Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49
Ahead
The verdict
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 is narrowly ahead, 7.1 to Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49's 7.0. It leads on steam power & milk texturing and ease of use & learning curve.
Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 costs $1,000.95 less.
Who each one suits
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881
A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen
Scores higher on steam power & milk texturing, ease of use & learning curve, workflow & ergonomics.
Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49
Anyone who wants commercial fittings at home and expects to keep the machine for a decade
Scores higher on shot quality & extraction, build quality & durability, value for money.
How they score, criterion by criterion
Both are scored the same way against the rest of their category, from what their makers publish. The weight is how much each criterion moves the total. How the score works
| Criterion | Weight in category | Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 | Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shot Quality & Extraction | 22% | 5.8 | 6.5 |
| Steam Power & Milk Texturing | 16% | 7.5 | 6.0 |
| Build Quality & Durability | 16% | 7.2 | 7.8 |
| Ease of Use & Learning Curve | 12% | 8.0 | 4.7 |
| Workflow & Ergonomics | 12% | 8.8 | 6.2 |
| Maintenance & Cleaning | 12% | 10.0 | 9.2 |
| Value for Money | 10% | 3.5 | 9.3 |
What each one costs
| Price | $1,499.95 | $499.00 |
Where they differ
Every specification the two makers publish differently. Everything they match on is in the full table below.
| Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 | Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,499.95 | $499.00 |
| Best for | A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen | Anyone who wants commercial fittings at home and expects to keep the machine for a decade |
| What sets it apart | — | A 58mm commercial portafilter and a three way solenoid valve in a steel body made in Italy |
| Automatic milk frother | ✓ | — |
| Bean hopper | 340, published as 12 oz | — |
| Body Material | Stainless steel | Solid steel housing with brass, Stainless steel |
| Boiler | — | 1 |
| Boiler Type | ThermoJet heating system | Single uncoated aluminium boiler |
| Built in Grinder | ✓ | ✕ |
| Burr Material | Hardened steel | — |
| Colour Options | Brushed Stainless Steel, Damson Blue and Black Truffle | — |
| Made in | — | Italy |
| Dimensions | 414 x 351 x 338, published as 16.3 x 13.8 x 13.3 in (W x D x H) | — |
| Display Type | Touchscreen | — |
| Grind steps | 30 | — |
| In Box Accessories | 54 mm portafilter, 480 ml milk jug, single and dual wall baskets, water filter holder, water hardness strip, Razor trimming tool, cleaning tablets, cleaning disc, brush, steam wand cleaning tool and descale powder | — |
| Machine Type | Semi-automatic espresso machine with built-in grinder and touchscreen | Semi-automatic espresso machine |
| Model | BES881 | — |
| Portafilter Material | Stainless steel | — |
| Portafilter Size | 54 mm | 58 mm |
| Power | 1750 W | 1200 W |
| Price Note | $1,499.95 on breville.com | — |
| Pump pressure | — | 9 bar |
| Ships to | — | US |
| Ships to Note | — | Confirmed on Amazon US, which is where this link points. Availability in other Amazon stores has not been checked, and a regional store may substitute a different product. |
| Steam Wand Type | Automatic, a hands-free milk texturing wand with a milk temperature sensor | Commercial steam wand |
| Tamping | The Impress Puck System, assisted tamping with dosing that corrects itself | — |
| Voltage | 120 V, 60 Hz | — |
| Warm-up time | 3, Breville's figure for reaching extraction temperature | — |
| Water Tank | 2, published as 67 fl oz | 2.1 L |
| Weight | — | 9.1 kg |
Pros and cons
From each full review, written from the same published facts as the scores above.
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881
- +Hands-free milk texturing with settings for dairy, almond, oat and soy.
- +The Impress lever tamps at a set pressure and corrects the next dose.
- +Heats to extraction temperature in 3 seconds, Breville's ThermoJet figure.
- +Thirty grind settings on hardened steel Baratza burrs.
- +A 340 gram hopper, larger than the 227 grams on the Barista Touch.
- −$1,499.95, about $500 more than the Barista Touch listed on this site.
- −Breville publishes no pump pressure, pre-infusion detail, warranty or weight for it.
- −No pressure gauge is listed; the touchscreen is the feedback.
- −54 mm portafilter, not the 58 mm the Oracle Jet uses.
Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49
- +A 58mm commercial portafilter, the same size professional machines use, so every accessory fits
- +9 bar published as the actual extraction pressure rather than a pump maximum
- +Solid steel housing with brass and stainless steel, made in Italy, with a 2.1 litre tank
- −No built-in grinder
- −A single uncoated aluminium boiler, which is the part that most needs descaling
- −1200W, and no warranty term is published
Every specification, side by side
| Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 | Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| Price | $1,499.95 | $499.00 |
| Who it suits | ||
| Best for | A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen | Anyone who wants commercial fittings at home and expects to keep the machine for a decade |
| What sets it apart | — | A 58mm commercial portafilter and a three way solenoid valve in a steel body made in Italy |
| Specifications | ||
| Automatic milk frother | ✓ | — |
| Bean hopper | 340, published as 12 oz | — |
| Body Material | Stainless steel | Solid steel housing with brass, Stainless steel |
| Boiler | — | 1 |
| Boiler Type | ThermoJet heating system | Single uncoated aluminium boiler |
| Built in Grinder | ✓ | ✕ |
| Burr Material | Hardened steel | — |
| Colour Options | Brushed Stainless Steel, Damson Blue and Black Truffle | — |
| Made in | — | Italy |
| Dimensions | 414 x 351 x 338, published as 16.3 x 13.8 x 13.3 in (W x D x H) | — |
| Display Type | Touchscreen | — |
| Grind steps | 30 | — |
| In Box Accessories | 54 mm portafilter, 480 ml milk jug, single and dual wall baskets, water filter holder, water hardness strip, Razor trimming tool, cleaning tablets, cleaning disc, brush, steam wand cleaning tool and descale powder | — |
| Machine Type | Semi-automatic espresso machine with built-in grinder and touchscreen | Semi-automatic espresso machine |
| Model | BES881 | — |
| Portafilter Material | Stainless steel | — |
| Portafilter Size | 54 mm | 58 mm |
| Power | 1750 W | 1200 W |
| Price Note | $1,499.95 on breville.com | — |
| Pump pressure | — | 9 bar |
| Ships to | — | US |
| Ships to Note | — | Confirmed on Amazon US, which is where this link points. Availability in other Amazon stores has not been checked, and a regional store may substitute a different product. |
| Steam Wand Type | Automatic, a hands-free milk texturing wand with a milk temperature sensor | Commercial steam wand |
| Tamping | The Impress Puck System, assisted tamping with dosing that corrects itself | — |
| Voltage | 120 V, 60 Hz | — |
| Warm-up time | 3, Breville's figure for reaching extraction temperature | — |
| Water Tank | 2, published as 67 fl oz | 2.1 L |
| Weight | — | 9.1 kg |
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49: common questions
Which is better, Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 or Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49?
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 scores 7.1 against 7.0, both computed from published specifications rather than opinion. Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 is still ahead on shot quality & extraction.
Is Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 or Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 cheaper?
Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 starts at $1,499.95, and Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 at $499.00.
Who is Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 for?
A grinder, assisted tamping and hands-free milk behind one touchscreen
Who is Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 for?
Anyone who wants commercial fittings at home and expects to keep the machine for a decade
Keep comparing
More Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 matchups
- Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs Gevi 20Bar Super Automatic Espresso Machine
- Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs Rancilio Silvia Pro X
- Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs Breville Infuser BES840XL
- Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo
- Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs Breville Barista Express Impress BES876
- Breville Barista Touch Impress BES881 vs Breville Barista Pro
More Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 matchups
- Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 vs Gevi 20Bar Super Automatic Espresso Machine
- Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 vs Breville Infuser BES840XL
- Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 vs De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo
- Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 vs Lelit Mara X V2 PL62X
- Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 vs Rancilio Silvia Pro X
- Gaggia Classic Evo Pro RI9380/49 vs Gaggia E24 RI9380/46 Espresso Machine