Jura ENA 8 vs S8: compact or full-size?

ENA 8 vs S8 at a glance

Head to head

The better result in each row is marked, based on my testing and the manufacturer specs. Rows where the two machines are level have no winner.

Keep in mind that the tally is not my verdict. Some rows matter far more than others, and which ones matter depends on what you drink.

What the ENA 8 and S8 have in common

These two sit at different sizes but share a lot of Jura’s technology, so it helps to start there.

Both are fully automatic bean-to-cup machines with Jura’s Pulse Extraction Process✕Pulse Extraction Process (P.E.P.)Instead of pushing water through the coffee in one steady stream, the machine sends it in short, rapid pulses. It helps short drinks like espresso extract more evenly., a thermoblock that heats quickly and the same family of conical-burr grinders.

Both make one-touch cappuccinos and flat whites, both offer hot water for tea, both have color touchscreens and both recognize Jura’s water filters automatically.

Both even make the same number of drinks. So this is not about features on a list. It is about size, capacity, the strength of the espresso and how much control you get over milk.

If your kitchen can fit either, the S8 has the edge. If it can only fit one, that decides it for you.

Design, size and build

This is the heart of the comparison.

The Jura ENA 8 measures about 10.7 inches wide, 12.7 inches tall and 17.5 inches deep, and weighs about 20.7 lb. Its tall, narrow water tank sits at the back and gives it the shape people recognize from across the room.

The Jura S8 measures about 11 inches wide, 13.8 inches tall and 17.3 inches deep, and weighs about 22 lb. Its big touchscreen dominates the front, and its tank sits on the side.

The ENA 8’s compact body and tall rear tank make it the statement machine of the two.

Height on the counter

Lower is easier under wall cabinets.

On paper, the difference looks small. Under my low wall cabinets, it was not. The ENA 8 left room to lift the hopper lid without moving it, while the S8 needed a short pull forward.

The tank position matters too. The ENA 8 needs a little room behind it, the S8 a few inches to one side. Think about where the machine will actually sit.

Our tip: Measure the gap under your wall cabinets before buying, because that extra inch is often what decides between these two.

Both look premium. The ENA 8 is the one guests comment on, while the S8’s big glass screen gives it a modern, high-end look.

Water tank, hopper and dose

Capacity is where the S8 pulls clearly ahead.

The S8 holds about 64 ounces of water and 10 ounces of beans, with a grounds bin for about 16 pucks. The ENA 8 holds about 37 ounces of water and 4.4 ounces of beans, with a bin for about 10 pucks.

The dose✕DoseThe weight of ground coffee used for one brew. A bigger dose gives a stronger, fuller drink. differs too. The S8 takes up to about 16 grams per brew, so a double or a big mug is made in one pass. The ENA 8 takes about 6 to 10 grams, so doubles take two cycles.

Capacity side by side

Manufacturer figures, rounded.

For two people making three or four drinks a day, the ENA 8 was fine, with a water refill about once a day. When family visited, the S8 handled a busy morning without asking for anything.

The S8’s bigger dose also made big mugs faster. A double cappuccino on the ENA 8 took about a minute longer because of its two brewing cycles.

Our tip: Fill the ENA 8’s tank every evening, so the first coffee of the day never stops halfway for a refill.

Touchscreens and controls

Both use color touchscreens, at very different sizes.

The Jura S8’s 4.3-inch screen is one of the clearest I have used. Drinks are big, bright tiles, and ten strength levels let you fine-tune each drink with a tap.

The Jura ENA 8’s 2.8-inch screen is small but bright and logical. I had its settings mastered within a day, and its Wi-Fi made app control easy from the start.

The S8 needs an optional adapter for app control. If you want to start drinks from your phone without buying anything extra, the ENA 8 has the edge.

For anyone with less-than-perfect eyesight, though, the S8’s bigger screen is noticeably kinder.

The S8’s big touchscreen makes choosing and adjusting a drink effortless.

Both screens show maintenance prompts clearly, so you always know when a filter change or cleaning cycle is due.

Grinder

The ENA 8 uses Jura’s Professional Aroma Grinder with 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.. The S8 uses the multi-level Aroma G3 grinder.

Both ground quickly and quietly. In practice, the S8’s finest setting went a touch finer, and combined with its bigger dose that gave its espresso more body.

Both handled medium and medium-dark roasts beautifully, and both kept lighter roasts sweet on a finer setting.

Our tip: Only change the grind while the grinder is running on either machine, so beans never jam the burrs.

Both grinders are fairly quiet, with a short, low burst. Neither ever woke anyone in my small apartment.

Espresso quality

Both make excellent espresso, and the S8 edged it.

The Jura ENA 8 pulled rich espresso with a dense, tiger-striped crema✕CremaThe golden, foamy layer on top of a fresh espresso. It forms when pressure pushes oils and gases out of the coffee. and a sweet middle. For such a small machine, it was genuinely impressive.

The Jura S8 pulled a fuller shot with real body, dark chocolate and caramel, thanks to its bigger dose and finer grind.

My espresso scores

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

The S8’s bigger dose and finer grind gave its espresso more body.

If espresso is mostly a base for flat whites, the gap disappears in the cup. If you drink it straight after dinner, the S8 is the one I would want.

With lighter roasts, both kept their sweetness on a finer setting. The S8’s strength levels made it quicker to find the sweet spot with a new bag.

Long coffee and americano

For big mugs of black coffee, the S8’s full dose is a real advantage. It made a hot, full long coffee in one pass.

The ENA 8 made a balanced long coffee in two cycles. It tasted good, but took longer and filled its small bin faster.

For americanos, the ENA 8’s separate hot water spout worked well: pull an espresso, then add water. The S8 made americanos easily too.

If you drink a big mug every morning, the S8’s one-pass brewing alone may be reason enough to choose it.

Milk drinks

Both make excellent milk drinks, and both make one-touch cappuccinos and flat white✕Flat whiteA short milk coffee with a double shot and a thin layer of silky microfoam. Stronger and less foamy than a cappuccino.s.

The Jura ENA 8’s foam was fine and velvety, a true microfoam✕MicrofoamMilk foam with bubbles so small you can barely see them. It feels silky and glossy, which is what a good flat white or cappuccino needs. that held its texture to the last sip, and its milk system rinses itself after use.

The Jura S8’s milk spout has a lever. One position gives silky latte milk, the other airy cappuccino foam. It pours cappuccinos milk first, so the foam keeps them hot.

For a single favorite drink, both were excellent. For a household that wants lattes one day and cappuccinos the next, the S8’s lever was the more flexible system.

Plant milks behaved similarly on both. Barista-style oat milk foamed well, regular oat and almond made looser foam, and cold whole milk gave the sweetest result.

The ENA 8’s velvety foam punches well above its size.

The ENA 8’s automatic rinse is a genuine everyday advantage. After a cappuccino, I simply walked away, and the milk path was clean by the time I sat down.

Hot water and tea

Both are good tea machines.

The Jura ENA 8 has a separate hot water spout, so tea water never runs through the milk path. The Jura S8 offers a dedicated green-tea temperature as well as hotter water.

For green tea, I slightly preferred the S8’s dedicated setting. For quick americanos and herbal tea, the ENA 8’s spout was just as convenient.

Neither is ideal for very strong black tea, which wants water close to boiling. For that, I kept a kettle on the counter with both.

Cleaning and upkeep

Both have fixed brew unit✕Brew unitThe part that compresses the ground coffee, holds it while water passes through and ejects the used puck.s cleaned with a tablet when prompted, and both track the water filter and stretch the descaling✕DescalingRunning a mild acid through the machine to dissolve the mineral scale that hard water leaves in the heater and pipes. interval.

The ENA 8 rinses its milk system automatically, which keeps daily care light. Its small grounds bin and drip tray need emptying almost daily, though.

The S8’s milk spout comes apart easily and rinsed clean under warm water in about a minute. Its bigger bin needed emptying about every other day.

My cleaning scores

My scores out of 10 for daily and weekly care.

Our tip: Empty the ENA 8’s grounds bin every evening, even if it is not full, so coffee never sits in it overnight.

Over a month, both took about the same total cleaning time. The ENA 8 asked for little and often; the S8 asked for a bit more, less often.

Daily use and noise

On a normal morning, both were quick: switch on, let it rinse, tap a drink and have coffee in about a minute.

The ENA 8 felt like a personal machine, perfectly sized for two people and a couple of drinks each.

The S8 felt like a household machine. A round of four drinks went by without a refill, and the big screen made it easy for anyone to use.

Both were quiet. Neither made the mechanical clunk some machines do, and neither woke anyone in my small apartment.

Guests found both easy, though the S8’s bigger screen explained itself faster.

For two people in a small kitchen, the ENA 8 felt perfectly sized.

Which suits which household

During my test, both served the same three people: an espresso drinker, a flat white fan and a green tea drinker.

The Jura ENA 8 pleased all three, but needed a water refill and bin empty most days.

The Jura S8 pleased all three too, with a fuller espresso for the espresso drinker and fewer interruptions for everyone.

The table makes the choice simple. Up to two people, the ENA 8 is the better fit if space is tight. Beyond that, the S8’s capacity wins.

Guests are another clue. On the S8, visitors found their drink in seconds on the big screen. On the ENA 8, the small screen was easy too, but its tank and bin ran out faster when guests were around.

What a full day of drinks looked like

I logged every drink each machine made on an ordinary Saturday with three adults at home.

The ENA 8 made nine drinks: three espressos, three flat whites, a cappuccino and two teas. It needed two water refills and a bin empty.

The S8 made the same nine drinks, plus a long coffee. It needed no water refill until the evening and no bin empty.

One Saturday, three adults, each machine on a different weekend.

Both made lovely drinks. The difference was how often the machine interrupted the day.

Making either machine work in a small kitchen

Many people reading this comparison are trying to fit a good machine into a small space, so here is what I learned.

The ENA 8 can sit tight between a kettle and a wall, because its tank lifts out from the back. That leaves both sides clear and makes it the easier machine for narrow gaps.

The S8 needs a few inches of space on its tank side, and about an inch more height. In return, it asks for refills far less often, which matters more in a small kitchen than you might think.

In my small kitchen, the ENA 8 felt tidier day to day. The S8 felt calmer, because I touched the tank and bin less often.

If you can fit the S8, I would still choose it. If you would have to move other things around every time you refill, the ENA 8 will make you happier.

My estimates for a two-person household.

Our tip: Keep a jug of filtered water and a spare bag of beans next to the ENA 8, so refills take seconds.

Which gives you more for your money?

In my reviews, the S8 scored 8.8 and the ENA 8 8.4.

The S8 gives you more of everything: a bigger tank and hopper, a bigger dose, a bigger screen, more strength control and a second milk texture.

The ENA 8 gives you the same number of drinks and excellent quality in a much smaller space, plus Wi-Fi without an adapter.

If space is not a constraint, the S8 is the better value. If it is, the ENA 8 is the best machine you can actually fit.

My scores out of 10 from my single reviews.

What I would change on each

On the Jura ENA 8, I would add a bigger water tank and a larger dose per cycle. Even 10 more ounces of water would help couples who entertain.

On the Jura S8, I would include app control without an adapter and let you set milk in volume rather than seconds.

Neither change would alter my verdict. They are refinements to two very good machines.

My four weeks with both machines

Living with each machine for a month showed things a quick test never does.

Week one: setup and placement

Setup was quick on both. Placement took longer: the S8 needed a spot with a little extra height, while the ENA 8 slotted under my lowest cabinet.

Week two: espresso

With the same medium-dark beans, the S8 pulled the fuller shot from day one. The ENA 8 was close, especially with very fresh beans.

Week three: milk

Week three was all milk drinks. The S8’s lever became a habit; the ENA 8’s automatic rinse made its velvety foam effortless to keep up with.

Week four: guests

Family stayed in week four. The S8 handled it calmly. The ENA 8 needed several refills and bin empties, which is the price of its small size.

By week four, the S8 had become the machine for busy days.

By the end of the month, the pattern was clear. The ENA 8 is a superb small-kitchen machine. The S8 is the better machine overall, if it fits.

Beans, water and supplies

Both reward fresh whole beans used within a few weeks of roasting. Avoid very oily or flavored beans, which can clog the grinder.

Because the ENA 8’s hopper holds only 4.4 ounces, a 12-ounce bag lasts about three refills, which keeps beans fresh. The S8’s bigger hopper means fewer refills but beans sit a little longer.

Fill the tanks with fresh, cold water daily, use the filter if your water is moderately hard and skip distilled water. Both use Jura filters and cleaning tablets.

Our tip: Buy beans you can finish within three weeks, because both grinders show off fresh coffee far better than stale.

Common mistakes to avoid

All of these become habits within a week.

Real-life scenarios

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

Lived with side by side, the S8 was the household machine and the ENA 8 the small-kitchen star.

My scorecard

These are my own scores out of 10. The first four come from my single reviews of each machine, and I added two rows that decide this matchup.

Jura ENA 8

Jura S8

Overall, I rate the ENA 8 8.4 and the S8 8.8. The S8 is the better machine; the ENA 8 is the best one for small spaces.

Which one should you buy?

It comes down to space and household size. Small kitchens point to the ENA 8; everything else points to the S8.

If you have the space, the S8 is the better machine to own.

Jura ENA 8 vs S8 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, cappuccinos, flat whites, lattes and tea water.

I counted refills and bin empties, logged a full day of drinks on each and timed my daily cleaning.

I then compared my notes with Jura’s specifications, owner documentation and published test data.

• Coffee: dose, crema, body and consistency.
• Milk: foam texture, temperature and drink range.
• Workflow: controls, menus and daily routine.
• Ownership: noise, cleaning, water care and footprint.