Best of · 3 products

Best Stainless Steel Pod Machines

The best stainless steel pod machines, ranked by our review scores. The only finish that looks the same in ten years: it does not yellow, fade or chalk. What it does do is show fingerprints and, in hard water, spots - and brushed and polished behave completely differently there, with polished collecting marks hourly and brushed forgiving them. The word is also used loosely. On cheaper machines "stainless steel" often describes a trim panel or a steel-look wrap over plastic rather than a steel body, so it is worth reading which part the maker is talking about.

How this list is ordered

Ranked by arithmetic, not opinion. Every score is worked out from the specifications each maker publishes, so you can open the working on any product page. Anything commercial is labelled and sits outside that order, and how we score explains what each criterion measures.

Stainless Steel Pod Machines, ranked by score

scored on what the maker publishesOpen a row for the score working
  1. 1NespressoCreatista PlusFrom $269.956.9

    How it scored

    Drink Quality8.0
    pump pressure not published
    Capsule System & Choice8.5
    Running Cost Per Cup6.5
    Ease of Use & Speed7.0
    Build Quality & Reliability6.0
    Maintenance & Cleaning5.0
    Machine Value for Moneyweakest link4.1
    carries 8 of the 95.5 points scored
    Waste & Disposal8.0
    Price from$269.95
    Score6.9
    Capsule SystemNespresso Original
    Third-party CapsulesYes
    Auto shut-offYes (9 Minutes)
    Read the Nespresso Creatista Plus review →
  2. 2NespressoPixieFrom $1496.2

    How it scored

    Drink Quality5.3
    pump pressure not published
    Capsule System & Choice7.0
    Running Cost Per Cup6.5
    Ease of Use & Speed6.5
    Build Quality & Reliability5.5
    Maintenance & Cleaningweakest link3.8
    carries 8 of the 95.5 points scored
    Machine Value for Money6.4
    Waste & Disposal8.0
    Price from$149
    Score6.2
    Capsule SystemNespresso Original
    Third-party CapsulesYes
    Auto shut-offYes, after 9 minutes of non-use; adjustable to 30 minutes
    Read the Nespresso Pixie review →
  3. 3CuisinartSS-10P1 Single Serve Coffee Maker5.8

    How it scored

    Drink Quality5.3
    pump pressure not published
    Capsule System & Choice8.5
    Running Cost Per Cup5.5
    Ease of Use & Speed6.0
    Build Quality & Reliability5.0
    Maintenance & Cleaning6.9
    Machine Value for Money5.0
    no price published
    Waste & Disposalweakest link3.0
    carries 10 of the 95.5 points scored
    PricePricing N/A
    Score5.8
    Capsule SystemK-Cup
    Third-party CapsulesYes
    Read the Cuisinart SS-10P1 Single Serve Coffee Maker review →

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