9 Best Espresso Grinders Under $500

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Introduction

If you’ve ever had a conversation with a barista before, chances are they’ve told you all about what you can do to make better coffee.

A grinder is usually top of the list: and they’re right. Coffee enthusiasts agree that a good grinder to grind your beans before brewing is the best thing you can do for flavor.

By Marcelo.

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So, with that in mind, here is a list of our picks for best espresso grinders – under $500.

Top 3 picks

Best espresso grinders under $500

Rancilio Rocky Espresso Coffee Grinder

If you’ve only been around for a few years in the coffee world, maybe Rancilio doesn’t ring a bell. It’s legend has been somewhat occluded by the sheer amount of new and exciting products coming out in the last few years.

But make no mistake: Rancilio’s products are the best of the best. Their espresso machine and grinder in particular have achieved somewhat of a legendary status because of how mind-bogglingly good they are.

This grinder uses 50mm thick grinding burrs. It also grinds directly into the portafilter, a feature that few other grinders have. It makes it much easier.

The powerful 166-watt motor packs a punch, but it is still a great piece of engineering because how quiet it actually is compared to other grinders.

More of Our Favorites

Breville Barista Pro – An excellent manual espresso machine for home use
Philips 3200 Series Espresso Machine – Easy-to-use fully automatic coffee machine for small office or home use
Rancilio Egro ONE Touch – High capacity fully automatic commercial coffee machine for professional use
Koa Coffee – Premium hand-picked Hawaiian coffee – have you tried American coffee yet?

Fellow Ode Brew Grinder

Now this is a beautiful grinder.

Its design is breathtaking and immediately makes it stand out from all other home grinders – it is modern, elegant, and very simple to use. A unique grinder.

This is what they call a single-dose grinder; it’s not like those big grinders with hoppers that hold bags and bags of coffee. Instead, this is designed to grind one batch at a time, so there’s no actual hopper.

In our opinion, that’s much better because hoppers usually mean bad news for beans’ freshness.

The Ode comes with more than 10 settings, with a total of 31 steps in between.

This is a lot of room to experiment and try out different settings for different results.

The Ode has 64mm thick burrs, which are a little thicker than most grinders on the list and perform beautifully.

Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

Here we have a SCA (specialty coffee association) award-winning grinder: the Baratza Encore grinder.

This is a classic, and has been so for more than a decade. Coffee shops from all over the world have used this grinder because it is efficient, easy to use, and inexpensive. It was also at one point the most popular home grinder in America and Europe.

It is first and foremost super easy to use. It is a front-mounted button that is intuitive and anyone could figure it out.

As for settings, it has 40 different grind settings for you to choose from. Not too bad for an entry-level, inexpensive grinder! The burrs are on the thin side at 40mm thick.

The hopper is also quite spacious while the grinder itself doesn’t take as much space as you’d think.

It is known however if you look at reviews that the Baratza Encore is pretty noisy. This could be a little biased since this is many people’s first grinder and many don’t know just how loud grinders are. But still, beware of this.

Breville BCG820BKSXL

Breville BCG820BKSXL Smart Grinder

Breville has some of the best coffee-related products on the market, and it’s easy to see why with this grinder.

It is programmed to grind up to 0.2 second increments. Why does this matter?

It is thought that grinders work better in short bursts.

This optimizes consistency and avoids trouble like build-up and more importantly overheating: if a grinder works for too long it overheats, which can in turn damage the flavor of your coffee. So, this feature is a godsend.

This grinder has over 40 different grind settings for you to play around with and has a hopper capacity of 16oz. It grinds directly into the portafilter.

KitchenAid Burr Coffee Grinder – KCG8433

KitchenAid, coming up with exciting coffee appliances since forever.

KitchenAid is usually not the first brand in mind for hardcore use by coffee experts or baristas, but their products are actually really, really good for home use.

This particular grinder has some great features. It has 70 different grind settings, for example, rivaling many medium-range grinders.

It has a portafilter holder to grind directly into portafilters. It’s got anti-static tech to avid mess – and the hopper can hold up a lot of beans in it. That means a lot of coffee!

All in all it’s a great grinder that has a ton of features, all for a really reasonable price.

Eureka Mignon Crono Coffee Grinder

The Eureka Mignon Crono is a step up from your usual espresso grinder.

Granted, it might not look super modern and has this look that every other grinder has, but…

It has some of the best materials you can ask for and it is sure to last a lifetime without malfunctioning not even once. It is actually built and assembled right in Italy (Milan).

And you know that Italian-made coffee appliances are just next-level.

The burrs are 50mm, the standard size, and the operation is intuitive and easy to figure out even for first-time users.

Baratza Sette 270 Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

Baratza yet again with an award-winning grinder. This time it’s the Sette 270, a much more modern, tech-savvy grinder that promises much more than what their old (but gold) Encore could do.

This is one of the best espresso coffee grinders available under (or around) 500 US dollars.

Its small screen guides you through some of the features here, like programmable dosing that you can save and then use.

This is a great feature: you can play around with the settings until you find just the right one for espresso, for example.

Then you can save it and go right back to experimenting without losing that one perfect setting!

And if you’re wondering what the 270 stands for, it’s because it has 270 different grind settings.

That makes the whole saving-you-grind-setting make a lot of sense.

This is the best espresso coffee grinder to experiment with.

A near overwhelming number of settings in this one makes it really handy and even… fun! In this sense, the Sette offers the most fun out of all on the list!

Urbanic 070s Electric Coffee Grinder

This Korean grinder is an absolute beauty, with a retro-style design that makes you want to have it just because of how good it looks.

But inside that cool exterior, there’s even better things: the burrs are made of titanium, meaning that they’ll never experience wear and tear, making this a life-long purchase.

You can adjust the grind with the use of a dial. The hopper can hold up to 100g of beans in it.

KitchenAid Onyx Black Burr Grinder

This is a simpler, much more inexpensive grinder for those of us that don’t want to get bogged down by all the indecipherable features and what-not.

The KitchenAid burr grinder offers peak functionality with 450rpm and a powerful motor, but other than that it’s a very simple grinder that doesn’t have any features. It has 15 grind settings, which is widely considered the best basic package you can get.

FAQ

Do I really need a grinder?

Yes you do! If you think you enjoy coffee now, you have absolutely no idea how good coffee is when it’s freshly ground.

Coffee lovers vouch for this and many go as far as to say that if nothing else, you should get a grinder.

Good grind is always guarantee for great coffee.

How often should I clean my grinder?

Ideally, once a week. If you don’t use it a lot, you still have to clean it once a week, though, because there are still grounds inside.

Coffee grounds have oils (which you can extract!) in them, which will go rancid and start stinking up the place, making your coffee taste worse.

How should I clean my coffee grinder?

Use a long brush to scrape off all you can.

If you’ve gone a long time without cleaning it (1+ months) then it’s time for a rougher approach: get a toothbrush and mix water with vinegar and baking soda.

Scrub until your hands hurt.

Afterward, let it dry off for a couple of days before using.