Automatic machines · review
The machine most people should start with. The grinder is ordinary and the coffee is good rather than great — but the brew unit pops out in two seconds, and that single design decision is why these are still running after eight years.
The bottom line Not the best coffee at this price — the best odds of still making coffee in 2034.
The Magnifica line is the reason a lot of people stopped buying capsules, and the Evo is the version worth having. It is not the machine that makes the best cup in this price bracket, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling one. What it is, is the bean-to-cup machine least likely to become a 500-euro paperweight.
That comes down to one decision De’Longhi keeps making and its premium competitors keep refusing: the brew unit slides out. Press two tabs, pull, rinse under the tap, push back. Every machine that brews coffee accumulates oily grounds in the group; the only question is whether you can reach them. On a sealed machine you cannot, so the residue turns rancid, extraction drifts, and eventually you pay a technician more than the machine is worth.
The grinder is where the money was saved. Thirteen steps sounds like adjustment and is really a set of presets — you cannot chase a target extraction, you can only nudge the coffee towards stronger or weaker. In a flat white that is invisible. In a straight espresso it is the difference between good and interesting, and this machine does not do interesting.
Milk is a real choice here. The manual wand rewards a fortnight of practice with textured milk that the automatic system cannot match, and it cleans with a wipe. LatteCrema is right on day one, every day, and asks for a carafe rinse every day in return. Buy the one that matches how you actually behave at 7 a.m., not the one you would like to believe you are.
At 600 $, it is the 2 cheapest of the 6 models in this category published here.
| Burr type | Conical steel |
|---|---|
| Grind settings | 13 steps |
| Brew unit | Removable |
| Pressure | 15 bar pump |
| Water tank | 1.8 L |
| Bean hopper | 250 g |
For milk drinks, comfortably. For straight espresso it is merely acceptable — the grinder's 13 steps are too coarse to fine-tune extraction, so you take what the machine gives you. If black coffee is what you drink, a portafilter machine with a separate grinder at the same total price will beat it clearly.
The machine asks when it has counted enough litres, which is usually every two to three months on medium-hard water. Fit the water filter in the tank and it stretches considerably. Ignoring the prompt is the single most common way these machines die.
The manual wand makes better milk once you can use it, and there is nothing to clean but a wand. LatteCrema is faster and more consistent on day one, but it is a carafe you must rinse daily. Choose by honesty about your mornings, not by price.
8.1/ 10
Not the best coffee at this price — the best odds of still making coffee in 2034.
Someone moving off capsules who wants fresh coffee without a hobby attached.
Same category, nearest prices. Only the specifications every one of them states are shown — a half-empty column compares nothing.
| Model | Price | Brew unit | Water tank |
|---|---|---|---|
| De'Longhi Magnifica Evo | 600 $ | Removable | 1.8 L |
| Siemens EQ.500 integral | 750 $ | Sealed | 1.7 L |
| Philips 5500 Series LatteGo | 800 $ | Removable | 1.8 L |
| Melitta Barista TS Smart | 900 $ | Removable | 1.8 L |
A reference exists on these Amazon stores: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States. Listed is not the same as in stock — availability changes daily.
Details checked on August 8, 2026.
Specifications: manufacturer sheet and Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. No product on this site has been physically tested.
Pulse Extraction · sealed brew unit · 17 drinks
The best espresso an automatic machine makes, from a company that will not let you clean the part that brews it. Extraordinary in the cup, uncomfortable as a ten-year purchase — and you should know both before spending this much.
Best for: Someone who drinks short black coffee daily, values the cup over the repair bill, and will pay for it.
≈ $2,000 / £1,300 / 1 200 €
Bean chambers ×2 · 21 drinks · app control
Two separate bean chambers, so a decaf drinker and an espresso drinker share one machine without either compromising. The app is beside the point; the second hopper is not.
Best for: A household where one person drinks decaf after six and nobody wants to swap beans.
≈ £900 / 950 €
Steel conical burr · 1.2 L · black coffee only
A bean-to-cup machine that deliberately does not do milk, and is cheaper, narrower and simpler for it. If you drink your coffee black, you are paying for nothing you do not use.
Best for: Espresso, lungo and americano drinkers who genuinely never make a cappuccino.
≈ £280 / 300 €
