Data study
Does paying more buy you better espresso?
We took every home coffee machine we have reviewed, 15 of them, and plotted each one's Bench Score against its price. The Bench Score is our transparent five-part rating (see our methodology). The pattern is clear, and it is not the one the marketing suggests.
The finding
Among espresso machines, quality climbs steeply into the mid-range and then flattens. The average machine under $300 scores 6.3 out of 10. Between $300 and $750 that jumps to 7.3. Above $750 it is 7.4, essentially no different from the mid-range. Paying past roughly $700 buys durability, speed and features, not a better cup by our scoring.
Espresso machines by price band
| Price band | Machines | Average score |
|---|---|---|
| Under $300 | 3 | 6.3 |
| $300 to $750 | 6 | 7.3 |
| Over $750 | 3 | 7.4 |
The best value in home coffee is not a machine
Rank everything by score per dollar and espresso machines vanish from the top. The best value gear we have reviewed is simple manual equipment that scores as high as machines costing many times more.
- 1Hario V60 (pour-over, $25, scores 7.6)
- 2AeroPress (pour-over, $40, scores 8.3)
- 3De'Longhi Stilosa (espresso machine, $100, scores 6.2)
How we did this
Every machine we review gets a Bench Score out of 10 from five weighted dimensions, judged from its specifications and the consensus of real owner feedback. This study uses the 15 products reviewed so far and their approximate street prices. It is an ongoing read: as we review more machines, the picture sharpens, and we will update the numbers here. Full rubric on our methodology page.
Want the underlying reviews? Start with the best espresso machines under $500 or browse every review.