Best Cheap Coffee Maker: What is the Best Affordable Coffee Maker

What is the best cheap coffee maker? People have different criteria for what’s acceptable in a coffee machine, as well as different budgets, so it’s hard to point to just one machine and say that it’s the right choice for every buyer in every situation.

However, we can look at a range of options and find the best budget coffee maker for most people. In this guide, we’ll look at ten of the top choices on the market, then some additional information to help you make an informed purchase. In case these makes and models don't satisfy your requirements for a proper coffee brewer, be sure to check out our top rated coffee makers guide. 

 

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Best Cheap Espresso Maker

While there are many types of coffee machines that can be found on a budget, we have compiled a list of the top rated devices among multiple categories. From drip brewers, to presses and moka pots, these are the top 10 best affordable coffee makers we could find.

1. Aeropress Go 

• Price: 4/5
• Functionality: 5/5
• Brewing Speed: 5/5

The Aeropress Go, single serve coffee maker is a little unusual for this list of coffee machines, but hear us out! While this isn't a drip coffee maker like most may be expecting, it can produce an amazing cup of coffee.

The main thing that stands out here is the travel kit that comes with it, allowing for you to make coffee while on the go. If you are just looking for something you can plug in and hit "brew", then skip ahead to the next product on our list. However, if you want better coffee, we highly recommend the Aeropress Go.

The other thing to note about this single-serve machine is that it only works with ground coffee and isn’t compatible with K-Cups, capsules, or similar products. If you are looking for better coffee, then you probably already buy and grind your coffee fresh anyways.

Ultimately, this brewer works best if you only want a single cup of coffee at a time, but also prefer manually take control of your brew. That means this coffee maker isn’t right for everyone, just a specific group of buyers.

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2. Black+Decker

• Price: 4/5
• Capacity: 5/5
• Brewing Speed: 4/5

Black+Decker’s 12-cup coffee brewer is excellent for both home and office use thanks to smart design and a couple of features that help it stand out from other units. Its large, rubberized buttons are durable and easy to use, while a large screen displays information like brew time and programming options.

Water goes into the right side of the machine, which has a tall, front-facing window to show you how much water is left. The glass carafe that catches the coffee also has a label, although it’s important to remember that for this device, a “cup” in the carafe is about five ounces of coffee instead of the regular eight ounces for normal measurements.

Meanwhile, a nonstick plate helps keep the coffee in the carafe full for about an hour after brewing, while a two-hour automatic shutoff helps avoid wasting electricity or damaging the unit through extensive use.

With all that said, the true standout feature is the temporary stop system. Described as “sneak-a-cup” by the manufacturer, this lets you pause brewing, pour a glass, and put the carafe back in so the system can resume. This means you don’t have to wait for the entire system to process before you can start enjoying your drink.

There’s nothing especially unique about this brewer, nor does it have the sheer variety or durability of a professional unit. However, we think it offers great performance for the price and works well in most non-commercial environments. It even brews reasonably quickly, processing about one cup per minute.

The one drawback to keep in mind here is that you need to use the right mesh and filter in the top. If you get the wrong filter, water may overflow and push grounds into your coffee. That’s easy to solve once you get the right interior components, but it’s important to know before buying.

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3. Mueller Ultra Coffee Maker

 

• Price: 3/5
• Capacity: 5/5
• Brewing Speed: 4/5

Mueller’s Ultra brewing machine is towards the high end of what we consider a budget coffee maker, but it’s certainly worth considering if you want a little more flexibility in its performance. The exterior uses a lot of stainless steel for durability, supporting a fast brew speed and comfortably high brewing temperature.

While this unit doesn’t have any special controls, it performs well with the options it has. These include up to a 24-hour delay for the brewing cycle, as well as controls to manage the brew strength. The interior of this unit comes with a permanent metal filter, although you can replace it with paper filters if you prefer using those.

As an added touch, this unit has a cord storage feature inside its body to help minimize the space you need. That’s the kind of attention to detail that we love to see. This machine is better than our top overall choice, but the higher price means it couldn’t quite claim the top spot.

There are a couple of things to consider before you go shopping, though. First, you may want to buy some rubber feet and attach those to the bottom. This brewer has simple plastic feet, which won’t grip most surfaces. You don’t need to bolt this machine in place, but it’s always good to stop it from sliding around.

Second, this unit doesn’t provide audio alerts when it’s done brewing. Some people prefer having reminders so coffee doesn’t sit out for too long, and if that’s important to you, look at a different coffee maker instead.

Neither of these are egregious problems, and they certainly don’t outweigh the overall quality and durability of this unit. It’s easily one of the best affordable coffee maker choices on the market, and its 12-cup capacity makes it more than good enough for most home and office situations.

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4. Primula Burke Deluxe

 

• Price: 5/5
• Capacity: 4.5/5
• Brewing Speed: 1/5 (see text)

No list of budget coffee makers is complete without considering alternative methods like cold brew, and that’s where Primula Burke’s deluxe unit comes in. With a capacity of 1.6 quarts (about ten 5-ounce cups of coffee), this unit is great for higher-capacity processing at home or overnight in office environments.

Unlike most options on our list, this coffee maker has no rating for the brewing speed. The reason for that is that most cold brew machines require 12-24 hours to help the coffee reach full flavor, so the brewing speed is basically irrelevant as long as you can plan ahead.

This particular unit uses borosilicate glass for its carafe, which is a great option for coffee because its chemicals won’t leak out into your drink. This is the same material you’ll see in many other kitchen-quality jugs and cookware.

Meanwhile, the permanent mesh filter removes the need for paper that might dissolve in water over time, while the bottom of the filter comes off for easy cleaning. The entire unit is safe in the top rack of most dishwashers, and it can keep cold brew fresh in a fridge for up to two weeks.

Whether you want to reheat the coffee later or serve it cold, we think this is a great choice for any coffee drinkers who enjoy the smoother, mellower taste of cold brew. As a bonus, it’s highly affordable because it has no electronic components, making this a budget-friendly option.

There are two more things to keep in mind before you go shopping. First, you should stir the coffee grounds at least once during the brewing process to get the best flavor. Second, cold brew machines do better with coarser coffee grounds than most other coffee makers, so you may need to process the roasted beans yourself.

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5. bonVIVO Intenca

 

• Price: 3/5
• Capacity: 3/5
• Brewing Speed: 4/5

Coffee is pretty important in Italy, so it’s no surprise they’ve developed some outstanding brewing machines. This is a manual coffee maker, but its straightforward design makes it easy to use if you enjoy having more control over the exact process of brewing each cup. The actual process is straightforward once you get used to it.

Cold water goes in the bottom part of the brewer, followed by coffee grounds that go into a funnel on top. The top gets screwed on next, and when you turn on the stove, the water boils up and into the top. As an espresso machine, this unit can hold up to ten ounces of liquid, which is about six cups of espresso coffee.

The exterior is primarily chrome, surrounding a stainless steel interior for durability. The heat resistant handle also makes it easy to lift and pour the drinks, aided by the fact that the brewed coffee is removed from direct heat and therefore cools down to a better temperature.

As a bonus, this coffee maker also works well for making Cuban coffee. Most drip coffee makers only make one type of coffee well, so we like the flexibility this particular brewer offers.

This is a stovetop espresso machine, so it’s not as good for brewing coffee in an office as many of the other options on this list. It also requires more time and attention from you, while variations in stoves can change how fast or slow it works. The good news is that this espresso maker works on practically any stovetop, including glass stoves.

Ultimately, we see this as a luxury product that works well if you want to brew espresso at your own pace. It’s not as useful if you’re in a hurry, but there’s no denying the overall quality of the brews you can make with it.

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6. Mr. Coffee

 

• Price: 4/5
• Capacity: 5/5
• Brewing Speed: 4/5

Mr. Coffee is one of the most well-known brands in brewing, following its start in 1968 under a different name. They invented the automatic drip coffee maker and began production in 1972, leading to an explosive entry into the market. With that kind of history, it’s no surprise that their modern offerings are outstanding examples of simple but effective machines.

In this case, “simple” is the right word because this unit has an automatic brewing option and doesn’t have any fancy controls for adjusting brew strength, delaying the brew, or otherwise modifying the settings. This also means there’s practically no possibility of user error in setting the controls, and that can certainly be useful.

While this machine doesn’t have an auto-off system, it does have an indicator light to help remind you to turn it off when it’s done. Meanwhile, its auto-pause system works just like our top choice and lets you pour a cup before the coffee maker finishes brewing everything.

The filter basket is a simple lift and clean model that goes well with the overall style of this coffee maker. Meanwhile, the dual water windows make it easy to see how much water is in the reservoir, regardless of which side you’re looking at it from.

We can’t give this unit the top spot because it has no flexibility. You can’t adjust the brewing speed to account for different types of beans, which is an issue if you want to truly master the art of brewing. It has a hot plate, too, which will slowly heat up your coffee over time unless you turn the machine off.

With all of that said, this is still an outstanding example of a simple coffee maker that basically anyone can use. It doesn’t have any standout features, but it’s extremely affordable and it gets the job done. If all you want is a decent cup of coffee on demand, Mr. Coffee’s 12-cup machine is worth considering.

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7. BOSCARE

 

• Price: 3/5
• Capacity: 5/5
• Brewing Speed: 4/5

BOSCARE’s 2-12 cup coffee maker is a solid competitor for our #2 choice. You don’t see too much variety in controls or carafe sizes in this price range, so BOSCARE can’t truly compete in that area. We’ll go so far as to say there aren’t many reasons to pick one over the other, although this model does have a few minor details that make it appealing.

The most notable of these is the anti-drip system, which helps prevent lingering brewed coffee from falling down when you’re using the pause function to pour while brewing. That’s a nice touch, although you should always check the placement of the coffee lid first to be sure it’s in the right spot. Otherwise, the pause system may not function correctly.

Like most better machines, this coffee maker comes with a permanent filter so you don’t have to buy paper ones all the time. It uses a #4-size filter, and both metal and paper replacements are available as needed.

Otherwise, the controls are standard for coffee machines in this category, ranging from programmable delays to modifying brew strength. One thing we don’t like as much is the relatively small size of the window to the water reservoir. It’s functional, sure, but a bigger window would be easier to read at a glance.

Like most larger coffee machines, this option works well in most office environments thanks to its generally sturdy construction. The metal parts are more durable than machines that are primarily plastic, and that alone makes this worth considering. The glass carafe is also dishwasher safe.

Finally, this unit has an audible ready signal when the coffee is done, which is the kind of small detail that’s convenient for busier environments.

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8. Hamilton FlexBrew

 

• Price: 3/5
• Capacity: 3/5
• Brewing Speed: 4/5

Hamilton isn’t as famous as brands like Mr. Coffee, but this is a surprisingly versatile machine despite its small size. Hamilton’s FlexBrew works with K-Cup pods, other pods, or fresh coffee grounds thanks to its smartly-designed system. It also shuts off automatically after brewing, so there’s no risk of leaving it on for extended periods.

Each cup brews in about three minutes, regardless of the type of coffee grounds you’re using, which is reasonably fast. It doesn’t make a lot of coffee, but it does work fast enough to function in most office environments as long as people don’t all want their coffee at the same time. Even then, getting two of these would usually be enough.

This is an unusual coffee maker, but we think there are two reasons to consider getting it. The first is that it’s relatively compact, which means it’s easier to fit into smaller kitchens and places like college dormitories.

The second consideration is that it only produces a single cup of coffee on demand. That’s good if you don’t want a lot of coffee, just predictable drinks on demand. It’s bad if you want more than one cup of coffee at a time, though, which should completely remove this option from consideration.

In summary, this is one of the best drip coffee makers, but it’s definitely not for everyone. That’s okay! We know how people have different preferences for their drinks, and we’re including this option on our list to highlight the types of things you can find if you step away from a traditional drip coffee maker.

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9. Presto MyJo Single Cup

• Price: 5/5
• Capacity: 2/5
• Brewing Speed: 5/5

Presto’s MyJo coffee maker is another interesting single-serve system. Unlike other cheap coffee makers, however, this is essentially a travel system that you can use anywhere as long as you can get hot water. Solar water heaters make this a viable option, though you can also boil water with wood when you’re on the go. If you have electricity, just use a microwave.

This particular coffee maker works well with K-Cup packs or anything of sufficiently similar size, including refillable packs that you can add coffee grounds to yourself. From there, all you have to do is pump the system and the coffee goes straight into your cup. That’s a faster brew than some other systems as long as you have hot water handy.

Unfortunately, there are a few flaws that stop this system from being as easy to recommend as some others. There are a few manufacturing hiccups at times, especially with the silicon valve that water is supposed to go through. They don’t always cut this properly, so you may need to gently cut it yourself to make the system work.

Second, you can adjust the brew strength by modifying the amount of pressure you apply while pumping, but it takes a long time to get a black cup. This system works far better for lighter, milder brews. Third, this product is not returnable, which seems to be at the manufacturer’s insistence.

If you can deal with those issues, however, this single cup coffee maker performs surprisingly well. Coarse-ground beans ultimately provide the best flavor, especially if you run the coffee through the grounds twice to maximize the flavor. It’s also quite small and lightweight, making it a good option for traveling off the grid.

We don’t recommend this coffee maker for regular daily use because it requires too much time and attention for a regular cup in the morning. It’s also a poor choice for office environments. However, it’s cheap and it gets the job done when you’re away from electricity, and that earns it a place on our list.

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10. AMFOCUS Moka Pot

• Price: 5/5
• Capacity: 3/5
• Brewing Speed: 2/5

Like our #5 choice, this is a stovetop espresso maker that helps produce higher-quality coffee through manual percolation rather than automatic dripping. The large, soft-touch handle and knob make it safer and easier to use, while the base itself is compatible with most types of stoves.

One feature that stands out here is the addition of an extra safety valve to help prevent spills and keep the coffee hotter inside the pot. The rest of this coffee maker is mainly stainless steel, which is both durable and reliable in most kitchens. This is a viable choice for some restaurants, although faster-paced businesses will want to get something else.

At maximum capacity, this brewer holds about 7 ounces of espresso, which is roughly four cups poured out. That’s smaller than some other manual brewers, and it’s one of the main reasons this option is lower on our final list.

Like most manual brewing systems, the AMFOCUS works best on low-to-medium heat, so it’s not particularly fast on some stoves. We’ve seen some stoves where it takes a long time to boil water even on medium, so that can be an issue for some buyers.

That said, this is a highly affordable brewer with no electronic parts to worry about, so it’s also quite durable and you can expect it to last a long time. We recommend looking into getting a small, electricity-powered portable stove for coffee makers like these, which may be better than having to use a full-size stove.

As a bonus, AMFOCUS ships this espresso maker with three coffee measuring scoops (in one tablespoon, one teaspoon, and one-half teaspoon sizes), which is a thoughtful touch for buyers who may not have those measuring spoons available. This coffee maker also works well outdoors, though you’ll need to find the right spot to put it for optimal boiling speeds.

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Best Budget Coffee Maker

Here are some other things to consider before you go shopping for a budget coffee maker. While there are many factors that go into deciding on a budget friendly coffee machine, these are the most crucial to ensure you come out on top.

Defining A Budget Machine

For this guide, we decided to define a budget coffee maker as any machine under or around $50. Naturally, a homeowner’s idea of what’s “cheap” is probably very different from a restaurant’s, which is why any definition here is arbitrary at best.

With that said, a good budget machine is one that’s appropriately reliable over a long period. If your coffee machine breaks too quickly, it would be cheaper to save up and get a more expensive one instead, and that defeats the purpose of getting the best cheap coffee maker.

As a general rule, products in the higher end of our budget range tend to have more metal components to them. This makes them a bit heavier, but also noticeably more durable. A machine in the $40 to $50 range should last for quite a long time.

Machines with electronic components that are below $30 tend to wear out faster, although some good brands will still last a long time. These options tend to be good choices for casual home use, but may not be as good for office environments where people will make a lot of coffee throughout the day.

The best cheap coffee maker options with no electronic parts tend to be extremely reliable as long as you don’t exceed their temperature recommendations. Manual coffee makers tend to take longer to use, but will probably last a decade or more.

Spotting The Differences

Coffee makers for home and office use are interesting because there aren’t many differences between them. Over the last few decades, manufacturers have tested different features and largely settled on the basic design that people want. This means there aren’t too many areas to compare products aside from the overall quality of their materials.

In general, most budget coffee makers are either single-serve or multi-cup, and otherwise have the same structure.

Common components for multi-cup systems include a water reservoir with a window for checking height on one or both sides, a permanent mesh, a dripping system, and a heating pad for keeping brewed coffee warm. Most systems brew up to 12 cups of coffee at a time, or about 60 ounces of water.

Controls are basically standard, too, with a delayed timer and sometimes the ability to brew stronger cups by slowing the water rate.

With all of this in mind, one of the best ways to evaluate a system is by looking at the types of coffee grounds they support. Some systems work better with coarse-ground coffee, while others do well with a medium grind.

Most systems don’t naturally work well with fine grinds, though. In those cases, you’d need to get a paper filter (rather than the mesh with larger holes) and insert that into your coffee maker. Some coffee makers support this, but others don’t, so try to plan ahead when you’re buying.

Best Coffee Maker Under 100

While there are many different types of coffee makers, these are some of the different types of coffee makers where you can find an affordable option without breaking the bank. If you just want to know which one we recommend, be sure to check out our guide on the best coffee maker under 100.

Affordable Drip Coffee Makers

Arguably the most popular type of coffee maker in the world, drip coffee makers heat up water after taking it from a reservoir, then pour it over ground coffee beans and into a carafe. Most of these carafes are glass, but vacuum-sealed metal options can keep coffee hot for hours at a time.

These work well in both home and office environments, while providing plenty of coffee on demand. The majority have features like automatic, delayed brewing, too. However, most drip coffee makers have few (if any) brewing choices, so you can’t customize your drinks.

Cheap Single Serve Machines

As the name suggests, single serve coffee makers produce one cup of coffee on demand. These are especially popular in office environments because most of them let you pick a flavored pod and use that to make the drink. Cups brew in just a few minutes, so people can all enjoy different drinks.

The downside to this versatility is that single serve coffee makers can’t produce drinks for larger groups all at once. Further, most of them don’t have settings that let you delay the brewing, so you still have to turn the system on right when you want to use it.

Some single serve coffee makers let you brew with your coffee grounds, and these are generally better for the environment. Single serve machines that use pods or K-Cups are also rather bad for the environment, which is why some people prefer avoiding them.

Pressing on a Budget

French Press coffee makers are relatively quick manual systems where you steep the coffee for about four minutes, then manually press the water to move the grounds and pour out the remaining coffee.

These are quite popular among people who want to maximize the flavor of their coffee because it tends to produce rich, delicious drinks for minimal effort. It’s also easy to manually control the steeping time. However, coffee brewed this way tends to cool quickly, and you should heat the carafe first to help maintain the overall temperature.

We don’t have any French Press systems on the list above because they don’t really fit the convenience that a budget coffee maker should offer, but they’re worth checking out if you want a good drink.

Budget Friendly Cold Brew Makers

Cold brew systems are a largely hands-off system that’s good for making large batches of coffee. While it uses a lot of coffee grounds, cold brews are arguably easier to prepare as long as you have room in a fridge. Cold brews tend to have a deep, rich flavor whether you serve it chilled or heat it afterwards.

The primary drawback is the time it takes to make. Cold brewers usually need between twelve and twenty-four hours to make a great drink, so you can’t get your coffee on-demand the way you can with other brewers. You can mitigate this by planning ahead, but the lack of quick coffee is a noticeable drawback to an otherwise-delicious brewing system.

Best Cheap Stovetop Brewer

Sometimes known as a Moka pot, stovetop brewers are essentially espresso machines that can brew drinks quickly. Some people say that these aren’t true espresso, but the resulting drink is at least similar to espresso and usually available at a much lower price.

As manual brewers, these require attention to make sure the coffee doesn’t scorch. The resulting drink also tends to be extremely strong, and whether that’s good or bad is subjective.

Alternatively, stovetop brewers can make a dark base for drinks like lattes or cappuccinos. Drip brewers rarely make coffee as intense as stovetop brewers can, so if you want to make fancier drinks, these brewers are worth considering.

Affordable Grind And Brew Machines

As the name suggests, grind and brew systems process roasted coffee beans immediately before using them. This provides a much fresher taste than buying pre-ground beans, which makes these popular among buyers who want to maximize overall quality.

However, while these can simplify the grinding process, they’re not especially unique because you can also buy grinders separately and process your beans that way. Ultimately, these brewers are just a convenience. They’re also relatively expensive because they have more components, so we didn’t include any of them in the guide above.

Alternative Turkish Coffee Brew

Turkish coffee makers stand out from most other options on the market because they produce unfiltered coffee where the grounds are still present. These let you mix water with finely-ground beans, transferring it to a cup right when the mix starts to boil.

Outside of their speed, Turkish coffee makers are also good if you enjoy infusing other flavors like cinnamon into your coffee. Most other coffee makers make that difficult at best, so you can get much more interesting flavors from these if you put the time into learning how to use them.

The main downside is that these are entirely manual, so you have to pay attention and remove the coffee at just the right time to maximize the flavor. Otherwise, it may get a bit scorched or end up too weak.

The Cowboy Method

Percolator drip machines are relatively similar to traditional stovetop models, but they have one feature that sets them apart: they circulate the coffee several times. This means that the coffee pulls flavor from the beans several times, which tends to result in very strong smells and flavors. Percolators also tend to brew extremely hot cups of coffee.

The main downside is that it can be hard to control the temperature here, which means there’s a risk of getting a burnt taste. Most people prefer other types of coffee makers, but these are available if you want to maximize the intensity of your drinks.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are many types of coffee makers available even if you’re on a relatively tight budget. Black+Decker’s twelve-cup brewer is a great generic choice for most situations, but other brewers can offer unique features or brewing methods to help create the perfect cup.

People have different preferences for coffee, so don’t be afraid to try different systems until you find the brewer that best matches your tastes.