De'Longhi Magnifica Evo ECAM29084SB vs Philips Series 5500 LatteGo EP5544/90

Automatic milk drinks and iced coffee at one touch, above the manual Magnifica Start

Twenty drinks including six iced, from a two-part milk system that rinses in seconds

Scores higher on drinks & milk system, cleaning & upkeep, grinder & grind control.

• +Seven one-touch drinks including cappuccino, latte macchiato and iced coffee.
• +The same 13-setting conical burr grinder as the cheaper Magnifica Start.
• +An Over Ice recipe built in rather than improvised with a tall glass.
• +A 139mm cup clearance, so a travel mug fits under it.
• +Filter, scoop, hardness test, brush and descaler all in the box.

• −De'Longhi's own page calls the milk system both a LatteCrema System and a traditional frother.
• −It claims My Latte saves your own recipes while its spec table says you cannot create recipes.
• −$899.95 against $699.99 for the Magnifica Start, which shares the grinder and the pump.
• −No burr material and no statement of whether the brew group is removable.
• −The warranty is two years, with a third only if you register the machine.

• +Twenty drinks, all named by Philips, including six iced ones and a travel mug setting.
• +LatteGo is two parts with no tubes, and Philips states both go in the dishwasher.
• +A removable brew group, which is what lets you rinse the part that does the work.
• +AquaClean, which Philips says means no descaling for up to 5000 cups.
• +Four user profiles plus a guest, so a household is not re-setting strength every morning.

• −Philips publishes no price, and its own retailer list runs from $699.00 to $1,299.95.
• −The SKU most shops sell, EP5544/94, has no page on Philips' own site at all.
• −Philips' two pages for this series disagree on voltage and country of manufacture.
• −The AquaClean claim assumes eight filter replacements, which is a running cost to price in.