- Buttons and a strength dial instead of menus
- Removable infuser (brew unit) that rinses under the tap
- Steam wand froths milk and also gives hot water for tea
Cons
- Milk is frothed by hand: no one-touch cappuccino
- Only two one-touch drinks, espresso and a long coffee
Where to buy the De’Longhi Magnifica S ECAM22.110.B
- De’Longhi£349.99Go to De’Longhi (opens in a new tab)
Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.
Best premium
6. JURA E8
- Milk system
- One-touch (automatic)
- One-touch drinks
- 27
- Water tank
- 1.9 L
- Bean hopper
- 280 g
- Height
- 34.8 cm
- Width
- 27 cm
The E8 is for people who want the least upkeep and will pay for it. With a CLARIS Smart+ filter fitted it stops asking to be descaled, and asks for a new cartridge when one is spent. Cleaning is a programme: after 180 drinks or 80 rinses it takes one JURA tablet and runs for about 20 minutes, and the manual has no step for taking the brewing unit out. Milk comes through a pipe from any jug or carton to a fine-foam spout; clean it daily after milk drinks, take the frother apart weekly and replace the pipe and spout about every three months. App control needs JURA’s optional Wi-Fi Connect. See the JURA E8 review.
Pros
- With a CLARIS Smart+ filter fitted, the E8 does not ask to be descaled
- 27 specialities, 10 strength levels and 3 brewing temperatures
- P.A.G.2 grinder with 7 grind settings
Cons
- Milk spout needs a daily clean; pipe and spout are replaced about every 3 months
- App control needs JURA's optional Wi-Fi Connect
Where to buy the JURA E8
- Hughes£929Go to Hughes (opens in a new tab)
- Marks Electrical£929Go to Marks Electrical (opens in a new tab)
- John Lewis£1,245Go to John Lewis (opens in a new tab)
Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.
How to choose a bean-to-cup machine
Start with the milk
- A milk carafe or jug (Rivelia, Eletta Explore, Philips LatteGo) froths and pours at a touch; you fill it and wash it.
- A milk pipe into your own container (Siemens EQ.700, JURA E8) means no jug to store, but the pipe needs cleaning, and JURA’s is replaced every few months.
- A steam wand (Magnifica S) leaves the frothing to you. It takes practice, and you clean the wand after each use.
- No milk system suits black coffee only, so don’t pay for one you won’t use.
Check how it cleans
Look for a brew unit you can take out and rinse under running water, and check how often: at least monthly on the Magnifica S, and weekly on the Philips 3300 (plus a monthly tablet and greasing every two months) and the Melitta Purista. De’Longhi and Siemens say it never goes in the dishwasher. The JURA E8 uses a tablet cleaning programme instead. Empty the drip tray and grounds container often, too: Siemens and JURA say daily, and De’Longhi warns that an overfull grounds container can clog the machine.
Hard water: set the hardness, fit the filter
Hard water scales heating elements and shortens an appliance’s life, says the Drinking Water Inspectorate, and Thames Water, for one, says all the water it supplies is hard. Set the machine’s hardness with its test strip at first use (the Magnifica S and Philips 3300 leave the factory on the hardest setting), then fit the maker’s own filter cartridge. De’Longhi says its filter means descaling about a fifth less often; Philips and JURA claim much more for theirs.
| Maker (machines here) | Water filter | Change it | Descaler and care |
|---|---|---|---|
| De’Longhi (Rivelia, Eletta Explore, Magnifica S) | DLSC002 | About every two months; within three weeks if the machine stands unused | Decalk Care DLSC500, 100 ml per descale; MultiClean DLSC550 for milk parts |
| Philips (Series 3300 LatteGo) | AquaClean (not Brita) | When its light flashes (95 litres), at least every three months | A bottle of Philips descaler per descale; oil remover tablets monthly |
| Siemens (EQ.700, EQ.300) | BRITA Intenza TZ70003 (three-pack TZ70033A) | After two months at the latest | Descaling tablets TZ80002B, cleaning tablets TZ80001B |
| JURA (E8) | CLARIS Smart+ 24232 | When the machine asks | No descaling with the filter in; cleaning tablets 24225 |
| Melitta (Purista) | Pro Aqua 6784658-uk | Every two months, or when the light asks | Anti Calc descaler 6788302-uk |
Descaling safely: use the descaler your manual names, at the dose it gives, and let the programme finish. Philips warns against descalers based on sulfuric, hydrochloric, sulfamic or acetic acid (vinegar), Siemens against vinegar, pure citric acid and phosphoric acid, and De’Longhi says faults from an unsuitable descaler may not be covered. Take the water filter out first and stand a large container under the spouts.
The full routine, step by step, is in our guide to descaling a coffee machine in a hard-water area.
Measure the space
Our picks stand 34 to 38.5 cm tall, but depth can be the tighter limit: the EQ.700 is 46.7 cm deep. Measure up to the underside of your wall cupboards, and leave room to lift the lid to pour in beans and to slide the tank out.
What each budget buys
- Under £400: a steam wand you work yourself, or one-touch cappuccino with a handful of drinks, made one cup at a time.
- £400 to £800: more drinks on a touchscreen, user profiles, a second bean hopper, or a big tank with two drinks at once and app control.
- Over £800: hot and cold milk carafes with cold brew, or a filter system that does away with descaling and a finer milk foam.
Sales move machines between bands, so check the price boxes above.
Two more worth a look
- For a first machine: the Siemens EQ.300 makes cappuccino and latte macchiato at a touch, with plain buttons and four coffee drinks. Its brewing unit comes out and the frother parts go in the dishwasher, but the tank is 1.4 litres and calc’nClean takes about 40 minutes.
- For a narrow gap and black coffee: the Melitta Purista is 20 cm wide and 33.4 cm tall, with no milk system or hot water. Its brewing unit pulls out for a weekly rinse, and Melitta says one descale a year is enough at two cups a day if you change its Pro Aqua filter six times a year. More in compact coffee machines that fit under cupboards.
Weighing beans against pods? See the cost per cup of bean-to-cup against pods, or which coffee machine to buy for every type compared.
How we chose these
- Started from what decides a bean-to-cup machine: milk, cleaning and hard water, then capacity and size.
- Compared manuals, spec sheets and UK parts pages for the eight bean-to-cup machines we track.
- Checked prices at De’Longhi, Philips, Melitta, John Lewis, Hughes and Marks Electrical, and show the date we checked.
- Read owner reviews where we could. The samples are small, and we say so.
- Revisit the list when prices move or a model is replaced.
What we don’t do: lab-test every product. When we have used one ourselves, the review says so.
Bean-to-cup questions
How often will a bean-to-cup machine need descaling?
Whenever its descale light comes on, which depends on the hardness you set and on the filter. Melitta’s Purista manual says every three months or when the light shows; Philips says AquaClean changed on time allows up to 5,000 cups between descales; the JURA E8 doesn’t ask at all with a CLARIS Smart+ filter in. A cycle takes about 20 to 40 minutes.
How do I find out how hard my water is?
Ask your water company. The Drinking Water Inspectorate’s map shows only typical levels for England and Wales, and local water varies; some companies, such as Severn Trent, have a postcode checker that includes hardness. Then use the machine’s test strip at first use and set the level in its menu.
Can I use decaf or pre-ground coffee?
Yes, on several of our picks. The Rivelia has two bean hoppers, so decaf can sit in one, and De’Longhi says it takes pre-ground coffee too. The Magnifica S has a funnel and the Philips 3300 a chute for pre-ground coffee, which suit an occasional decaf. Check the manual of any other machine before you buy.
Does a bean-to-cup machine switch itself off?
It has to drop to low power. Under the GB ecodesign rules, espresso and bean-to-cup machines must do so within 30 minutes of the last drink or heating, or 60 minutes after cup preheating, and within 30 minutes of a descale or self-clean. These rules have applied since January 2015.
