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.”
Our Top Picks for the Best Coffee Makers
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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.
Inside the Article
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).
Best Overall Coffee Maker
OXO Brew 9-Cup Stainless Steel Coffee Maker
- Dimensions: 15″ x 8.3″ x 17.2″
- Brewing capacity: 9 cups
- Descaling indicator: Yes
- Programmable: Yes
Upsides:
- SCA Certification
- Simple controls
- Pause and pour feature
- Rainmaker showerhead
- Thermal carafe keeps coffee hot
- Internal mixing tube in carafe
Downsides:
- Water tank isn’t removable
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.
Best Budget Coffee Maker
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AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker
- Dimensions: 7.9″D x 7.9″W x 14.2″H
- Brewing capacity: 10 oz.
- Descaling indicator: No
- Programmable: No
Upsides:
- Portable
- Small
- Doesn’t require electricity
Downsides:
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 the filter, pour grounds, pour boiled water on top, and wait a few minutes. “Real ones know that the absolute best way to make at-home or on-the-go coffee is the Aeropress, which has a huge following among outdoorsy campers and city-dwelling coffee snobs alike,” says associate commerce director Lori Keong. “The compressed method of brewing coffee takes approximately two minutes to make an exceptional cup every time, and there’s something so satisfying about popping the puck of coffee grounds into the trash after the fact: almost zero clean up is involved.”
Best Drip Coffee Machine
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Terri Williams
Technivorm Moccamaster KBGT Coffee Maker
- Dimensions: 6.7″ x 11.5″ x 16″
- Brewing capacity: 40 ounces
- Descaling indicator: No
- Programmable: No
Upsides:
- Simple one-button operation
- Two coffee lids: brew-thru lid and travel lid
- Brewing stops when carafe is removed
- Thermal carafe
- SCA-certified
- Accepts both carafe and travel mug
Downsides:
- Water tank is not removable
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.