The two words are used interchangeably in coffee, and neither has a technical definition that distinguishes them.
The usage
Grinder is the standard modern term, particularly for electric machines.
Mill appears in older writing, in translation from other languages, and often for hand grinders — a “hand mill”, a “Turkish coffee mill”.
In milling terminology generally, a mill reduces particle size by any mechanism, which includes grinders.
Where a distinction is sometimes drawn
Some people reserve mill for burr devices and use grinder loosely enough to include blade devices.
That is a useful distinction to make and it is not standard usage — most people say “blade grinder” and “burr grinder” and mean the mechanism explicitly.
What actually matters
Burr or blade. That is the real division, and it determines whether the device can control particle size at all.
Flat or conical, within burr devices.
Adjustment resolution and burr quality, which determine what it can be used for.
In practice
If someone sells you a “coffee mill”, check what mechanism it uses. Antique and decorative mills are often burr devices of poor precision — fine for a French press, useless for espresso.
The one place the word matters
“Turkish mill” does mean something specific: a brass cylindrical hand grinder capable of a powder-fine grind, which most other grinders cannot reach.
Last reviewed 8 August 2026