BEST DRIP COFFEE MAKER IN 2024: BUYING TIPS FROM COFFEE PROS

I’m sure you’ll love all our picks for the best drip coffee maker, but Technivorm Moccamaster KBVG is undeniably the best of the best. The Moccamaster is still resisting the test of time.

Finding a drip coffee maker is no easy task. There are literally hundreds to choose from, and each might be the “best” for a different person. Plus, they all look the same at first sight. One might think: what’s so distinctive about a simple drip coffee maker? Trust me, they’re not all the same, and some are truly unique.

That’s why I tested a bunch of them and put together a roundup of drip coffee maker reviews to simplify your life. I’ll show you exactly how to spot a good brewer from a bad one, teach you which important features to look for, and list my favorite coffee brewers this year. Then all that’s left for you to do is to start brewing amazing coffee.

How I Tested These Coffee Makers

To assess the drip machines’ performance, usability, and coffee quality, I tested them (and many others that didn’t make the list) in a number of ways.

• Brew Testing: Using a thermocouple, I tested the water temperature three times: during brewing, immediately after brewing, and after 1 hour on the hot plate or in the thermal carafe. I clocked the brewing time for each machine, from turn-on to a full pot of coffee. After brewing, I took a peek at the coffee bed in the filter of each machine to see if all the grounds were evenly saturated.

• Taste Testing: Quantitative tests are important, but there’s no substitute for a good old-fashioned taste test. We brewed the same medium roast coffee with the same medium grind size in every brewer and pitted the results head-to-head in a blind tasting. For machines with various brewing options, we chose the Gold Cup or Standard mode.
  
  I had five team members take part, to account for different coffee preferences, palate fatigue, and the inevitable impacts of over-caffeination. You should see everyone’s jittery notes from the later stages! We tasted every coffee immediately after brewing and again 1 hour later to assess the effects of the carafe or hot plate.

• Other Factors: During brew testing, I noted any other standout features. These include programmable options, ease of use, build quality, cleaning and maintenance needs, and carafe spout design. A surprising number of brands can’t design a spout that pours without spilling! I sourced information from home testers for this section as well. Price was balanced against features, taking into account value-adding extras, like filters or a solid warranty.

The 8 Best Drip Coffee Makers Of 2024

I’ve been reviewing coffee makers for a long time, and it’s been exciting to see the quality improve in the past ten years! Coffee lovers are demanding better results at home, and manufacturers are delivering. Here are eight top-rated picks guaranteed to deliver the best cup of coffee every time you brew.

It might surprise you to learn that my top pick (and the most expensive brewer on this list) has virtually no programmability or special features. I just love this coffee maker for many simple reasons, and I’m not alone. The Moccamaster is favored by Third Wave coffee enthusiasts worldwide, not to mention certified by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).

This brewer is designed to do one thing and do it well: brew the best cup of coffee. According to my tests, it does it better than any other brewer on the market. It was the majority favorite in our taste tests and delivered the most consistent brew water temperature, always falling within the 195 – 205 °F range specified by the SCA. The 9-hole showerhead outlet arm and pulsed brewing style left a beautiful flat bed of coffee in the conical filter basket. 

I generally prefer a thermal carafe to avoid the stale taste of coffee that’s been on a hot plate too long. But I appreciated that Technivorm made the hot plate temperature adjustable between 175 – 185 °F. Of the three glass carafe drip coffee makers we tested, this one maintained the best flavors when we tasted it an hour after brewing. 

This is also one of the fastest brewers around, thanks to a powerful 1400 W heating element. We timed it at just under 6 minutes to brew a full 10-cup pot of coffee! Now you understand why it doesn’t necessarily need a programmable brew timer. That said, it does have a handy drip-stop function if you just can’t bear to wait 6 minutes for your first cup, and the half-carafe function yields a full-flavored 4 cups in just 4 minutes.

You’re paying top dollar for two things when you buy any of the best Technivorm coffee makers. The first is the incredible coffee I just discussed, and the second is the build quality. Every Moccamaster is handmade in the Netherlands, individually tested before it leaves the factory, and backed by a 5-year warranty. This model comes in 22 colors to suit any style, from basic black to (our favorite) deep purple Beetroot.

You can learn more about this high-end brewer in my Technivorm Moccamaster review.

The Ratio Six Coffee Maker shares many qualities with our top pick, the Moccamaster. It’s simple, durable, and SCA-certified to yield a perfect brew. Yes, it’s also expensive. But I’m convinced that the quality of the brewer and coffee make it a fantastic value regardless.

Ratio has followed in Technivorm’s footsteps creating a brewer with no user-adjustable features. It’s already designed to brew a perfect coffee, so why complicate things with more settings? We’re a bunch of coffee nerds at Home Grounds, so we usually like to fiddle with options, but I can’t argue with the outcome here; the coffee is just too good. Plus, it makes this machine super simple to use. 

The Ratio Six delivers consistently delicious brews, which some of our taste testers even preferred to the Moccamaster. Like many high-end brewers, it uses an automatic bloom phase and wide spray head to ensure even saturation of the coffee grounds. But it also does something quite unique which impressed me the most.

The Ratio Six has an innovative heat shield around the filter basket. So the brew water maintains its ideal temperature throughout the brewing process. The heat shield is optional; you can remove it. I found it was a bit of a hassle to wrestle it back on after taking it off, so I’d suggest making a choice and sticking with it. For what it’s worth, in a blind taste test, our team preferred the brew with the heat shield on.

I also found it took just over 6 minutes to brew a full carafe with this machine, keeping in mind that it’s only an 8-cup carafe. The thermal carafe is fantastic. It had a very smooth, drip-free pour, and when we tested our coffee an hour after brewing, the temperature had dropped by just 2 °F.

What’s missing? I didn’t mind the lack of programmable options, but it was a little disappointing not to have a pause-and-serve feature in a brewer that costs over $300. Similarly, there are no designated settings for brewing smaller quantities. If you want great-tasting coffee from this machine, be prepared to wait an entire 7 minutes. Sigh.

Breville’s Precision Brewer is quickly becoming one of the most popular drip coffee makers on the market, proving itself a worthy rival to the more expensive Moccamaster. Indeed, if I wanted a programmable coffee maker, I’d go with Breville. 

This isn’t your average coffee maker with a timer; with the Precision brewer, you dictate almost everything.

It’s a joy to use, and I had a fantastic time tweaking settings to optimize the brews.

There are six preset brewing modes, including the SCAA-certified Gold Cup mode. Our taste testers particularly loved the Over Ice option, which gave a flavorful cold coffee that never tasted bland or watered down. You can customize each mode by adjusting bloom time, brew temperature, and flow rate to perfectly suit the character of your favorite coffee beans.

This brewer takes its name from its PID temperature control, which should deliver brew water at a precise temperature between 197 to 204 ℉. So, of course, we were keen to test this particular claim. The results don’t lie; our measured temperature was never more than a degree from the set point!

Impressively, this model is compatible with conical and flat filter baskets — and comes with one of each. With recent research showing that flat and cone-shaped baskets highlight different aspects of the coffee’s, it’s a bonus to have both options.

The Oxo Brew 9-cup stainless steel coffee maker (formerly Oxo Barista Brain) is one of the more affordable SCA-certified brewers. And to my surprise, Oxo hasn’t sacrificed much in the interest of keeping costs low. This brewer is attractive, high quality, and feature-packed – along with delivering that coveted Golden Cup.

The Oxo Brew took its original name (the Barista Brain) from the fact that it’s designed to mimic a professional barista preparing a pour over coffee. Brew water is distributed over the grounds in timed cycles to ensure proper saturation and rich and flavorful extraction.

Now, I won’t lie. This machine lacks the more advanced modes of the pricier Precision brewer – you can’t adjust the water temperature, flow rate, or bloom time. But it has all the key options you need to start your day off right. You can program it to brew on a timer, it has a drip-stop to let you grab a quick cup, and the option to brew as little as two cups. In our tests, it took 6 minutes to brew a full carafe and 4 minutes for a half, nearly as quick as the Moccamaster. 

The Oxo Brew 9-Cup has a thermal carafe rather than a hot plate, and I was impressed by its effectiveness. This is partially due to the brew-through lid. We measured the temperature of the coffee after an hour in the carafe and found it had dropped by only 3 °F.

I looked deeper into the Oxo Brew in our full review, which you can read on our site. 
For a smaller capacity brewer at a lower price, check out the slightly more barebones Oxo Brew 8-cup coffee maker. It keeps the stainless steel build and SCA certification of its larger sibling and adds a single-serving mode.

The Ninja Specialty 10-Cup Coffee Maker is all about options. And I told you already how much I love having options in a brewer. The Ninja is SCA-certified, but it isn’t the one we’d recommend if you like to buy specialty coffee beans and drink black coffee. This is the best drip machine for those who enjoy variety. 

Some mornings, you want a basic black cup, but other times, you might want a chilled coffee, a frothy vanilla latte, or a carafe of brewed tea. This Ninja coffee maker can do all that and more. It’s also the only brewer on this list that can easily prepare a single serving – worth considering if you’re the lone coffee drinker in your household.

The Ninja CM401 Specialty Coffee Maker has four brewing styles: Regular, Bold, Iced Coffee, and Specialty. The specialty mode is the most unusual of the bunch, designed to brew a strong shot of coffee similar to espresso to use for milk-based. While I definitely wouldn’t claim it measures up to a full-bodied espresso, I was pretty impressed with the nice punch of flavor it adds to a latte or cappuccino. 

Along with the four brewing modes, the Ninja has six size options, including a single serving, a full or half carafe, and even a travel mug. I found it easy to make selections using the illustrated display panel, so you will too. However, this machine lacks programmability when it comes to optimizing your coffee. As with the Oxo brewer, here you can’t adjust brew temperature, bloom time, or flow.

The fold-away frother is certainly the most unique aspect of this coffee maker. While it’s not expensive to buy a separate frother, it’s convenient to have it built into your machine. Unlike a steam wand, the frother only aerates the milk; it doesn’t heat it. I actually enjoyed this design because it also allowed me to make cold foam to top our iced brews.

It doesn’t make sense to buy a coffee maker with more capacity than you’ll ever use. It’s less energy efficient and wastes space on your countertop. This little brewer from Bonavita is perfect for 1 to 3 coffee drinkers, with options to brew 15, 25, or 25 ounces at a time. I’d say that’s perfect for housemates or couples.

There are many small coffee brewers on the market, but very few offer an SCA certification and a high-quality thermal carafe. Those were the first two things that drew my attention to this model. But it was actually the addition of an optional pre-infusion mode that landed it on this list. The lack of bloom stage in Bonavita brewers has long been a pet peeve among our team, and I was so excited to see the company add it!

This coffee maker’s small in stature but mighty in power, packing a 1500-watt heating element. Granted, a full carafe is only 5 cups, but this was still the quickest brewer on the list. I timed it at under 4 minutes for a complete brew cycle.

Bonavita is renowned for making super high-quality coffee brewers. Admittedly, they aren’t the best-looking brewers on the block, but they are built to last. They haven’t skimped on producing this smaller model. It features the same beefy stainless steel construction as the larger options. We didn’t test it by dropping it off the roof or running it over with a car, but I suspect it could take the hit and keep on brewing!

The Café Specialty is my pick for the most beautiful drip machine for obvious reasons. Just look at it! It’s available in matte black, matte white, or brushed stainless steel, all with gorgeous copper accents. And you can choose between a glass or thermal carafe.

That said, I would never recommend a great-looking machine that doesn’t brew excellent coffee. This brewer is certified by the SCA to meet Golden Cup standards, and our taste testers raved about its flavorful brews almost as much as its stunning design.

The Café Specialty is the only smart brewer on this list, so it’s a great option for anyone frequently tied to their smartphone – which is most of us these days, is it not? With the SmartHQ app, you can program a brew from anywhere and customize the size, temperature, and coffee strength.

We aren’t always fans of smart coffee machines, but this one won us over for two reasons. First, it uses WiFi rather than Bluetooth, so you don’t need to be near the machine to make it work. You can start your coffee from bed in the morning or from the office as you head home. Second, the features accessible through the app can also be programmed on the brewer itself. So you don’t need to pull out your phone first thing in the morning if you’d rather not.

Learn more in this detailed full review of the Cafe Specialty Coffee Maker.

We also considered the Zwilling Enfinigy Drip Coffee Maker for this category. It’s up to you as to which you prefer aesthetically, but I felt the build quality of the Zwilling was lacking. It had a flimsier feel, the controls were not as intuitive to use, and it’s not WiFi-enabled.

The Braun BrewSense is the most affordable of the coffee brewers on our list – less than a quarter the cost of the top pick – but it is far from the cheapest brewer on the market. So why is it our best budget pick? 

We tested many much cheaper options hoping to find a diamond in the rough, but to be honest, once you drop cheaper than this, you’re getting bad coffee from a machine that won’t last and isn’t particularly enjoyable to use. There’s just no way around it. If you want mildly bitter caffeinated brown water, go ahead and spend $19.99 on a coffee brewer. If you want good coffee at an affordable price, get the Braun BrewSense.

This brewer has the basic features you expect from an automatic coffee maker. You can program it to brew and turn off automatically, and you can choose Regular or Bold coffee strength. There is a button for smaller servinges between 1 and 4 cups, and an automatic drip-stop. To our considerable surprise, it also has an adjustable temperature hot plate – just like the Moccamaster! Our taste testers were impressed by the coffee flavor, even after an hour on the warming plate.

The BrewSense has a relatively low-power 1000-watt heating element, so you’ll want to take advantage of the programmable brewing if you need your coffee asap in the morning. In our tests, it took about 13 minutes to brew a full 12-cup carafe.

This model includes a charcoal water filter and GoldTone filter basket, which spares you the cost of buying paper filters – unless you prefer a cleaner cup.

The Braun BrewSense is mostly plastic, as I’d expect at this price, but a bit of stainless steel casing near the top sweetens the deal. It gives this little brewer a more premium look while making it more durable and easier to clean. 

How To Choose The Best Drip Coffee Machine

There’s no shortage of drip machines on the market, so I appreciate how overwhelming it can feel to find the perfect one for you. That’s why I put together this buyer’s guide. Just answer a few simple questions, and it will narrow down your options to just one or two incredible brewers.

Remember, we’re considering only automatic drip coffee machines here, not pod-based systems like Keurigs or manual coffee brewers like a French press or pour-over drippers.

Carafe Capacity: How Much Coffee Do You Drink?

Do you only want a single cup of drip coffee in the morning, or do you a lot of coffee to get going? Is it just you, or do you make coffee for the whole family? Determine how much coffee you need to make at once, then let that guide your decision.

Most drip coffee machines have a carafe with a capacity of 10 or 12 cups of coffee, where a cup is considered to be 5 ounces. If you don’t consume that much in a day, choose a smaller capacity option like the 5-cup Bonavita or the 8- or 9-cup Oxo Brew coffee makers. 

Many machines can brew a half-carafe or single cup, which is a great way to get more flexibility from your drip brewer. Of course, you can brew less than a carafe with any machine, but those not specifically designed to do it will generally yield a less flavorful result when brewing at lower capacity.

If you need to brew a huge batch of coffee at a time, to serve a big crown at an office or event, consider getting a coffee urn.

Carafe Style: Glass Or Thermal?

Coffee brewers come with glass or insulated double-wall metal carafes. Glass carafe coffee brewers are paired with a warming plate to keep coffee hot. There are pros and cons to both systems, though we generally prefer thermal carafe coffee makers.

The two advantages of glass carafes are that they are more affordable and have a larger capacity at a given size. However, keeping your coffee on a hot plate for hours results in a bitter or burnt-tasting brew, and it isn’t very energy efficient. We only suggest glass carafes if you plan to drink your coffee quickly.

Thermal carafes tend to be more expensive, but this is offset by the fact that they last virtually forever.

Filter Basket Style: Flat Or Conical?

When buying a drip machine, you’ll encounter two styles of filter baskets, either the flat-bottom basket shape or the cone shape. The shape of the filter basket influences which paper filters to buy, but that’s not all! 

Coffee experts have long insisted that the shape of the filter also affects the taste of your coffee, and recent research sponsored by the SCA has proven them right (1). It’s not too surprising when you think about it. The shape of the filter changes how water flows through the ground coffee and impacts the extraction.

• Flat-bottom baskets best highlight bright, fruity, floral, and sweet flavors, such as you might find in East African coffees.
• Cone filters are a better match if you prefer darker, earthier coffees like those from Sumatra. 
• If you like them all, consider a brewer that comes with both filter styles.

Don’t forget that filter style impacts price and convenience, too. As a general rule, cone-shaped paper filters are less expensive and more readily available.

Programmability: Do You Like To Be In Control?

The degree of programmability varies widely among drip coffee makers. Some have zero programmable features, with just an on/off switch. These are generally the easiest to use and (relatively) more affordable options. They may also last longer because their lack of features means there is less to go wrong.

The most basic programmable drip machines can be set to turn on, brew, and turn off at certain times. These functions can be handy if you’re the kind of person who likes to wake up to the smell of coffee or who doesn’t want to be bothered to brew a cup in the morning. You just want the coffee to happen. We get it. We are not all morning people.

More advanced programmable features include options to control bloom time, water temperature, brew time, flow, and coffee strength. These features usually increase the price of a machine, but they are worthwhile if you like to experiment with specialty coffee beans. They’ll allow you to get the absolute best flavor from every cup.

Pause-and-Serve: How Desperate Are You For That First Cup?

This is such a simple feature that it’s a wonder all brewers don’t have it. If the idea of waiting up to 15 minutes to brew a full carafe before enjoying your first cup sounds like more patience than you can handle first thing in the morning, look for a pause-and-serve option. It might also be called drip-stop, pause-and-pour, brew pause, steal-a-cup, or something along those lines.

Machines with this option will stop brewing automatically when you remove the carafe. So you can pour yourself that precious first cup without making a mess.

Water Filter: How Is Your Water Quality?

Do you use filtered water to brew your coffee? If not, you’re probably making your coffee with less-than-stellar water, which takes away from the flavour. If you don’t want to buy a Brita filter or something similar for your tap, look for a coffee maker with a built-in water filter inside the water reservoir (2). Just remember to plan on some extra effort and expense keeping the filter up to date.

Watch Steven’s fun video on brewing better coffee at home, which talks about the importance of water quality, among other things:

Commonly Overlooked (Yet Important) Factors To Consider

Here are two more things to think about before you buy.

Do You Have A Burr Grinder?

Brewing the most delicious coffee means starting with freshly ground beans. So we highly recommend either buying a burr coffee bean grinder or choosing a coffee machine with a built-in grinder. Coffee makers with in-built grinders are generally more expensive than those without, but it might still save you money over buying a separate grinder. Additionally, having both machines in one saves counter space.

Standalone coffee grinders are generally higher-performance and give you more flexibility to grind for other brew styles. Choose the best option for your lifestyle; just steer clear of blade grinders!

What Is An SCAA Certification?

The Specialty Coffee Association of America reviews, tests, and certifies coffee gear, including drip machines (3). An SCAA stamp of approval is respected in the coffee industry. It means the home brewer in question meets a rigorous set of criteria that allow it to brew the perfect cup.

Here’s a video explaining a little more:

Many of the brewers on this list are SCAA-certified, including our winner and runner-up. If you want a more complete list, read our round-up of the best SCAA coffee makers.

More Information On The Best Coffee Makers

This review round-up does not include:

• Espresso machines – If you want an espresso maker or something with a milk frother, read our home espresso machine guide.
• Portable – If you have a camper van, here is our list of the best RV coffee makers.
• Single-serve – We’ve collected the best single-serve options in this review.
• Manual coffee brewers –  Not a fan of automation? Check out our french press reviews or pour over brewer reviews.
• Iced coffee and cold brewers – We’ve listed those here.
• Smart coffee makers – Here are some smart coffee machines you can operate with your phone.
• Plumbed coffee machines – Here are our top picks for coffee makers with water line.

Interested in all the coffee makers from a particular brand? Here are some of the best-known:

• Ninja – These are popular, so we did a separate review on them here.
• Cuisinart – If you like this reputable brand, here’s our list of amazing Cuisinart machines on the market.
• Capresso – This is another another reputable home coffee machine brand that we recommend for budget-conscious shoppers.
• Miele – This brand offers all-around coffee brewers. Here’s our list of the best models.

Finally, if you’re just looking for the best brewers in every style, read these reviews of the best coffee makers to learn more.

The Verdict

With drip coffee makers, you get what you pay for. So if drinking coffee is a crucial part of your morning, it’s worth investing in the best. Based on our tests – plus an overwhelming number of votes from coffee shops, consumers, and the SCAA – the best drip coffee maker overall is the Technivorm Moccamaster.

Sure, it’s a bit more expensive than average, but the value is there. Each one is handmade in the Netherlands and certified by the SCAA to deliver the ultimate cup of coffee. And it comes with an industry-leading 5-year warranty, so you know you’ll get your money’s worth. What’s not to love?!

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