De'Longhi Magnifica XS vs Magnifica Evo: old favorite vs new model

Magnifica XS vs Magnifica Evo at a glance

Head to head

The better result in each row is marked, based on my testing and De'Longhi's specifications. Rows where the two machines are identical have no winner.

Keep in mind that the tally is not my verdict. For most people, the milk row decides everything.

Design, size and build

Side by side, you can see the family resemblance. Both are slim, upright machines with the bean hopper on top, the spouts in the middle and the water tank at the front.

The Magnifica XS measures about 9.4 inches wide, 17 inches deep and 13.8 inches tall, and weighs around 20 pounds. The Magnifica Evo is a hair bigger at about 9.45 × 17.3 × 14.2 inches and around 21 pounds.

Both slide under standard wall cabinets. On both, you'll want to pull the machine forward to fill the bean hopper.

The Magnifica XS keeps the classic De'Longhi face with dials and buttons.

The faces are where they differ. The XS has two dials, a row of buttons and a set of warning lights. The Evo replaces most of that with a flat touch panel and clear drink icons.

The Evo's coffee spouts slide from small espresso cups up to mugs about 5.5 inches tall. In my test, its top surface reached about 100°F after 20 minutes of use, which warms cups nicely.

Height on the counter

Both fit under standard 18-inch wall cabinets.

Our tip: Keep the Evo's carafe in the fridge between drinks, because cold milk foams better and you won't need to wash it as often.

Controls and setup

Setup took about 15 minutes on both. You fill the tank, set water hardness, add beans and let the machine rinse.

After that, the experience splits. The XS uses buttons and warning lights, and some of the lights mean different things depending on whether they flash or stay on.

I kept the manual nearby for the first week. Once I knew the codes, it was simple, but guests found it confusing.

The Evo's touch panel shows every drink as a clear icon.

The Evo's touch panel shows each drink as an icon, with strength and size buttons beside it. From a cold start, it was ready in about 38 seconds, including a short automatic rinse.

It also lets you change coffee temperature, water hardness, auto-off and the beep. Neither machine has user profiles.

Our tip: Set the Evo's auto-off to 30 minutes if you only drink coffee in the morning, because it heats up in under 40 seconds and there's no need to keep it warm.

The drink menu

The XS keeps things simple: espresso and long coffee, in one-cup or two-cup sizes. Americano is a manual job, with hot water from the steam wand.

The Evo adds one-touch cappuccino and latte macchiato, plus a MyLatte button, an Over Ice coffee and hot water. That's seven drinks, with milk drinks handled by the carafe.

One-touch drinks on each menu

Counted from each machine's buttons. Two-cup versions are not counted separately.

MyLatte was the Evo button I used most. You pour in just the milk you want, from about 2 fluid ounces for a cortado✕CortadoA small drink of espresso cut with roughly the same amount of warm milk, with very little foam. to a full carafe for a big latte, and it makes the drink to match.

Over Ice brews a stronger, shorter coffee for a glass of ice. I rated it 7.8 out of 10, which is pleasant on a warm afternoon but not a reason to buy the machine.

How I rated each Magnifica Evo drink

My scores out of 10 by the end of the test.

MyLatte makes a milk drink of any size, from cortado to big latte.

Our tip: Pour exactly the milk you want into the Evo carafe before pressing MyLatte, because the drink is built around however much milk is in there.

Grinder and dose

Both machines use steel conical burrs✕Conical burrsTwo cone-shaped grinding parts, one inside the other. Beans are crushed between them, and the gap sets how fine the coffee is. with 13 grind settings, numbered on a knob inside the bean hopper. Both hoppers hold about 8.8 ounces.

On the XS, most medium roasts landed between settings 3 and 5. With a medium-dark blend, setting 4 was my everyday choice.

On the Evo, moving from the middle of the range down to setting 3 made the biggest difference to my espresso. I measured its dose at each strength level:

Magnifica Evo dose per single espresso

Measured from the ground coffee at each strength level.

At 15 grams, the espresso had real body and sweetness. At 9 grams, it tasted thin, so I kept both machines at or near their strongest setting for espresso.

On both machines the grind knob sits inside the bean hopper.

Our tip: Only turn the grind knob while the grinder is running on either machine, because turning it with the burrs stopped can jam beans and stress the gears.

Espresso quality

Both use De'Longhi's proven brew unit and a 15-bar pump, and both made rich espresso for fully automatic machines.

On the XS, a medium-dark blend at grind setting 4 and the strength dial near maximum gave a dense, hazelnut-colored crema✕CremaThe golden, foamy layer on top of a fresh espresso. It forms when pressure pushes oils and gases out of the coffee. that held for a couple of minutes. The flavor was round and chocolatey with very little bitterness.

On the Evo, grind setting 3 and high strength gave a consistent crema and a full, aromatic body. My espressos landed at around 8 percent TDS✕Total dissolved solids (TDS)The share of the drink that is dissolved coffee. Most espresso falls between about 8 and 12 percent; higher means stronger., a balanced result for an automatic machine.

The Evo's espresso was rich and repeatable at grind 3 and high strength.

In a blind taste, I picked the XS shot slightly more often for its body. The difference was small enough that most people won't notice it in a cappuccino.

Magnifica Evo espresso temperature in the cup

Measured right after brewing, with a warmed cup.

My espresso ratings

My scores out of 10 for body, crema, flavor and consistency.

Long coffee and Americano

Both have a long coffee button, which brews a bigger cup through the grounds. It's a fine mug, but pushing that much water through one puck tends to taste flatter and more bitter than espresso topped with water.

On the XS, I made Americanos by hand: a double espresso, then hot water from the steam wand. It took about a minute longer but tasted cleaner.

On the Evo, I did the same with its hot water function. Its Coffee button has a default of about 100 ml, which I rated 7.0 out of 10, a step behind its espresso.

On the XS, a double espresso topped with hot water made the better mug.

Our tip: Brew the espresso first and add the water second on either machine, because pouring water onto the crema keeps more of its texture and aroma.

Milk drinks: steam wand vs LatteCrema

This is the heart of the matchup.

Magnifica XS: a classic steam wand

The XS has a manual steam wand with a frothing sleeve. With the sleeve on, it blows big, bubbly foam. With the sleeve off, it can make proper microfoam✕MicrofoamMilk foam with bubbles so small you can barely see them. It feels silky and glossy, which is what a good flat white needs..

My foam got better every week as I learned the technique. Here's how it went:

My Magnifica XS foam quality over the test

Rated out of 10 for texture and pourability.

Magnifica Evo: LatteCrema at one touch

The Evo's LatteCrema✕LatteCrema systemDe'Longhi's automatic milk system. A carafe clicks onto the front, the machine draws milk in, heats it with steam and mixes in air. carafe clicks onto the front. You press Cappuccino and it makes dense, even foam and pours it straight into the cup.

Milk came out at about 140°F, which keeps it tasting sweet. My cappuccino scored 8.8, the best drink on the machine.

The Evo's LatteCrema carafe made dense, sweet foam at one touch.

How each milk foamed on the Magnifica Evo

My ratings out of 10 for texture and stability.

There's one gap: the Evo has no hot milk button, and its X2 button makes two coffees at once but not two milk drinks.

Hot water and tea

If someone in your home drinks tea, both machines can help, but in different ways.

On the XS, hot water comes out of the steam wand. It works fine for tea and Americanos, but you need to purge the wand first if you've just steamed milk, or the water picks up a milky taste.

On the Evo, hot water has its own button and comes through the carafe connector when the carafe is removed. It's cleaner for tea and easier for guests.

Neither replaces a kettle for a big pot. Each pour is cup-sized, so a large teapot means a few presses.

Our tip: Purge the XS steam wand for two seconds into the drip tray before pouring tea water, because it clears any milk left in the tip.

Living with them long term

The XS has been on sale for many years, which counts for something. Its brew unit, grinder and pump are well understood, spare parts are easy to find and the routine is about as simple as fully automatic coffee gets.

The Evo is the newer design, but it builds on the same brew unit and grinder. What's new is mostly on the outside: the touch panel, the carafe and the drink programs.

In my four weeks, neither machine missed a beat. Nothing leaked, rattled or threw an unexpected error, and the drinks on day 28 tasted the same as in week two.

The bigger long-term question is how you'll drink coffee in a year. If milk drinks become a daily habit, the Evo will feel like the better buy every morning. If you stick to espresso, the XS will feel like the smarter one.

The XS's simple routine is part of why it has stayed popular for so long.

Cleaning and upkeep

Both have a removable brew unit✕Brew unitThe part that compresses the ground coffee, holds it while water passes through and then ejects the used puck. you rinse in the sink once a week. Both rinse their spouts on startup and shutdown.

On the Evo, I measured about 1.9 fluid ounces of rinse water on startup and about 0.6 on shutdown. Keep a cup under the spouts or the drip tray fills quickly.

The XS is the quicker machine to keep clean if you drink black coffee, because there's nothing else to wash. With milk, you wipe and purge the steam wand after each drink.

My daily hands-on cleaning time

My estimates, including wiping the wand or rinsing the carafe.

A full descale took about 45 minutes on the Evo, most of which you can walk away from. The XS was similar.

Both machines have a brew unit you can pull out and rinse in the sink.

Our tip: Wipe the XS steam wand with a damp cloth the second you finish steaming, because milk bakes onto the hot tip within a minute.

Noise

Both are typical De'Longhi machines: a short, loud grind and a quieter brew.

On the Evo, I measured 70 to 71 dB during the first 5 to 6 seconds of grinding, 60 to 62 dB while frothing milk and about 60 dB during extraction. The XS grinder sounded the same to my ear.

Noise levels I measured on the Magnifica Evo

About a foot from the machine.

The XS steam wand adds a classic hiss for 40 seconds or so per milk drink. The Evo's carafe is quieter.

Our tip: Grind first thing in the morning only once the house is up, because at about 70 dB the first few seconds of grinding carry through an open-plan home.

Water, beans and supplies

Both machines have a 60-ounce tank and an 8.8-ounce hopper, and both use the same De'Longhi filter, descaler and cleaning products.

For two people, the Evo's tank lasted about two days. The XS went a little further, because steaming milk uses less water than the carafe's rinse cycles.

Drinks per full tank

Rough maths from a 60 oz tank, allowing for rinses.

Both grounds drawers held around 14 pucks, so I emptied them every couple of days.

Use fresh whole beans within a few weeks of the roast date. Medium and medium-dark roasts worked best on both, and both have a pre-ground chute for occasional decaf.

Same 60 oz tank, same hopper, same supplies on both machines.

Spent coffee pucks from either machine make a useful addition to a compost pile in small amounts.

Real-life scenarios

Specs only go so far. These are the situations where one machine clearly pulled ahead during my testing.

For daily milk drinks, the Evo was the machine my household reached for.

My scorecard

These are my own scores out of 10. The first four come from my single reviews of each machine, and I added drink range and simplicity because they decide this matchup.

Magnifica XS

Magnifica Evo

Overall, I rate the Magnifica XS 7.9 and the Magnifica Evo 8.3. The espresso is a near tie; the Evo's carafe and clearer controls are what earn it the higher score.

Which one should you buy?

It comes down to one question: will you make milk drinks most days? Answer that honestly and the choice makes itself. If none of these is quite right for you, my guide to the best super-automatic espresso machines covers the rest of the range I’ve tested.

If you're comparing across brands, my Philips 3200 vs Magnifica Evo comparison pits the Evo against a popular alternative, and my best De'Longhi super-automatic guide ranks every model I tested.

For black coffee drinkers who value simplicity, the XS is still a great buy.

Magnifica XS vs Magnifica Evo specifications

From manufacturer specifications and my own testing.

How I tested and compared them

I used each machine as my everyday coffee maker for four weeks, making espresso, long coffee, Americanos, cappuccinos, lattes and cortados, plus Over Ice coffee on the Evo.

I weighed doses at each strength level, measured espresso and milk temperatures with a probe thermometer, took decibel readings and tracked my steaming progress on the XS week by week.

I foamed whole, semi-skimmed, skim, barista oat and almond drinks, ran every cleaning and descaling routine and compared my notes with De'Longhi's specifications and owner documentation. Michael Reynolds wrote up the notes from both test periods.

• Coffee: dose, crema, body and consistency.
• Milk: foam texture, temperature and effort.
• Workflow: controls, drink menu and warm-up.
• Ownership: noise, cleaning, water care and footprint.