Coffee finder & cost calculator
I want great coffee at home.
Find your way to make it. Then choose your machine and see the cost per cup.
1 · Your drink
What’s your usual coffee?
Espresso
Your coffee setup
Hands-on espresso
Grind, tamp and pull your own shot.
Change drink or method
More control over your coffee, with practice and cleanup after each cup.
3 · Your machine
Choose your machine.
Tamper included. Use your own cup and kitchen scale.
Tamper included. Use your own cup and kitchen scale.
Tamper included. Use your own cup and kitchen scale.
Uses Nespresso Vertuo capsules. Use your own cup.
Uses Nespresso Vertuo capsules. Use your own cup.
Grinder and milk system included. Use your own cup; clean the milk carafe after use.
Grinder and milk system included. Use your own cup; clean the milk carafe after use.
4 · Your cup cost
One cup would cost me…
At home · our estimate
Double espresso
$1.08per cup$0.54 coffee & care$0.54 equipment share
Equipment spread over 2 years of use.
At a café · estimated average
$2.97 per cup
Starbucks 
Dunkin’
Could pay for itself in
About 9 monthsReplacing 10 café coffees a week.
Compare complete setups
What changes the cup cost?
Espresso · 2 cups a day · equipment over 2 years
| Setup | New equipment | Per cup |
|---|---|---|
| Bambino PlusSmart Grinder Pro · separate grinder | $699.90 | $1.02 |
| Barista Express ImpressBuilt-in grinder | $799.95 | $1.08 |
| Barista Touch ImpressBuilt-in grinder | $1,499.95 | $1.56 |
| Vertuo Pop+Grinder not needed | $129.99 | $1.38 |
| Vertuo PlusGrinder not needed | $169.99 | $1.41 |
| Dinamica PlusGrinder & milk system | $1,499.95 | $1.60 |
| Eletta ExploreGrinder & milk system | $1,999.95 | $1.95 |
All rows use your chosen drink and daily cups. Equipment you already own is excluded. Ingredients and care follow each brewing method. These are cost estimates; the table does not rank taste or performance. Calculation and assumptions
The pleasure of making your own coffee? Only you can put a price on that.
How we estimate this
One cup uses an 18g coffee budget, plus 10% waste; actual automatic-machine doses vary. No milk is included.
US dollars, before tax. Equipment is spread over 2 years for the cup cost. Payback compares new equipment spending with café purchases avoided, after all home coffee and care costs. Water, electricity and repairs are excluded.
Planning assumptions: beans at $25/kg, 18g per cup and 10% waste; one Vertuo double-espresso capsule at $1.25, or one mug capsule at $1.40. Milk drinks add 150ml at $1.50/litre. Annual care: $30 for espresso or capsules, $60 for a bean-to-cup machine.
The café comparison averages illustrative double espresso budgets: $3.45 at Starbucks and $2.49 at Dunkin’. These are planning assumptions, not current local menu quotes. Portions and recipes vary.
The quiz matches your drink and preferred preparation to a brewing method. It does not predict taste or re-rank products. You can change the method, drink or model yourself. Espresso machines make a longer black coffee by adding hot water; this is not a filter-coffee shortlist.
Models and chart positions come from our current rankings. Equipment prices are dated estimates; check the linked source before buying. Beans, capsules, milk and a cup are not part of the upfront equipment budget. Ingredient estimates are included in the per-cup cost. Older manufacturer reference prices are labelled by date; they are not availability or live-offer claims.
- Breville Bambino Plus: $499.95 · manufacturer reference · 2026-10-14.
- Breville Smart Grinder Pro: $199.95 · manufacturer reference · 2026-10-21.
- Breville Barista Express Impress: $799.95 · manufacturer reference · 2026-10-14.
- Breville Barista Touch Impress: $1,499.95 · manufacturer reference · 2026-10-14.
- Nespresso Vertuo Pop+: $129.99 · manufacturer reference · 2026-10-15.
- Nespresso Vertuo Plus: $169.99 · manufacturer reference · 2025-05-01.
- De'Longhi Dinamica Plus: $1,499.95 · manufacturer reference · 2026-10-15.
- De'Longhi Eletta Explore: $1,999.95 · single offer · 2026-10-28.