The average American spends around $3,000 a year on coffee. For perspective, that works out to $250 a month or just over $8 a day. Surprised? If dropping your hard-earned cash on overpriced lattes and lukewarm cappuccinos is something you’d like to address, it may be time to consider investing in one of the best single-serve coffee makers for your home.
If you currently avoid brewing coffee at home because setting a timer or waiting for hot water to slowly drip through your choice of the best coffee beans is too painful or time-consuming, it’s worth being aware those days are gone. Today, the best coffee maker can produce the perfect cup of coffee in a matter of minutes (possibly even seconds).
What Is a Single-Serve Coffee Maker?
A single-serve coffee maker is designed to produce a single cup of coffee using coffee pods or ground coffee.
One of the biggest benefits of a single-serve coffee maker is knowing you are not overproducing the amount of coffee you need. Where carafes full of several cups’ worth of coffee can often end up down the drain, producing coffee on a cup-by-cup basis ensures less water, coffee and power go to waste.
Like the best espresso machines, the best single-serve coffee makers usually offer several programmable options, flavor settings and more, allowing users to find their groove without having to accumulate hours of waiting in line at the local cafe or drive-through. Producing coffee with a single-serve device is as simple as dropping a Keurig pod, an alternative pod or coffee grounds into your coffee maker, choosing your preferred settings and enjoying a quick cup. No mess, no fuss, no problem.
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And while the best Keurig devices are leading the way in single-serve devices, they aren’t the producers of these coffee makers. Below, you’ll find the 21 best single-serve coffee makers available online; we’ve included the best Keurigs and Keurig alternatives to ensure we’ve got a device for every budget and household. And while you’re at it, you may want to glance through our selection of cool coffee mugs. Scroll down to find your money and time-saving home coffee brewing device.
1. Keurig K-Elite
BEST OVERALL
Making delicious coffee is easy with the Keurig K-Elite. The touchscreen display makes navigating through your options shockingly simple. You can control the strength as well as how much coffee you want. If you want your coffee ready right when you wake up, you can program your fresh brew for the morning. The tank holds up to about seven cups of coffee before it needs to be refilled. It’s an easy way to start your day off right.
2. Keurig K-Slim Coffee Maker K-Cup Pod
RUNNER UP
This undisputed king of single-serve coffee makers, the K-Classic, has gotten a makeover and lost a few pounds. The new and improved K-Slim Keurig coffee maker is less than five inches wide, so it’ll fit easily on your countertop. It has a 46-ounce reservoir, so you can brew at least four cups without needing to refill, and it makes three different cup sizes, including eight, 10 or 12 ounces. It has a removable drip tray that makes it easy to fit travel mugs underneath and has an auto-off feature that turns the maker off five minutes after the last brew to save energy.
3. Keurig K-Supreme Plus Coffee Maker
HONORABLE MENTION
Yup, rounding out the top three is, of course, another pick from Keurig. We don’t typically like to feature multiple choices from one brand, but if one company makes many of the best single-serve coffee makers, then we think we have to cover them.
The Keurig K-Supreme Plus Coffee Maker lives up to the hype of a product with the word “supreme” in its name. This coffee maker is large and in charge, with programmable favorites, custom strength and temperature brew settings, brew sizes from four to 12 ounces, a giant 78-ounce water reservoir and back-to-back brewing capability. This makes it great for a single person with lots of different coffee moods or great for families with different coffee preferences.
It’s designed to only work with K-Cups, but if you get a reusable cup, you can use your favorite tea or coffee grounds.
4. Keurig K-Café Coffee Maker
BEST ACCESSORY
The Keurig K-Café Coffee Maker is here to save the day when you can’t live without cappuccinos or lattes. The frother only takes about two minutes to work its magic, making hot and cold milk. If there is still some milk left, slap the included lid on it and store it in the fridge for next time. The frother is dishwasher safe, so cleaning it is just as easy as making those delicious coffee drinks.
5. AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker
BEST FRENCH PRESS
Any coffee snob will tell you it’s difficult to beat a French press. Fill the AeroPress with hot water — unfortunately, you have to boil water separately — and press the coffee down through the plunger. You’re left with delicious French press-style coffee. And this is so compact and lightweight, you can bring this contraption anywhere. Say goodbye to burnt coffee on your next camping trip.
6. BLACK + DECKER Single Serve Coffee Maker
BUDGET PICK
If you like things easy — like, real easy — then the Black + Decker coffee maker is right up your alley. Load it up with coffee grounds and press the button to brew. That’s it, that’s the whole operation. It comes with a 15-ounce travel mug so you can grab and go that fits into most car cup holders. The coffee maker also has practical features like a removable filter basket and a permanent filter you can install if desired. The machine’s parts are dishwasher-safe, and it also has an auto shutoff feature.
7. Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System Auto-iQ
GREAT FEATURES
The Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed system is essentially a personal barista, but at the size of a toaster. You choose how much coffee you want, the brew type (rich, over-ice, etc.), and whether or not you want frothed milk. Yes, it has a milk frother built-in. Not in the mood for coffee? This puppy makes tea as well. It’s literally as easy as pressing a button. It comes with smart basket recognition and six different brew sizes depending on the type of day you’ve got ahead of you. No matter what your caffeine needs are today, this machine covers you.
8. Keurig K-Mini Plus Single-Serve K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker
BEST SMALL PICK
This pint-sized coffee maker is a great choice for small spaces. Measuring less than five inches wide, you can fit it almost anywhere. It can hold up to nine K-Cup pods and is incredibly easy to use. Just add fresh water, pop the pod in a voila! The removable bottom reservoir is the only thing that needs cleaning and is extremely easy to access. What more could you ask for in a pint-sized coffee maker?
9. Chefman InstaCoffee Single Serve Coffee Maker
AMAZON’S CHOICE
With over 3,800 ratings on Amazon, the Chefman InstaCoffee Single Serve Coffee Maker puts plenty of smiles on the groggiest of consumers. You aren’t confined to K-cups or ground coffee, which is convenient when you’re either craving ground coffee or find yourself with only enough time for a K-cup. An auto-cleaning system makes keeping your machine clean and your coffee fresh as simple as pressing a button. And, it’s nice and compact. No wonder it’s a popular Amazon pick.
10. Cuisinart SS-10P1
BIGGEST RESERVOIR
The Cuisinart comes with a large 72-ounce water reservoir that cranks out cup after cup when you need a pick-me-up. There are five different coffee size selections, and it’s compatible with virtually all K-cups. When coffee doesn’t sound delicious (which is hard to believe), you can pour hot water to make tea or hot cocoa instead. It’s a bit big for a single cup maker, but that means more coffee, right?
11. Hamilton Beach The Scoop Single-Serve Coffee Maker
MOST VERSATILE OPTION
This Hamilton Beach model is one of the few single-serve coffee makers that uses a mesh scoop filter so you can fill it with whatever grounds you have on hand. Scoop your java, drop it in the hatch, choose your boldness level and enjoy a hearty brew. In addition to being extra versatile, this coffee maker is also extra durable. If you have little ones running about or a rogue pet who loves to run amok in the kitchen, this is one coffee maker you won’t have to worry about breaking, thanks to its rugged construction.
12. Nespresso Vertuo Evoluo Coffee and Espresso Machine
LUXURY PICK
Not only does this Nespresso Vertuo make a stunning centerpiece, but it’s also an incredibly robust and sophisticated espresso maker. With five cup sizes to choose from, the Vertuo serves up aromatic fresh ground coffee in a matter of seconds. Nespresso’s patented Centrifusion technology sets the coffee maker apart by giving it a leg up in the brewing process. Able to produce faster, fuller and even richer espresso than other machines, each purchase comes with a complementary set of 12 different 12 Nespresso Vertuo packs.
13. Coffee Gator Paperless Pour-Over Coffee Brewer
BEST POUR OVER
While coffee makers are undoubtedly convenient and brew excellent coffee, coffee gurus know nothing can beat the flavor of pour-over coffee. The Coffee Gator Paperless Pour-Over Coffee Brewer is a simple, great tool for home pour-over coffee.
You get a solid glass carafe and a stainless steel mesh filter for easy pour-over brewing. Though this brewer makes a little bit more than a single serving, with 10.5 ounces of coffee, we’ll bet you won’t regret having a few extra ounces of coffee once you get a taste. And you can always use fewer grounds and less hot water if you’re concerned about wasting coffee.
Read More: The Best Pour Over Coffee Filters
14. Presto MyJo Single Cup Coffee Maker
MOST PORTABLE
This single-serve coffee maker from Presto is inexpensive and easy to use; it’s also super portable and easy to bring with you anywhere — from your office to your hotel room and beyond. You fill the reservoir with hot water, insert a Keurig K-cup into the bottom, pump and brew easily. It makes a great single cup of coffee and is easy to assemble.
15. Mr. Coffee Iced and Hot Coffee Maker
REUSABLE PICK
With a brewing time of around four minutes, the Mr. Coffee Iced and Hot Coffee Maker isn’t the fastest single-serve coffee maker in the west. But that’s not what it’s about. This budget-friendly device puts reusability first with a reusable tumbler, straw, and coffee filter. For easy reproduction of your favorite beverages, an integrated measuring system ensures the coffee to milk and ice ratios are always on point. In addition, this pod-free device comes with a handy recipe book to get your creative juices flowing.
16. Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Single-Serve Coffee Maker
DORM PICK
Whether studying or working, this Hamilton Beach 49974 FlexBrew Coffee Maker is great for creating brews in dorms, small kitchens and offices. The compact yet functional design lets you use ground coffee or most pod types to produce single-serve drinks in a coffee cup or travel mug. For ease of coffee production, the device includes an easy-fill reservoir with a built-in window to help prevent overfilling. It’s also supplied with a pod holder and coffee ground basket and comes in your choice of black or red. It has also been awarded over 11,000 five-star ratings from Amazon users who love what it can do.
Read More: 6 Hacks For Making The Most of Tiny Studios & Dorm Rooms
17. Nutribullet Brew Choice Pod + Carafe
FAN FAVORITE
If you already own one of Nutribullet’s best smoothie blenders, you’ll likely want to check out their Nutribullet Brew Choice Pod + Carafe. This user-friendly device allows users to choose between brewing with pods and ground coffee. With pods, you can choose between a six-, eight-, and 10-ounce beverage. Using the carafe, it’s possible to produce a six, nine or 12-cup brew. The coffee maker also includes an easy-to-navigate LED control panel and comes with a 12-cup glass carafe with a removable lid. For more detail on this popular maker, check out our in-depth review here.
18. Mueller Single Serve Pod Compatible Coffee Maker
POD COMPATIBILITY
By being compatible with most single-cup pods, the Mueller Single Serve Pod Compatible Coffee Maker offers versatility few other devices can compete with. Add in the Rapid Brew heater technology, which helps ensure beverages brew at just the right temperature, and it’s easy to see why it’s so popular with coffee lovers. Other notable features in the maker include three cup sizes to choose from, a large capacity, 45-ounce water tank and an energy-saving automatic shut-off. Additionally, several user-friendly, one-touch buttons make this device great for having coffee with friends, colleagues or just by yourself.
19. Keurig K-Classic Coffee Maker
BEST CUP SIZES
The Keurig K-Classic Coffee Maker is an excellent choice for coffee drinkers who like changing the size of their beverage. This popular device lets users choose from three different cup sizes, ranging from six to 10 ounces. It also includes a 48-ounce capacity reservoir for less refilling and can brew beverages in less than one minute. It’s also possible to remove the drip tray to accommodate larger travel mugs up to 7.1 inches in height. Plus, it’s available in either black or rhubarb and has received more than 65,000 five-star ratings from Amazon users.
20. Keurig K-Duo Plus Single-Serve & Carafe Coffee Maker
ALSO CONSIDER
The Keurig K-Duo Plus Single-Serve & Carafe Coffee Maker is a mid-range device that ticks all the right boxes. The versatile device can use either ground coffee or K-Cup pods to produce a single cup or carafe of coffee. Cup size choices range from six to 12 ounces, while the carafe fill can be between six and 12 cups. The maker also features a “strong” button for producing more intense products and features a multi-position, 60-ounce reservoir to better optimize your counter space.
21. Keurig K155 Office Pro Commercial Coffee Maker
BEST FOR OFFICES
Thanks to its extra-large 90-ounce water reservoir, the Keurig K155 Office Pro Commercial Coffee Maker can produce up to 18 cups of coffee, tea, hot cocoa or iced beverage before needing a refill. This larger-than-average capacity makes it ideal for larger households or offices. The device also sports a full-color LCD screen which lets you adjust brew sizes and temperatures. Available sizes range from four to 10 ounces. Additionally, it’s especially easy to drain and remove water from the internal hot water tank if you need to store or transport the device.