This is my comparison of the Jura E8 vs S8 models of superautomatic espresso machines.
I own the V8 and spent half a day researching other users’ experiences of both these machines online to put together this review.
The S8 tends to be more expensive than the E8, so I’ll be paying particular attention to whether the S8 justifies this additional cost over the E8.
Should I buy the Jura E8 or the Jura S8 (Quick Verdict)?
I would recommend buying the Jura E8 over the Jura S8. The differences between the two machines are marginal and I don’t believe the S8 justifies its additional cost over the E8.
The Jura E8 is one of the best value-for-money superautomatic espresso machines on the market today.
The S8 is still a good machine but offers nowhere near the value for money of the E8.
Overview of the Two Machines
Both machines are superautomatic espresso machines.
This means that to make a coffee you just need to load the machine with whole beans and water. The machines grind the beans, dose out the coffee and water, and brew the coffee for you.
Both machines have the exact same milk frothing system.
You attach its milk frothing system to your container of milk via a rubber tube. Neither machine comes with a milk container.
Below is a table that compares the specifications of the two machines:
| Specification | Jura E8 | Jura S8 |
| Size (Width x Depth x Height) | 17.4 inches x 11.0 inches x 13.6 inches | 23.6 inches x 17.8 inches x 16.3 inches |
| Number of black coffee presets | 6 | 6 |
| Number of milk-based coffee drink presets | 6 | 4 |
| Number of other drink presets | 2 | 4 |
| Temperature settings | Yes – 2 settings | Yes – 3 settings |
| Strength settings | Yes – 8 settings | Yes – 8 settings |
| Milk settings | Two (steamed and frothed) | Two (steamed and frothed) |
| Milk container | Sold separately | Sold separately |
| User profiles | No | No |
| Control panel | LCD screen with buttons | LCD touch screen |
| Bluetooth operation | Yes | Yes |
| Active bean monitoring | No | Yes |
| Water tank capacity | 64 oz (1.9 litres) | 64 oz (1.9 litres) |
| Water Filter | Yes – Claris | Yes – Claris |
| Grinder type | Stainless steel conical burr grinder | Stainless steel conical burr grinder |
| Grinder capacity | 9.9 oz (280 grams) | 9.9 oz (280 grams) |
| Grinder settings | 6 | 6 |
| Used coffee capacity | 16 pucks | 16 pucks |
| Self-cleaning | Yes | Yes |
| Available colors | Chrome, Black | Chrome, Moonlight Silver |
| Buy on Amazon | Buy the Jura E8 on Amazon | Buy the Jura S8 on Amazon |
The key differences between these two machines are:
- The Jura S8 has a touch screen control panel. The E8 has a screen operated by buttons.
- The Jura S8’s menu has names for each coffee. The E8’s menu just uses images.
- The machines have a slightly different selection of coffee types, with the E8 offering you a wider range of milk based-drinks than the S8
- The S8’s metal-looking finish makes it a better-looking machine than the E8
- The S8 is usually more expensive than the E8
The key similarities between the machines are:
- They have the same grinder, coffee brewing and milk steaming/frothing system
- They have the same self-cleaning system
- They have the same water tank, grinder and used coffee grounds capacity
- They have the same water filtration system
- They both connect by Bluetooth to the Jura app so you can programme the machine to make coffees on your phone
Now we know the basics of what these two machines offer, I will compare them across five criteria. They are:
- Functionalities
- Quality of Coffee
- Ease of Use
- Ease of Cleaning and Maintenance
- Aesthetics and Build Quality
- Value for Money
What Types of Coffee Can Each Machine Make?
The Jura E8 offers you a better selection of drinks than the S8.
Both machines make a selection of black and milk-based coffees.
You can find a table of what these are below:
| Jura E8 | Jura S8 |
| Ristretto | Ristretto |
| 2 x Ristretti | 2 x Ristretti |
| Espresso | Espresso |
| Espresso Doppio (2 x Espresso) | Espresso Doppio (2 x Espresso) |
| Cafe Creme (Lungo) | Filter Coffee |
| Caffe Barista (Americano) | 2 x Filter Coffee |
| Cappuccino | Cappuccino |
| Caffe Latte | Caffe Latte |
| Flat White | Flat White |
| Macchiato | Macchiato |
| Latte Macchiato | Hot milk |
| Cortado | Milk Foam |
| Milk Foam | Hot water for green tea |
| Hot Water | Hot water for tea |
The E8 has two more milk-based drinks than the S8, whereas the S8 can make two types of hot water (that vary by temperature) and hot milk.
I will rarely use the machine just to make hot water or hot milk, I’d rather just have two more coffee drinks to choose from.
Therefore I’d argue that the E8 has a better selection of drinks than the S8.
In terms of how far you can customize your coffees, the machines are identical in this regard, except for the fact that the S8 gives you three temperature settings for each drink whereas the E8 only gives you two.
I find that the coffee that the E8 makes is so hot that I need to let it cool before I can drink it, regardless of its temperature setting.
I’m therefore not sure how an additional temperature setting improves the S8 over the E8. I’d much rather just stick to the E8’s wider selection of milk-based coffee drinks.
Functionalities Winner: Jura E8
Quality of Coffee
The two machines have identical grinders, coffee brewing and milk heating systems meaning that they will make very similar coffee drinks across the board.
The Jura E8 and S8 use the exact same technology to brew your coffee and steam your milk.
If they are both set to make the same type of coffee, then these coffees will be identical.
I am really impressed with the quality of drinks that my E8 makes. It particularly excels at making drinks that contain foamed milk (cappuccino is my favorite).
Since the S8 uses the same brewing and milk foaming system as the E8, I have no doubt that it makes just as good coffee.
No matter what machine you choose, you’ll likely be very happy with the coffee it makes you.
Winner: Draw
User Friendliness
The Jura S8 has a much better-designed menu than the E8 making it an easier machine to use.
In my Jura E8 review, I spoke about how I did not like the fact that the machine’s menu only used images to signpost each coffee that you could make.
A lot of these images were very similar, meaning that you could only make a reliable decision in your coffee selection when you knew the order of coffees on the menu.
I commented that the user-friendliness of the machine would be significantly improved if the Jura E8 displayed the name of each drink on its menu.
Well the Jura S8 have added this to their menu.
The other difference between these machines, as far as their UX is concerned, is that the S8 has a touch screen system whereas the E8 has a button-operated control panel.
The general consensus is that touchscreen systems are superior to button-operated ones, but in my opinion, there is little in it between the two systems.
The seemingly small addition of the coffee’s names to the menu is what makes the difference here, putting the S8 ahead of the E8 as far as user-friendliness is concerned.
Winner: Jura S8
Ease of Cleaning and Maintenance
Both machines are really easy to clean and maintain, having self-cleaning modes that do all the work for you. The Jura E8’s milk system is slightly easier to clean, however.
Both the Jura E8 have self-cleaning modes that flush out the machine’s internal pipes.
The machines have a quick flush setting suitable for clearing out the pipes after each coffee, as well as a deep cleaning setting that should be used once every 2-3 months.
The only difference between how you clean these two machines is that to clean the S8’s milk system you need to attach it via its rubber tube to a container of water.
The E8 uses the water from the machine’s water tank to clean out its milk frothing system, so there is no need to attach it to a separate container of water.
This makes cleaning the E8 marginally less work than the S8.
Both machines use a Claris water filter which means that you never need to descale them.
Ease of Cleaning and Maintenance Winner: Jura E8
Aesthetics and Build Quality
The Jura S8 looks better than the E8 and feels less plasticky. This slight improvement in build quality does not make any difference in the performance of the two machines, however.
The Jura S8’s metallic finish makes it a better-looking machine than the E8 which does little to hide the fact that its exterior is largely made out of plastic.
The display on the S8’s LCD screen is also much more bright and crisp than the E8.
The buttons that control the E8 control button feel very cheap and flimsy, whereas the S8 has a touch screen.
Despite these superficial improvements, there is little difference in performance quality between the S8 and E8, suggesting that their internal build quality is very similar.
To be fair to Jura, the E8’s internal build quality is very high, so there was no glaring need to make alterations to the S8.
Aesthetics and Build Quality Winner: Jura S8
Value for Money
The Jura E8 is significantly cheaper than the S8 and although the latter machine is marginally better, this does not justify its additional cost over the E8.
The Jura S8 is consistently retailed at a higher price than the E8.
Most of the time this additional cost of the S8 compared to the E8 is quite large. I just don’t see how a small increase in user friendliness justifies this additional cost.
Value for Money Winner: Jura E8
Final Thoughts
There is very little between these machines, so I would almost always buy the Jura E8 over the S8 because it is the cheaper machine of the two.
You can find a breakdown of how the two machines fared in this comparison below:
| Category | Winner |
| Functionalities | Jura E8 |
| Quality of Coffee | Draw |
| User Friendliness | Jura S8 |
| Ease of Cleaning and Maintenance | Jura E8 |
| Aesthetics and Build Quality | Jura S8 |
| Value for Money | Jura E8 |