This is my Nespresso machine comparison. I will categorize and compare all the Nespresso coffee machines currently available on the market.
I have owned four Nespresso machines and spent two days researching these machines as well as speaking to users of these machines on the (surprisingly active) Nespresso subreddit to put together this comparison.
Best Nespresso Machines
Here are the three best Nespresso machines, according to common use cases:
Best Overall: Nespresso Creatista Pro
Best Affordable: Nespresso Essenza Mini
Best VertuoLine: Nespresso Evoluo
What Are Your Options When it Comes to Nespresso Machines?
The Nespresso machines that I could find on the company’s website can be categorized into four types. These are:
- OriginalLine machines with no milk frothing capabilities
- OriginalLine machines with automated milk frothing capabilities
- OriginalLine machines with manual milk frothing capabilities
- VertuoLine machines
Before we look at the machines themselves, let’s run through how these four categories of machines differ.
OriginalLine with No Milk Frothing Capabilities
These are the smallest and most affordable Nespresso machines.
They take OriginalLine pods and give you two preset serving sizes – Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) and Lungo (3.75 oz/ 110 ml).
These machines do not offer you any other brewing options other than serving sizes. They do not give you any milk heating or frothing functionalities.
You can, however, purchase a separate Aeroccino milk frother with the machine if you want to make milk-based drinks.
The machines that fall into this category are:
- The Nespresso CitiZ
- The Nespresso Essenza Mini
- The Nespresso Pixie
If you just want to make basic black espressos as quickly and cheaply as possible, these are the machines for you.
OriginalLine Machines with Automatic Milk Frothing Capabilities
These are machines that froth and steam milk with just the touch of a button, in addition to making coffee from OriginalLine pods.
With these machines, you fill a dedicated milk tank and have presets for specific milk-based coffee drinks.
The machine will heat and froth the milk internally according to the preset that you have selected. For example, if you select a latte it will dispense more milk than if you select a cappuccino.
Nespresso’s Lattissima range makes up this category. The currently available Lattissima machines are:
- Nespresso Lattissima One
- Nespresso Lattissima Pro
- Nespresso Gran Lattissima
If you want to make milk-based coffee drinks with as little effort on your part as possible, then these machines are for you.
OrginalLine Machines with Manual Milk Frothing Capabilities
These machines also allow you to make milk-based drinks, but rather than steaming and frothing milk internally, you need to steam the milk with a milk wand attached to the machine.
This allows you to completely customize the milk in your coffee, and make latte art.
The Creatista range of Nespresso machines makes up this category. The currently available Nespresso Creatista machines are:
- Nespresso Creatista Plus
- Nespresso Creatista Pro
If you want to make the best possible milk-based coffee drinks, then these machines are for you.
VertuoLine Machines
These brew with VertuoLine capsules rather than OriginalLine pods.
With VertuoLine capsules, each serving size has its own dedicated amount of ground coffee and brewing style.
The quality of coffee from these machines is, therefore, higher than with OriginalLine machines.
The pods are significantly more expensive than OriginalLine pods, and you do not get any milk functionalities with the machine. If you want to make milk-based drinks with the VertuoLine then you will need the Aeroccino milk frother.
The available Nespresso VertuoLine machines are:
- Nespresso Vertuo
- Nespresso Vertuo Plus
- Nespresso Vertuo Next
- Nespresso Evoluo
If you want to find out more about how these machines stack up, please see my comparison of the Nespresso Vertuo Plus vs Vertuo Next and the Nespresso Vertuo vs Vertuo Plus.
If you want to make the best possible black coffee then these machines are for you.
VertuoLine vs OriginalLine – What’s the Difference
When you start looking at the different Nespresso machines available to you, the first choice you’ll likely have to make is whether to go for a VertuoLine or OriginalLine machine.
These machines use different types of pods to make coffee.
Your decision on which “line” of a machine to go for will therefore affect what types of pods you will buy for the duration of your ownership of the machine.
The table below shows the key differences between Nespresso’s OriginalLine and VertuoLine machines:
| Nespresso Machine “Line” | OriginalLine | VertuoLine |
| Available espresso serving sizes | Ristretto (25 ml/0.85 fl oz) Espresso (40 ml/1.35 fl oz) Lungo (110 ml/3.75 fl oz) | Espresso (40 ml/1.35 fl oz) Double Espresso (80 ml/2.70 fl oz) Gran Lungo (150 ml/5.07 fl oz) |
| Available coffee serving sizes | None | Mug (230 ml/ 7.77 fl oz) Alto (414 ml/ 14 fl oz) Carafe (610 ml/ 20.6 fl oz) |
| Milk functionalities | Premium machines have automatic and manual milk heating and frothing | None |
| Amount of coffee in the pod | 8 grams (0.28 oz) | 12 grams (0.42 oz) – 24 grams (0.84 oz) (depending on coffee serving size) |
| Average cost per pod | $0.80 | $1.20 |
The main differences between the two types of machines are:
- Nespresso OriginalLine machines use the same pod size for all its serving sizes. VertuoLine machines use pods with different amounts of ground coffee for different serving sizes
- VertuoLine pods have a barcode on them that “tells” the machine how to brew it. With OriginalLine machines, you have to select the serving size and brewing options on the machine.
- VertuoLine machines can make filter coffee and espresso-style coffee. OriginalLine machines can only make espresso-style coffee.
- More premium OriginalLine machines have milk frothing and steaming functionalities.
VertuoLine machines make better coffee than OriginalLine machines as their range of pod sizes means that you always have the correct coffee-to-water ratio for the coffee that you want to make.
VertuoLine machines are significantly more expensive to run than OriginalLine machines as VertuoLine pods are on average 50% more expensive than OriginalLine pods.
You can find a table that compares the operating cost of OriginalLine and VertuoLine machines below:
| Type of machine | Cost per pod/dose | Annual cost |
| Nespresso OriginalLine | $0.80 | $292 |
| Nespresso VertuoLine | $1.20 | $468 |
| Espresso machine | $0.24 | $87.60 |
In short, if all you care about is creating the best possible black coffee or plain espresso with your Nespresso machine, I’d recommend choosing a VertuoLine machine.
If you want to make milk-based coffee drinks, or just want a quick, inexpensive espresso (without too much concern over its quality), then I’d recommend choosing an OriginalLine machine.
Pros of Nespresso VertuoLine: Makes better coffee, Makes both espresso and filter coffee
Pros of Nespresso OriginalLine: Has milk frothing capabilities, Cheaper to run
For more information on these two lines of machines and how they differ, please see my comparison of Nespresso Vertuo vs Original.
Comparing Nespresso OriginalLine Machines Without Milk Capabilities
My pick: Nespresso Essenza Mini
I would recommend the Essenza Mini as it is the most affordable of these machines.
While the other two machines offer marginal advantages over the Essenza Mini, these differences are not significant enough to justify their additional cost.
The table below shows the differences between the different compact Nespresso OriginalLine machines:
| Specification | Nespresso Essenza Mini | Nespresso Pixie | Nespresso CitiZ |
| Width | 4.3 inches | 4.4 inches | 8.6 inches |
| Depth | 8.0 inches | 12.8 inches | 14.6 inches |
| Height | 12.8 inches (with lid up) | 9.3 inches | 10.9 inches |
| Available Serving Sizes | Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Lungo (3.75 oz/ 110 ml) | Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Lungo (3.75 oz/ 110 ml) | Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Lungo (3.75 oz/ 110 ml) |
| Water tank volume | 21.2 oz (0.6 litres) | 25 oz (0.7 litres) | 34 oz (1 litre) |
| Used pod holder capacity | 6 | 11 | 9 |
| Buttons | Espresso and Lungo serving sizes each have their own button. Both buttons can power the machine | Espresso and Lungo serving sizes each have their own button. Dedicated power on button | Espresso and Lungo serving sizes each have their own button. Both buttons can power the machine |
| Fits travel mug | No | Yes | Yes |
| Available colors | Gray, White, Black, Red, Lime Green | Aluminium (light gray), Titan (dark gray) | Gray, Black, White, Red |
| Weight | 5 pounds/ 2.25 kgs | 6.2 pounds/ 2.80 kgs | 8.9 pounds/ 4.03 kgs |
| Automatic shut off | 9 mins (programmable) | 9 mins | 9 mins |
All three machines use the same pods, make the same types of coffee, and brew with very similar temperatures and pressure.
The quality of coffee from these three machines is therefore very similar.
All three machines have two serving-size presets. These can be adjusted to your preference. The video below shows you how to make this adjustment.
The machines differ in their compactness, user-friendliness, and value for money.
I’ll now run through how these machines stack up across these three parameters.
Compactness
The Pixie is the most compact of all these machines.
The Pixie and Essenza Mini are similar sizes, however, the Essenza Mini has a very tall lid, meaning that its lid up height is taller than both the Pixie and the CitiZ.
The Essenza Mini is therefore the poorest choice if you have limited vertical clearance on your countertop.
The CitiZ is a fair bit deeper than the Essenza Mini and the Pixie. This means that it will “jut out” on your counter and reduce the amount of front workspace you have.
The best option for limited countertop space is therefore the Pixie.
Compactness: Nespresso Pixie
User Friendliness
The CitiZ’s relatively large reservoir makes it a hands-off machine to use than the Pixie or Essenza Mini.
Below is a table showing how regularly you need to change the reservoirs of the three machines
| Machine | Reservoir Capacity | Number of Espressos before changing | Number of Lungos before changing |
| Essenza Mini | 21.2 oz | 15 | 5 |
| Pixie | 25 oz | 18 | 6 |
| CitiZ | 34 oz | 25 | 9 |
One issue that I have found with the Essenza Mini is that you have to remove the machine’s drip tray to fit any mug in it larger than an espresso mug.
The Pixie is a similar size to the Essenza Mini so has a similar problem. I don’t like brewing coffee with the drip tray removed as all Nespresso machines tend to drip for a while after brewing.
Without a drip tray, this will make a mess on the counter.
The CitiZ has significantly more mug clearance than both the Essenza Mini and the Pixie, so this will not be a problem.
User Friendliness Winner: Nespresso CitiZ
Value for Money
According to the Nespresso website, the Nespresso Essenza Mini is significantly cheaper than the Pixie and the CitiZ.
The CitiZ is slightly more expensive than the Pixie, but this difference is far less than the difference between the Pixie and the Essenza Mini.
I just don’t see how the large price hike between the Essenza Mini and the other two machines is justified. The machines all create the same coffee, meanwhile, there are differences in their usability, these are marginal.
Prices online vary, but honestly, if you want to go for an OriginalLine Nespresso machine without any milk functionalities, I would just go for the most affordable machine you can find.
Value for Money Winner: Nespresso Essenza Mini
Overall Winner: Nespresso Essenza Mini
While the CitiZ is the best of these three machines, there is such a big jump in price between the Essenza Mini and the other two machines that I just don’t think is justified.
Therefore I would recommend the Essenza Mini to anyone who wants an OriginalLine Nespresso machine without any inbuilt milk functionalities.
Comparing Nespresso OriginalLine Machines With Automated Milk Functionalities
My Pick: Nespresso Gran Lattissima
The Nespresso Gran Lattissima offers you the widest selection of coffees and has the highest build quality of all these machines. It is also similarly priced to inferior machines, meaning that it offers you excellent value for money.
These machines have a dedicated tank for milk. The heat and froth of this milk internally at the touch of a button allow you to make milk-based espresso drinks.
The Lattissima line of Nespresso machines falls into this category.
The table below shows the specifications and features of the three Nespresso Lattissima machines currently on the market:
| Specification | Lattissima One | Lattissima Pro | Gran Lattissima |
| Width | 6.1 inches | 7.6 inches | 7.9 inches |
| Depth | 12.8 inches | 13 inches | 14.4 inches |
| Height | 10.1 inches | 10.8 inches (14 inches with lid up) | 10.8 inches |
| Maximum mug clearance (drip tray removed) | 4.5 inches (6.5 inches) | 5.5 inches (6.5 inches) | 4 inches (6.5 inches) |
| Black coffee options are available | Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Lungo (3.75 oz/ 110 ml) | Ristretto (0.85 oz /25ml) Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Lungo (3.75 oz/ 110 ml) | Ristretto (0.85 oz /25ml) Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Lungo (3.75 oz/ 110 ml) |
| Milk-based coffee options are available | Cappuccino (Espresso and 1.70 oz / 50 ml of milk) Macchiato (Espresso and 5.00 oz / 150 ml of milk | Cappuccino (Espresso and 1.70 oz / 50 ml of milk) Macchiato (Espresso and 5.00 oz / 150 ml of milk) | Flat white (Espresso and 1.70 oz / 50 ml of milk, milk is less intensely foamed than Cappuccino) Cappuccino (Espresso and 1.70 oz / 50 ml of milk) Macchiato (Espresso and 5.00 oz / 150 ml of milk) Caffe Latte (Espresso and 7.75 oz / 220 ml of milk) |
| Milk options available | None | Plain foamed milk (5.00 oz / 150 ml) | Plain hot milk Plain foamed milk |
| Controls | Espresso and Lungo Serving sizes each have their own button. One button for frothing and dispensing milk (will dispense all the milk in a container Espresso and Lungo buttons also act as the button Descale warning light Cleaning warning light | Each type of coffee has its own button. Plain, foamed milk has its own button Dedicated hot water button to flush out machine The digital display gives you brewing, cleaning and descaling instructions Descale warning light | Each type of coffee has its own button The two milk options have their own button The milk tank has a knob that switches it to “cleaning mode” so water runs through it rather than milk Descale warning light Cleaning warning light |
| Automated cleaning of the milk dispenser | No | Yes | Yes |
| Digital Display | No | Yes | No |
| Water tank volume | 34 oz (1 litre) | 44 oz (1.3 litres) | 44 oz (1.3 litres) |
| Milk tank volume | 4.2 oz (125 ml) | 16 oz (500 ml) | 16.9 oz (525 ml) |
| Used pod holder capacity | 8 | 13 | 14 |
| Available colors | Black, White | Metal finish | Black, White |
| Weight | 9.3 pounds (4.2 kg) | 12.6 pounds (5.7 kg) | 11.4 pounds (5.17 kg) |
| Cleaning warning | Yes | No | Yes |
| Descale warning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic shut off | 2 mins | 9 mins | 9 mins |
Let’s now look at how the three machines directly stack up against each other on four key parameters: functionalities, user-friendliness, build quality, and value for money.
Functionalities
The Nespresso Gran Lattissima leads the way as far as functionalities go.
The Gran Lattissima offers you eight different types of coffee, as well as the ability to make plain steamed and foamed milk to customize your coffees even further.
This puts it streets ahead of the Lattissima Pro which offers you five coffee types, as well as plain foamed milk, and the Lattissima One which gives you only four coffee types and no options for plain milk.
Functionalities winner: Nespresso Gran Lattissima
User Friendliness
By far the most time-consuming parts of using these types of Nespresso machines are cleaning out the milk tank and milk nozzle.
The milk nozzle in particular needs to be flushed out after every use. If you don’t do this then the milk will dry out in the nozzle and leave sour milk residue inside it – gross.
Both the Lattissima Pro and Gran Lattissima self-clean their milk nozzle.
Just switch the machines into “clean mode” and it will run fresh water from the water tank through the milk nozzle to clean it.
The Lattissima One requires you to take apart the milk nozzle and clean it after every use. This significantly adds to the amount of time that it takes to make a coffee with that machine.
The Lattissima Pro and Gran Lattissima also have preset serving sizes for all their coffees.
The Lattissima One, on the other hand, requires you to dose out the milk for each coffee as the machine will use whatever milk you put in its milk tank for each coffee.
This means that for the Lattissima One, you need to add fresh milk for each coffee that you make. This again makes it a far more time-consuming machine to use than both the Lattissima Pro and Gran Lattissima.
User Friendliness Winner: Draw between Nespresso Lattissima Pro and Nespresso Gran Lattissima.
Both machines are far more user-friendly than the Lattissima One.
Build Quality
The Lattissima One feels cheaply built, with its exterior being thin and plastic-y.
You need to remove its drip tray to fit in a glass big enough to dispense a macchiato. This is a big design flaw as the milk nozzle is very drippy after dispensing so you will need to wipe the machine down after every macchiato that you make.
The Lattissima Pro and Gran Lattissima are better designed and built. They feel more solid and do not have the drip tray issue.
Although their exterior quality is similar, the Gran Lattissima is a faster and quieter machine, indicating that its internal build quality is higher than the Lattissima Pro.
Build Quality Winner: Nespresso Gran Lattissima
Value For Money
According to Nespresso’s website, the Lattissima Pro and the Gran Lattissima are similarly priced, with the Lattissima One being significantly cheaper than the other two machines.
In my opinion, the Lattissima Pro and the Gran Lattissima justify their additional cost over the Lattissima One due to their superior build quality and ease of use.
The Gran Lattissima has far more functionalities than the Lattissima Pro.
Considering that they are priced similarly, the Gran Lattissima offers far better value for money compared to the Lattissima Pro.
Value for Money Winner: Nespresso Gran Lattissima
Overall Winner: Nespresso Gran Lattissima
The Nespresso Gran Lattissima is, by some distance, the best Nespresso machine with automated milk frothing.
It offers you the greatest range of coffee drinks of any of these types of machines, as well as having the best build quality.
Given that it is no more expensive than inferior machines, opting for the Gran Lattissima is a no-brainer if you want to make milk-based espresso drinks quickly and easily.
What Froths Milk Better, an Aeroccino or a Lattissima Machine?
You may have noticed that Nespresso machines without milk frothing capabilities are often sold with milk frothers called Aeroccino.
Aeroccino is Nespresso’s own brand of milk frothers. You can find an image of one below:
This begs the question of whether you should purchase a Lattissima machine, or purchase a more basic machine along with an Aeroccino.
To answer this question, let’s take a look at how the Aeroccino compares to the milk frothing devices on the Lattissima machines.
The table below shows how the Nespresso Aeroccino 4 compares to the Lattissima machines:
| Functionality | Nespresso Aeroccino 4 | Nespresso Lattissima One | Nespresso Lattissima Pro | Nespresso Gran Lattissima |
| Capacity | 8 oz (235 ml) | 4.2 oz (125 ml) | 16 oz (500 ml) | 16.9 oz (525 ml) |
| Milk options | Steamed Milk Hot foam Cold foam | Hot foam (with coffee only) | Hot foam | Steamed milk Hot foam |
| Automated serving sizes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Self-cleaning | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Dishwasher safe | Yes | No | No | No |
As we can see, the Aeroccino has more milk frothing functionalities than any of the Lattissima machines.
The Aeroccino does not self-clean or dispense automated serving sizes of milk.
This makes the Aeroccino a more hands-on way of frothing milk than a Lattissima Plus or Gran Lattissima
I’d therefore recommend the Aeroccino over the Lattissima if you do not mind that extra bit of work measuring out milk and cleaning up after every coffee you make.
If you want your coffee making to be as quick as possible, then I would recommend going for either the Gran Lattissima.
Comparing Nespresso OrginalLine Machines with Manual Milk Frothers
My pick: Nespresso Creatista Plus
Although the Creatista Pro does have some slight advantages over the Creatista Plus, this does not justify its large additional price over the Plus.
The Creatista Plus is an excellent machine given its price and offers the best value for money of all Nespresso machines.
The two currently available Nespresso OriginalLine machines with manual milk frothing are the Nespresso Creatista Pro and Nespresso Creatista Plus.
The table below shows the features and specifications of the Nespresso Creatista Pro and Creatista Plus
| Specification | Nespresso Creatista Pro | Nespresso Creatista Plus |
| Width | 16.9 inches | 15.4 inches |
| Depth | 12.9 inches | 12 inches |
| Height | 7.7 | 6.7 inches |
| Available coffee settings | Ristretto (0.85 oz /25ml) Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Lungo (3.75 oz/ 110 ml) Long Black (6.75 oz/ 200 ml) Flat white (Espresso and 1.70 oz / 50 ml of milk, milk is less intensely foamed than Cappuccino) Cappuccino (Espresso and 1.70 oz / 50 ml of milk) Macchiato (Espresso and 5.00 oz / 150 ml of milk) Caffe Latte (Espresso and 7.75 oz / 220 ml of milk) | Ristretto (0.85 oz /25ml) Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Lungo (3.75 oz/ 110 ml) Flat white (Espresso and 1.70 oz / 50 ml of milk, milk is less intensely foamed than Cappuccino) Cappuccino (Espresso and 1.70 oz / 50 ml of milk) Macchiato (Espresso and 5.00 oz / 150 ml of milk) Caffe Latte (Espresso and 7.75 oz / 220 ml of milk) |
| Available milk settings | 8 textures 11 temperatures | 8 textures 11 temperatures |
| Available water settings | Hot water | None |
| Can make coffee and steam milk simultaneously | Yes | No |
| Water tank size | 68 oz (2 litres) | 50 oz (1.5 litres) |
| Used pod container capacity | 18 | 16 |
| Auto-cleaning of the milk steamer | Yes | Yes |
| Heat up time | 3 seconds | 3 seconds |
| Available colors | Gray | Gray, Black, White, Damson Blue |
| Weight | 14.7 pounds (6.67 kg) | 11.4 pounds (5.17 kg) |
| Descaling alert | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic shut off | Yes, after 9 minutes | Yes, after 10 minutes |
There are far more similarities than differences between these two machines.
They do differ slightly along three parameters. They are:
- Functionalities
- Ease of Use
- Value for Money
Let’s take a deeper look at how the two machines differ along these lines.
Functionalities
The Creatista Pro allows you to make one more type of coffee than the Creatista Plus, namely a long black which is an Espresso topped with hot water.
The Creatista Pro can do this because its coffee spout has a dedicated nozzle for just hot water. The Pro can therefore also just dispense hot water (the Plus cannot do this.
Unfortunately, the hot water that the Pro dispenses is only about 130 Fahrenheit, so you cannot make tea with it.
Other than that one functionality, the machines produce exactly the same coffee and milk types.
Functionalities Winner: Nespresso Creatista Pro (but only just)
Ease of Use
Both machines use LCD displays to show what coffee style and milk temperature/frothiness you are selecting. The coffee style will trigger a recommended milk setting, but you can customize this to your heart’s content.
The Plus’s screen is controlled by a knob, whereas the Pro has a touch screen.
Product demonstration videos show that the knob on the Plus is very sensitive and not the easiest to control, whereas the touch screen on the Pro is excellently designed and calibrated. This makes the Pro a fair bit easier to use than the Plus.
The Pro also allows you to save your own coffee presets, so you do not need to select your chosen milk temperature and frothiness settings each time you make a coffee. The Plus does not have this feature.
The Pro has a larger reservoir than the Plus.
The table below shows how the difference in reservoir volume between the two machines affects the number of coffees you can make before it needs to be refilled:
| Machine | Water tank volume | Number of Ristrettos | Number of Espressos | Number of Lungos |
| Nespresso Creatista Plus | 68 oz | 80 | 50 | 18 |
| Nespresso Creatista Pro | 55 oz | 64 | 40 | 14 |
The Creatista Pro also allows you to brew coffee and froth milk at the same time whereas the Plus only allows you to do one of these things at a time.
This means that if you are making several coffees in a row, the Pro will do this much faster than the Plus.
Ease of Use Winner: Nespresso Creatista Plus
Value for Money
The Creatista Pro is significantly more expensive than the Creatista Plus.
I don’t think that the Creatista Pro justifies this additional cost over the Plus.
While the Pro does have some notable additional features, they only really benefit a really small group of users: namely those who want to drink long blacks or those who will regularly use the machine to make several drinks in succession.
For people who won’t often use their Nespresso machine for these purposes (and I’d imagine that’s the majority of users), you will get better value from the Creatista Plus.
Overall Winner: Nespresso Creatista Plus
It’s close between these two machines.
The Creatista Pro is undoubtedly a better machine than the Creatista Plus, but I just don’t think the difference between the two machines justifies the Pro’s additional cost.
Unless you plan to regularly use the specific features that the Pro has over the Plus, I’d recommend opting for the Plus as the core performance of the two machines is very similar.
Comparing Nespresso VertuoLine Machines
Top Pick: Nespresso Evoluo
The Nespresso Vertuo Plus offers the best value for money out of the VertuoLine machine. It is the most affordable of these lines of machines, but still provides a great balance between making an excellent espresso and being easy to use.
To recap, there are four available Nespresso Vertuoline machines. These are:
- Nespresso Vertuo
- Nespresso Vertuo Plus
- Nespresso Vertuo Next
- Nespresso Evoluo
You can find a table with the features and specifications of these four machines below:
| Specifications | Vertuo | Vertuo Plus | Vertuo Next | Evoluo |
| Width | 8.3 inches | 8.7 inches (tank on back) 5.6 inches (tank on the side) | 5.5 inches | 9.0 inches |
| Depth | 11.9 inches | 12.7 inches (tank on the side) 16.1 inches (tank on back) | 16.8 inches | 12.2 inches |
| Height | 11.9 inches | 12.8 inches | 12.4 inches | 12.3 inches |
| Available espresso sizes | Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Double Espresso (2.7 oz/ 80 ml) Gran lungo (5.07 oz/ 150 ml) | Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Double Espresso (2.7 oz/ 80 ml) Gran lungo (5.07 oz/ 150 ml) | Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Double Espresso (2.7 oz/ 80 ml) Gran lungo (5.07 oz/ 150 ml) | Espresso (1.35 oz/ 40 ml) Double Espresso (2.7 oz/ 80 ml) Gran lungo (5.07 oz/ 150 ml) |
| Available filter coffee sizes | Mug (7.77 oz/ 230 ml) Alto (14 oz/ 414 ml) | Mug (7.77 oz/ 230 ml) Alto (14 oz/ 414 ml) | Mug (7.77 oz/ 230 ml) Alto (14 oz/ 414 ml) Carafe (18 oz/ 530 ml) | Mug (7.77 oz/ 230 ml) Alto 14 oz/ 414 ml) |
| Water tank size | 40 oz (1.12 litres) | 40 oz (1.12 litres) | 35 oz (1.05 litres) | 54 oz (1.6 litres) |
| Used pod holder capacity | 13 | 10 | 6 | 17 |
| Bluetooth compatibility | No | No | Yes | No |
| Available colors | Titanium, Gray, Red, Black, Matte Black | Metal finish, Gray, Light Gray, Chrome, Dark Chrome, Silver, Red, Black, Matte Black, Glossy Black | Metal finish, Gray, Light Gray, Chrome, Dark Chrome, Silver, Red, Black, Matte Black, Glossy Black | Metal finish, Gray, Silver, Red, Black |
| Descale light | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Weight | 10.85 pounds (4.9kg) | 10.1 pounds (4.5kg) | 8.8 pounds (4kg) | 11 pounds (5kg) |
| Automatic turn off | Yes, after 9 minutes | Yes, after 9 minutes | Yes, after 9 minutes | Yes, after 9 minutes |
Since the barcode on the pod dictates the way that coffee is brewed by these machines, the coffee they all make is very similar.
The machines can therefore be best compared across the following parameters:
- Ease of use
- Functionalities
- Size and compactness
- Value for money
Ease of Use
The Evoluo’s larger pod holder and reservoir make it the hands-off of the VertuoLine machines.
The Vertuo Plus and Vertuo Next have opaque used pod holders, whereas Evoluo and Vertuo have clear ones.
This means that you can keep track of when you need to refill the Evoluo and Vertuo’s pod holders, but you cannot do this as easily with the Next and the Plus.
Ease of Use Winner: Nespresso Evoluo
Functionalities
The Nespresso Vertuo Next can make one additional coffee compared to the other VertuoLine machines.
The Next is the only machine that connects via Bluetooth to the Nespresso app. This means that the machine’s internal software will update so it will always be compatible with any new pod and serving sizes.
Although this sounds like a big advantage of the Next, it’s worth mentioning that Nespresso’s carafe size is very watery and just quite low quality compared to its other coffees.
This is because pods do not hold enough ground coffee to brew this quantity of coffee well.
Nespresso seems to want to release even larger serving sizes of coffee, and as long as this trend continues I don’t think it’s really worth ever buying their new serving sizes.
Functionality Winner: Nespresso Vertuo Next
Size and Compactness
The Nespresso Vertuo Next and Vertuo Plus were specifically designed to be more compact versions of the Nespresso Vertuo, and they do achieve this goal.
Both machines are slimmer and have a smaller footprint than the Nespresso Vertuo and Evoluo.
The Vertuo Plus’s adjustable reservoir makes it the most compact of the machines as you can change its dimensions depending on whether you are struggling with countertop width or depth.
Size and Compactness Winner: Nespresso Vertuo Plus
Value for Money
As per the Nespresso website, the Vertuo and Evoluo are the same prices, with both machines being slightly more expensive than the Vertuo Next and Vertuo Plus.
I think that the Evoluo’s added user-friendliness justifies its additional cost over the Vertuo Next and Vertuo Plus.
Therefore, Evoluo offers the best value for money for these machines.
Value for Money Winner: Nespresso Evoluo
Overall Winner
The Nespresso Evoluo is the best VertuoLine machine given that it is the easiest of these machines to use and offers the greatest value for money.
Final Thoughts
Nespresso machines can first be divided by how they make coffee – either by using OriginalLine or VertuoLine pods.
Once this distinction is made the machines are therefore best categorized by their milk heating and foaming capabilities.
They either have no such capabilities, are able to process milk internally and automatically, or foam up milk manually with a milk wand.
Your choice of the machine should therefore depend on the types of coffees that you want to make with your machine, and how much you are willing to spend to achieve this.
I believe that the best overall machine is the Nespresso Creatista Pro.
The Creatista Pro has the most functionalities of all Nespresso machines and its excellent build quality means that it executes all these drinks really well.
