Kathleen Squires, who conducted the most recent round of testing for this guide, is an award-winning food writer and cookbook author. She spent 33 hours researching automatic drip coffee makers and testing 11 of them.

Marguerite Preston is a senior editor overseeing Wirecutter’s kitchen team. She has edited all of our coffee coverage since 2017.

Alex Arpaia, Cale Guthrie Weissman (a National Barista Championship finalist), and Liz Clayton (an associate editor at the coffee news website Sprudge) all contributed research, testing, and writing to past versions of this guide.

Over the years we’ve interviewed numerous coffee experts. And we’ve invited pros from either Counter Culture Coffee’s New York City team or Coffee Project New York’s Specialty Coffee Association–certified training center to participate in every major round of testing.

If you regularly buy specialty coffee beans and want to be able to brew a large pot of very good coffee at the touch of a button, this is the guide for you.

The drip coffee makers we focus on in this guide generally cost around $200 to $300. But investing in a machine that will bring out the nuances of those high-quality beans—to yield a balanced, café-quality pot—is worth the price.

The machines covered here are, in our experience, more reliable, durable, and consistent than cheaper brewers, and they’re a good investment for people who love coffee.

If you want something less expensive that will just get the job done, we also have a guide to the best budget coffee makers.

If you want the absolute best cup of coffee, consider a pour-over dripper, which gives you the most control over the brewing process. But the trade-off with pour-over is convenience: Making a good pour-over requires some technique, and with most pour-over drippers, you can brew only one cup at a time.

We focused primarily on machines certified by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) to meet its standards (PDF). The SCA doesn’t assess every machine on the market—manufacturers must submit machines for consideration, with an application fee. But focusing on SCA-certified machines allowed us to be fairly certain that the models we tested met these baseline criteria, which are crucial to brewing good coffee:

• Brews with water around 200 °F: This helps to extract the best flavor from coffee (the SCA specifies between 197.6 °F and 204.8 °F). Cooler water results in a weak, flat-tasting brew, while boiling water can bring out unpleasant flavors.
• Brews evenly: We looked for models that saturate all the grounds in the brew basket with hot water in the first minute, to produce a balanced, full-bodied pot of coffee every time.

Beyond those brewing fundamentals, the things that separate a good coffee maker from a great one are all about how it feels to use:

• Brews quickly: We chose models that produce a full pot in under eight minutes.
• Clear controls: These make it possible for a groggy person or a houseguest to brew a pot of coffee without confusion. We looked for machines with minimal settings and clear interfaces.
• A thermal carafe: This will keep your coffee warm for hours without having much effect on its flavor. Glass carafes typically sit on a hot plate that can make your coffee taste burnt after an hour or so. Thermal carafes—usually made of stainless steel—are also more durable, while glass is easier to break.
• Easy maintenance: This is important, since cleaning and descaling your coffee maker regularly is key to ensuring that your pricey machine stays in working order as long as possible. The best models have dishwasher-safe parts, an alert to remind you to descale, and a solid warranty.
• Bonus features: A schedule-ahead brew timer, flavor-enhancing bloom feature, and single-serve function add versatility to a well-designed machine.

Most of the brewers we tested advertise a capacity between eight and ten cups of coffee. But an important note: In the world of coffee-brewing gear, a cup is typically defined as 4 to 5 ounces. The average mug holds between 10 and 16 ounces. So the brewers we recommend will likely yield four or five servings, depending on the size of your pour.

Though our exact testing procedure has evolved since 2014 (when we started covering coffee makers), we’ve always focused on comparing taste and usability.

To help us assess the flavor of coffee from each machine, we enlisted coffee professionals (most recently Kaleena Teoh, co-founder of Coffee Project New York) to taste alongside us. In these tastings, we always tried to brew the best pot possible, making adjustments to our grind size or coffee-to-water ratio as needed.

To judge consistency and usability, we brewed multiple pots with every machine, using generic paper filters and a good-quality medium-roast blend. We brewed using the coffee-to-water ratio suggested by the manual.

While brewing, we used an instant-read thermometer to periodically measure the temperature of the brew bed and looked for a stable temperature of around 200 °F. We also measured the temperature of the coffee immediately after brewing a full pot. Then we poured off half the pot (to simulate serving a couple cups of coffee), and let each carafe sit with the lid on for four hours, measuring the temperature of the coffee every hour to see how much it cooled.

Compact and efficiently designed, the Bonavita Enthusiast 8-Cup Drip Coffee Brewer with Thermal Carafe consistently turned out a terrific cup of coffee and has a blooming feature that can upgrade a very good cup to a great one.

It was the only machine we tested that had a removable water tank, which allows for easy filling and cleaning. And it produced among the hottest cups of coffee, with an attractive thermal carafe that keeps coffee hot for hours.

It makes consistently excellent coffee. Through several rounds of testing and tasting, the Bonavita Enthusiast produced bright, balanced, and nuanced brews in less than eight minutes.

One push of a button is all that is needed for regular brewing or bloom-and-brew functions. The bloom function, which saturates the grounds at the start of brewing to draw out more flavor, toned down acidity, enhancing the innate characteristics of our fresh-ground beans and yielding a silken texture.

The flat-bottomed filter basket, which accommodates a common basket filter, helps with even brewing, since it allows the coffee to drain a bit more slowly than it would from a cone-shaped basket.

Each time, the coffee brewed at around 200 °F, producing the hottest fresh brew—187 degrees by the time it filled the pot—of all of the machines tested.

We love the streamlined design. The compact machine doesn’t take up too much counter space and fits under upper cabinets with plenty of room to spare.

The 8-cup carafe pours well and is easy to handle. And the brew-through lid is an improvement from older Bonavita models we’ve tested (including a former pick, the Connoisseur), which require you to remove the lid for brewing—and replace it when done brewing, to keep your coffee warm.

The Enthusiast’s carafe kept a half pot of coffee at perfectly acceptable drinking temperatures for over four hours (helped by the fact that this machine made the hottest brew of any of our finalists). But it did not have the best heat retention among the carafes we tested: Our coffee cooled from 187 °F down to 146 °F over those four hours. (A chart below lists the heat-retention results from the carafes of our five finalists.)

The simple features are user-friendly and intuitive. Using each function is as simple as a press of a button, whether brewing, blooming, or descaling. The machine beeps when functions are complete and automatically shuts off as soon as the brew cycle is complete.

It’s easy to clean and care for. The removable water tank and wide mouth-carafe allow for easy cleaning. Bonavita says the filter basket and carafe are also top-rack dishwasher safe (though double-walled carafes often last longer when hand-washed). And the descaling button illuminates roughly every 100 cycles to remind you that it’s time for maintenance.

Overall change in temperature over four hours

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• A limited one-year warranty doesn’t compare with the more generous coverage offered for our other picks.
• Descaling takes 45 minutes, more than twice as long as other models.
• This machine does not include a clock, brew later, or single-cup brewing function.
• The machine is the only one of our picks that does not include a drip stop, which means you can’t pour a cup during the brew cycle. The basket also drips a bit when the carafe is removed.
• The lid on the carafe isn’t the easiest to get a grip on, and it requires a strong tug to remove.
• Though the machine brewed the hottest coffee initially and a half pot was still comfortably hot after four hours, other carafes had better heat retention after a few hours.

Stylish from top to bottom, though tall and difficult to fit under some kitchen cabinets, the OXO Brew 9-Cup Coffee Maker comes with a number of convenient features that our other picks lack. The auto-brew function is the most important of those features: It lets you program the brewer to make coffee before you wake up.

It makes good coffee, quickly. Coffee brewed in this machine is pleasant, though not as nuanced compared with our other picks. And the OXO 9-Cup brewed a full pot in just under 8 minutes.

It has the most automated functions of any of our picks. Every brew starts with automatic pre-infusion (aka blooming) which briefly wets the coffee grounds before brewing to prepare them for better extraction. Our other picks make pre-infusion optional, so you have to remember to turn that feature on (or in the case of the Moccamaster KBT, physically close and open the brewing basket as your pot brews).

For smaller amounts of coffee, the OXO 9-Cup also adjusts the pre-infusion and overall brewing time (you have to select between brewing a two- to four-cup pot or a five- to nine-cup pot). We found this helped the OXO 9-Cup make a stronger-tasting partial pot of coffee than some other machines we tested.

This machine is also the only one of our picks that can detect when you remove the carafe to pour yourself a cup before the machine has finished brewing. A mechanism in the bottom of the filter basket springs shut to stop the flow of coffee from the machine, and the machine also pauses brewing for up to 60 seconds. And if you forget to replace the carafe, the machine will cancel the brewing cycle so you don’t end up with a mess.

Don’t worry about positioning the carafe incorrectly: A red carafe symbol will appear on the display to tell you it’s out of place.

It’s the only one of our picks with a clock and a handy auto-brew function. You can set the machine to auto-brew at your desired time—say, right before you wake up. For those who find mornings to be a scramble, this feature makes the OXO 9-Cup more convenient to use than our other picks. However, with the sleek, dial-controlled digital display, it’s not clear how to program the auto-brew function without reading the manual.

In general, the controls aren’t immediately intuitive. You have to press the button or start twisting the dial to switch from the digital clock to the brewing options (these display as either “2-4” or “5-9,” in reference to the number of cups you’re planning to brew). Then you have to press the button again to start brewing.

The machine doesn’t make any audible signals when it’s finished brewing, either, but the display does show you how long it’s been since the coffee was made—up to 60 minutes after brewing.

The carafe retains heat well. Although the coffee started out cooler than brews from our other picks, it was the hottest of the three after four hours sitting in the carafe. And even with the lid off, the OXO 9-Cup’s carafe is easier to pour from than many others we tested.

It’s generally easy to take care of. Aside from the carafe, all of the removable plastic parts are dishwasher safe (top rack only). After every 90 brews, a little red light comes on to remind you to descale the machine (you can still use the brewer when the light is on).

However, the carafe’s narrow opening means you need a bottle brush to clean inside. The carafe lid’s hollow interior tends to retain a little coffee, which dribbles out when you set the lid down on the counter. Some of that coffee also builds up as gunk, which is tough to clean out without the help of a pipe cleaner.

OXO offers a two-year warranty, and it has a reputation for excellent customer service. All of the Wirecutter staffers who’ve taken advantage of the coverage have found OXO to be helpful and responsive (sometimes sending replacement parts even after the warranty has expired).

Technivorm brewers (a few variants are available) have legions of devoted fans because of their reputation for simplicity, longevity, and making a great cup of coffee. We recommend the Technivorm Moccamaster KBT because it comes with a thermal carafe (rather than a glass carafe and hot plate), has a generous 40-ounce capacity, and offers some manual control over the brewing process by allowing you to open or close the filter basket.

It’s pricier than our other picks but it has a long five-year warranty and a history of durability that promises a long life.

It makes a terrific cup of coffee. A regular favorite during tasting rounds, the Moccamaster KBT produced a well-rounded, nuanced, high-quality cup that rivaled the Bonavita Enthusiast brewer’s coffee in flavor. It also made and kept the coffee very hot, a close second to our pick.

It was also the fastest of our picks. The Moccamaster KBT turned out a full pot of coffee in just seven minutes.

Despite the bare-bones interface, you get a little more control over brewing. It operates with just a simple on/off switch, which takes care of brewing and descaling.

Turning the machine on is all you need to do to brew a pot of coffee, but if you like to experiment with brewing parameters, you can also flip the switch on the brew basket, which allows you to open and close the drainage hole manually.

By switching the brew basket to the closed position for a short period at the start of brewing, you can control how long your coffee blooms (or is saturated with water) before draining into the pot. (In our tests, we found closing the basket for 30 seconds yielded good results.) Just remember to open it again, since nothing stops the machine from overflowing if you don’t.

When you want to make a smaller pot of coffee, you can close the drip basket halfway, which allows for slower brewing and more-consistent flavor.

And though the machine lacks a preset one-cup function like the OXO Brew 8- or 12-Cup Coffee Makers, you can achieve similar results using the manual switch. We’ve produced well-extracted brews with as little as 8 ounces of water by closing the switch completely for a couple of minutes then releasing, mimicking a Clever dripper.

After the Moccamaster KBT finishes brewing, you can close the switch when you remove the carafe to prevent extraneous dripping, a small annoyance we experienced with the Bonavita Enthusiast coffee maker, which lacks a stop-drip mechanism.

The bare-bones design has some drawbacks. It doesn’t have a clock, a descaling reminder, or an indication—either a beep or a light—of when the machine is finished brewing. Our other picks have most or all of those features.

The Moccamaster KBT is beautifully designed and tall with a European sensibility. Many parts are detachable and top-rack dishwasher safe. You can easily reach into the water tank for cleaning. And the carafe’s lid is easier to screw on and off than the one on our top pick.

But the plastic base that sits under the carafe is flimsy and falls off whenever the machine is moved (you could do without it if you don’t mind a couple drips on your counter). The narrow mouth of the carafe also requires a bottle brush for hand-cleaning.

The warranty is impressive. With a five-year guarantee behind it, the Moccamaster KBT has the longest warranty of any machine we tested. And anecdotally, Technivorm brewers have a reputation for lasting a long time (though any brewer requires regular descaling and proper maintenance to stay in working order).

If you are brewing for a crowd (and also want to brew single cups): The coffee produced by the OXO Brew 12-Cup Coffee Maker with Podless Single-Serve Function performed better in taste tests than coffee from the OXO Brew 9-Cup or 8-Cup Coffee Makers. This brewer also combines some of the best features of those other OXO models: It can brew a single cup directly into a mug, it has an auto-brew function, and the clear digital interface is easier to navigate than the one on the OXO 9-Cup. However, this machine does take a long time to brew a full pot (over 11 minutes) and it was among the priciest of the bunch.

If you want a machine that’s fast, and can brew single cups: Consider the OXO Brew 8-Cup Coffee Maker. It brewed a well-rounded cup of coffee and was faster than any of our picks, making a full pot in just under six minutes. When brewing directly into a mug, the results are as good as a pour-over (though you have to use a different filter basket and special paper filters to do so). Plus, the OXO 8-Cup’s self-explanatory four-button interface is easy to figure out. Without an auto-brew function, it lacks some of the convenience of the OXO 9-Cup, but it might be a good choice if you often just want to brew a cup or two, yet still want the option to make coffee for a crowd.

If you enjoy tinkering with brew settings: With a multitude of brew settings, the Breville Precision Brewer Thermal has a lot to offer to craft-coffee lovers. You can adjust almost everything, from pre-infusion/bloom duration to water temperature to flow rate. But we found it tough to get going—it took us more than two hours to dial in a decent brew. For those who love to tinker or are particular about coffee, the time investment may be rewarding. But if you’re just looking to make a good pot of coffee, the learning curve is steep.

This is not a comprehensive list of all the machines we’ve considered. It includes models we’ve tested that are still available.

The Bonavita Connoisseur 8-Cup Drip Coffee Brewer One-Touch with Thermal Carafe made coffee that tasted nearly as great as its sibling, the Bonavita Enthusiast 8-Cup Drip Coffee Brewer. It’s also just as compact and nearly as easy to operate. But the carafe is clunky and lacks a brew-through lid, like the Enthusiast and our other picks. If you don’t put the lid back on as soon as the coffee finishes brewing, the pot will quickly cool.

There is a lot to like about the GE Café Specialty Drip Coffee Maker: It has settings for varying strengths and temperatures, an auto-brew function, and a handsome design, and it’s the only machine we tested that can pair with Wi-Fi so that you can control it with an app. It also brewed quickly and quietly. However, despite fiddling with different settings, we failed to brew a good pot of coffee, turning out an acrid, one-dimensional brew each time.

The Bunn Speed Brew was extremely complicated to understand, from set-up to brewing. It requires 15 minutes to initially heat up and brews a pot in 4 minutes thereafter only if the coffeemaker is left on with the water tank full at all times. Worse, it did not produce a good cup of coffee.

Despite its pleasant design and functions such as a brew-ahead timer, the Zwilling Enfinigy Drip Coffee Maker took nearly 11 minutes to brew and produced coffee with an unpleasantly metallic aftertaste.

The Ratio Six was awkward to use, primarily because of its stacked carafe and basket. It also lacks a brew-through lid, which causes the coffee to cool post-brewing if you don’t screw the carafe lid on immediately. The start button also sometimes required more than one attempt to turn on.

Our tasters praised the overall flavor and balance of coffee made in the Bonavita BV1900TS. And this machine is fast, brewing a liter of coffee in just over 5 minutes. However, the filter basket sits directly on the carafe, leaving a drafty gap underneath the machine’s showerhead. It also has a drippy and clunky carafe.

The Bonavita Metropolitan 8-Cup One-Touch Coffee Brewer is the company’s least expensive 8-cup model. But the quality of the coffee didn’t measure up, and most people will probably prefer a thermal carafe over this machine’s all-glass one.

The Cuisinart Pureprecision 8 Cup Pour-Over Coffee Brewer with Thermal Carafe has a compact footprint and is easy to use, but we found the flavor of the coffee to be relatively one-dimensional.

For such a clunky machine, the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker made surprisingly good coffee. But its extra features (a watery single-cup setting and a milk-frothing wand) don’t add a lot of value, and it’s now available only with a glass carafe, which we don’t recommend.

The Zojirushi Fresh Brew Plus Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker EC-YTC100 brewed coffee at a glacial pace, taking more than 15 minutes to make a full pot. We also thought the coffee tasted weak.

The Brim 8 Cup Pour Over Coffee Maker is expensive for what it offers. It’s not programmable, and it has a large gap between the showerhead and the filter basket, which allows a lot of heat to escape during brewing. The Chemex-shaped carafe can be difficult to grip with one hand. And because this model is glass and lacks a lid, your coffee will cool quickly (the hot plate shuts off after 30 minutes).

The Braun 10-Cup MultiServe Coffee Machine is the worst coffee maker we’ve tested. It consistently brewed coffee that tasted awful—like burnt gas-station coffee.

This article was edited by Marguerite Preston and Marilyn Ong.