Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: which espresso machine should you buy?

Ninja hasn't been subtle about the fact that its Luxe Café espresso machine is designed to compete with the Breville Barista Express. When the machine first launched, the brand ran marketing material that literally compared it to "other espresso machines" on a range of specs, and what image did they use to represent "other espresso machines"? That's right, an image of the Breville Barista Express. And while these machines are ultimately created with the same aim in mind — to make great home espresso — they are incredibly different.

I'm a newly SCA-certified barista who's been reviewing the best espresso machines for five years, and while I love all things Ninja, me and the Barista Express go way back. I persuaded my parents to buy it for me for Christmas five years ago, and it's still a much-loved member of their kitchen. It's an absolute classic, and despite how many innovative and brilliant espresso machines Breville has released since the Barista Express came out, it's still one of the top-selling machines on the market.

The Luxe Café came out in mid-2024, and while it's currently in stock, it sells out frequently. While Ninja doesn't have the espresso pedigree, it does have legions of fans who love the brand's consistent innovation, from its air fryers to its ice cream makers. We reviewed both, we gave both 4.5 stars in our reviews, so if you're considering buying an espresso machine, either would be a Tom's Guide-approved choice. But which is best coffee maker for you, and which should you buy? Let's put them head-to-head.

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Specs compared

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Price and availability

There's no world in which $500 is not a lot of money to part with for a new kitchen gadget, but in the world of espresso machines, it could be a lot more. I'm reluctant to say that the Ninja Luxe Café is a great value machine, because it's one of the most expensive things Ninja's ever sold, but for the price, it does offer a huge amount above the industry standard.

By comparison, the Breville Barista Express retails for $700 at full price, but at major trading events like Black Friday and Prime Day, you'll typically see it on sale. I got mine for $500 in 2019, but it's definitely gone up in price since then.

Winner: Ninja Luxe Café

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Looks

Purely on looks, I'd go with the Barista Express over the Luxe Café. Speaking as a huge Ninja fan, I think we can all accept that their appliances don't always win in the aesthetics department, and it's the advanced features that often swing the dial in their favor. It's the same story with this espresso machine.

When you think of an espresso machine you probably think of something that looks like the Breville Barista Express. It's all buttons and dials, stainless steel (although it does come in other colors) and features a pressure gauge that, even if you don't really understand how it works, makes you feel like a professional when you use the machine.

Winner: Breville Barista Express

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Interface

The Ninja is about the same size, with a black and white LCD display and buttons. It features a mix of black and stainless steel and offers some smart housing on either side of the machine to allow you to access the tamper (which is attached magnetically next to the grinder on the Barista Express) and the Luxe basket, which allows you to make drip coffee.

As opposed to making you feel like a pro, the Ninja machine makes you feel like it's helping you make a good coffee. It suggests grind adjustments, tells you if your shot went well (as opposed to showing you with a pressure dial) and features an assisted steam wand that still gives you the feeling of pouring your milk into your coffee, but doesn't really let you steam it like a professional.

Winner: Ninja Luxe Café

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Coffee grinding

There are two very different grinders at play here. Ninja is weight-based, meaning it weighs the coffee as it grinds, and it will suggest changes to your grind size depending on how long your coffee takes to extract. By contrast, the Breville has the more conventional approach of allowing you to determine your volume of coffee, and while it can't assist you, you can make your own call as to whether your grind size is right depending on the pressure level and the speed of your extraction. This characterizes the essential difference between these machines — Breville leaves you to figure it out for yourself, and the Ninja will give you a helping hand at every stage.

One really clever feature of Ninja's grinder is its motor-supported grind adjustments. When you change grind size, you'll often want to purge a bit of coffee between adjustments to prevent your next shot from having an inconsistent grind. The Ninja tackles this by automatically shaking out grounds between adjustments to prevent you needing to do this manually.

On paper, the fact that the Ninja has 25 grind settings compared to Breville's 16 may seem like a big advantage, but there's a reason for this. As I point out in our best coffee grinder guide, you'll struggle to find a grinder that can make grounds fine enough for a really good espresso, and coarse (but even) enough for quality drip coffee. But for a machine that claims to do both, I wouldn't expect 25 grind settings to be enough. As coffee reviewer extraordinaire James Hoffman found when he tried the Ninja Luxe Café, the machine can just enough handle a fine enough grind for espresso, but created a very inconsistent grind for drip coffee.

The Breville has an easier job to do. Its 16 grind settings are geared toward espresso, which you can expect to make smaller changes with its steel conical burrs to allow you to really fine-tune your coffee. It will definitely get the job done, but it's a bit loud and whiny when in use.

It's hard to pick a winner here. The Barista Express does one thing perfectly well, but the Ninja does more, albeit with a less puritanical focus on espresso that could drag down its overall grinding quality. Due to the clever added features of the Ninja Luxe Café such as its volumetric grinding though, I think it offers better value for most people.

Winner: Ninja Luxe Café

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Coffee

You can make a great espresso in both of these machines, but they work a little differently. Ninja does away with single baskets entirely, just using a double or a luxe basket that works for drip coffee and a quad shot. It's a machine that's designed for American-sized venti coffee! The Barista Express has four baskets to choose from: a single-walled or pressurized version of both a single and double shot. These baskets are stored in a tray that slots behind the drip tray for easy access.

Ninja also offers both cold brew and drip coffee, which is pretty clever. Many modern machines (including Breville's latest machine, the Oracle Jet) offer cold brew settings, but you'll usually have to spend $1k+ to get a setting like this in an espresso machine, and Ninja manages it for $500.

You won't find the drip coffee to be as high-quality as the likes of a dedicated grinder and drip setup, but it's more than enough to satisfy the majority of coffee drinkers, and it's an impressive extra that will perfectly suit households like mine where one person is more of an espresso drinker and the other likes long black coffees.

Winner: Ninja Luxe Café

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Milk

If I were buying an espresso machine, I wouldn't bother with one that steams automatically. I'm on a mission to perfect my latte art since going to barista school, and I'd probably find the Ninja Luxe Café a bit annoying for hand-steaming.

But, for most people, the Ninja will make milk steaming easy. It features a unique jug that has a whisk built into the base. This will circulate your milk and make texturizing easy for the automatic steam wand, and it also means you can create cold foam to top up your cold brew.

Again, it comes down to what you're prefer. Ironically, the more versatile machine will probably be a better choice for a less capable home barista, whereas someone who really wants to perfect the basics of home brewing will be able to learn on a machine like the Barista Express a lot better than the Ninja Luxe Café.

Winner: Ninja Luxe Café

Ninja Luxe Café vs Breville Barista Express: Verdict

They may look quite similar, but these are incredibly different machines, and they're designed for different users. So instead of picking one overall winner, I'll instead offer some advice from a keen home barista who bought the Breville Barista Express back when she didn't know anything about coffee.

For keen home baristas: Buy the Breville Barista Express. It has been and continues to be the perfect machine for those who want to learn on a capable machine that won't detach them from the brewing process. As an added bonus, there are so many brands that created add-on gadgets (such as bottomless portafilters and single-dose hoppers) to mod this machine and really make it your own. A beginner will struggle to do this machine justice, but if you're keen to learn about coffee, learn on this iconic machine.

For coffee-lovers who just want a great brew: The Ninja Luxe Café clearly wins on features. It can make espresso, drip and cold brew coffee, as well as automatic, manual and cold foam milk. It also offers a heap of assisted settings to help you optimize your brew without having to learn about complex stuff like ratios, grind size and pressure.

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