The best drip coffee makers of 2024, tested by editors

There are many brewing methods to choose from when deciding how you want to enjoy a cup of coffee (e.g., dalgona whipped, French press and pour-over). But many java lovers still rely on the classic, automatic drip for their daily fix. There’s something about the familiarity of using one of the best drip coffee makers that so perfectly complements your morning routine.

That’s why we tested a variety of the top-rated drip coffee makers by using a wide range of criteria over several weeks. Put plainly, we drank a lot of coffee to find the best. Bags upon bags of dark roast, light roast and medium roast coffee beans from our favorite coffee subscriptions were ground and brewed. We made full carafes, half carafes and single-serve cups. We tasted the results black, then with cow’s milk, almond milk and sweetened condensed milk, and finally, we tasted the results in cold-brew strength over ice.

After testing this great batch of machines, we settled on three of the best drip coffee makers to recommend for you, whatever your coffee taste or budget.

Best drip coffee maker: Gevi 10-Cup Coffee Maker With Grinder

At first glance, Gevi’s 10-Cup Coffee Maker might appear to be a standard, though elegant-looking, machine. Then you notice the built-in grinder, the attention to craftsmanship (from the stainless steel to its curving lines) and the knobs to dial in strength, and you realize that it’s a cut above most comparably priced drip coffee machines.

Freshly ground coffee beans enhance any cup of joe, but it can be a pain to grind them yourself, plus usually requires a separate device in your kitchen. With Gevi’s 10-Cup Coffee Maker you simply pour the whole beans into the top, fill the reservoir in back and dial in the grind setting using the knob on top of the machine. You simply have to hit the On button, and in 10 minutes, you’ve gone from whole beans to rich coffee.

Temperature-wise, it’s also one of the easiest to drink fresh out of the pot. While obviously coffee is supposed to be hot, it’s nice when you can take a sip almost the second you brew it. Don’t think that means it’s cold or will cool down too quickly, though. You can set up the hot plate to keep your 10-cup carafe warm for up to two hours.

Even though Gevi’s 10-Cup Coffee Maker has a built-in grinder and the ability to dial in your ground size and your coffee’s strength, the machine requires basically no setup (though they do recommend you run water through it before brewing your first batch of beans). After a brew, you simply clean out the removable reusable filter and you’re ready for the next round.

The 10-Cup Coffee Maker also has a comprehensive one-year warranty and provides customer service even after that, ensuring a worry-free experience. You do have to clean it out after your first 30 brews and descale it, but that helps ensure your 100th cup tastes as good as your first.

Few drip coffee makers offer this much quality and performance for the price. Gevi’s 10-Cup Coffee Maker is sure to be an impressive addition to your kitchen that will elicit wows from your guests as the grinder kicks on to deliver a fresh, delicious cup.

Best drip coffee maker for cold brew: Braun MultiServe Plus 10-Cup Coffee Maker

Braun’s MultiServe Plus gives you a whole set of options for dialing in your coffee experience without getting too fancy. The machine is plug and play right out of the box, and while it has an easy-to-set clock and timer, the real magic lies in the ability to customize your brew.

You start by choosing your size, from a 5-ounce cup to a full carafe, all by simply turning a dial. Once you know how much coffee you want, it’s time to figure out how you want it. With the press of a button, you can choose Over Ice, Cold Brew, Gold or Bold, all of which have specific buttons. The drip coffee came through full flavored and free of any residue or flavor-ruining additives, thanks to the gold filter that comes with the MultiServe.

Of course, few things are better on a hot day than a good-tasting cold brew, and this is one of the few drip coffee machines we tried that has such an option. If you’re used to nitro cold brew, I should tell you that this is not that. Think of it as a cold drip coffee, which goes down more smoothly and with less acid than a normal pot of coffee. We timed it at less than 14 minutes for the cold brew (while the hot brew comes out in just under nine minutes), which is considerably less than the standard cold brew steep time of 12 to 24 hours.

Of the machines we tried, the Braun MultiServe is one of the biggest, so if your counter space is limited, there are other machines we recommend that are smaller. On the other hand, there are few models on this list with such an easy interface that allows so many brew options without changing accessories or parts.

Beyond its benefits, the Braun MultiServe has a three-year limited warranty, and the brand strongly stands behind the quality of its machine and components. If you like to customize your coffee experience and love cold brew, there are few options better than the Braun MultiServe.

Best drip coffee maker for pour-over: Ratio Six Coffee Maker

The Ratio Six Coffee Maker is a sleek brewer that automates the pour-over coffee process. It works more like a traditional drip coffee maker (and does more of the work for you) than the Balmuda Brew pour-over machine, and most importantly, it can brew a whole carafe rather than a single cup at a time, meaning you can serve your whole family or all your guests at once.

With practice, you can produce a single glorious cup of pour-over coffee by hand, but the Ratio Six lets you get great results immediately by dialing in the water temperature and rate of the pour, which otherwise you’d have to monitor yourself (and learn to do so by trial and error). If you’re early on in your pour-over coffee journey, the Ratio Six very likely does a better job than you can, producing a satisfying, rounded cup of coffee right away.

The Ratio Six doesn’t have a timer, but a full pot was ready in under eight minutes. And the simplicity of the design — you hit the button at the base to start or pause the operation — means you’ll quickly know what to do once you’ve unboxed the machine.

The Ratio Six has two automatic modes: Bloom and Brew. The Bloom cycle showers down hot water to wet the grounds with a brief pause built in (about 30 seconds) to let the grounds soak up the water. This stage is akin to opening a bottle of wine to let it breathe as the aromas and flavor of the coffee start to be released.

The Ratio Six feels sturdy, but it’s only 8 pounds, so it’s easy to take on and off the counter. It’s got a flat bottom filter basket, which helps with water evenly soaking the grounds, and it fits a No. 4 paper filter. A heat shield goes on top of the basket and around the brew head to help retain heat.

During the brew cycle, you can see the boiler bubble and water release evenly into the filter basket to run through the presoaked grounds. You can pause the brewing cycle — to grab a cup — by removing the carafe or holding the start button for a few seconds. Once the Ready button blinks, wait about 30 seconds for the final drips to enter the coffeepot.

The carafe kept coffee hot for several hours, although coffee did occasionally spill out of the side of the spout when pouring if the angle was too steep. The large opening of the carafe made it easy to rinse and towel dry, though.

The Ratio Six has a high price tag, but a five-year warranty should make you feel better about the investment. The modern machine makes 40 ounces of coffee (eight cups) and comes in matte black, matte stainless or white.

How we tested

The testing process for these coffee makers was intensive, lasting several weeks. We evaluated each machine based on what would be most important to the user — namely, functionality, durability and design. We tested each machine at least twice (four to eight times for some) with both dark and light roast freshly ground beans. We did a programmed/timed brew when available and tested the additional functions of the more specialty machines (single cup, cold brew, tea, milk frothing). We took notes about every machine’s unboxing, read every instruction manual, handled each machine’s hardware, timed the brew of each machine and noted the temperature of the resulting coffee.

We tasted and weighed in on (and had others taste and weigh in on) the user experience. We got acquainted as much as possible with each of these machines, becoming fond of a good many of them. Below are our testing categories and their breakdowns.

Brew function

Durability

Setup and breakdown

Aesthetics

Warranty

Other drip coffee makers we tested

The Zojirushi Dome Brew Coffee Maker requires a bit of patience as a 12-cup carafe will take nearly 15 minutes to brew, making it one of the slowest machines we tested. But your patience will be rewarded with strong hot brews and delicate iced coffee.

The squared-off, stainless steel machine can be programmed to run up to 24 hours in advance, which helps because this is a coffee maker that brews significantly slower than the competition. You can’t set a schedule, though, so you’ll need to set the brew time for first thing in the morning when you load up the machine before you go to bed. With a dedicated iced coffee setting and button for one to four cups, you can also produce coffee in varying amounts and strengths. Smaller batches benefit from the Bold setting, where a slide adjusts how quickly the water is released onto the grounds.

The glass carafe has a wide, sturdy handle and slides under a silicone sheath, which helps trap heat and makes sure you’re pouring a warm cup. The carafe has distinct markings for iced and hot coffee to keep your measurements straight. The Zojirushi uses No. 4 paper cone filters, but those are inexpensive and widely available.

The iced coffee setting, which turns off the heating plate, is noteworthy. It produced iced coffee that accentuated stone fruit notes in light roast coffee without being weak or bitter. The manufacturer recommends 24 ice cubes for six cups of iced coffee (the minimum brew size), but we had better results using two-thirds of their suggested amount, which avoided too much dilution of the flash brew. You can always add more ice to the glass.

The cord is short, so you’ll want to have an outlet close to where you’ll put your coffee maker. If you don’t need to program your machine, a classic option is available for about $40 less, but we think the long brew time makes it worth investing in the programmable machine that gets started as you’re waking up.

If you like full-bodied cups of coffee, De’Longhi’s TrueBrew is the machine you need. The key to the amazing flavor is De’Longhi’s Infuser, a central part of its Bean Extract Technology. Using the TrueBrew is simple enough: Pour whole beans into the top, place anything ranging from a cup to a 20-ounce carafe under the drip outlet, then set your brew style and let it get to work.

It’s worth noting that the TrueBrew has a few instructions you need to read, mainly around its warning lights that signal when to fill the reservoir or empty the used grounds container. Cleaning the TrueBrew is quite a process too. It requires you to pull the infuser entirely out of the machine to soak it. This isn’t a deal breaker but does add to the machine’s learning curve.

Beyond that, the complexity of the machine is part of its beauty. And I do mean beauty. Its stainless steel complements the sleek black frame, and the fact you can see the bean container on top gives it a nice crown. It’s even quite compact and takes up less room than you’d think.

If you don’t always want freshly ground, whole bean drip, De’Longhi’s TrueBrew has a special funnel for ground coffee too. You do have to use a special setting for pre-ground coffee, and it limits your ability to choose what type of coffee you get, but it’s perfect for that simple pot of standard brew in the morning (though you do need to provide your own carafe to do this, unless you purchase the model that comes with one). The different brew types help dial in your coffee experience, too. You can choose from Light, Gold or, for the strong at heart, Bold settings. There is also a setting for coffee over ice, where the machine adapts the size of the pour to the fact it’s getting poured into an ice-filled container.

I highly recommend reading the manual before setting up this machine, as even setting the clock and timers can be difficult. But once you understand the settings menu, you can set the timer so your brew finishes just as you get up. You may notice how loud the combination of the bean grinder and the Bean Extract Tech is in the morning, though it can be a helpful addition to your morning alarm.

The sum of the TrueBrew’s parts adds up to a lot. And that’s exactly what this machine brings to your morning: a lot. On one hand, this coffee maker has many moving parts and proper use requires reading the instruction manual. It’s also got a hefty price tag. But once you understand its operation, the machine executes several complex brew processes smoothly and easily with little more than the push of a few buttons. The result of those processes is the best-tasting cup of coffee we’ve gotten straight out of our drip coffee machines. If you’re dedicated to that perfect cup of java, De’Longhi’s TrueBrew delivers.

The Café Specialty Grind and Brew Coffee Maker, a new model from GE’s high-end appliance line, has a striking design that looks like it belongs at the center of your coffee bar, and it backs that up with a bold, bright brew. It’s also the rare smart appliance that actually benefits from app control. The gleaming machine takes care of everything but buying the beans, with a built-in burr grinder and options for adjusting the temperature, brew strength and batch size from a cup on up to a pot.

The brewer can brew either a full pot (it comes with a thermal carafe that holds up to 10 cups) or brew a single cup or travel mug from 6 to 24 ounces. Both options produced bright, hot coffee without bitterness. The heavy-duty thermal carafe kept our coffee warm for two hours and a handy timer tells you how many minutes ago the coffee was brewed.

The built-in coffee grinder holds roughly 6 ounces of beans (the manufacturer says its total capacity is 7 ounces or 200 grams) and provides six settings. You can also skip the grinder and add pre-ground coffee. The grinder was effective and gave us good results, as we’d expect from a grinder meant to work as part of a system like this, and it was reasonably quiet.

The Café Specialty Grind and Brew Coffee Maker can sync to your smart device via the Smart HQ app; it can also be set up to respond to Alexa or Google voice controls. The app lets you adjust the brew strength (light, medium or bold) and temperature (between 185 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit), add on bloom time and select the number of cups you want to brew. Once you’ve got your coffee dialed in using these parameters (strength, temperature and amount), you can save everything for later use. The machine lets you save three different favorite presets.

You can even fill the Café Specialty with beans and water and program the app to prepare coffee up to a week ahead of time. If you’re making a cup for yourself in the morning it’ll have it ready for you every day, though you still have to wash the filter and empty the grounds, so you’re not quite living in the future yet. The machine can also remind you when to reorder a new charcoal filter for the water and if it needs to be descaled. The app is easy to operate and also really useful.

There are a few minor downsides. The menu interface on the machine itself is a bit less impressive than the app. There are a lot of buttons that let you access the features, and while manually cycling through the options to get to what you want isn’t difficult, we felt there was a lot of button-pushing compared to the app. If you’re someone who wants to regularly adjust the temperature or strength to account for different beans, you might find yourself relying on your phone rather than the onboard interface.

We also found that the grinder was messy to use. Each time we used it, a small amount of coffee grounds became trapped between the grinder and the top of the filter basket. We found it somewhat irritating to wipe it clean after each use — a small additional but necessary step beyond rinsing the included reusable, dishwasher-safe filter.

The wide array of features comes with a higher price tag, but the machine only has a one-year limited warranty. It also has a big footprint and takes up a lot of space, roughly the size of a superautomatic espresso machine like the Philips 3200 LatteGo. At nearly 17 inches tall, this coffee machine will not fit under every cabinet and is more suited to sitting on an island or a coffee bar than in a small galley kitchen.

The BrewSense doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles compared to some of the machines we tested, but we still liked its functional ease. You could unbox this machine, flush it with water once and have a freshly brewed cup within 15 minutes, all without reading the manual. Brewing is also a nearly silent process, which can be pleasing on early mornings. Some consumers may want a machine loaded with special features, but for those who want delicious, hot coffee every morning, without spending over a hundred bucks, this is your best bet.

The BrewSense isn’t perfect. It’s not the fastest we tested: To brew a full pot of 12 cups took upwards of 11 minutes. And we found an annoying error in the instruction manual around how to program the clock (call us rigid, but we insisted on programming the time before using each of the machines!); the directions read to press and hold Clock and then Set, but that didn’t work. We had to simply press and hold the Clock button and then sort of trial-and-error our way through the hours and minutes. Meanwhile, the auto-program setup is not as obvious as we’d have liked. Though, once we got it, it worked like a dream. Otherwise, we found this machine intuitive and easy to operate, even without the instruction manual.

Cleanup was, at times, a little messier than with some of the other machines in our testing pool. The hot water comes up through the filter basket and spreads the grounds up to the top of the cone, and during one brewing, a tiny bit rose up outside the cone so the top of the brew apparatus needed a little wipedown. Overall, though, for less than $80, this machine delivers the best bang for your buck of anything on the market.

We rated all three Cuisinarts we tested highly, but the Touchscreen ranked highest for its combination of progressive design and everyday efficacy. All the Cuisinart products we encountered were well designed, but this feels special, like when you unbox a brand-new Apple product. Its all-black, shiny surfaces and touchscreen control panel look and feel next-level for an everyday coffee maker.

But this isn’t just a fancy, aesthetically pleasing machine. It brewed strong, delicious coffee that tasted cleanly filtered but rich. It’s also relatively easy to program and use. The touchscreen panel features cute little icons signifying one-touch commands to help customize your brew: If you like your coffee bolder, you can select the Bold feature; if you’re brewing less than half a pot, select the one-to-four-cups feature for a slower brew with the proper extraction time; adjust the hot plate temperature to low, medium or high; and turn the audible brew-cycle-finished tone on or off.

As exciting and different as this machine felt, it is less intuitive and more laborious than some consumers would want as part of their morning coffee routine. The touch screen goes dark during the brewing process, which feels a bit jarring. The settings and operating buttons are clear enough when illuminated, but it did take us a few times brewing to get used to how much pressure you need to apply with your fingertip to the touch screen.

Also, like its Cuisinart cousins we tested, this one’s a slower brewer. We clocked 11 minutes for eight cups, which seemed like forever. We understand the appeal of a slower brewing process (pour-over and Chemex fans, we hear you), but 12 to 14 minutes for a full pot of coffee seems like a long time to wait when you’re thirsty for your morning Joe and not doing it by hand. Finally, not everyone will want to spend more than $200 on a coffee maker.

This streamlined machine, handmade in the Netherlands since 1968, is a thoughtful mix of industrial and modern design that will appeal to coffee fanatics and design enthusiasts alike. It comes in various eye-popping colors ranging from pink (the model we tested) to a bright orange that will wake you up before you even take your first sip of coffee.

The machine is a joy to watch in action too. Once you turn it on, the brew starts immediately. Seeing the water heat in the tank and bubble up through the water transfer tube into the brewer was a throwback to middle-school science experiments in the most pleasing way, like if a lava lamp produced fresh hot coffee after a few mesmerizing undulations.

And after all that, the Moccamaster produces superior drip coffee — it’s not just popular for its looks. Any setting gets you a bright java with a great aroma. The coffee was best when drunk fresh, but a second cup after an hour retained a lot of the subtle notes in lighter roasts.

The Moccamaster KBGV does require a bit of effort to use when compared to simpler drip coffee machines. As with all these devices, you’ll have to add the grounds and a paper filter (a No. 4 in this case). You’ll also need to take some care as you remove the basket so you don’t dislodge the outlet arm and reservoir lid. It’s less than 30 seconds of effort, and you’ll quickly get used to it. But it is more time and thought than you’ll put in with more traditional designs.

While it doesn’t have a timer, the Moccamaster KBGV is blazing fast at brewing. It can brew a full carafe in six minutes (or up to six cups in roughly four minutes) and will pause brewing if you need to grab a cup before the coffee is done. The hot plate is programmed to stay on for 100 minutes after brewing is finished, and the glass carafe holds heat well.

The Moccamaster KBGV is expensive, though a five-year warranty eases the sting. But the bottom line is that its superior coffee justifies the higher price and the rainbow of colors makes this coffee machine stand out.

The Krups Simply Brew Coffee Maker is aptly named as once you turn on the power, the petite five-cup coffee maker gets brewing.

The small profile makes this the kind of lightweight coffee machine you could tuck into a drawer when you’re not using it. But it’s priced slightly higher than comparable machines and doesn’t offer any features other than a permanent filter (you can also use No. 4 paper filters).

The lid of the carafe is fine for pouring but gets in the way if you’re using the carafe to fill the water tank. Coffee brews quickly — a whole pot is ready in under 10 minutes — but the brew was a bit thin. The Krups get points for allowing you to sneak a cup mid-brew without dripping onto the hot plate below. The hot plate runs for 60 minutes, and the thin glass carafe did a surprisingly good job of holding heat.

The Oxo brewed strong, hot coffee in larger batches (five to nine cups), but the results were less consistent with smaller batches (two cups is the smallest pot you can make). One four-cup pot was thin, while another had the right depth. The design is similar to the Ratio Six, but the coffee wasn’t at the same level as the other machine.

The Oxo is convenient, as you can program it to brew coffee for your morning or remove the carafe amid the brew cycle to pour yourself a cup. The carafe did an effective job of keeping coffee warm for 60 minutes, and the machine shuts off the hot plate after an hour.

The carafe and lid have to be hand-washed, but the internal parts (the brew basket, shower head and silicone mixing tube) can all be cleaned on the top shelf of a dishwasher. After brewing, there will be condensation in the brew chamber and water tank, so you’ll have to flip the top open on one and come back later in the day to let the other side air-dry. It’s a bit more effort than we wanted to put in to keep the machine clean, although you could speed the process up with a quick wipe of a soft towel.

The control knob took a minute to figure out, but it was easy to switch between choices once the clock was set. The Oxo is a subdued mix of black and stainless steel, well-suited to brewing bigger batches of coffee that let you sneak a cup if you need it.

The Smeg Drip Coffee Maker is a unique, vintage-looking machine that makes reliably tasty coffee. The reusable filter is easy to clean, the glass carafe is a slick reincarnation of a diner coffeepot and the 60-minute warmer feature effectively keeps coffee hot for a full hour.

The Smeg is easy to learn, but the controls are clunky. The toggle on the side to set the clock felt like a carnival game too difficult to win. The water tank, while tucked in back, has a slightly narrow opening making it likely you’ll splash a bit of water onto the grounds. The water line set against a gray background can also be difficult to read in early morning sunlight.

The coffee was robust and hot, though, and the option to make a half carafe of four cups was effective. This is a handsome coffee machine — one meant to be displayed — but enough steam releases out of the top of the machine that you wouldn’t want to store it under a cabinet.

We tested two Ninja machines, both of which have some very appealing features. We love the cool, minimalist glass carafe of the Hot and Cold Brewed System, though the lid features a big hole in the middle for pouring, which can lead to some splashing.

This machine, though prolific in function, lost points because the water tank — plastic with prominent ridges — feels cheap and devolves the user experience a bit. With this machine, thankfully, the plastic tank is in the back, hidden from view, but it does need to be handled every time you add water. Another problem with this machine: The water tank doesn’t have marking measurements, only half carafe, full carafe and two sizes of single cup. Without ounce or cup markings, how does one know how much water to add versus the amount of coffee grounds?

The Ninja machines come with a special-sized coffee scoop with different amounts on each end of the scoop, but it was bothersome that the water and the coffee amounts couldn’t be more standardized without relying only on the provided removable accessories (which, for the record, are cute — there’s even a removable frothing wand). A lot of performance features with this machine also mean a busy control panel that also feels a bit high-maintenance.

The Ninja Specialty is similar to the Hot and Cold Brewed System but with one major difference: The water tank is adjacent to the brew basket and visible. This brews a very nice cup of coffee and even has an over-ice option for those who prefer iced coffee. The placement of the water tank makes this one less appealing than the hot and cold option, though, and the tank feels flimsy and cheap, a factor that’s difficult to overlook in user experience. For those who like the Ninja brand products, there’s a lot of function for your buck here.

The most basic of the Cuisinart options we tested, this one brewed a nearly perfect cup at a perfectly hot temp for this reviewer, even after adding significant cold milk, thanks to an adjustable carafe temp. This machine is solid and well-designed, with one downside: Brewing time was 14 minutes for eight cups, nearly double the time of some of the other coffee makers we tested.

The most affordable automatic drip machine we tested, the Black & Decker 12-cup, is also a solid choice. It brewed eight tasty cups in eight short minutes with overall a good user experience. Hardware-wise, it felt a bit less durable than its closest rival, the Mr. Coffee, but it’s programmable and super easy for near the cost of two lattes with an extra shot.

We were giddy upon opening this fancy brewer with much to offer: standard brew, fast, gold (what even is that, I wondered at first glance!), cold brew, single cup (with a sold-separately attachment) and a customizable setting. The options are exciting but also overwhelming. The user is prompted to enter the consistency of their water on a hard to soft scale. But do all home coffee drinkers know the texture of their tap water? Also, does the average coffee drinker know what Gold Cup certification is? These feel like niche details for an automatic drip machine.

Big picture, the Breville brewed a nice pot of coffee, but for some reason, we just didn’t find it near hot enough to our liking. We also found this machine to be … well, too much. Too much hardware: It doesn’t fit easily under our cabinets. Too many options: We needed to read up on a bunch of coffee wisdom before we could even set up the machine to our preferences. There are lots of users who would find this machine hits the sweet spot of function and sophistication, and enjoy exploring all its specialties, but for those looking for turnkey coffee-making, this is a little extra.

A true single-serve coffee maker, Balmuda The Brew occupies a unique spot in the coffee universe. It offers easy — if expensive — access to craft pour-over coffee. It’s really for serious coffee enthusiasts, those who already own a good grinder, maybe already have a great espresso machine and want equally good pour-over coffee from a similarly interesting device. Its ability to make great iced coffee is also a real bonus in warm weather, though you’ll have to decide if it’s worth the price of admission.

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