Best Espresso Machines with a Built-In Grinder

Our picks at a glance

Best overallTest score 8.6

Ninja Luxe Café Pro

Grinds by weight, tamps for you and froths milk hands-free, with real hot water and cold brew on the side.

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Best for hands-on controlTest score 8.5

Breville Barista Pro

Ready in about three seconds, with 30 grind settings, a shot clock on the screen and a powerful four-hole steam tip.

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Best one-touch with grinderTest score 8.5

De'Longhi Rivelia

A super-automatic with two swappable bean hoppers, four profiles and a one-touch milk carafe.

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Best classicTest score 8.0

Breville Barista Express

The machine that made the category: a conical burr grinder, a pressure gauge and a manual steam wand.

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Least effortTest score 8.0

Philips 3200 Series

Five one-touch drinks, a ceramic grinder and a two-part milk jug with no tubes.

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Prices change often. Click through to see the current price on Amazon.

My test scores at a glance

Every machine was scored on espresso, milk drinks, ease of use and cleaning. For the semi-automatics, ease of use includes how long it took me to make a good drink reliably.

The Ninja and Barista Pro tied for the best espresso and milk drinks. The Ninja wins overall because it gets you there on day one, while the Barista Pro took me about a week of practice to match it.

Our tip: Be honest about how much time you’ll spend each morning, because that decides between a semi-automatic and a one-touch machine.

Why a built-in grinder matters

Fresh grinding is the single biggest upgrade you can make to espresso. Ground coffee loses aroma fast, and within about 15 minutes of grinding, much of what makes a shot taste sweet and complex has faded.

A machine with a built-in grinder grinds seconds before brewing. It also saves counter space and money compared with buying a good espresso grinder separately.

Two very different kinds of machine

There are two ways to get an espresso machine with a grinder. A semi-automatic, like the Barista Pro or Barista Express, grinds into a portafilter✕Portafilterthe handle with a metal basket that holds ground coffee. You lock it into the machine, and hot water is pushed through the coffee inside it., and you tamp✕Tampingpressing the ground coffee into a firm, flat puck. An even tamp makes water flow evenly, which is the key to a balanced shot., brew and steam milk yourself.

A super-automatic✕Super-automatican espresso machine that grinds, doses, tamps, brews and usually froths milk on its own. You press one button., like the Rivelia or Philips 3200, does every step inside the machine. The Ninja Luxe Café Pro sits in between: it uses a portafilter, but it weighs the dose, guides the tamp and froths milk on its own.

Why more people want one

Home espresso is growing fast. A 2025 national coffee survey found 28% of American adults had an espresso-based drink in the past day, up from 24% in 2020, and ownership of espresso machines rose from 8% to 12% of coffee drinkers.

The grinder spec that matters

Every pick uses a burr grinder, not a blade. The number of settings matters less than how fine the steps are: espresso needs tiny adjustments, and a grinder with big jumps between settings is harder to dialing in✕Dialing inadjusting grind size and dose until a shot runs at the right speed and tastes balanced. On a manual machine, you redo it whenever you change beans..

A built-in grinder grinds straight into the portafilter, seconds before brewing.

Who should buy an espresso machine with a grinder?

Anyone who drinks espresso daily and wants fresh-ground flavor without a second appliance. If you’ll only drink milky coffee and never want to touch a portafilter, skip straight to my guide to the best super-automatic espresso machines.

Our picks in depth

Best overallTest score 8.6 · Best for most homes

1. Ninja Luxe Café Pro

The Ninja Luxe Café Pro made the easiest good espresso of any machine in this guide. It grinds by weight, so every double gets the same dose✕Dosethe weight of ground coffee used for one brew. A classic double shot uses roughly 14 to 18 grams., and a built-in lever tamps the coffee evenly for you.

It also steams milk hands-free, pours hot water from its own spout and makes cold brew. The trade-offs are high water use and a drip tray that fills quickly.

25Grind settings

3Brew temperatures

3Hot water temperatures

~2 minFor a cold foam latte

Espresso without the guesswork

On a classic machine, the hardest part is getting the same amount of coffee in the basket every time. The Ninja weighs the grounds as it grinds, then stops at the right dose for a single, double or quad.

Its Barista Assist also suggests a grind change if a shot runs too fast or too slow. By day two, my shots were sweet, chocolatey and consistent, which took me a week on the Barista Pro.

Assisted tamping

After grinding, you pull a lever on the side, and the machine presses the coffee flat and level. It sounds like a small thing, but uneven tamping is the most common reason beginners get sour or bitter shots.

Our tip: Wipe the rim of the basket before locking in the portafilter, so stray grounds don’t break the seal.

Hands-free milk

The steam wand has a thick, non-burn tip and a temperature sensor. Put the jug under it, choose a froth preset, and it stops at the right temperature on its own.

My cappuccino foam was dense and silky, and the cold foam setting whipped cold milk into a thick topping for iced drinks. It isn’t quite as glossy as the Barista Pro in skilled hands, but it’s far more forgiving.

Drip coffee, cold brew and hot water

The Pro is a 4-in-1: espresso, drip-style coffee, cold brew and hot water. The drip coffee was clean and full, and the separate hot water spout made tea and americanos easy.

The hands-free steam wand stops at the right temperature on its own.

What to know before you buy

The machine flushes water before and after drinks, so the drip tray filled in about a day and a half. It’s also tall and deep, so check your counter space.

If you want café-quality espresso and milk drinks with the least learning, the Luxe Café Pro is the best machine with a grinder I’ve tested.

Pros

• Weight-based dosing for consistent shots
• Assisted tamping removes guesswork
• Hands-free steam wand with cold foam
• Drip coffee, cold brew and hot water

Cons

• Uses a lot of water
• Drip tray fills quickly
• Large footprint

Who should buy it

• Beginners who want real espresso
• Latte and cold foam fans
• Homes that also drink drip coffee

Who should skip it

• Small kitchens
• Anyone who wants full manual control
• Purists who prefer analog gauges

Choose this if you want portafilter espresso and great milk drinks from day one. Read my full Ninja Luxe Café Pro review.

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Best for hands-on controlTest score 8.5 · Best for aspiring home baristas

2. Breville Barista Pro

The Breville Barista Pro is the machine I’d recommend to anyone who wants to learn real espresso. It’s ready in about three seconds, shows grind time and a shot clock on a clear LCD, and steams milk faster than any other pick.

You do the dosing, tamping and frothing yourself. In return, you control every part of the shot.

3 secHeat-up time

30Grind settings

54 mmPortafilter size

67 ozWater tank, about 2 liters

Heat-up in seconds

The ThermoJet✕ThermoJetBreville’s fast heating system. It heats water as it flows instead of keeping a boiler hot, so the machine is ready in about three seconds. system heats water as it flows, so there’s no boiler to warm up. I made a flat white within two minutes of switching on, including grinding and steaming.

There’s one catch: the group head needs a quick warm-up flush before the first shot. Without it, my first espresso of the day tasted slightly sour.

Our tip: Run a blank shot through the empty portafilter before your first espresso, so the group head is hot.

Grinding and dialing in

The grinder has 30 settings, finer and more evenly spaced than the Barista Express. The LCD shows grind time to a tenth of a second, so I could repeat a good dose exactly.

It took me about a week to get shots I loved with a new bag of beans. Once there, the espresso was syrupy and sweet, with caramel notes and a thick crema.

The steam wand

The four-hole tip produces a lot of steam fast, and it made the best manual microfoam of my picks. A cappuccino’s milk took about 25 seconds.

It does need technique: keep the tip just under the surface, then sink it once the milk has grown. The first few jugs were bubbly; by the second week, I was pouring basic latte art.

The LCD shows the grind time and the shot timer.

What to know before you buy

There’s no pressure gauge, which some learners miss. You also need a scale for best results, because the grinder doses by time, not weight.

If you want to learn espresso properly and enjoy the ritual, the Barista Pro is the machine with a grinder that will grow with you.

Pros

• Ready in about three seconds
• 30 finely spaced grind settings
• Powerful steam for silky milk
• Clear LCD with shot timer

Cons

• Needs practice to master
• No pressure gauge
• Group head needs a warm-up flush

Who should buy it

• Aspiring home baristas
• Latte art learners
• Anyone who wants fast heat-up

Who should skip it

• People who want one-touch drinks
• Anyone short on morning time
• Households with many users

Choose this if you want to learn espresso and control every shot yourself. Read my full Breville Barista Pro review.

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Best one-touch with grinderTest score 8.5 · Best for push-button households

3. De'Longhi Rivelia

If you want a grinder built in but never want to touch a portafilter, the De’Longhi Rivelia is my pick. It’s a super-automatic: it grinds, doses, tamps and brews on its own, then froths milk at one touch.

Its party trick is two swappable bean hoppers. That made it the best machine in this guide for a household that drinks both regular and decaf.

2Swappable bean hoppers

4Saved user profiles

9.1Ease of use, my top score

1.4 LWater tank, about 47 fl oz

Two hoppers, no mixing

Each hopper lifts off the top. Before you swap, the machine runs the grinder empty, so the next cup isn’t a blend of the old and new beans.

I kept espresso beans in one and decaf in the other, and switching took about 20 seconds. For strict caffeine needs, use the pre-ground chute for decaf instead, because a few grounds stay in the grinder path.

Espresso and milk

The espresso was smooth, nutty and low in bitterness, a crowd-pleaser rather than an intense shot. Milk drinks came from the LatteCrema carafe at around 60°C, with dense, creamy foam.

Profiles and touchscreen

Four profiles remember each person’s strength, volume and milk amount. The 3.5-inch touchscreen is the easiest menu I tested in this guide.

The Rivelia’s hoppers lift off for a bean swap in about 20 seconds.

What to know before you buy

The 1.4-liter tank is small for a busy home, and the carafe needs a rinse after each use. You also give up the control a semi-automatic offers.

For one-touch drinks with fresh-ground beans and easy bean swaps, the Rivelia is the best choice here.

Pros

• Every drink at one touch
• Two swappable bean hoppers
• Four saved profiles
• Very easy touchscreen

Cons

• Small water tank
• No control over the shot
• Carafe needs daily rinsing

Who should buy it

• Households with a decaf drinker
• Families with different tastes
• Anyone who wants push-button drinks

Who should skip it

• Aspiring baristas
• Espresso purists
• Heavy daily use

Choose this if you want fresh-ground drinks at one touch, with easy bean swaps. Read my full De'Longhi Rivelia review.

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Best classicTest score 8.0 · Best for patient learners

4. Breville Barista Express

The Breville Barista Express is the machine that made built-in grinders popular, and it still makes excellent espresso once you learn it. It has a 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., a 54 mm portafilter, an analog pressure gauge and a manual steam wand.

It’s slower and fussier than the Barista Pro. It’s also the most affordable way into proper hands-on espresso with a grinder built in.

16Grind settings on the dial

54 mmPortafilter size

67 ozWater tank, about 2 liters

½ lbBean hopper, about 250 g

Espresso

Once dialed in, the Express pulled sweet, syrupy shots with a thick crema. The pressure gauge was genuinely useful while learning: when the needle sat in the espresso range, the shot usually tasted right.

It has 16 grind settings, which is fewer than newer machines. With some beans, the right grind fell between two steps, and I adjusted the dose instead.

Milk

The steam wand is slower than the Barista Pro’s, taking about 40 seconds for a cappuccino’s milk. That extra time actually made it easier to learn, and with practice, the milk was genuinely silky.

Our tip: Start steaming with cold milk in a cold jug, because it gives you more time to texture the foam before it gets too hot.

Setup and learning

Plan on a few days and a bag of beans to dial it in. Weighing your doses on a cheap kitchen scale cuts that time dramatically.

The analog pressure gauge helps beginners see when a shot is on track.

What to know before you buy

Heat-up takes longer than the Barista Pro, and the grinder needs an occasional clean to stay consistent. You do every step yourself.

If you want to learn espresso on a proven machine and enjoy the hands-on ritual, the Barista Express remains a great buy.

Pros

• Sweet, syrupy espresso once dialed in
• Helpful analog pressure gauge
• Proven, well-supported design
• Lowest outlay of the hands-on picks

Cons

• Only 16 grind settings
• Slower steam and heat-up
• Steeper learning curve

Who should buy it

• Patient learners
• People who like analog controls
• Smaller budgets for hands-on espresso

Who should skip it

• Anyone who wants one-touch drinks
• Busy mornings
• Very light roast fans

Choose this if you want to learn hands-on espresso on a proven, affordable machine. Read my full Breville Barista Express review.

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Least effortTest score 8.0 · Best for simple routines

5. Philips 3200 Series

The Philips 3200 is for people who want fresh-ground coffee with the least effort. It makes five drinks at one touch, and its LatteGo milk jug has no tubes, so it rinses clean in about ten seconds.

Its espresso is mild because the dose is small. If you mostly drink cappuccinos and long coffee, you’ll barely notice.

5One-touch coffee drinks

12Ceramic grinder settings

~8 gMaximum coffee dose, measured

260 mlLatteGo milk jug, about 8.8 fl oz

Grinder and espresso

The ceramic burr grinder has 12 settings, adjusted with a knob inside the hopper. On the finest setting with a medium-dark roast, the espresso was smooth and gentle, with light body.

It never matched the semi-automatics for richness. But it never needed dialing in, and every cup tasted the same.

LatteGo milk

The two-part jug clicks onto the front and froths milk in a small chamber, with no tubes. The cappuccino foam was plentiful and airy.

After each drink, I pulled the jug apart and rinsed it under the tap. That made it the easiest milk system to clean in this guide.

LatteGo’s two parts rinse clean in about ten seconds.

What to know before you buy

There are no profiles, and the milk came out a little cool, at about 55°C. Espresso purists should look at the Ninja or Barista Pro instead.

For simple, fresh-ground drinks with almost no cleaning, the Philips 3200 is hard to beat.

Pros

• Easiest milk system to clean
• Five one-touch drinks
• Ceramic burr grinder
• Lowest effort of my picks

Cons

• Mild espresso from a small dose
• Milk runs slightly cool
• No profiles

Who should buy it

• First-time owners
• Cappuccino drinkers who hate cleaning
• Busy mornings

Who should skip it

• Espresso purists
• People who want to learn barista skills
• Large households

Choose this if you want fresh-ground drinks with the least effort and cleaning. Read my full Philips 3200 Series review.

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My test data: time, skill and grinders

Specs only tell part of the story. These are the numbers I recorded during four weeks with each pick.

Time to a finished latte

I timed every machine from a cold start to a finished latte, including grinding, tamping and steaming. The one-touch machines are fastest; the hands-on machines take longer but give you more control.

My times from a cold start to a finished 12-ounce latte, after the first week.

How long it took to make a drink I loved

This is the number that matters most for a hands-on machine. I recorded how many days it took a beginner in my household to make a latte we were both happy with.

Grind settings

More settings usually means finer steps, which makes dialing in easier. The Barista Pro’s 30 steps were the easiest to fine-tune; the Express’s 16 sometimes left the perfect grind between two settings.

Grind settings on each grinder. The Rivelia adjusts in steps not listed by the maker.

Our tip: Weigh your beans and your shot on a small kitchen scale, because it cuts dialing-in time on a manual machine by half.

Milk temperature

I measured every latte with a probe thermometer. Milk tastes sweetest around 55 to 65°C.

The Ninja doses by weight, which made it the fastest hands-on machine to learn.

Answer four questions about how you like to make coffee, and I’ll point you to the machine with a grinder that fits best.

Or find your morning below

What to look for in an espresso machine with a grinder

These are the differences that mattered most in my testing, in the order I’d check them.

How much you want to do

This decides everything else. If you want to learn, choose a semi-automatic with a portafilter; if you want one button, choose a super-automatic; if you want the best of both, a guided machine like the Ninja is the middle ground.

Grinder quality

Look for burr grinders with fine, evenly spaced steps. For semi-automatics, 25 or more settings makes dialing in easier.

Our tip: Change the grind setting only while the grinder is running, because turning it with beans trapped can jam the burrs.

Dosing: time or weight

Most built-in grinders dose by time, which varies with bean density. Weight-based dosing, like the Ninja’s, gives the same dose every time and makes consistent shots far easier.

Heating system

Fast heaters like Breville’s ThermoJet are ready in seconds. Thermocoil machines like the Barista Express take longer, and a few seconds of flushing helps stabilize temperature.

Look for PID✕PID temperature controla digital controller that holds brewing water at a set temperature, usually within a degree or two. Stable temperature means consistent shots. temperature control if you plan to experiment with different roasts. Every semi-automatic pick here has it.

Milk system

A manual steam wand makes the best milk in skilled hands, and a hands-free wand makes very good milk with no skill. One-touch carafes and jugs are fastest, with a little less control over texture.

Portafilter size

Most home machines use 54 mm baskets, and pro machines use 58 mm. A bigger basket isn’t automatically better, but it opens up more accessories.

What extra money buys you

Espresso machines with grinders span a wide range. This is what each step up added in my tests, and whether it changed the cup.

Up to the mid-range, extra money mostly buys better and more consistent coffee. Finer grind steps, weight-based dosing and assisted tamping all showed up in my cup.

Beyond that, it mostly buys automation and comfort. That’s worth it if several people use the machine and nobody wants to learn, but it doesn’t make a better espresso than a well-used Barista Pro.

Our tip: Spend on the grinder and dosing first, because they change the coffee more than any screen or extra drink.

Where my picks sit

The Barista Express and Philips 3200 are the entry points, and they make good coffee for the least outlay. The Barista Pro, Ninja Luxe Café Pro and Rivelia sit in the middle, which is the sweet spot for most homes.

If you want the premium step, the Oracle Jet automates grinding, dosing and tamping with a 58 mm portafilter. It made my best espresso, but it’s a big jump for a small gain in the cup.

Premium machines automate more of the process, but the cup improves only slightly.

Built-in grinder vs a separate grinder

Many enthusiasts buy a separate espresso grinder. This is how a built-in grinder compares.

For most homes, a built-in grinder is the better choice. It’s simpler, smaller and plenty good for great espresso.

A separate grinder makes sense if you drink light roasts as straight espresso, or if you want to upgrade parts over the years.

A built-in grinder saves a second appliance on the counter.

Maintenance and running costs

A grinder adds a few cleaning jobs. These habits kept my picks tasting good.

1. Flush the group head after each shot

   On the semi-automatics, run a second of water through the empty group to clear grounds.

2. Purge and wipe the steam wand

   Wipe it straight after steaming and purge for a second, so milk can’t dry inside.

3. Brush out the grinder weekly

   Old grounds and oils build up in the chute and make coffee taste stale.

4. Backflush when prompted

   The Breville machines come with a cleaning disc; use it with a tablet when the clean light comes on.

5. Descale on schedule

   Use a water filter and descale when the machine asks, especially in hard water areas.

Beans that work best

Use fresh whole beans within a month of the roast date. Avoid very oily, dark roasts, which clog built-in grinders over time.

Our tip: Buy beans with a roast date on the bag, and use them within four weeks of it.

Common mistakes to avoid

I made most of these at least once. They’re easy to avoid once you know about them.

Other espresso machines with grinders I tested

These all made good coffee. Each one was beaten by a pick that does the same job better, or suits more homes.

For more options, see my guide to the best Breville espresso machines, every model ranked, and my best espresso machines under $500.

Breville Barista Express ImpressAssisted tamping

The Barista Express with Breville’s Impress tamping system. A great step up if you like the Express but hate tamping.

Breville Barista Touch ImpressTouchscreen with guidance

A touchscreen, assisted tamping and an automatic milk wand. Excellent, but a bigger outlay.

Philips Barista BrewBig tank, 58 mm

A 58 mm portafilter, an Americano button and an 80-ounce tank. Steaming is slow.

Ninja Luxe Café PremierGuided, with cold brew

The Luxe Café Pro’s sibling, with 25 grind settings and drip coffee, minus the hot water spout.

Breville Oracle JetFully guided luxury

Automatic grinding, dosing and tamping with a 58 mm portafilter. My top espresso, at a premium.

De'Longhi Dinamica PlusCompact one-touch

Syrupy espresso and a thermal milk carafe in a slim body.