What is the WISHSOM coffee scale?
The cheapest scale on this site, and it is not a toy.
WISHSOM publishes a 5.2 by 5.0 inch platform on a 7.2 by 5.2 by 1.2 inch body, measurement from 0.3g to 3000g, a built-in timer, a tare function, switching between grams, ounces and millilitres, overload and low-battery alerts, and batteries in the box. It costs $9.99.
The platform is genuinely larger than scales costing five times more
5.2 by 5.0 inches, and platform size decides what you can actually put on it.
The Maestri House S1 Mini is 3.74 by 3.93 inches, and it is small on purpose so it fits a cramped drip tray. That is the right trade for espresso and the wrong one for a V60 on a carafe.
A pour over setup is a dripper on a server, and the server's base is wider than most espresso scales. If it overhangs, it wobbles, and the reading with it. A wider platform is the unglamorous specification that makes pour over weighing work.
At 1.2 inches thick the WISHSOM is not a drip-tray scale, so it is aimed at the counter, and the platform matches that.
What ten dollars does not buy
Almost everything the scales above it have.
No brewing modes. No flow rate. No ratio calculation. No automatic timer start. No rechargeable battery. No published response time, warranty, water resistance rating or surface material.
What it does have is the part that cannot be skipped: 0.1g resolution and a timer. Those two are the actual requirement for repeatable coffee, and every scale on this site from $9.99 to $129.00 has them.
That is the honest case for this scale. It is not that it competes with the ERAVSOW, because it does not. It is that the gap between no scale and this scale is far larger than the gap between this scale and a good one.
Millilitres, which is a smaller point than it sounds
It is grams with a different label, and it is still useful.
Water weighs a gram per millilitre closely enough for coffee, so a millilitre readout is the same measurement wearing a different name. It matters only because recipes are written both ways and switching saves you doing the conversion.
Overload and low-battery alerts are worth more. A scale that goes quiet mid-pour because the battery died, without having warned you, is a scale that ruins a brew.
WISHSOM vs NKOVE
Seven dollars apart, same capacity, same resolution, same absence of features.
Both are 0.1g to 3000g with a timer and tare, both on batteries, both with LED displays and no modes.
The NKOVE has 430 ratings to the WISHSOM's 77, which is the main reason to pay the difference. The WISHSOM publishes its platform and body dimensions, which NKOVE does not, and includes batteries.
On specification there is very little between them. On track record the NKOVE is ahead, and on price the WISHSOM is.
Is the WISHSOM worth it?
Worth it as a first scale, and it is the right recommendation for someone not yet sure they care.
Nobody should spend $59 on a scale before they know whether they will weigh their coffee. This does the measurement properly for $9.99 and answers that question.
Against it: 77 ratings is thin, there is no rechargeable battery, no modes, no flow rate, and WISHSOM publishes nothing about the surface material, response time or warranty. It is also 1.2 inches thick, so it will not go under most espresso machines.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Buy it if you have never weighed coffee and want to find out whether it helps.
It suits a first scale, a second scale for a holiday flat or an office, and pour over on a counter where the platform size helps.
Do not buy it for espresso, because it is too thick for most drip trays and has no flow rate or auto timer. Do not buy it if a 77-rating record concerns you, where the NKOVE has 430 for seven dollars more. And do not expect it to replace a proper brewing scale if you already know you want one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a ten dollar coffee scale accurate enough?
It reads in 0.1g steps from 0.3g, which is the same resolution as scales here costing $129. What you give up at this price is features and build, not the basic measurement.
How big is the platform?
5.2 by 5.0 inches, which is larger than several espresso scales costing considerably more.
Will it fit under an espresso machine?
Probably not. It is 1.2 inches thick, where drip-tray scales are around 0.8 inches.
Does it come with batteries?
Yes, and it warns you when they are low.
Does it measure in millilitres?
Yes, along with grams and ounces. For water a millilitre and a gram are the same thing for brewing purposes.
