A drip coffee maker is your best choice for a smooth cup of coffee that most people love. It’s also among the most popular and cheapest options on the market, especially when considering the multitude of options and features available with drip coffee makers.
Drip coffee makers use electricity to pull water from an integrated tank and heat it up, before slowly dispersing it evenly over the brewing basket containing your choice of ground coffee. As the water passes through the grounds, all the goodness is extracted and then filtered before making its way into the carafe, cup or mug. And there you have it – a pleasant, smooth, and rich cup of coffee that you can either drink as is, or add milk and sugar to your liking.
TL;DR: The best drip coffee maker for most people is the Ninja CE251 Drip Coffee Brewer. Most notably because it makes a great cup of coffee, but it’s also extremely easy to use and comes with a useful range of features allowing you to adjust the flavor and set a timer. For more options, see the list below:
Best overall: Ninja CE251 Drip Coffee Brewer
Ninja CE251 Drip Coffee Brewer
The Ninja CE251 Drip Coffee Brewer makes great coffee, and you get numerous useful features at an affordable price.
Pros: Makes great coffee, adjustable brew strength for a reguler or rich cup of coffee, 1-4 cups setting, programmable timer feature, removable water tank that’s also transparent, keeps your coffee warm for up to 4 hours, carafe is well designed, reusable filter basket included.
Cons: If lid is opened too quickly after brewing, water from condensation drips onto the warming plate. Pouring a cup mid-brew can be somewhat messy despite the drip-stop feature, relatively slow.
If you like great coffee and appreciate the ability to customize the flavor profile, the Ninja CE251 Drip Coffee Brewer is the best choice. Coming in as our #1 pick it left us impressed by its numerous features, while at the same time delivering great coffee that everyone seem to like.
From small volumes over classic brew to a more bold flavor, the Ninja drip coffee maker is capable of making it happen with very little effort on your side. The control panel is properly laid out with buttons that are easy to understand and read, and we especially like that every button lights up if activated although we’d want the light to be a tad brighter than it is.
The brew basket comes with a reusable filter, but you can also use #4 paper filters if you like a more refined coffee flavor and easier cleanup after each brew.
Although we think this drip coffee maker gets as close to perfection as possible, it does of course have a few tiny flaws that we’d like to address.
We noticed that a few drops of water from condensation would make its way to the warming plate if the lid is lifted too soon after brewing, it really isn’t a big deal but you’ll have to wipe it off once in a while if it happens. Another thing, which seems to be a general issue with most coffee makers, is the drip-stop feature. You can’t pour a cup of coffee mid-brew without having at least a few drops of coffee dripping onto the warming plate and staining it. So it’s better to leave the carafe in place until it’s completely done, if you don’t want to wipe off the warming plate afterwards.
Best on a budget: Mr. Coffee SK13-RB Simple Brew
Mr. Coffee SK13-RB Simple Brew
If you want a cheap drip coffee maker that makes up to 12 cups of coffee at a time, Mr. Coffee SK13-RB Simple Brew is a solid choice.
Pros: Makes a proper cup of coffee, large capacity (makes 4-12 cups at a time), 2-hour keep warm feature, very simple and easy to use, lightweight, easy to clean, large water level window on the side.
Cons: Poorly designed mid-brew feature doesn’t stop coffee from dripping, a bit slow if you’re brewing an entire pot, difficult to pour the coffee from the carafe without spilling, cheap look and feel.
If you’re on a tight budget or you want a simple drip coffee maker without the bells and whistles, Mr. Coffee is a great choice. Thousands of reviews can’t go wrong, and we believe it’s definitely the best drip coffee maker in its price range.
With a simple yet functional design it’s literally as easily to flip a switch to get a nice, steaming hot cup of coffee. There are no additional features that you need to consider before turning it on, you simply add on your grounds, add water, press the button, and it’s doing its thing. What else could you wish for?
You do have to buy filters though, or you could get a reusable basket if you prefer. We like the paper filters because they make cleaning easier, and the coffee gets a smooth taste that we generally like.
Another clever detail that we appreciate, is the large water level indicator located on both sides of the drip coffee maker. This means that no matter how it’s placed at a countertop, you’re able to easily see the water level.
One thing we didn’t like, is the shape of the glass carafe. It’s clumsy when pouring, so regardless of whether you try to be careful or not, you might end up spilling some of the coffee. Because of the poorly designed drip-stop feature you can’t really pour a cup mid-brew without a few drops of coffee drip onto the warming plate and have to be wiped off.
The Mr. Coffee drip coffee maker is a solid choice despite its flaws, but it’s worth noting that at this price corners have been cut and materials do seem a bit cheap. This doesn’t mean that it doesn’t make great coffee because it does, but maybe the lifespan is shorter than other more expensive options.
Best splurge: Technivorm Moccamaster 59616 KBG
Technivorm Moccamaster 59616 KBG
The Moccamaster 59616 KBG is a handmade, sturdily built drip coffee maker. It makes fantastic coffee, fast and quietly.
Pros: Coffee tastes great every time, spare parts are widely available if necessary, fast brewing, relatively quiet, very easy to use, keeps coffee warm for 100 minutes, removable brew basket and parts allow for easy cleaning, handmade in the Netherlands.
Cons: Long and bulky power cord, expensive, brew basket is a bit clumsy, no adjustment options available.
There really isn’t much to put a finger on with this premium drip coffee maker. The Moccamaster truly is an allover great choice for many reasons, but perhaps mainly because it’s still made by hand at their own assembly plant till this day. Absolutely no corners seem to have been cut, and the design has already proven its worth for decades.
With the Technivorm Moccamaster 59616 KBG you’ll therefore get a true classic, and although it doesn’t have any modern features (or any features at all), it just keeps making great coffee for years on end.
In our family we’ve had multiple Moccamaster drip coffee makers, and they simply can’t break. If the carafe breaks you simply get a new one, which basically applied to any detachable part, which just goes to show that Moccamaster is an investment rather than a purchase.
The coffee yielded from this coffee maker has a great taste, it’s rich on taste with no bitterness, and we like that we can also make a small portion of proper tasting coffee by simply flipping a switch at the side of the filter basket. Everything is kept as simple as possible with this coffee maker, and that just means less things can break.
If you want one in a certain color, most Moccamasters are sold in almost any bright color you can imagine. Check them all out by clicking t