The 5 Best Budget Coffee Makers, Tested and Reviewed

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On Monday morning or once the afternoon slump hits, all we need is a good, cheap cup of coffee. The best budget coffee makers are reliable, simple, and reasonably priced. We tested 12 coffee makers at a range of price points, and even our expert coffee testers were impressed.

Our top pick is the Braun BrewSense 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker because it simply makes the best cup of coffee and is nearly silent while brewing bold or standard pots. For maximum capacity and lowest price, check out the Beautiful by Drew Barrymore 14-Cup Coffee Maker. It has sleek digital controls and brews 14 cups in the same amount of time it takes other coffee makers to brew 12.

Best overall: Braun BrewSense 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker – See at Amazon

Best under $60: Beautiful by Drew Barrymore 14-Cup Programmable Drip Coffee Maker – See at Walmart

Best under $100: KitchenAid 12-Cup Drip Showerhead Coffee Maker– See at Amazon

Best programmable: Ninja 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker – See at Amazon

Best multi-use: Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Trio – See at Amazon

The Braun BrewSense 12 cup coffee maker brews a standard or bold pot of coffee in under 14 minutes and is near silent.

Specifics

The Braun BrewSense Coffee Maker brews consistently good coffee at a great price point, making it the best budget coffee maker we tested and earning a top spot in our guide to the best coffee makers. The 12-cup coffee maker runs quietly on both the standard and bold settings, producing a full pot in 14 minutes. Our reporters found that the coffee brewed on the standard setting has a well-rounded flavor without being too light, and the bold brew will satisfy those who love a more robust cup.

The carafe is glass with a flip-top lid and rests on a heat plate that we found effectively keeps brewed coffee warm. While the default setting automatically shuts off the coffee maker after two hours, you can set it to stay on and keep the pot warm for up to five hours. For those of us who hate the taste of reheated coffee, you can even adjust the keep-warm temperature to ensure it doesn't affect the coffee's flavor.

The Braun offers the option to brew a full pot and a one- to four-cup setting for a smaller batch. While brewing, you can snag a cup of coffee before the cycle is completely finished, or you can set the 24-hour programming option ahead of time to wake up to a full, fresh pot.

The coffee maker comes with a reusable cone filter, along with a charcoal water filter insert and a cleaning cycle function to keep your coffee maker in tip-top shape. You can use the machine without the charcoal filter, or you can purchase replacements online.

Check out our full Braun BrewSense review.

The Beautiful by Drew Barrymore 14 cup coffee maker is a stylish option for brewing plenty of coffee with the ability to keep a fresh pot warm for up to four hours.

Specifics

Drew Barrymore launched a collection of home and kitchen appliances, and this 14-cup coffee maker stands out in the lineup. (We also rank the Beautiful Air Fryer as the best air fryer for tight budgets.) The Beautiful coffee maker has a water-resistant digital touchscreen instead of buttons. The touchscreen was very responsive, but in the bleary morning hours, I missed the security of the physical buttons. The coffee maker comes in six different colors so you can match your kitchen.

The Beautiful has a larger capacity than many of the other best budget coffee makers we tested, holding up to 14 cups. The standard brew cycle takes less than 12 minutes to complete, and it also has a one- to four-cup small batch setting. The programmable coffee maker can be set 24 hours ahead of time, I found the standard setting brewed a delicious pot of coffee without it being too light. A special feature of this coffee maker is the gourmet brew setting, which makes a pot of coffee with great flavor balanced between its standard and bold settings.

Once coffee has been brewed, it is effectively kept warm on a heating plate for up to four hours with an auto shut-off. I found no change in flavor after keeping a standard brewed pot of coffee hot for two hours.

The coffee maker comes with a reusable cone filter along with a charcoal water filter, which helps remove chlorine residue in water to extend the lifespan of a coffee maker. The water filter lasts for two months before needing to be replaced, and the coffee maker will still run without it. The coffee maker has a clean function and a glass carafe that is dishwasher safe.

With a spiral showerhead design, two brew settings, and a removable water reservoir with a handle, the KitchenAid 12 cup coffee maker utilizes a clever design to produce a well-rounded cup of coffee on a budget.

Specifics

KitchenAid has a reputation for making the best stand mixers, but it also makes a quality coffee maker at a reasonable price. The KitchenAid 12-Cup Drip Showerhead Coffee Maker has the option to brew a full pot of 12 cups at regular or bold strength, each in less than 12 minutes. Once brewed, coffee is kept warm on the heat plate for two hours before automatically shutting off.

The coffee maker is designed with the function buttons on the side and an additional brew button on the front. Having both options meant I could access the controls no matter where I placed the coffee maker on my counter. The KitchenAid has a removable water reservoir with a handle in the back and uses a gold-tone, reusable filter.

The removable water reservoir is incredibly convenient, but it's crucial to ensure it is firmly set in place on this coffee maker to avoid any leakage of water while brewing. The water comes out through a spiral showerhead with 29 holes, covering a large surface area of the grounds. Many budget coffee makers don't have this design, but many of the best drip coffee makers do to ensure proper extraction of the grounds. I found the coffee brewed on the standard setting to be light, yet flavorful, with a significant increase on the strong brew setting in how robust and strong it was.

The Ninja 12 cup coffee maker is a user-friendly machine with simple-to-operate programming buttons, two brew settings, and even a small batch function.

Specifics

Most coffee makers are programmable with options to set the brewing time up to 24 hours ahead. While testing, I found the Ninja 12 Cup coffee maker to be the most user-friendly when it comes to programming.

The coffee maker has a removable water reservoir that is simple to remove, fill, and put back in place. The Ninja has a classic or rich brewing option to brew a full pot of coffee in under 15 minutes, or you can choose the small batch setting for one to four cups. When you can't wait for the entire cycle to run, the pause function allows you to grab a cup in the middle of brewing. On the classic setting, I found that the flavor of the coffee was well balanced, with a significant difference noticed in how robust it was using the rich setting.

Programming the Ninja to start brewing at a specific time is simple with large, easy-to-read hour and minute buttons. Once the time is set, all you have to do is press the delay brew button. Compared to other coffee makers I tested, I found programming the Ninja coffee maker to be simple and quick. In addition to basic programming settings, the warming plate can also be programmed to keep coffee warm for up to four hours and I did not find this affected the flavor of the brew. The coffee maker's removable pieces are dishwasher-safe, and it has a function for easy cleaning.

The Hamilton Beach Flex Brew Trio is the ultimate machine for the household that needs options: It can brew a full 12-cup pot of coffee, or you can brew a single cup with either grounds or a pod.

Specifics

The Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Trio is the ultimate coffee maker for those who want a variety of options on a budget. Not only can you brew a full 12-cup pot of coffee, but you can also simultaneously use the single-serve or pod setting.

The coffee maker is flat-bottomed and requires a paper filter if you don't get the gold filter model. It takes about 20 minutes to brew a full pot, which is longer than our other top picks. The standard brew setting produces a fairly light coffee, while the bold brew is a pot of coffee we found to be incredibly strong and almost acidic. The heating plate keeps a pot warm for two hours before automatically shutting off, but we suggest you avoid leaving a bold brew pot to sit. Already acidic coffee can taste burnt when left on a heating plate.

The single-serve side has its own small water reservoir along with a mini filter for grounds and a pod holder. You can use the single-serve function to choose from five different cup sizes (six to 14 ounces), or use the best K-cup style pods to brew a single cup. The single-serve side brews in under two minutes.

While flexibility may be a helpful option for some households, it's important to note that this coffee maker takes up a large amount of counter space. It does not have a clean function, and while removable parts are dishwasher safe, we found it tricky to clean any section that wasn't removable. If you have a bigger budget, the Ninja Dualbrew Pro is slightly smaller and has a fold-out frother.

Purchasing the best budget coffee maker doesn't have to mean buying a product that's cheaply built. We recommend thinking about how and where you want to use your coffee maker to find the best option.

Features: Many of the best budget coffee makers have features in addition to a standard brew setting. Consider if you want your coffee maker to have a bold or strong setting for a more robust brew, whether you can program it at night to wake up to a fresh pot, and how long it will keep coffee hot after it has brewed. Some coffee makers have the option to brew either a full pot or a smaller portion, along with an automatic pause feature to steal a cup before the full brewing process is complete.

Size: If you're looking for a budget option to supplement your primary coffee maker or outfit a dorm, RV, or smaller kitchen, space is probably a concern. Consider if you plan to make standard pots of coffee of 10 or 12 cups, or if you'd prefer to have a larger capacity of 14 cups. Since you're likely to keep a coffee maker permanently on the counter, consider how much space it takes up. Even budget coffee makers can be bulky.

Material: Most budget coffee makers are constructed from thick plastic, but some may have stainless steel pieces. The carafe is likely glass or thermal. Most thermal carafes are designed for use without a heat plate, meaning the thermal design is responsible for keeping coffee warm after it's brewed. Thermal carafes are generally more durable than glass carafes but tend to be more expensive.

Setup and ease of use: I unboxed and set up each coffee maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. I noted how many parts were necessary to assemble, or whether the coffee maker was a plug-and-play machine. I considered the type of filter, whether it was a flat base that required a paper coffee filter or a reusable cone filter. I also assessed each coffee maker based on how intuitive it was to use the setting buttons.

Brewing: I timed each coffee maker to see how long it took to brew a full pot on the standard brew setting. I also noted the amount of evaporation during the brewing process and whether there were any issues with grounds getting into the brewed coffee. After that, I used the programming functions for a second test and then the bold or strong setting on each coffee maker that had one.

Temperature retention: I checked the temperature of each full pot of coffee on the standard setting with a meat thermometer. Two hours later, I checked the temperature again to see if there was a drop in temperature to assess how well the warming plate or thermal carafe kept the coffee hot once brewed.

Cleaning: Each coffee maker was evaluated on how simple it is to clean before brewing a new batch. I also tested any coffee makers that claimed to have dishwasher-safe parts, along with noting if there was a separate cleaning function.

The amount that you're willing to spend on a coffee maker is entirely up to you. It depends on how particular you are about the flavor of your coffee, how often you drink coffee, and if you want any specific functions, like delayed brewing or small batch options. A good rule of thumb is the cheaper the coffee maker, the more simple it will be. Check out our guide to the best coffee makers for a wider range of style and price points.

Depending on its design, a coffee maker may come with a reusable cone filter, or require a paper coffee filter if it has a flat bottom basket. A cone filter allows microscopic granules of coffee to get through the holes, ultimately making the coffee a bit cloudier and introducing more oil. Using a paper coffee filter comes down to the design of your coffee maker, whether it's necessary or not, along with your personal taste preferences. Coffee makers that have reusable filters can still be used with a paper filter.

Each cup increment on a coffee maker is actually six ounces. If you want to make coffee according to the manufacturer's instructions, most coffee makers suggest about one tablespoon per six ounces of water. If you prefer a stronger cup, increase the amount of grounds you put in per cups of water.

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