If you’ve decided to invest in a coffee machine, we’ve got advice on how to make your money go further.
The first thing to figure out though is what sort of coffee machine you’re looking for. There are four main categories, and which is right to you will depend on your taste, your budget, and how much effort you want to put into your morning brew.
Manual espresso machines
The coffee aficionado’s obsessive’s machine of choice, home espresso makers rely on highly pressurised steam to produce shots of espresso, which you can then mix with milk or water for longer drinks. Most will include a hot water dispenser and a milk wand for just this purpose. A manual espresso machine is probably the way to get the absolute best coffee at home, but it’s messy and time-consuming, and it may take some patience to learn how to make it just right.
To see which machines we rate the highest, have a look at our round-up of the best espresso machines we’ve reviewed.
Bean-to-cup machines
If that sounds like a lot of work, you might prefer a bean-to-cup machine. These are essentially automatic espresso machines: you just add the beans, hit a button, and the machine will grind, heat, and brew, delivering you a shot of espresso with minimal effort. There is one big downside: you’ll have to pay for all that tech, with good bean-to-cup machines starting around $400/£400 and often climbing to well over $1,000/£1,000. We’ve included some in our chart of the best coffee machines .
Capsule/pod machines
Aficionados may recoil, but capsule machines are a great option if you want something quick and easy. If it’s espresso you’re after, opt for a Nespresso or a Lavazza espresso maker. If you prefer a wide selection of sweet and milky drinks, you’ll probably get the most from a Nescafe Dolce Gusto or a Tassimo machine, which also make hot chocolate and flavoured coffee drinks.
You’ll also get a lot of choice, with higher end machines including more brewing options, milk wands, and even smart functionality. Just remember that capsules from different brands are rarely interchangeable. Once you buy a pod coffee machine, you’re locked into that type of capsule for the life of the machine, so it’s important that you enjoy them.
We’ve tested some of the best from each brand in our round-of of the best pod coffee machines .
Filter machines
Finally, if you just want no-frills black coffee, you might want a filter machine. The old office staple is still a great choice, especially if you need to make coffee for lots of people at once, and the machines are often friendlier on your wallet. Look out for how long the machine can keep coffee warm after its brewed, how many cups it can make at once, and whether it has the option to schedule coffee to brew at set times – or even smart functionality so you can set it to brew remotely.
We’ve reviewed two budget-friendly filter coffee machines from Russell Hobbs: the Buckingham and the Chester Grind and Brew .
Where to find coffee machine sales, deals & discounts
Coffee pod subscription deals
The only snag here is that, if the subscription deal isn’t currently running, you’ll have to wait until it starts up again. However, it happens several times a year, so it’s well worth it if you’re on a budget. The only thing to bear in mind is that if there are compatible, generic pods you can use with your machine, you’ll miss out on this saving by going with a branded subscription service.
Discounted machines
You’ll be able to find savings on coffee machines from plenty of online retailers. If you visit an online home and appliances retailer at any time and search “sale” and then filter for coffee machines, you’ll always be able to find an appliance or two on sale. We’d caution you to then do a general search for the machine to make sure that the saving is real.
The best discounts you’ll find are when a retailer is getting rid of the last of their stock of a particular model – but sometimes they’ll artificially raise and lower prices to generate interest and make a deal seem better. A general search of the make and model of machine at different retailers will tell you if the saving is real.
Author: Emma Rowley, Deputy Editor, Tech Advisor
Tech Advisor’s Deputy Editor, Emma has been a journalist and copywriter for over 20 years and has been testing and writing about home tech and appliances for seven years. She tries out every appliance she writes about at home, and aims to recommend time- and energy-saving products that will last.
Recent stories by Emma Rowley:
- These are the best cooling fans of 2026
- Lego gets noisy – new Smart Bricks react to play with sound and light
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At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Enjoyable and easy to use machine
- Wide variety of capsules, with long drink options
Cons
- Very few options for tailoring your coffee
Our Verdict
If you like capsule coffee, the Vertuo Next is one of the best machines you can buy. It’s attractive, enjoyable to use and makes coffee in around 40 seconds. Get it if you want one-button brewing, especially if you prefer a big mug of coffee. But if you like to tinker with settings, this machine is not for you.
Best Prices Today: Nespresso Vertuo Next
There’s no bigger name in the capsule coffee market than Nespresso. The brand has two types of machine: the classic Nespresso machines, and its newer Vertuo line.
The beverages from the original machines are espresso-based: ristrettos, espressos and lungos. But the Vertuo line was launched in 2014 to offer more range, especially to the North American market, where coffee is traditionally enjoyed in big mugs.
Depending on which pods you buy, the Vertuo line can offer either European-style espresso drinks or longer black coffees – even up to carafe size – making it a more versatile option for many households.
No Vertuo machines have an inbuilt a milk frother and there are no milk-based pods, as in the Nescafe Dolce Gusto line. This is a black coffee-only machine, although Nespresso also makes the Aeroccino , a pint-sized milk heater and frother, which you can find out more about in our review of the Vertuo Plus machine .
Design and features
- One litre water tank
- Can hold ten used capsules
- Lever operation
One of the best things about brewing espresso at home is the pleasure to be had making it. Espresso machines are enjoyably tactile, and the ritual of measuring and tamping is part of the fun.
Nespresso has cleverly recreated these pleasures in the design of the Vertuo Next, which is a joy to use. Release the big, chrome-effect lever on top and the capsule compartment springs open. If there’s a capsule inside, it’s catapulted back and away into the spent capsule reservoir.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
It’s a good looking machine as well – from the front, at least – with a curved, glossy brewing head that comes in a choice of colours including grey, white, red, brown, blue and black. The colour options available depend on your region and whether your machine is a Vertuo Next, a Vertuo Next Premium or a Vertuo Next Deluxe, which has a chrome brewing head.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
They haven’t wasted any time on adorning the sides of the machine though: it’s just featureless, black, matt plastic. It’s narrow at 14.2cm wide, and at only 31.4cm high, you should have plenty of clearance from overhead cabinets. But at 42.9cm, it’s a long appliance that will need a fairly deep counter space to occupy.
It has a clear, cylindrical water tank, with a one litre capacity. Like many machines of this kind, it’s situated at the back. And although you can remove it to fill it from a tap if that’s easier than reaching over the machine with a jug, it’s still not an ideal design, being difficult to get to.
If this is a particular bugbear for you, it’s worth nothing that the Vertuo Plus machine has a water tank that swivels out from the back for easier access.
There are three height options for the drip tray, so you can accommodate anything from an espresso cup to a mug without splashing, and it’s easy to swap drip tray positions.
The used capsules fall into a reservoir which you can access from the side. It can hold ten capsules, which is pretty generous given the machine’s size.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
The controls are very simple: there’s one button, which also acts as an indicator light.
Performance
- Automatic dispense
- 30-second heating time
- One-button operation
Insert the capsule and press the button on top to begin brewing. It takes around 30 seconds to heat up and the coffee symbol on the button will blink.
Once the coffee has started dispensing, you can press it a second time to stop the flow early. Or you can press a second time once it’s finished dispensing, to add more water.
And that’s it. There are no dials to twist or keys to press to alter the strength of the coffee.
You see, the Vertuo Next reads the barcode on the capsule and pre-wets, infuses and dispenses the correct volume of water for each blend, so the entire process is automatic.
However, you can change the way the machine responds to specific capsule types. To do so, put a capsule in the machine and press and hold the button down while it’s dispensing, until you’ve reached your preferred volume. From then on, the machine will use that as the default setting for that type of capsule, unless you return it to its factory settings.
For some people, that’s ideal: press button, get coffee. Couldn’t be simpler. Other people will feel short-changed at not being able to tinker more with settings.
Nespresso Vertuo capsules
- Carafe, mug and espresso sizes available
- Over 40 flavours
- Return to Nespresso for recycling
Because the machine is set up to identify capsules, it’s important that you get the right ones for what you want. Don’t, for example, buy long coffees and imagine you can treat them like espresso. You can add water but you can’t choose to infuse for longer. Each capsule type will not only have a strength and flavour profile but it’ll be associated with a liquid volume. Here are the options:
- Alto (for a carafe or jug of coffee): 14 fl. Oz / 414 ml
- Mug: 7.77 fl. Oz / 230 ml
- Gran lungo: 5.07 fl. / 150 ml
- Double espresso: 2.7 fl. Oz/ 80 ml
- Espresso: 1.35 fl. Oz/ 40 ml
Depending on the machine you buy, you may get an introductory box – like a selection box of coffees – so you can decide which types of capsules you want to buy in the future.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Don’t forget: you can’t use classic capsules in a Vertuo machine. But there are over 40 varieties of Vertuo capsules available at the moment, from full-bodied espressos to decafs to a limited edition pumpkin spice cake. Capsules cost from around $1.10 to $1.25 in the US or 44p to 82p each i n the UK . You may be able to get deals if you buy in bulk or during sales.
Along with your capsules, you’ll get a recycling bag. When you’ve filled it – it can hold up to 100 capsules – you can drop the bag off at a Nespresso store in the US or the UK. In the UK, you can also opt to have it collected .
Smart features
The Vertuo Next is a connected machine, although you can use all of its functions without downloading the Nespresso app and pairing your machine.
But if you do, you’ll find that the smart functionality has a focus on re-ordering capsules, finding nearby Nespresso shops (or “boutiques” as they prefer) and your nearest recycling points. In other words, it’s all about keeping you connected to Nespresso. But that’s pretty useful as you’re already tied to the brand for the life of the machine via its capsules.
You can also access maintenance and settings information for your machine – although machine information is somewhat tucked away – but you can’t make a coffee remotely, via the app.
Price and availability
Prices for the Vertuo Next can vary a lot, depending on where you buy. There are also three models available: the Vertuo Next, the Vertuo Next Premium and the Vertuo Next Deluxe. The differences between the Next and the Next Premium are subtle, but the Deluxe is recognisably different, thanks to its chrome brewing head.
Some machines may also be bundled with pods – or even an Aeroccino milk frother. So, when you’re buying, make sure you check what you’re getting. Depending on what you want, it may be more cost-effective to opt for a bundle.
In the US, the Vertuo Next is available from Nespresso for $169, the Vertuo Next Premium for $179 and the Vertuo Next Deluxe for $199. You may get a better deal elsewhere but you can browse all available colour options on the Nespresso site, so it’s worth a visit.
If you’re in the UK, you can currently get a bundle deal on a machine, Aeroccino and £75 off coffee pods: the Vertuo Next bundle is £149, the Vertuo Next Premium is £179 and the Vertuo Next Deluxe is £199. All are available in the full range of colours.
Verdict
If you like the ease and convenience of a pod coffee machine, the Vertuo Next is one of the best around. It’s attractive, pleasurable and simple to use and there’s a huge variety of capsule blends and flavours to choose from. If you like adjusting your coffee settings, however, this machine isn’t for you.
Best Prices Today: Nespresso Vertuo Next
Author: Emma Rowley, Deputy Editor, Tech Advisor
Tech Advisor’s Deputy Editor, Emma has been a journalist and copywriter for over 20 years and has been testing and writing about home tech and appliances for seven years. She tries out every appliance she writes about at home, and aims to recommend time- and energy-saving products that will last.
Recent stories by Emma Rowley:
- These are the best cooling fans of 2026
- Roborock’s stair climbing robot vac concept has legs (literally)
- I switched to air fryer cooking for everything and I won’t go back
