Jura E6 vs E8 

Quick Answer: I’d recommend the Jura E6 over the Jura E8 for the majority of people. The only advantage that the Jura E8 has over the E6 is an expanded menu, and I only think that this is worth paying an extra $800 for if you know you are going to make full use of its additional milk drinks.

This is my comparison of the Jura E6 vs E8.

Since the Jura E8 costs around $800 more than the Jura E6, I’m going to be paying particular attention to the functionalities that the Jura E8 has over the E6.

Hopefully, it can help you determine whether you’d rather spend extra on the Jura E8 or save your money with the Jura E6.

Let’s get started.

Should I Get the Jura E6 or Jura E8 (Quick Verdict)?

The Jura E6 is a better coffee machine for the price than the Jura E8 for the vast majority of people.

The Jura E6 can make just as good espresso and frothed milk as the Jura E8. It only costs $800 less than the Jura E8 because it has fewer menu options.

The Jura E8 can make the following drinks that the Jura E6 cannot:

• Espresso doppio
• Cortado
• Cappuccino extra shot
• Flat white
• Flat white extra shot
• Latte macchiato 
• Latte macchiato extra shot

I’d only recommend the Jura E8 over the E6 if you are going to be making these drinks regularly. 

I think the Jura E8 can only justify its additional cost of the Jura E6 if you are going to primarily use the machine to make the specialty drinks listed above.

Jura E6 Overview

The Jura E6 is controlled by a button-operated LCD screen and has 11 different coffee drinks on its menu.

It can froth milk, and its milk-steaming system is tucked just behind its coffee spouts. You have to turn the dial on the right of the machine to turn its milk spouts on and off.

The Jura E6 brews espresso with Jura’s patented Pulse Extraction Process and also has a smart water system which means that it does not need descaling so long as you change its filters when prompted.

It has a 64 oz water tank and a built-in Aroma G3 Grinder with six grind settings. Its grinder does not have a bypass doser for pre-ground coffee so you can only brew with whole coffee beans.

Its exterior is made out of ABS plastic with a stainless steel finish on its front.

Jura E6 Pros

Can make fantastic black espresso drinks that are on par with the most expensive super-automatic espresso machines.

Excellent value for money – the best value for money Jura espresso machine in my opinion.

It’s the cheapest Jura machine that can still steam and froth milk.

It’s the cheapest Jura machine with an LCD screen.

Jura E6 Cons

It can only make two milk-based coffee drinks so not the best option for fans of these drinks.

You have to start and stop its steamed milk dispenser manually.

Jura E8 Overview

The Jura E8 is operated by the same button-controlled LCD display screen as the Jura E6. 

The E8 has 17 items on its menu.

The Jura E8 also has a built-in milk-steaming system. 

Its milk steamer is on the right of the machine. When the machine makes a milk-based coffee drink it will dispense both coffee and steamed milk from this nozzle on its right (see image below).

The Jura E8 has the same espresso brewing system as the Jura E6, using an Aroma G3 grinder and Jura’s patented Pulse Extraction Process. 

The Jura E8’s grinder has a bypass doser which the Jura E6 does not have so you can brew with pre-ground coffee as well as whole coffee beans.

The Jura E8 uses the same water filtration system as the Jura E6 meaning that the coffee machine does not need descaling if you replace its water filters when prompted.

Its exterior is made out of ABS plastic. It does not have a stainless steel finish on its front (unlike the Jura E6).

Jura E8 Pros

Has 17 menu items including 8 milk-based coffee drinks.

It can both steam and froth milk to make drinks like latte macchiato (the E6 can only froth milk).

It dispenses your milk automatically according to a time that you set in advance.

It can brew whole coffee beans as well as pre-ground coffee.

Jura E8 Cons

Its steam wand does have a small learning curve.

You cannot open up the machine and modify it.

You can see a table of specs for the Jura E6 vs E8 below:

What are the Differences Between the Jura E6 and Jura E8?

There are six differences between the Jura E6 and Jura E8 (excluding cost). 

I’m now going to run through these differences in the order of how important I think they are to the machines’ overall performance.

The Jura E8 has Six More Menu Items than the Jura E6

The Jura E8 has one more black coffee drink, and five more milk coffee drinks, on its menu than the Jura E6.

You can find a table of the two coffee machines’ menu items below:

If you like drinking a wide range of milk-based coffee drinks then you may well want to get the Jura E8 instead of the Jura E6 because it offers far more of these types of drinks.

Can You Make a Latte with the Jura E6 or Jura E8?

You may have noticed that the latte is missing from both machines’ menus.

Neither the Jura E6 nor Jura E8 can make lattes. The cheapest Jura espresso machine that has a latte on its menu is the Jura S8.

Jura says that their machines make lattes by combining 100 ml of coffee with hot milk.

You can therefore make something very similar to a latte with the Jura E8 by selecting a flat white and then customizing it to dispense 100 ml of coffee rather than 60 ml.

Winner: Jura E8

The Jura E8 has a Greater Cup Clearance than the Jura E6

The Jura E6 dispenses both coffee and foamed milk from spouts in the center of the coffee machine. These spouts can be pushed up to allow a maximum cup clearance of only 4.5 inches.

If you make a milk-based coffee drink with the Jura E8, it will dispense it from a spout on the right of the machine. This spout has 6.5 inches of cup clearance.

If you want to use a taller glass for your cappuccino or latte macchiato then you can only do this with the Jura E8. 

These glasses simply won’t fit into the Jura E6.

Winner: Jura E8

The Jura E8 Starts and Stops Dispensing Milk Automatically; You Need to Manually Turn the Jura E6’s Milk Dispenser On and Off

When making a milk-based drink with the Jura E8, all you need to do is select how long the coffee machine should dispense your milk for and it will dispense your milk automatically based on this time.

The Jura E6 has one extra step – you actually need to turn the machine’s milk frother on manually.

You can see a video of someone making a cappuccino with the Jura E6 below (watch from 4:30 – 4:45).

Notice how the person had to turn the dial on the top right of the Jura E6 to activate/deactivate the milk frother? 

Well you don’t need to do this with the Jura E8, it just starts and stops automatically.

Although this is a small difference between the two machines, it does give another reason why the Jura E8 is a more suitable coffee machine for people who drink a lot of milk-based drinks than the Jura E6.

Winner: Jura E8

The Jura E8 Reminds you to Clean its Milk Steaming System After Brewing; The Jura E6 Does Not

Both the Jura E8 and the Jura E6 need to have their milk-steaming system rinsed after every milk drink they make. 

You can see a video on how to do this below:

While this process is nearly the same for both machines, the Jura E8 will automatically remind you to clean its milk system after every milk drink you make.

A warning notice will flash on its screen and you can start the cleaning process with the touch of a button.

The Jura E6 does not remind you in this way. Instead, you have to press the “P” button on its menu and navigate over to the milk system cleaning functionality on its menu. 

You still need to do this after every milk drink that you make.

Winner: Jura E8

The Jura E6 has Higher Quality Buttons than the Jura E8

As I spoke about in my Jura E8 review, one thing that I don’t like about the Jura E8 is the buttons that control its LCD screen control panel.

The E8’s buttons are flat plastic tabs that have no give when you press them. 

They are uncomfortable to press and it’s hard to know when you have pressed them hard enough to activate a response.

The Jura E6 has raised buttons with a bit more give to them. They look like they’d be a bit nicer to use than the Jura E8.

They look like they’d be a bit nicer to use than the Jura E8.

Winner: Jura E6

Jura E8’s Exterior is made entirely of Plastic; Jura E6 has a Stainless Steel Finish on its Front

The Jura E6’s stainless steel finish on its front gives it a slightly more expensive look than the Jura E8.

This does not affect the functioning or performance of either machine, however.

Winner: Jura E6

What do the Jura E6 and Jura E8 Have in Common?

Here are the following features that the two machines have in common.

Espresso Brewing System

The Jura E8 and Jura E6 have the same grinder, and internal brew group and use Jura’s Pulse Extraction Process when brewing espresso.

This means that they will make the exact same standard of espresso.

If you are only going to drink black espresso drinks then I’d strongly recommend getting the cheaper Jura E6 over the Jura E8.

Milk Steaming Performance

Although the Jura E8’s milk-steaming system is slightly more automated than the Jura E6’s, both machines ultimately produce the same quality of foamed milk.

All Jura espresso machines with built-in milk steaming produce the same quality of foamed milk, with barista and coffee YouTuber James Hoffmann saying that they produce the best milk foam of any super-automatic espresso machine.

Drink Customizations

Both the Jura E6 and the Jura E8 let you customize your drinks in the following ways:

• Strength: Both machines have 10 strength settings, ranging from 5 grams – 16 grams of ground coffee per espresso shot.

• Temperature: Both machines have three temperature settings for brewing temperature and hot water temperature each.

• Coffee size: Your coffee size can be adjusted in increments of 5 milliliters.

• Milk volume: The amount of milk dispensed into your drink can be adjusted by seconds of dispensing time.

Since the Jura E8 has more base menu items than the Jura E6, you can still create a wider range of drinks with the Jura E8 than the E6.

Unfortunately, the Jura E6 does not let you customize milk texture, so you cannot recreate the E8’s drinks that have hot, un-foamed milk in them (like latte macchiato and flat white).

Cleaning Process

Both the Jura E8 and Jura E6 need to have their milk system cleaned after every milk-based drink that you make and need to have their used coffee grounds tray cleared regularly.

Both machines automate more sporadic “deep cleaning” cycles, and these can be accessed by pressing the “P” button on the machine’s control panel.

The only difference in how the two machines are cleaned is that the Jura E8 will remind you to clean its milk system whereas the Jura E6 will not.

Size, Shape, and Design

Both espresso machines have the exact same dimensions and basic design, save for the Jura E8 having its milk dispenser on its right whereas the Jura E6 has its milk dispenser in the middle of the machine.

They both attach to external milk tanks via a silicone tube which to me always seems like a very unwieldy (and potentially very messy if the tube falls out of the milk container) design.

Jura E6 vs E8: Final Thoughts

The main difference between the Jura E6 vs E8 is that the Jura E8 has six more milk-based coffee drinks than the Jura E8.

Unless you are going to regularly make the E8’s additional drinks, then I think you are better off saving yourself $800 and going with the Jura E6.

The Jura E6 can make excellent espresso, Americano, and cappuccino and is the best value-for-money Jura espresso machine out there.

The Jura E8’s wider range of milk drinks means that it justifies its extra cost to people who want to drink lots of different milk drinks on a regular basis.

If you’d like to find out more about Jura coffee machines, please see my roundup of the best Jura espresso machines.