The Best Coffee Grinders In 2024 For Every Budget

I compiled this short lineup to simplify the process of buying a coffee bean grinder. I give honest opinions about which grinders are best for different budgets, brewing methods, and skill levels. You can find most of these coffee grinders on Amazon, and rest assured that all links go to the official Amazon stores of these top brands.

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Overall Best Coffee Grinder: My Pick

Once you start buying high-quality coffee beans, those purchases become like an investment. If you are spending that money and taking the time to manually brew coffee at home, you want to make the most of that investment. And, buying pre-ground coffee is one of the primary ways you will make it impossible to get the best flavor from your brewing.

Having a coffee machine grinder at home means you can grind just before brewing. It is probably the most crucial coffee investment you can make. Ground coffee starts to go stale within minutes, letting oxygen take away your precious flavor. However, storing coffee as whole beans delay the aging process. So before the detailed reviews, let’s check out my top pick for home grinders and why I love it.

Baratza is a hugely popular company in the specialty coffee world, and their Baratza Encore grinder is their entry-level grinder. Like other specialty domains like audio equipment, you can safely assume that a reliable brand name goes a long way. Even though this Encore is their budget grinder, its grind quality is remarkable. And with 40 settings, you can successfully brew on many methods.

Some of Baratza’s top grinders cost more than $800, and the Encore lacks some of the high-quality parts of their other models. But for beginners, this product will meet your needs. The 40mm conical burr system creates an even grind, especially in the mid-range grind settings. It is not ideal for espresso, but you can technically get an espresso grind with this model. There is a timer dial on the side for automatic grinding, and the materials inside are durable. You can also easily replace the burrs every few years.

Put simply, if you want a fantastic grinder at a reasonable price and want to skip all the research, the Baratza Encore is a safe bet!

**Read my complete Encore Baratza Review for the full pros, cons, and other details.**

At a Glance: Best Grinders for Coffee at Various Budgets

Before getting into the detailed reviews, here is an overview of my choices and what makes each one a fantastic grinder for coffee beans.

• Baratza Encore: Best Overall
• Fellow Gen 2 Ode Brew Grinder: Premium Option
• Hamilton Beach Electric Blade Grinder: Budget Blade Grinder
• Bodum Bistro: Best Budget Burr Grinder
• Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill: Best Manual Burr Grinder
• Baratza Virtuoso+: The most affordable commercial-grade grinder
• Baratza Sette 270: Best for espresso

The 7 Best Coffee Grinders: Reviews and Buying Guide

The variability in price, material, and design can make buying a coffee beans grinder tricky. So let’s get into the details by analyzing each of these grinders and what makes them unique.

Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

The Baratza Encore grinder is one of the most popular choices for coffee lovers because it is the perfect balance of price and precision. The Encore does not stand up well to the best grinders on the market, but as Baratza’s entry-level grinder, it is not trying to accomplish that. Instead, Baratza made an extremely affordable grinder that still has a remarkable evenness and 40 grind settings.

While the Encore is not ideal for espresso, you can still grind fine enough to brew it occasionally. Note, the company recently came out with an updated Baratza Encore ESP model better suited for espresso. Other convenient features include an easy-to-use on/off switch, a pulse button for manual grinding, and a simple grind adjustment system. This grinder is durable and will last you years without any service. And if you notice the burrs get dull after years, replacing them is easy and affordable.

Pros

• 40mm steel M3 burrs (consistent grind)
• Wide grind range for different brewing methods
• Durable and easy to clean

Cons

• Lighter plastic material means not as sturdy
• Can be noisy

Takeaway

In reviewing the Encore, I brewed some fantastic V60s and Chemexes. There are enough grind settings for loads of other brewing methods too. Overall, this grinder is a solid option from a reputable company, and it is a fantastic choice for serious beginners who want grind quality but cannot justify a more expensive model.

Fellow Gen 2 Ode Brew Grinder

The Fellow Gen 2 Ode Brew Grinder is a fantastic option for serious coffee lovers who don’t mind spending extra on high-level grinding. This San Francisco-based specialty coffee company has made huge splashes in the specialty coffee world over the last ten years, and all of its products are thoughtful and well-constructed. Besides the high-quality grinding, you also get the sleek simplicity and modern aesthetics that Fellow uses for most of its products.

For grind quality, the 64mm stainless steel burrs are flat, leading to professional-level grind consistency. This product is the only flat burr grinder in the lineup, and it has 31 settings to give you flexibility—change between drip coffee, French press, and cold brew. The only downside is that you cannot go fine enough for espresso. But besides that limitation, this product, with its flat burr system, is the best grinder for coffee brewing at this price.

Compared to the Baratza grinders, you will also appreciate how quiet this machine is. And the Fellow Gen 2 Ode also comes with a new anti-static technology that reduces grind retention within the grinder—aka more freshness and less waste!

Pros

• Solid aluminum material
• 64mm flat burrs for insanely consistent grind
• Anti-static technology to reduce grind retention
• Remarkably quiet grinder

Cons

• Not designed for espresso

Takeaway

If you have any general knowledge of the specialty coffee world, then you probably know already that Fellow has a reputation for making premium coffee products. This Fellow grinder is no exception, providing high-quality grinding in a sleek and beautiful design. If the premium price tag does not intimidate you, I highly recommend this grinder!

Hamilton Beach Blade Grinder

The Hamilton Beach Fresh Grind Electric Coffee Grinder is the most budget-friendly option I could find that still makes a good enough grind. Since I have owned and tested the best coffee bean grinders on the market, it is hard to passionately recommend a blade grinder. To be clear, using a blade grinder is still better than buying pre-ground coffee. And as an electric grinder, it is fast. But as your coffee skills advance, blade grinders will tend to frustrate you with inconsistent grind size and taste.

**Burr Grinder vs Blade Grinder: Why Burrs Are Better**

But for the category of blade grinders, this product is both affordable and well-designed. The stainless steel blades won’t dull over time, and the large grinding bowl can hold a ton of beans at once. The bowl is dishwasher safe, and there is hideaway cord storage to keep your coffee setup looking neat.

Pros

• One-touch button design
• Durable stainless steel blades
• Super affordable
• Compact

Cons

• Poor grind consistency
• Limited grind size flexibility

Takeaway

If you compare this blade grinder’s price to the other grinders in this article, it should not surprise you that there is less grind quality, consistency, and flexibility. But grinding coffee fresh, even with a blade grinder, will still be more delicious than using stale coffee. So if you’re on a tight budget, this compact product is a simple and cheap way to get a grinder.

Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder

Next is the Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder, the best compromise for getting the solid consistency of burr grinders on a stricter budget. Because this grinder has plastic material and a lightweight, the grind quality will suffer compared to other more expensive burr grinders. But for its price, the grind quality is good for standard brewing such as French press, Chemex, and drip machines. And compared to the inconsistency of blade grinders, you will be much happier with this product if you can afford it.

This electric grinder is easy to use compared to expensive models, and you can use a touch button or timer. The 12 grind settings give you flexibility, although it will be hard to make subtle changes to your extraction and flavor with this limitation. My personal experience with this grinder produced at least a few delicious Chemex brews, but I would recommend saving for something better if you have espresso brewing in mind.

Pros

• Compact and sleek design
• Affordable burr grinder
• Easy to use
• Low noise level
• Stainless steel conical burrs

Cons

• Limited grind settings
• Plastic construction

Takeaway

Making the step up from a blade grinder to a burr grinder is one of the biggest increases in grind quality you can make. And, this Bodum Grinder allows you to do that at the most budget-friendly price I could find. Other electric burr grinders that are cheaper than this cut too many corners, and I would feel bad recommending them.

See Also: The Best Budget Coffee Grinders Under $100

Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill

The Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill is a manual burr grinder that allows you to get fantastic grind quality at a remarkable price. The downside, of course, is that you will have to spend 2-3 minutes grinding, depending on how much coffee you tend to make. Grinding at a fine setting will also take longer, and it can be a decent arm workout. But I have owned this Hario grinder for years so that I can grind fresh coffee while traveling.

And if you don’t mind the exercise, this hand grinder will get you much better grind quality than the electric Bodum grinder above—and at nearly 1/3 the price! Hario is a well-established company in the specialty coffee world, and this product is thoughtfully designed. Compared to steel, a ceramic burr is highly durable and easy to clean. You can also tighten/loosen the burr screw to adjust to a range of grind sizes. You will struggle to brew espresso with this product, but most other brewing methods will work fantastic.

Besides manual operation, the other main downside is its small size. If you like larger brewing methods like a Chemex or French press, you might prefer Hario’s larger Skerton Plus Manual Grinder.

Pros

• Compact and portable design—perfect for traveling
• Ceramic burrs for durability and consistent grinds
• Over 30 steps to change the grind size

Cons

• Small size (24-gram capacity)
• Manual operation can get tiresome

Takeaway

Overall, the Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill is an excellent option for those looking for a simple and portable hand coffee grinder. Its ceramic burrs produce consistent and uniform grinds, and you will probably get better grind quality than a cheap electric grinder. There is also an in-depth guide to the best manual coffee grinders if you want to see other options.

Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

Next is the Baratza Virtuoso+, a high-quality coffee grinder that I use every day at home as my primary grinder. This machine is the next in the lineup after Baratza’s entry-level Encore grinder. Even by simply picking this product up, you will understand that it has a top-notch construction with solid materials. And if you have seen the Baratza Virtuoso models from the past, this new version has some fantastic upgrades, including a digital timer and LED backlight.

Compared to the burrs on the Encore, these 40mm conical burrs are much higher quality and include a precision mounting system that ensures accurate and even grind sizes. The solid materials make it way more stable than the Encore, and I can personally vouch that grinding for espresso is possible. The only downside with espresso brewing is the lack of precision adjustments in the fine grind settings. But otherwise, the high-quality burrs produce fantastic evenness and very little fines across the range of settings.

And besides its grinding, I also love how quiet and stylish this machine is. It has a sleek appearance that fits perfectly into my coffee setup, and early-morning coffee grinding won’t wake anybody up! The main downside of this option is the price, but the grind quality speaks for itself. Unless you want a grinder that specializes in espresso, I can’t imagine this one disappointing you!

Pros

• Digital display and timer for precise control
• Consistent and uniform grind with 40mm steel M2 conical burrs
• Quiet operation and high-quality construction

Cons

• Expensive
• Limited flexibility with espresso grinding

Takeaway

Overall, the Baratza Virtuoso+ is an excellent choice for those who want precise control over their coffee grind and are willing to invest in a high-quality and durable grinder. You can get a solid grind for espresso from this machine, but it has fewer adjustments on the fine end.

Baratza Sette 270

Last up is the Baratza Sette 270, a high-end grinder for people serious about espresso. The precision and consistency of this product is remarkable. As the name suggests, there are 270 grind settings (30 macro and 9 micro adjustments.) This coffee machine grinder is the most versatile in this buying guide, and it will produce café-quality grinds for any brewing method. But the design is particularly suited for making the fine adjustments needed to dial in the perfect espresso.

But the high price is a downside for many people, and it is worth noting that Baratza does have another lower-tier/cheaper model in its espresso lineup, the Sette 30. But I thought for only slightly more money, the better quality and finer adjustments of the Sette 270 were worth it. If you know espresso, then you know that sometimes the smallest change in grind size can have a huge impact on flavor.

Pros

• Wide range of grind settings—perfect for espresso!
• Powerful, high-torque DC motor
• 40 mm steel S1 burrs by Etzinger

Cons

• Expensive

Takeaway

Overall, the Baratza Sette 270 is an excellent choice for those who want a high-precision and versatile coffee grinder, especially one designed for espresso. But even though it is optimized for espresso, you can still get a fantastic coarse grind for brews like a French press or cold brew coffee.

Best Coffee Grinder: What to Look For

Now that you’ve seen the details behind each grinder, let’s go over some basic information about coffee grinders and what you should be looking for.

Coffee Grinding 101

At some point, any coffee lover realizes the limitations of pre-ground coffee. Whether you use a coffee maker like Mr Coffee or brew something fancier, grinding beans at home dramatically improves the freshness and flavor of your coffee. When a coffee bean is whole, most of the material is protected from the damaging effects of air. But once the bean is ground, aging happens rapidly. Whole beans will still age and should be stored properly to prolong their fresh flavor. But keeping ground coffee fresh is nearly impossible.

But you might be wondering: why do grinders have to be so expensive? There are many reasons, but the primary feature of a high-quality grinder is its consistent grind size. Coffee particles of the same size extract at the same rate and allow you to dial in the perfect taste. And it turns out that designing a machine that perfectly crushes coffee beans is a difficult and expensive process.

This section will cover the basics of grinding and what to look for, but for the most thorough understanding of the topic, check out this ultimate guide to coffee grinding for the most in-depth information.

Blade vs Burr Coffee Grinders

You can also adjust a burr grinder by changing the spacing of the two burrs. This gives you precise control over the grind size, which greatly affects the extraction rate.

Conical vs Flat Burr Grinder

Both a conical burr grinder and a flat burr design can produce fantastic grind consistency, and the difference is negligible for most home users. The conical system has a cone-shaped burr that spins against a static ring, and the spacing between them determines grind size. Some prefer the conical design because it is usually less noisy and produces less heat.

Flat burr grinders have two parallel burrs along the same plane. For reasons of design and precision adjustments to the spacing, flat burrs tend to give the brewer more control and consistency. The Fellow Gen 2 Ode was the only grinder in this collection that had a flat burr system.

Ceramic vs Steel Burr

Like many of the considerations you’ve read so far, the debate between ceramic and steel material for the burrs comes down to tradeoffs and personal preference. The main advantages of ceramic burrs are:

• Highly durable (stay sharp longer)
• Generate less heat

So while ceramic burrs have a longer lifespan, steel burrs have the advantage of being sharper. Sharp burrs can give you more precise control over grind size, especially at the fine end of grinding (optimal for espresso.)

All of the grinders included in this article except the Hario hand grinder had steel burrs. Some of the more expensive burr grinders by Baratza like the Vario+ and Forte AP have ceramic burrs. But they are unnecessarily expensive for home use and probably best suited for a more commercial setting.

Read More: Comparing Cheap and Expensive Coffee Grinders

Manual Coffee Grinder vs Electric Grinder

Manual coffee grinders can be a fantastic choice as a first grinder. The main advantages of manual grinders are:

• Portability: Easy to travel with
• Very quiet
• Affordable: You can get high-level coffee grinding for a much lower price than electric models

However, the downside of a manual grinder is that it takes a decent amount of physical effort to grind, especially for larger doses and small grind sizes. See this regularly updated lineup of the best hand grinders for the top products.

For electric grinders—except for a blade grinder—the primary advantage is the huge range of grind sizes and consistency. All electric models are also way more convenient, grinding much faster and without the need for your physical effort. But that convenience comes with a price, as high-quality electric grinders are much more expensive.

Understanding Grind Setting

The grinding setting refers to the distance between the two burrs on a grinder. As the burrs get closer together, the beans have to pass through a smaller opening and the grind size gets smaller. Espresso and Turkish coffee are examples of the finest setting a grinder will produce.

And as you move the burrs farther apart—for something like drip coffee, Frech press, or cold brew—the beans pass through a larger opening and produce a larger particle size.

Some grinders are optimized for better results at the fine end of the grind spectrum, and others have a design more suited to drip coffee and larger. While researching a grinder, have an idea of how you plan to brew coffee so that you can choose a grinder that gives you optimal flexibility.

For example, the Baratza Encore should be suitable for people who brew in a drip coffee machine. But it would be worth the upgrade to the Baratza Virtuoso+ if you want to get good results for espresso grinding. And truly serious espresso brewers can consider Baratza Sette 270 if they want the most precise control over espresso grind size.

Grind Consistency

To be clear, coffee grind size distribution will always be slightly uneven because of a coffee bean’s complex material and structure. Even the best grinders produce some fines. These are particles less than 100 mm in diameter created as large pieces fracture. Expensive grinders tend to make fewer fine particles, but most brewing methods need some fines.

The larger particles are called boulders, and it is there that grind consistency is most important. A stable construction of sharp burrs, a strong motor, and quality materials will create the most even grind size for the boulders.

Common Questions About Coffee Grinders

If you are still unsure which grinder will be best for you, let’s wrap up by answering some common questions buyers have.

Choosing the Best Coffee Grinder: Final Thoughts

Almost every serious coffee drinker has a grinder at home. Having your coffee ground ahead of time means that you are brewing with stale coffee. And if you are investing in more expensive beans, grinding them ahead of time ruins the delicate flavors and fresh aroma of your pressure coffee.

So I believe investing in a coffee grinder is the highest priority if you care about brewing quality coffee at home. There are models for almost any budget, and they will immediately upgrade your home coffee game. Hopefully, you found one that works for you.

But if you still need more research, this gigantic guide to grinding coffee beans contains a lot of science and way more coffee grinder reviews.