13 Best Coffee Makers of 2026, Lab Tested and Reviewed

The most affordable drip coffee maker on this list, the Black+Decker 4-in-1 5-Cup CM0755S, is exceptionally easy to clean, and its carafe is comfortable to hold and pour from. Plus, Black & Decker is a very reliable coffee maker brand, according to CR’s member surveys. And you can expect very good-tasting coffee from this machine based on its ability to stay within the sweet spot of brewing temperatures for five or six minutes while brewing. This coffee maker brews a full pot in a speedy 6 minutes.

The Bunn HB Heat N Brew Programmable drip coffee maker may take a relatively long time to brew a pot (12 minutes, compared with the quickest machines at 6 minutes). But our testers found that it’s very easy to use, that its brew performance is very good, and that its carafe is easy to handle and pour from. Even better, it earns an excellent score for ease of cleaning, and Bunn drip coffee makers receive excellent scores for reliability and satisfaction.

If you want a basic glass-carafe drip coffee maker, consider the Cuisinart PerfecTemp 14 Cup Programmable DCC-3200. (It comes in copper, too, as the DCC-3200CP.)  It earns an excellent rating for brew performance, reflecting optimal brew temperature for the best flavor. It also has very good scores for ease of use, cleaning, and carafe handling. It can be programmed to have fresh coffee waiting when you wake up, and you can adjust the brewing strength to make your coffee weaker or stronger.

You can expect a satisfying cup of coffee from the Haden 14-Cup Programmable (75139) drip coffee maker. It shows excellent brew performance in our tests, and it’s exceptionally easy to handle and clean. It comes with brew-strength controls so you can tailor your coffee to your taste, as well as a small-batch setting if you don’t need a full pot. It’s also programmable, so you can set it and forget it until you’re ready for your first cup.

What sets the Ninja Fresh Brew 14-Cup Programmable (CE451) apart from other coffee makers on this list is its removable water reservoir, which you can take to your sink to fill. It earns very good scores in our ease of use and ease of cleaning evaluations, plus you can expect an excellent brew from this machine. One area in which it falls short, however, is carafe handling, meaning it’s not as comfortable or as easy to pour from as other coffee maker models in our ratings.

The exceptionally convenient Cuisinart Premium Single-Serve Brewer SS-10 should satisfy coffee drinkers with a quick first cup. This machine, which takes K-Cups, earns an excellent score in our first cup speed tests. Its score for repeat cup speed was almost as good. You can expect consistent cup sizes and temperature as well. Cuisinart, as a single-serve coffee maker brand, earns an excellent score for owner satisfaction, though just a middling score for predicted reliability based on our member surveys.

If you want the option to use both K-Cups and Nespresso capsules, the Instant Dual Pod Plus (140-6013-01) is your machine. In our labs, this coffee maker produced impressively speedy first and repeat cups, and our testers found it very convenient. It receives ho-hum results for temperature consistency, but very good results for size consistency. And its variety of brew settings gives it a very good convenience score.

Several features set the Keurig K-Café Smart apart from the rest of the single-serve makers we’ve tested. It has WiFi connectivity, and there’s a hot and cold milk frother that can help you whip up a fancy café au lait. It has six temperature settings, and you can adjust your brew strength, perhaps allowing a slightly milder brew for your afternoon pick-me-up. In CR’s tests, this machine, which uses K-Cup pods, delivers superb results in our brewing range, convenience, and size consistency tests.

The Lavazza Classy Plus Espresso and Coffee is a single-serve coffee maker that takes branded Lavazza Expert capsules, which can be used for espresso-style coffee as well as 8-ounce brews. In our tests, we see consistent temperatures and sizes, which you’d expect from the best machines. A first cup brewed quickly, as did repeat cups, earning it very good scores in those tests. This machine was not the most convenient to use, based on its controls and the effort required to refill and clean it.

Nespresso machines require Nespresso capsules, which tend to be more expensive than K-Cups. But if you like cafe-quality drinks, you may think it’s worth ponying up for the Nespresso CitiZ EN267BAE. This machine produced exceptionally speedy cups and has a very good brewing range. This coffee maker also comes with a milk frother. Temperature from cup to cup wasn’t entirely consistent, however. It has a removable reservoir, and you can see the water level from the front and sides of the machine, one handy feature on a coffee maker that overall received just a middling score for convenience.

The Hamilton Beach Advanced 5-in-1 (49965F) excels in our drip coffee brew performance tests, so you’re very likely to get a satisfying cup. Its ease of use is also excellent, according to our lab testers. It offers brew-strength controls and a small-batch setting. It does a little less well with its pod coffee capabilities, receiving a very good score for first-cup speed but a mediocre score for subsequent cups. When using a pod, it’s not particularly good at tailoring the strength of your coffee to your taste. This model takes Keurig K-Cups.

The Ninja DualBrew Pro 12-Cup CFP301 can brew a quick single cup using a K-Cup or a full pot using ground coffee in 6 minutes. It’s also exceptionally easy to clean. Ninja receives an excellent score for owner satisfaction, meaning owners of its machines are very likely to recommend the model they own to friends and family. However, in terms of single servings, temperatures were inconsistent, which may not matter as much if you don’t take milk in your coffee.

For a single cup of coffee served up especially quickly, the Ninja Espresso & Coffee Barista System takes Nespresso Original pods. It earns an excellent score for first-cup speed. Subsequent cups are also very quick, which can’t be said for all pod machines. If you intend to use it to fill a travel mug, though, be aware that it only fits mugs shorter than 8 inches. For making a pot of coffee, it earns a very good convenience score and brews a full pot in 6 minutes.