Best Pour Over Coffee Makers Under $100

A pour over coffee maker is the simplest brewer there is: a cone that holds the grounds and a filter, and hot water you pour over them by hand. Nearly everything that makes one better or worse is visible on the spec sheet, which is why this is a category where spending under $100 buys the real thing rather than a cut-down version. What differs is the filter, the material, the size and whether a carafe comes with it. The sections below turn the ranked list above into a decision.

How to choose a pour over coffee maker under $100

Pour over dripper vs pour over set with a carafe

A dripper on its own is the cheapest way in and the most flexible: it sits on a mug, a carafe or a jar. The Kalita Style 102 Ceramic Coffee Dripper is a ceramic 3-hole dripper for two to four cups at $20.00, and the Kalita Wave 155 Stainless Steel Dripper is a flat-bottomed steel dripper for one or two cups at $38.00.

A set puts the cone and the carafe together, which is what you want if you pour coffee for more than one person. The Bodum Pour Over comes in sizes from 503 to 1,508 ml with a stainless steel filter at $19.99. The Chemex Coffee Maker goes further and makes the filter cone and the carafe one piece of glass: six cups at $49.50, or 50 ounces in the Chemex Ten Cup Glass Handle CM-10GH Pour-Over Coffeemaker at $53.50.

Paper filters vs reusable metal filters for pour over

Paper is the classic pour over filter for a reason: it traps the coffee oils and the finest particles, so the cup tastes clean and lets lighter roasts show their acidity. Cone drippers like the Kalita 102 and ceramic drippers like the HYAXGM Ceramic Pour Over ($29.99) are built around paper, and the Chemex uses its own thicker bonded filters.

Metal mesh filters are what most glass carafe sets under $40 include. The AGOGO Pour Over ($27.99) and COSORI Pour Over ($29.99) both pair 304 stainless steel with borosilicate glass and a double-layer reusable filter. You never buy filters again, and the coffee has more body. Expect a little sediment at the bottom of the cup, and rinse the mesh well, because old oils go stale.

Glass, ceramic or stainless steel pour over: which is best?

Ceramic holds heat best once it is warm, which keeps the brew temperature steady through a slow pour, but it is heavy and it breaks if dropped. Glass, like the Mixpresso Pour Over ($18.99), lets you watch the bloom and the drawdown and does not hold flavors, but it is the most fragile. Stainless steel survives travel and camping and heats quickly, which is why many reusable filter sets use it. Plastic, as in the Melitta cone, is the lightest and cheapest and holds the least heat.

What size pour over coffee maker do you need?

For one mug, a single cup dripper is enough, and it keeps the coffee bed deep enough to brew evenly. For two or three cups, look for a 600 to 800 ml set or a two-to-four-cup dripper like the Kalita 102. For a household or guests, go to 1,000 ml and up: the COSORI set holds 1,005 ml, the largest Bodum 1,508 ml, and the Ten Cup Chemex 50 ounces. A brewer that is too large for a single cup spreads the grounds thin and drains too fast.

Pour over coffee makers by budget: under $25 and under $50

Under $25. Glass and steel sets with a reusable filter start below $20: the Mixpresso at $18.99, the Bodum Pour Over and Coffee Gator Pour Over at $19.99, and the Lalord Pour Over glass dripper for paper filters at $23.99. The Kalita 102 at $20.00 is the ceramic paper-filter option at this price.

Under $50. The step up buys better materials and known designs: steel and glass sets from AGOGO and COSORI, the Bean Envy Pour Over at $34.99, the DIF DECO Pour Over ceramic dripper at $35.96, the Kalita Wave 155 at $38.00 and the six-cup Chemex at $49.50.

Which pour over coffee maker should you buy?

For one or two clean cups of light roast, buy a paper filter dripper: the Kalita 102 is the cheapest good one, and the Kalita Wave 155 is the most forgiving of an uneven pour. For a fuller cup and no running costs, buy a glass set with a steel filter in the size you brew. For brewing and serving from the same vessel, buy a Chemex. Whatever you choose, a burr grinder and a kettle with a narrow spout will change the cup more than the difference between any two brewers on this page.