Short answer
Choose the De’Longhi Magnifica S if you mostly drink espresso or black coffee, or are happy to froth milk with a steam wand, and want the shorter machine with the lighter brew-unit routine. Choose the Philips Series 3300 LatteGo if you want cappuccino and latte macchiato at a touch, a two-part milk jug that goes in the dishwasher and a water filter that can put off descaling for months. If you take milk most days, the Philips is the better buy.
De’Longhi or Philips is one of the first brand questions in the middle of the bean-to-cup market, and De’Longhi’s long-running Magnifica S and Philips’ Series 3300 LatteGo are where it usually lands. They have a lot in common: a 1.8 litre tank, a bean hopper of about 250 g, a brew unit that comes out for rinsing, a chute for pre-ground coffee and a two-year guarantee, and at the prices we last checked the gap between them was small. What separates them is milk: the Magnifica S gives you a steam wand and leaves the frothing to you, while the Philips makes milk drinks at a touch. Both are in our comparison of every bean-to-cup machine we track.
Milk drinks
Steam wand: you froth the milk yourself
LatteGo: cappuccino at one touch
Drink choice
Espresso and long coffee, strength dial
Six drinks, 3 strengths, 3 temperatures
Brew unit care
Rinse at least monthly, no greasing
Rinse weekly, tablet monthly, grease every 2 months
Milk cleaning Tie
Clean the wand after every use
Two parts, rinse or dishwasher after use
Water filter and descaling
DLSC002 filter, changed about every 2 months
Philips says up to 5,000 cups between descales
Tank and beans Tie
1.8 L tank, 250 g beans
1.8 L tank, 275 g beans
Size
34 cm tall, 23 cm wide
37.1 cm tall, 24.6 cm wide
Overall winner: Philips Series 3300 LatteGo EP3347/90, 8.3 vs 7.6 on our score.
Choose the De’Longhi Magnifica S ECAM22.110.B if you drink espresso or black coffee, or don't mind steaming milk by hand, and want the shorter machine.
Choose the Philips Series 3300 LatteGo EP3347/90 if you want cappuccino or latte macchiato at a touch and a milk jug that goes in the dishwasher.
Milk drinks
This is the real decision. The Magnifica S has a manual steam wand: you hold a jug of milk under it and texture the milk yourself, which takes practice. Owners we read say it heats milk quickly and makes good cappuccinos once they get the hang of it, though one couldn’t get a firm foam, and De’Longhi’s manual notes that steam stops after three minutes as a safety cut-out. The Philips 3300 does the whole job at a touch: fill the 0.26 litre LatteGo jug, fit it and choose cappuccino or latte macchiato. It makes milk drinks one cup at a time. If you drink milk coffee most days, the Philips wins.
Drink choice
The Magnifica S keeps things basic: buttons for an espresso and a long coffee, a dial for strength, and a grinding dial you turn while the grinder runs. De’Longhi doesn’t say how many grind settings it has. Its steam wand also gives hot water for tea. The Philips puts six drinks on its touch panel (espresso, coffee, cappuccino, latte macchiato, iced coffee and hot water) and lets you pick from three strengths, three temperatures and 12 grind settings. Neither has user profiles or app control. The Philips gives you more choice without making the controls any harder, so it takes this one.
Brew unit care
Both brew units come out, which is what you want: you can see and rinse the part where the coffee is brewed. The routines differ. De’Longhi’s manual has you take out the Magnifica S’s infuser, its name for the brew unit, at least once a month with the machine off, soak it in water for about five minutes and rinse it without washing-up liquid. Philips asks more of you: rinse the 3300’s brew group under the tap every week, clean it with a Philips coffee oil remover tablet once a month and grease it every two months, with a tube of grease in the box. On upkeep, the De’Longhi wins.
Milk cleaning
Both want their milk parts cleaned after every use, in different ways. On the Magnifica S that means the steam wand, which De’Longhi’s manual calls the cappuccino maker, plus whatever jug you froth in. De’Longhi sells MultiClean (DLSC550) for milk circuits, steam wands included. LatteGo is two parts with no tubes, and both parts go under the tap or in the dishwasher after use; the Philips’ coffee grounds container is not dishwasher-safe, so wash that by hand. One Magnifica S owner we read found the wand’s tiny rubber rings slipped off while wiping and were fiddly to refit. Neither routine is a burden, so we call this a tie.
Water filter and descaling
Both leave the factory set for the hardest water (level 4), so test yours with the strip and set the level at first use. Both take the maker’s own tank filter. De’Longhi’s DLSC002 lasts about two months, or no more than three weeks if the machine stands unused, and De’Longhi says it means descaling about a fifth less often. Philips’ AquaClean is changed when its light flashes, after 95 litres, or at least every three months, and Philips says changing it when asked gives up to 5,000 cups without descaling. Brita filters don’t fit the Philips. On the makers’ figures, AquaClean puts descaling off far longer, so the Philips wins.
Tank and beans
Little to choose. Both have a 1.8 litre tank, and the Philips’ hopper holds 275 g of beans against the De’Longhi’s 250 g. On the Magnifica S, empty the grounds container whenever you take out the drip tray, even if it holds only a few grounds, or it can overfill and clog the machine; De’Longhi says it holds about 14 used coffee pucks. The tallest cup that fits under the De’Longhi’s spouts is 14 cm; Philips doesn’t give a figure in the documents we read. A tie.
Size
The Magnifica S is the smaller machine: 34 cm tall, 23 cm wide and 43 cm deep on De’Longhi’s UK figures (its shared family manual says 35 cm tall). The Philips is 37.1 cm tall, 24.6 cm wide and 43.3 cm deep, and at 8 kg it is a little lighter than the De’Longhi’s 8.9 kg. Measure up to the underside of your wall cupboards, leaving room to lift the lid and pour in beans. If the gap is tight, the De’Longhi’s extra 3 cm or so of clearance may settle it.
What owners report
Read this as anecdote, not a failure rate. Most Magnifica S owners we read found it simple to use and liked the coffee once the grind and strength suited their beans. Several report long service: one still going well after three years, one whose machine lasted six years of daily use, and one who bought it to replace an older De’Longhi after 13 years. A few had early failures, from a machine that broke down after three weeks to a steamer that stopped after a month. Others found the printed manual thin and learned from De’Longhi’s how-to videos. For the Philips 3300 we could read only five short owner reviews, all happy with it: too few to say how it holds up.
Both come with a two-year guarantee, and the law gives you more whichever you buy. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you have 30 days from delivery to reject a faulty machine, and a fault that appears within six months is presumed to have been there from the start unless the seller shows otherwise.
Want one-touch milk from De’Longhi?
If you like De’Longhi but want milk drinks at a touch, the De’Longhi Rivelia is the step up and our best overall bean-to-cup: a LatteCrema Hot carafe that froths and pours, sixteen one-touch drinks, four user profiles and two 250 g bean hoppers that swap over, so decaf can sit ready. It costs a lot more than either machine here and has a smaller 1.4 litre tank, and the commonest complaint among the Rivelia owner reviews we read was lukewarm milk drinks: a handful of reports, not a failure rate.
Which should you choose?
Choose the De’Longhi Magnifica S if…
- You mostly drink espresso, Americano or other black coffee
- You’re happy to steam milk by hand, or would like to learn
- You want the lighter brew-unit routine: a monthly rinse and no grease
- Your cupboard gap is tight: it is 34 cm tall
Choose the Philips 3300 LatteGo if…
- You want cappuccino or latte macchiato at a touch
- You’d like a two-part milk jug that goes in the dishwasher
- Your water is hard and you want AquaClean to put off descaling
- You want more drinks, strengths and grind settings to choose from
Neither quite right? Our best bean-to-cup coffee machines ranks six picks, including machines with two hoppers, a big tank or hot and cold milk. If your water is hard, read how to descale a coffee machine in a hard-water area. You can also see every De’Longhi machine we track, every Philips, or compare all the bean-to-cup machines we cover.
Where to buy
When we last checked, the Philips cost a little more than the Magnifica S, but prices on both move: the boxes below show the latest and when we checked.
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.
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.
De'Longhi vs Philips questions
Is the Philips 3300 LatteGo worth it over the Magnifica S?
If you drink milk coffee most days, yes. The Philips makes cappuccino and latte macchiato at a touch, has six drinks with three strengths and temperatures, and on Philips’ figures its AquaClean filter puts off descaling for thousands of cups. For mostly espresso or black coffee, the Magnifica S does the job with less brew-unit upkeep.
Can I use a Brita filter in either machine?
Not in the Philips: its manual says Brita filters are not compatible, and it takes Philips AquaClean cartridges only. Fit the first one at first use or straight after a descale, as the machine must be free of scale. The Magnifica S takes De’Longhi’s DLSC002 filter, which De’Longhi says suits all its automatic coffee makers and should come out of the tank before you descale.
Which descaler should I use, and how long does descaling take?
Use each maker’s own. De’Longhi’s manual says to use only De’Longhi descaler, such as Decalk Care (DLSC500): one 100 ml dose and a litre of water, about 25 minutes plus a rinse. Philips uses a whole bottle of its descaler, about 30 minutes, and warns that descalers based on sulfuric, hydrochloric, sulfamic or acetic acid (vinegar) can damage the water circuit. Philips also says failing to descale voids the warranty.
Does the LatteGo milk jug go in the dishwasher?
Yes. Philips’ manual says to clean LatteGo after every use, and its two parts, with no tubes, can go under the tap or in the dishwasher. Keep the coffee grounds container out of the dishwasher: Philips says it is not dishwasher-safe. The brew group is rinsed by hand every week.
Can I make decaf in either machine?
Yes, with pre-ground decaf. The Magnifica S has a funnel for a dose of pre-ground coffee and the Philips a pre-ground coffee chute, so you can make the odd decaf without changing the beans in the hopper. If you drink decaf every day, De’Longhi’s Rivelia has a second bean hopper, so decaf beans can sit ready beside your usual ones.
