Aussies have rated Nespresso as the top brand in Canstar Blue’s latest pod & capsule coffee machine ratings, with the brand rated five stars for performance, design, ease of cleaning, ease of use, features & functionality and overall satisfaction.
Our review compares pod & capsule coffee machines on customer satisfaction, so you can find out what other Aussies think about the compared brands before you go ahead with a purchase. Think of it as like asking hundreds of your closest mates which pod & capsule coffee machine they think is best!
Canstar Blue surveyed 451 Australians for their feedback on the pod & capsule coffee machine(s) they’ve purchased and used in the last three years.
The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
Find more detailed information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.
Nespresso was rated five stars for performance, design, ease of cleaning, ease of use, features & functionality and overall satisfaction, with three stars for value for money.
One brand name you won’t be able to ignore when shopping for a coffee pod machine is Nespresso. The hugely popular coffee expert sells a wide variety of automatic and manual machines, in addition to its coffee pods. Its entry level Essenza Mini is ideal for those who don’t need anything fancy, don’t have a lot of counter space or want to stick to a budget, with the model still able to produce espresso or lungo size coffees.
Those after something with a bit more to it may be interested in the Gran Lattissima model, which includes a detachable milk jug, one-touch system to help you select and create your brew of choice, a 1.3L water tank, 18-second heat up time and auto-off power saving mode, with two colour schemes also available.
De’Longhi was rated five stars for features & functionality, ease of use, design and performance, with four stars for ease of cleaning, value for money and overall satisfaction.
The list wouldn’t be complete without De’Longhi. The brand delivers some of the largest ranges on the market, with a variety of drip, manual, fully automatic and coffee pod machines to choose from. You can find a pot coffee maker too! But, when it comes to capsule-style coffee machines, it shares the same products with Nespresso.
One model to expect is the Vertuo pod machine, which comes in multiple colour schemes, and includes five programmable coffee selections, a milk frother, one-button operation and automatic capsule ejection, in addition to Wi-Fi connectivity to help troubleshoot any issues.
ALDI Expressi was rated five stars for value for money, four stars for performance, design, ease of cleaning, ease of use and features & functionality, with three stars for overall satisfaction.
Discount supermarket ALDI is no stranger to ‘hot’ appliances, with many of its Special Buys constantly proving to be popular with shoppers. Its ALDI Expressi coffee machine range is no exception. The Expressi Coffee Capsule Machine ─ One is described as a Swiss-engineered model with a compact and stylish design. It comes with three adjustable beverage buttons, a 0.8L water tank, a 19-bar high-pressure pump, and a capsule container that holds up to 10 capsules. It’s also said to have an energy-efficient automatic shut-off function.
Not all brands in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are several more brands to check out before making a purchase decision.
Coffee pod machines work by completely automating the coffee-making process, down to inserting the coffee itself.
You simply put a coffee pod into your pod-compatible coffee machine, turn it on, and let it brew your coffee (make sure you have a cup placed under the coffee dispenser). You barely have to lift a finger as the machine brews the contents of the pod into a coffee.
Coffee pod machines are a speedy solution for somebody craving a quick coffee in the morning, however, someone craving a more artisan approach to coffee may be left disappointed, and may want to consider an automatic or a manual coffee machine instead.
Some coffee pod machine manufacturers recommend that you only use the coffee pods built for the specific coffee machine in question (for example, Nescafe pods for the Nescafe coffee pod machine, etc), however, you might find that other pods work with your machine.
It’s best to be cautious about this as you don’t want to ruin your machine simply by using the wrong coffee pod.
Coffee pods are recyclable, but not in the same way a plastic water bottle is. While you can recycle coffee pods, you shouldn’t mix them in with the rest of your recycling, as coffee pods have a foil lid that can contaminate the rest of the plastic. You can find a coffee capsule recycling scheme near you through organisations like Planet Ark. When choosing a brand, make sure you choose capsules and pods that can be recycled.
This report was written by Canstar Blue’s Site Editor, Dean Heckscher. He’s our resident expert on all things automotive, health & fitness, streaming and more. Dean is also one of Canstar Blue’s customer research report producers, helping to turn complicated subjects into easily-digestible information for our readers. He’s passionate about helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services.
Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and 2 years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.
Here are the past winners from Canstar Blue’s coffee pod and capsule machine ratings:
Appliances - September 27th
We all love coffee and no matter how you take your coffee, if you take it with milk you’ll want it just the way you like. So why not create perfectly frothed milk at home? …
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Appliances - August 4th
Are you stirring around looking for a budget-friendly coffee machine that will help you make barista-quality cuppas at home? If so, we’ve whipped up a ‘fa-brew-lous’ list of cheap coffee machines worth checking out if …
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Appliances - January 25th
If you love coffee and a bargain, you’ve perhaps pondered snagging the $89 Kmart coffee machine. The cut-price Anko coffee machine has continued to garner plenty of attention since it first hit shelves, with most …
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Appliances - January 25th
We checked online to see how many types of coffee beverages there are… it turns out, it’s quite a lot.
– Read more
Appliances - August 4th
Australia is a nation of coffee snobs, each with their own favourite way of making the black stuff. So, which is best?
– Read more
