Best De’Longhi Espresso Machine: Every Model Compared

The Dinamica Plus is the De’Longhi I’d recommend to most people. After a little tuning, it made the densest, most chocolatey espresso in the range, and its thermal milk carafe made excellent foam.

It adds a 3.5-inch touchscreen and profiles for everyone in the house, all in a slim body. The Bluetooth app is slow, and the carafe needs daily cleaning.

Espresso

Out of the box, the espresso was good but light. Two steps finer on the grinder and the strongest aroma setting turned it dense and chocolatey, with a long-lasting crema.

That made it the best espresso in the De’Longhi range at 8.8. Back-to-back shots tasted the same, which isn’t always true at this level.

The thermal milk carafe

The LatteCrema carafe is double-walled, so milk stays cold on the counter for longer. The microfoam✕Microfoammilk foam with bubbles so small you can’t see them. It feels silky, pours smoothly and blends into the espresso. was dense and creamy, scoring 8.9, and cappuccinos came out hot.

You can choose foam density for each drink. A flat white had silky, thin foam; a cappuccino had a tall, stable cap.

Profiles and screen

Three profiles remember each person’s drinks. The touchscreen is bright and logical, with large icons and clear prompts.

The Dinamica Plus touchscreen is clear and responsive.

Iced drinks

Iced coffee brews a stronger, shorter coffee designed to pour over ice. It was pleasant and not watery, though it doesn’t match true cold brew.

Living with it day to day

Each morning, the Dinamica Plus rinses itself on startup, then it’s ready in about 40 seconds. My routine was espresso for me, a cappuccino for my partner, then a Clean cycle on the carafe, all in under four minutes.

The front-loading tank and grounds drawer meant I never had to move the machine. That matters more than it sounds under low wall cabinets.

What to know before you buy

The Bluetooth app is slow to connect and adds little. The carafe needs a Clean cycle after each use and a full wash daily.

If you want great espresso, great milk and profiles from one slim machine, the Dinamica Plus is the best De’Longhi.

The Eletta Explore makes hot lattes, iced cappuccinos and a quick cold brew from the same compact body. It made the best milk drinks in the range, hot or cold, scoring 9.1.

It’s also the quietest De’Longhi I tested. The app is slow, and the milk carafes need regular hand cleaning.

Cold brew in minutes

The Eletta Explore uses cold extraction✕Cold extractionbrewing coffee with room-temperature water at low pressure over a few minutes. It gives a smooth, low-bitterness iced coffee without waiting overnight. to brew coffee without heat. My cold brew was smooth, sweet and low in bitterness, and it was ready in minutes rather than overnight.

Iced lattes with cold foam were the highlight. The cold carafe whips cold milk into a thick topping that floats on an iced drink.

Hot milk drinks

The hot carafe made dense, glossy foam for cappuccinos and flat whites. Combined with the cold carafe, the milk score of 9.1 was the best in the range.

Espresso

The espresso was good rather than great, scoring 8.4. With a dose of up to 16 grams, though, long coffees and americanos were full and strong.

Cold foam on an iced latte was the Eletta’s standout drink.

Our tip: Keep the cold carafe in the fridge door, so cold foam is always one press away.

Quiet mornings

The grinder stayed under 65 decibels in my tests. That’s quiet enough not to wake someone in the next room.

Using the app

The app lets you build and save custom recipes, including iced ones. It connects slowly, so I used it to set up favorites once and then stuck to the touchscreen.

What to know before you buy

Two milk carafes mean two things to clean, and both need a hand wash daily. The app works, but slowly.

If iced coffee is as important to you as hot, the Eletta Explore is the De’Longhi to buy.

The Magnifica Duo is the most versatile De’Longhi I tested. It grinds, brews and froths at one touch, and it takes cold drinks as seriously as hot ones.

It made the strongest automatic espresso I measured in its class. The grinder is loud, though, and you’ll be storing two milk carafes.

Strong espresso

With a medium-dark blend on the strongest setting, the espresso was bold and full-bodied. In long drinks, it held its strength better than any other De’Longhi.

Hot and cold milk

One carafe makes hot foam, and the other makes cold foam for iced drinks. My iced cappuccinos had a thick, sweet topping, and hot cappuccinos had a creamy cap.

Our tip: Pour iced drinks into a tall glass with ice first, then let the machine add coffee and cold foam on top.

Versatility

From a ristretto to a long iced latte, the Duo covered every drink I tried. That breadth is why it scored 9.4 for versatility, the highest in this guide.

Two milk carafes cover hot and cold drinks.

A full dose✕Dosethe weight of ground coffee used for one brew. A classic double shot uses roughly 14 to 18 grams. for long drinks

The Duo puts more coffee into long drinks than most automatic machines. My 10-ounce iced latte still tasted of coffee once the ice melted, which is where weaker machines fall apart.

It’s a machine for people who drink a lot of different things. If you only drink cappuccinos, it’s more machine than you need.

What to know before you buy

The grinder is the loudest in the range. Two carafes also take up fridge space and need daily cleaning.

If you want strong espresso and serious cold drinks from one machine, the Magnifica Duo is a great choice.

The Rivelia is the De’Longhi for a household that switches beans. It ships with two bean hoppers that swap in seconds, and it purges the grinder so the next cup isn’t a blend.

It also has four profiles and the easiest touchscreen in the range. Its espresso is smooth rather than intense.

Bean switching

I kept espresso beans in one hopper and decaf in the other. Swapping took about 20 seconds, and the first decaf cup tasted like decaf.

A few grounds stay in the grinder path. For strict caffeine needs, use the pre-ground chute for decaf.

Espresso and milk

The espresso was smooth, nutty and low in bitterness. The LatteCrema carafe made creamy foam at around 60°C.

The Rivelia’s profiles put each person’s drinks first.

The bean switch in practice

The purge uses a few grams of beans each swap. Over four weeks of daily switching, that added up to about one cup’s worth of beans a week, which felt like a fair trade for the convenience.

What to know before you buy

The 1.4-liter tank is the smallest of my picks. If you never switch beans, the Dinamica Plus is better value.

For regular-and-decaf households, the Rivelia is the smartest De’Longhi.

The Magnifica Evo is the best-value De’Longhi with one-touch milk. It uses the same proven brew unit and LatteCrema carafe as pricier models, behind a clean touch panel.

Its MyLatte✕MyLattea De’Longhi button that makes a milk drink sized to your cup. You set the coffee and milk amounts once, and it remembers them. button makes a milk drink sized to any cup. There’s no hot milk button and no profiles, though.

Espresso

The espresso was rich and repeatable, scoring 8.5. With a step or two finer on the grinder, it rivaled the Dinamica Plus in a cappuccino.

LatteCrema milk

Foam was dense and hot, scoring 8.4. Cappuccinos and latte macchiatos came out at a good temperature with a creamy texture.

Our tip: Set up MyLatte for your favorite mug on day one, so a perfectly sized latte is one press away.

The Evo uses the same LatteCrema carafe as pricier models.

Who it suits best

The Evo is ideal for a couple who both drink lattes or cappuccinos and don’t need profiles. It’s also the machine I’d suggest to someone upgrading from capsules who wants one-touch milk without a learning curve.

The conical burr grinder✕Conical burr grindertwo cone-shaped grinding rings, one inside the other, that crush beans to an even size. Even grounds extract evenly, so the cup tastes less bitter and less sour. is the same 13-step unit as the Dinamica Plus, so espresso quality is very close once you grind a little finer.

What to know before you buy

There’s no hot milk button for hot chocolate, and no profiles. The touch panel is simple, which some people prefer.

For one-touch milk drinks without paying for a touchscreen, the Magnifica Evo is the best value.