Chemex vs V60: Which Pour Over Brewer to Buy

The Chemex and the Hario V60 are the two best known pour over brewers, and both make clean, bright filter coffee. The main difference is the paper. The Chemex uses a thick bonded filter inside a glass carafe, which gives a very clean, light-bodied cup and brews several cups at once. The V60 is a dripper that sits on a mug or server, uses thin paper and a single large hole, and lets your pouring control the brew.

Side by side

• Design. Chemex: brewer and carafe in one piece of glass. V60: a separate cone that sits on a cup or server.
• Filter. Chemex: bonded paper that Chemex says is 20 to 30 percent thicker than most. V60: thin cone paper.
• Flow. Chemex: slower, set largely by the filter. V60: fast and open, set largely by how you pour.
• Sizes. Chemex: 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 13 cup. V60: 01, 02 and 03.
• Price. Chemex Six Cup Classic: $49.50 on Chemex's site. V60 02: $30.50 in ceramic and $13.00 in plastic on Hario USA, both read in September 2026.

The Chemex

Chemist Peter Schlumbohm designed and patented the Chemex Coffee Maker in 1941. It is a single piece of borosilicate glass with a wooden collar tied with a rawhide lace, or a glass handle on some models. Its design is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Chemex measures a cup as 5 ounces. The 3 cup model holds 15 ounces, the popular 6 cup Classic 30 ounces and the 13 cup 65 ounces, so the larger sizes can brew for several people at once.

Its filters are what define the cup. Chemex sells them as half moons, circles and pre-folded squares, says it uses no bleach or chemicals in the paper, and describes the filters as compostable. The thick paper holds back oils and fine sediment, which is why Chemex coffee tastes especially clean and light, and it slows the flow, so the grind is usually set coarser than for a V60.

The V60

Hario named the Hario V60 after its shape: a V-shaped cone at a 60 degree angle. Spiral ribs inside run up to the rim and hold the paper away from the wall so air can escape, and one large hole at the bottom lets water through without the dripper restricting it. Hario compares the result to cloth drip.

Because nothing slows the water, how fast and where you pour decides how long the coffee brews. That is the V60's strength and its learning curve: it can make an excellent cup and it responds to every change, which suits someone who enjoys adjusting a recipe. Size 01 makes 1 to 2 cups, 02 makes 1 to 4 and 03 makes 1 to 6, and it comes in plastic, ceramic, heatproof glass and metal.

How the coffee tastes

• Chemex: very clean, light body, clear acidity, almost tea-like with light roasts.
• V60: still clean, with a little more body and a wider range, depending on the pour.

Both reward fresh, light to medium roast beans that show their origin. How cone and flat-bottom drippers differ from each other is covered in flat bed vs cone.

Which to buy

• Buy a Chemex if you brew for two or more people, want a brewer that doubles as a serving carafe, and like the cleanest possible cup.
• Buy a V60 if you brew one or two cups, want to control the brew closely, or want to spend less. The plastic version costs about as much as a bag of good coffee.

Either way, a kettle with a narrow spout makes the pour far easier to control, and a scale takes the guesswork out of the recipe. The basics of the method are in how to make pour over coffee, and every dripper we score is in our pour over coffee maker reviews.

Filters are not interchangeable

Chemex filters will not fit a V60 properly, and V60 papers are too small and too thin for a Chemex. Buy the filters made for the brewer you own. The differences between filter types and sizes are explained in paper coffee filters.