Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and in the appliance world it happens a lot.
Shoppers love a classic design at a bargain price and some manufacturers are only too happy to meet that need, creating almost-identical replicas of high-end products at low-end prices.
And some knock-offs are so good that you have to look twice to make sure they’re not the OG.
Kmart and Target are known for their convincing copies of iconic products from Dyson, KitchenAid and Smeg, but they’re not the only brands catering to champagne tastes on beer budgets.
They share many of the same features, and most people would be hard pressed to tell them apart at a glance.
The Kogan looks like the real deal, and at $250 cheaper than the Breville it’s certainly well-priced. But does this cheap dupe live up to its expensive looks?
Like death and taxes, there’s another certainty in life: you don’t always get what you pay for.
“Over decades of testing appliances, our experts consistently come across expensive products that under-deliver, and affordable options that outperform their higher-priced counterparts,” says CHOICE appliance expert Kim Gilmour.
Choosing a coffee machine based on price alone could leave you disappointed – not just by the performance, but also the value for money. Some of the lowest scorers in our review cost more than $2000. That’s a lot to pay for a bad brew!
Our experts consistently come across expensive products that under-deliver, and affordable options that outperform their higher-priced counterparts
Kim Gilmour, CHOICE appliance expert
But some expensive products do live up to their price tag: 10 of the 20 manual and semi-automatic espresso machines recommended by our experts cost more than $1000. On the flipside, it’s also possible to pick up a top-scoring machine for less than $500.
Before you rush out to your nearest Kmart, Target or Big W, our experts have a few words of caution.
“There can be drawbacks to buying bargain products: appliances from discount retailers can be built with poor-quality materials and you might not be able to repair them easily,” says Kim.
“Plus, you may not get the same level of customer service and support that you could from an established company that focuses on servicing a particular type of appliance.
“Of course, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get good service for a more expensive product, either, so do your research before you buy.”
Kogan Dual Thermoblock vs Breville Barista Express
Kogan Dual Thermoblock with Grinder
Price: $449
Machine type: Semi-automatic
Main features:
Built-in burr grinder with 20 grind settings
Programmable coffee delivery
Dual thermoblock heating system
Can brew espresso and steam milk at the same time
Some good points noted by CHOICE testers (full test results and notes available to CHOICE members)
Excellent taste test score
Has a 58mm commercial size filter basket
Some bad points noted by CHOICE testers (full test results and notes available to CHOICE members)
Unit is light; need to hold it one hand to stop it moving on the bench
Poor coffee temperature consistency
Automatic grinder produces too much coffee for each shot
Breville The Barista Express BES870
Price: $719
Machine type: Semi-automatic
Main features:
Built-in burr grinder with 16 grind settings
Programmable coffee delivery
Thermoblock heating system
On-board storage for tamper
Some good points noted by CHOICE testers (full test results and notes available to CHOICE members)
Very good taste test score
Very good milk frothing
Even coffee temperature consistency
Some bad points noted by CHOICE testers (full test results and notes available to CHOICE members)
None to mention
Kogan vs Breville
These two machines may look similar on the outside, but it’s what’s inside that counts. How do they compare?
In some aspects they actually are quite similar; in others, not so much.
Taste
Kogan comes out ahead on taste, creating an excellent espresso while our experts rated the Breville’s as ‘very good’.
It’s not a big difference, but most people would expect a better tasting coffee from a $700 machine than a $450 one.
The control panel on the Kogan is very similar to the Breville.
Time
In a hurry? The Kogan takes almost twice as long as the Breville to froth 200mL of milk.
It’s not a huge difference – we’re talking 43 seconds – but if you’re desperate for your first coffee of the day it could feel like an eternity.
Fortunately they both only take around 45 seconds to heat up, so you’ll be on your way to caffeination fairly quickly.
Temperature
Making multiple coffees? For every espresso machine we test, we measure the temperature of four coffees in a row to see whether they’re consistently hot – or not.
While the Breville will pump out hot coffees pretty consistently, the Kogan is more hit and miss. Our experts scored it just 30% on this test.
Trimmings
The Kogan’s grind size dial is exactly the same as the Breville’s – right down to the labelling.
Both machines have a built-in burr grinder that allows you to adjust the grind.
They both come with a tamper, but Breville’s fits into a nifty magnetic holder. They both come with a milk jug and 1-cup and 2-cup filter baskets.
The key difference is the heating system: the Kogan has two thermoblocks, while the Breville only has one. Two thermoblocks mean you can make an espresso and steam milk at the same time.
Trust
Each year, CHOICE surveys coffee machine owners to find out how satisfied they are with their machines, and how reliable they’ve found them.
Breville is well-regarded by Australian consumers: in our 2025 CHOICE Best Brand espresso machine recommendations; it came second to DeLonghi by just one point overall, and is the highest rated brand for customer satisfaction. (It was named best espresso machine brand in 2020, 2021 and 2024.)
In our 2025 CHOICE Best Brand, Breville is the highest-rated espresso machines brand for customer satisfaction
Since there are so few Kogan-branded coffee machines on the market, we don’t have robust customer satisfaction or reliability data on their products, so it’s hard to say how they’d compare.
The Kogan Dual Thermoblock Espresso Coffee Machine with Grinder
The Kogan Dual Thermoblock Espresso Coffee Machine with Grinder.
Priced at a very appealing $449*, this semi-automatic machine has pretty much everything that pricier machines have – plus a few extras.
Its heating system is its biggest plus: it has two thermoblocks, whereas most other espresso machines in this price range only have one.
(A thermoblock passes water over a block of metal, heating it as needed. It’s usually cheaper and more energy-efficient than a boiler system, which keeps the water at a constant temperature.)
Having just one thermoblock means you can only do one thing at a time: steam milk or make an espresso. Two thermoblocks allows you to do both at the same time, which means you can knock out coffees faster and keep everything as hot as possible.
This semi-automatic machine has pretty much everything that pricier machines have – plus a few extras
The Kogan machine also has an in-built burr grinder with 20 settings, so you can grind your beans fresh for every coffee, and adjust the grind so it’s as coarse or as fine as you need. This is key to getting the best espresso possible from your machine.
A good grinder can set you back hundreds of dollars, so a machine with one built in can save you money and bench space.
The Dual Thermoblock Espresso has a removable drip tray and water reservoir, cup warming plate, hot water nozzle, automatic shut-off, and reminder for when the water reservoir needs refilling. You can program the size of each espresso and adjust the water temperature.
Except for the dual thermoblock, the Breville Barista Express has pretty much all the same features as the Kogan.
Instead of giving you a prompt to refill the water reservoir as the Kogan does, the Breville has an indicator on the drip tray that pops up when it’s full.
It has an automatic shut-off, just like Kogan’s machine, but in addition, it has a standby mode that kicks in after an hour.
The Breville’s water reservoir is smaller than Kogan’s (2L compared to 2.7L), but the machine is heftier: it weighs 10.2kg while the Kogan model weighs 8.78kg, despite both having almost the same dimensions.
“The Kogan Dual Thermoblock machine offers very good features for its price and makes an excellent-tasting espresso, so it’s worth considering,” says CHOICE appliance expert Kim Gilmour.
“However, it didn’t perform well in all aspects of our testing, and has some drawbacks in its design and ease of use.”
While it has automatic grinder settings, our experts found that the Kogan Dual Thermoblock Espresso Machine grinds too much for double and single shots, so some manual stopping and starting was necessary when preparing each shot.
“When you’re buying from Kogan, it’s important to note that its online store is far from impressive. In our 2025 electrical appliance retailer survey, it was rated the worst online store for satisfaction,” says Kim. “And be warned if something goes wrong with your appliance: it was rated one of the worst for after-sales service.”
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland.
Alice Richard is a Content creator and marketer. Alice writes on a range of topics, from health insurance to heaters and BBQs to bargain-hunting, always with the aim to help consumers find the best products to buy, and which to avoid.
Alice can take vast amounts of data from CHOICE product tests and turn it into content that is easily digestible and fun for readers.
Alice has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland.
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