If you want coffee made quicker than you can say Keurig, you're in the right place. These simple, single-serve machines are famed for their efficiency, versatility, and inexpensive RRP, so should you buy one?
You've probably seen Keurig and the K-Cup pods all over store shelves and in seasonal sales. These days, the brand is absolutely everywhere. Most of this success is owed to Keurig's ability to brew quick, cheap, caffeine fixes better than the best single-serve coffee makers on the market. However, not every model made by the brand is perfect. In fact, we've tested some which we just didn't rate at all, so you need to choose which you buy very carefully.
I've selected six of the best Keurigs on the market. Kudos to Keurig, these are all good models, especially the K-Elite, which sits at the top of this list. It's versatile, speedy, and consistent. Actually, I think it's a serious rival to some of the best Nespresso machines – that is the best praise you can give a cheaper single-serve machine. So for all things Keurig - which model to shop, who they suit, and where to pick up a good Keurig deal - look no further than this list.
The quick list
If you need a quick introduction into equally speedy coffee, here are the headlines for the best Keurigs. We'll go into more detail further down.
The best overall
This is the brand's most versatile option. It can make five coffees in sizes 4-12 oz, plus the 75 oz reservoir won't need refilling as often as others. It just lacks a milk frother.
The quietest
The biggest rival to the K-Elite is this. It's quick, quiet, and the 'strong brew' option more than delivers on its promise. This is bulkier than other models and can splash more too.
The best compact
This is the perfect balance of space-saving design and big coffee flavors. Ironically for a small machine, this can't brew small, 4 oz cups of coffee. The smallest is 8 oz.
The best for specialty coffee
Delivering on flavor, quality, and capacity, this is one of Keurig's most popular (and most expensive) models. It even comes with a milk frother.
The best for versatility
This covers the whole menu of coffee options and then some. It has adjustable settings and a small footprint, but we think the 'smart' label is a stretch.
The best budget
For small spaces and small budgets, you couldn't have a better option. You get what you pay for though, this compromises on flavor and quality.
The best Keurig coffee makers 2024
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The best Keurig coffee maker overall
It's becoming increasingly common knowledge that the K-Elite is one of the best single-serve coffee makers on the market. It's extremely versatile, boasts enough capacity for a whole family, and can brew delicious coffee really quickly. That's why it's in top spot (and we don't think it will be leaving it any time soon).
Granted the K-Elite isn't exactly beautiful, but it is practical. The clock and timer are really useful to have in your kitchen and all the functions are easy to navigate, so you can make speedy coffee without the need for instructions or online help.
The K-Elite is bulkier than the K-Mini and K-Slim, but that's because it has a huge 75 fl. oz water reservoir on the back. This is good news for large homes: you won't need to constantly refill your Keurig. It's also good news for larger homes because the Keurig offers a range of cup sizes, from four to twelve ounces, across a range of coffee settings. Yes, those settings do include iced coffee. And also, yes, they do include the iconic 'stronger brew' function too. And, finally, yes, you can change the temperature.
The K-Elite, aside from a vast menu of options, can brew coffee in under a minute. That makes it one of the quickest Keurigs on the market too (alongside all the other accolades that we could award this).
People generally loved this. They praise the coffee and versatility, but plenty of people questioned the machine's durability. They say that the plastic cup that holds the pods feels flimsy, as does the drip tray. This doesn't surprise me; for the price, the K-Elite delivers on some pretty ambitious promises, so corners had to be cut somewhere. As it turns out, this was on quality.
The quietest Keurig coffee maker
This is a true entry-level machine. It's simple, sturdy, and whisper-silent. It almost stole top spot, but it's a little too bulky. Aside from that, it's pretty perfect in the world of Keurig coffee makers.
The K-Select's specialty is strong coffee. It has a special function which allows you to make bolder, deeper coffee in the same amount of time as the standard cup (one minute). Both professional and customer reviewers agree that the results of this stronger brew setting are seriously impressive. Not only does it pack a punch, it carries stronger flavors with it, too. Did I mention about how it's almost silent when it works? It's incredible.
So, this is quick and quiet. To complete my alliterative three, reviews all say that this feels like one of the best quality Keurigs on the market too. The 52-ounce reservoir won't need refilling often, making it perfect for large households who drink a lot of coffee. The only downside to this capacity is that it leaves the K-Select looking clunky on the countertop. It also doesn't have the finishes of some other Keurig models, but, on the flip side, the build-quality is one of the best. Plus, it comes in a range of colors too, so you can match this to the color scheme in your kitchen.
The biggest downside, apart from the bulk, is the brewing process. Whilst the flavors are good and the K-Select is quick, it splashes a fair amount of coffee over the countertop. Reviewers also said that the coffee can come out a little lukewarm for the first couple of cups: it needs to run for a while before you're getting some properly hot coffee.
The best Keurig coffee maker for small spaces
You could catch me on a technicality here: I know this isn't the smallest coffee maker that Keurig makes, but it has the balance perfect. The K-Slim might be compact, but it can still make a decent enough cup of coffee. As you turn to Keurig's smaller K-Mini, you start to compromise on quality, for both coffee and build.
The K-Slim comes in a range of tasteful colors, whether you are looking for monochrome hues or a bright pop of color, there's a K-Slim shade for you. It takes up next-to-no countertop room, so can slot into any space or cupboard in your kitchen, which is really convenient. I've seen people stack this on wall shelves too: it's light enough, but watch out, because it comes out quite far from the back.
As for the coffee itself, the K-Slim can brew a full cup in under two minutes. Keurig uses their 'multistream technology' which claims to better saturate the K-Cups. Having not tested this myself, I can't vouch for the flavors, but expert reviewers and customers alike seem to be convinced that this technology does the trick. If you want a good cup of single-serve coffee, this will serve it up to you. However, this only brews 8, 10, and 12 ounce coffees, so don't expect an espresso any time soon.
The main criticism I found was that this can be a little inconsistent temperature-wise. For such a simple machine, this is a shame, because there's very little you, as a user, can do to rectify it. Similarly, if it overheats, there's nothing you can do except disassemble your machine and reset the thermostat, which I don't think any of us dream about. It's a great price point, but comes with some compromises.
The best Keurig coffee maker for speciality coffee
Craft coffee might not sound like a Keurig specialty. It might not even sound like a single-serve specialty, but the K-Cafe Barista Bar goes a long way towards, fresher, more flavorful coffee.
As you might expect, the K-Cafe is more expensive than most other Keurig machines, but, in spite of the price tag, it's also one of their most popular models. Both expert and customer reviews are packed with praise for the full, rich, and flavorful coffee that this Keurig makes. Plus, if you want to mix up the strength and length of your coffee, this can. It even comes with a milk frother, ready to serve up cappuccinos and lattes too.
Reviewers praised not only the flavors, but the speed at which the K-Cafe delivers them. It's almost as quick as the K-Express, brewing a cup of coffee in less than two minutes. However, it still delivers those strong coffees that all the reviews rave about.
Aside from the uncharacteristically high price tag reviewers had very few criticisms. Some people felt that the coffee could be a little hotter, which you can adjust on the machine, and others felt that the design was better suited to right-handed users, because that's where the milk frother sits. Having not yet tested it myself, I would also be interested to see what the milk texturing is like. I haven't seen anyone go deep into details, but I would be surprised if it's good at cold foam, given that De'Longhi has only just perfected it and their machines cost ten times the price of a Keurig.
The most versatile Keurig coffee maker
There are other Keurigs which can make iced coffee (the K-Elite, the K-Mini Plus, the K-Slim and Iced, the K-Cafe, and the K-Duo all available at Walmart), but none are as versatile as this. The K-Supreme SMART is by far the most versatile coffee maker that Keurig offers, with customizable options for brew strength, temperature, drink size, and more. This means that it will probably make you one of the best cups of single-serve coffee you'll drink and it won't take long to do it either.
You might expect that this is big, given how much it has to offer. However, in our tests, one of the first things that our experts spotted was how 'it's notably more compact than any other Keurig model'. Even if you're short in space in your kitchen, we think you could easily squeeze the K-Supreme SMART in.
We could make some delicious hot drinks in the K-Supreme and these weren't just limited to coffee. I'd put this in the context of cheaper single-serve machines though. We were surprised at how delicious these were, but only because the K-Supreme is $150. Compared to other, more expensive single-serve coffee makers, this is still a little flat.
The only thing our experts questioned was the 'SMART' label on the K-Supreme SMART. This is supposed to be the step up from a K-Supreme, but actually, it can be a little limiting. The app won't work to its full potential unless you're connected to the Wi-Fi and even when you're online, it's not very useful. We made an account and hopped in to check out the 'Café Creation' drinks, but found that they're really just elaborations on the different K-Cups. You can turn on high-altitude brewing, create favorites and schedule brewing, but we thought you'd be just as quick popping a K-cup in and pushing a good old-fashioned button. The rest of the app is really a shopping section. That might appeal to some, but we don't think owners of the original K-Supreme are missing out.
You can read more in our Keurig K-Supreme SMART review
The best budget Keurig coffee maker
With the K-Mini Plus, our experts kept finding themselves saying things like 'in context', 'for the price', and 'as a small model'. So, you have to take the K-Mini Plus with a budget mindset. It's not the most versatile, nor is it the neatest, nor is it the quickest. What is it? An absolute steal for a small, single-serve coffee maker.
The K-Mini Plus is the smallest machine Keurig makes. You can choose from a range of color options too, so aesthetically, this is a friendly face to have in your coffee nook.
It's slim and perfectly petite, so we're confident that no matter how small your kitchen is (even if it's dorm room size), you'll be able to squeeze it in. Even better, there's a space inside the machine for storing your K-Cups. If you hadn't guessed from the name, the K-Mini is all about space-saving. Even the water reservoir is small: it is a single-serve capacity, so you'll need to keep refilling.
Here is where the 'considering' context setting starts. Our experts tested this for weeks, making coffee, hot apple cider, and chai lattes in the K-Mini and said that it 'makes good drinks (especially considering the price'. You can even opt for a stronger brew, which will do exactly as promised, making a more punchy coffee drink.
However, there are a few compromises. When brewing coffee, this splatters a lot and it takes longer than average to brew. You'll need a microfiber cloth nearby to make sure your coffee station stays sparkling clean.
You can read more in our dedicated K-Mini Plus review
How to choose the best Keurig coffee maker
Whilst Keurig's coffee makers are all single-serve, there's a lot of variety between models. Choosing the right one for you depends upon a few factors:
Size
Single-serve coffee makers are the kinds of machines that you'll keep on the countertop all the time. The way it looks and the amount of space that it demands is really important for deciding which one you want. As a general rule, Keurig's bigger coffee makers tend to be better, but their small models can be great space-saving options.
Capacity
When I'm talking about capacity, I'm thinking of the water reservoir. Keurig's smallest machines either don't have or only have single-serve reservoirs. Some of their biggest reservoirs can cater for up to ten cups of coffee. The size of your household will dramatically affect how big you want your reservoir to be.
Range
Keurigs offer a range of functions. All make coffee, but some only make black coffee, some can make coffees with milk, some can do iced coffees, and some have stronger settings and temperature controls. The range of cup size options (4oz up to 12oz) varies depending on the Keurig you choose too.
How we test and review Keurig coffee makers
We're currently on a mission to test every Keurig we can. However, it's still an ongoing process, meaning we have hands-on experience with some of the coffee makers in this guide, but we don't have it with all of them.
If a Keurig is on our testing wish list, we will do as much research as we can before giving you our thoughts on it. We look through customer and professional reviews, checking and cross-checking claims, criticisms, and special features to make sure that every aspect of the Keurig is accounted for. By the time we've finished doing our due diligence, we know the coffee maker better than almost the manufacturers themselves.
When we can get our hands on a Keurig, we have a series of standardized tests which we put them through. Our team of experts test each model on a range of functions so that we can tell you what it's like to use.
If a Keurig only offers hot drinks, we use K-cups to make coffee, hot chocolate, and other hot drinks in a range of sizes. We let you know how long they take to brew, how hot they are, and, most importantly, what they taste like. You'll know about every single drop (including those that splash onto the countertop).
Some Keurigs boast iced coffee functions too. In this instance, we'll use special Over-Ice K-cups, which you can buy from Walmart to test the temperature, quantity, and flavors of the iced coffees. The most important factor here is that the coffee doesn't taste too bitter or acidic. A well-extracted iced coffee should be smooth and brighter, with fruitier notes.
We'll also make notes on the appearance, clean up and maintenance that comes with each Keurig, because these factors will influence how likely you are to use yours often. In short, we'll let you know about every single feature before you buy one, so that you don't have any unwelcome surprises if you choose to buy one.
If you're interested in finding out more, you can visit our dedicated page for how we test coffee makers.
FAQs
Which is better, Keurig or Nespresso?
Both Keurig and Nespresso are single-serve celebrities, but which one is better? Each person will have different priorities when they're choosing which coffee maker to buy. Keurigs are great for two reasons. First, they're a fraction of the price of lots of other single-serve coffee makers, including Nespresso. Second, they're more widely compatible with different pods. Sourcing ones that fit a Nespresso can be tricky (since they have to be Nespresso branded), but plenty of brands make their own K-Cups, so you can experiment with different flavors more easily.
Some people opt for Nespressos instead because the build-quality is objectively better. These machines feel more robust and, even better, they're often made with recycled materials. If you put quality coffee high on your list of priorities, you'll find that Nespresso brews are always more flavorful, nuanced, and generally better brewed. You really get the luxury experience.
If you want to find out more, we have a whole article dedicated to the Keurig vs Nespresso debate.
Which pods can I use in a Keurig?
Keurigs are versatile machines, meaning that they're compatible with plenty of different K-Cup pods. Generally, if you see something labeled as a K-Cup, it'll fit in your coffee maker. However, if you want to be really sure, you can check the brands of K-Cup that Keurigs carry, you can look on their dedicated page.
Where's the best place to buy a Keurig?
Keurig's are widely available, but I'd recommend shopping around. There's almost always a Keurig deal or discount on offer, so you can save some extra money. We even have a dedicated page for Keurig deals, which become especially enticing around big sales periods. Make sure to check it out.
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