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Best coffee machines under $600

Get the best coffee machine for your coin with these affordable high-achievers.

two inexpensive coffee machines with happy emoji
Last updated: 02 August 2022

Need to know

  • Our experts tested more than 50 coffee machines from popular brands like Sunbeam, Lavazza, DeLonghi and Smeg
  • Our testing revealed cheaper models that performed well against models costing hundreds of dollars more
  • We rate coffee machine performance on metrics like taste, temperature, milk frothing and ease of use

What kind of coffee machine should you buy?

In short, the kind of machine that's right for you depends on how much involvement you'd like to have with the coffee-making process. 

"If you like a good coffee but want to get it without any fuss, an automatic machine would be best," says CHOICE appliance expert Rebecca Ciaramidaro.

"You can still experiment with specialty coffee beans and these machines still offer some customisation like coffee strength.

"A capsule machine is also suitable if you want to get your coffee with minimal fuss – however, you're limited to the coffee blends provided in the capsules." 

There's also the cost, both financial and environmental, that you'll need to take into account if you're buying capsules. 

If you want to nerd out over every single element of coffee making, get yourself a manual machine

At the other end of the spectrum, if you want to nerd out over every single element of coffee making, get yourself a manual or semi-automatic machine (and a good grinder if your machine doesn't have one). 

"If you take pleasure in spending time making a coffee, then a manual machine will give you a much higher level of satisfaction than a pod or automatic machine," says CHOICE coffee machine expert Adrian Lini.

"However, manual machines require more knowledge in terms of operation and maintenance. You'll also need to make sure you keep the beans and grounds fresh, which is more work compared with just using pods."

person drinking espresso coffee

Serious hit: What kind of coffee machine you buy depends on how seriously you take your coffee (and many of us take it very seriously indeed).

What you may miss out on when buying a cheaper machine

While price is no indicator of performance, the unfortunate fact is that certain coffee-machine features will just cost you extra. So what will you have to forego if you're buying a cheaper machine?

"Cheaper manual machines may be smaller and take longer to build steam or froth milk," says Adrian. "They may also be made of cheaper materials that can potentially break or wear out more easily during use. 

Cheaper manual machines may be smaller and take longer to build steam or froth milk

Adrian Lini, CHOICE coffee machine expert

"The biggest factor may be foregoing control over your coffee machine. A cheaper machine might not give you the ability to change settings like grind setting, bean type, pressure of grinds in the group head or extraction."

There's no doubt, though, that in the long term, you'll save money making your own coffee than buying from a café. We've crunched the numbers for you and found that it's definitely worth buying a home espresso machine – you could save yourself some serious cash by going DIY on your caffeine hit rather than buying from your local café.

Top rated coffee machines under $600

To help you find the best coffee machine for your coin, we've compiled the best buys for less than $600 based on our test results. 

Consider becoming a CHOICE member to access them and our full coffee machine results, plus reviews for more than 200 other product categories.

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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.

delonghi essenza mini bundle en85rae

The DeLonghi Essenza Mini bundle is the top of the pile for capsule machines under $600.

Best-rated capsule machines under $600

These affordable capsule machines topped our tests and are all recommended by our experts. They range in price from $229 all the way up to $399, showing that price isn't always an indicator of performance. (We've listed them with their price and CHOICE Expert Rating.)

sunbeam mini barista espresso machine em4300

Outperforming a machine worth $3000, the Sunbeam Mini Barista is a great buy at just $329.

Best-rated semi-automatic coffee machines for $600 or less

The cheapest in its category, the Sunbeam Mini Barista is also one of the top performing, outclassed only by a machine worth $3200 and another worth $950. It doesn't come with a grinder, however – but even with the price of a grinder added on, you'd still be well ahead with this machine. 

All four of these machines are recommended by our experts, so you can't go wrong buying any of these.

breville the bambino bes450

At $449, the Breville Bambino is far cheaper than many other manual machines on the market.

Best-rated manual coffee machine for $600 or less

Manual coffee machines are often where things get pricey, with a number of machines in this category costing well over $1000. 

Interestingly, however, the top-scoring manual machine from our tests was at the cheaper end of the market: the Breville Bambino BES450, which costs $449 – far cheaper than many other manual machines out there. 

And a surprise contender is the Kogan Espresso Coffee Machine. While it didn't receive the highest score we've ever seen, it was rated just high enough to be recommended by our experts. And for $90, it's a great option if you're on a budget. 

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.

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