Switzerland · since 1986
Two systems, and only one of them stays cheap
Judging a Nespresso machine on the machine is the wrong end of the problem. The machine costs between eighty and two hundred once. The capsules cost that every couple of months for the rest of its life, and at three cups a day they outspend the machine before the summer is out.
So the only question that matters is which system, and specifically who is allowed to sell you capsules for it.
Original uses the small conical capsules, and its key patents have expired — which is why supermarkets, independent roasters and dozens of brands sell compatible pods at roughly a third of Nespresso’s price. Good third-party capsules are close in quality, and some small roasters are better because they fill to order.
Vertuo spins the capsule rather than pressing water through it, and it makes genuinely better long black coffee than any pressure-based capsule system — thick crema on a 230 ml cup, which the Original line cannot do. It is also patent-protected, so alternatives barely exist and Nespresso sets the price for the life of your machine.
Drink espresso, buy Original. Drink mugs, buy Vertuo and accept the supplier.
4 modes · hot & cold froth · 240 ml
Pour milk in, press once, walk away. It makes better foam than most people manage by hand, handles oat milk properly, and the whole jug goes under a tap.
Best for: A capsule or black-coffee machine owner who wants cappuccino without a steam wand.
≈ $130 / £90 / 100 €
2 modes · hot & cold · 240 ml
The Aeroccino 4 without the two extra modes and without the price. If all you want is hot foam and cold foam, this does exactly that with the same non-stick jug and the same fifteen-second clean.
Best for: A capsule machine owner who wants cappuccino without paying for four modes.
≈ $100 / £70 / 75 €
Original system · 0.6 L · 11 cm wide
Eleven centimetres wide, twenty-five seconds to heat, and it takes the Original capsules that dozens of brands make. The cheapest sensible way into the system that stays cheap to run.
Best for: A small kitchen, a studio flat, an office desk, or a second machine.
≈ $150 / £80 / 90 €
19 bar · Original system · 1 L tank
The Original system, where the patents expired and everyone makes capsules. The machine is unremarkable; the point is that you can buy pods from a supermarket at a third of Nespresso's price.
Best for: Espresso and lungo drinkers who want capsule convenience without capsule prices.
≈ $190 / £150 / 160 €
Centrifusion · 5 cup sizes · 54 % recycled plastic
The Vertuo machine with the full range of cup sizes, up to a 414 ml carafe. Same excellent long coffee, same single-supplier capsules, in a body made largely from recycled plastic.
Best for: Someone who drinks large black coffee and occasionally wants a carafe.
≈ $180 / £130 / 140 €
Centrifusion · barcode-read capsules · 4 cup sizes
Spins the capsule instead of pressing water through it, which makes genuinely good long black coffee — and locks you into a closed capsule system with almost no third-party competition.
Best for: Someone who drinks mugs of black coffee and wants zero decisions.
≈ $100 / £80 / 90 €
