5 Best Single-Cup Coffee Makers for Your Kitchen

Coffee is currently one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. It’s so popular and widespread that it has been equated as one of our basic necessities to start the day.

This delicious brew can be prepared in any number of ways. You can have it from pots or through coffee makers and espresso machines.

Many households now have their own coffee makers due to their convenience.  However, not everyone needs machines with large pitchers that are commonly present today. In many cases, only one cup of coffee is enough to start your day. 

This is where single-cup coffee makers come in. They can brew coffee faster, with less waste, and with more customizable options. The five single-cup coffee makers featured here are the best that you’ll find in the market. So give them a look!

Best Single-Cup Coffee Makers Comparison & Rating

Want to Learn More?

Before you decide which single-cup coffee maker to buy, you might want to find out more about the best options available. This is to make sure that you will absolutely enjoy the single-cup coffee maker that you would get for your kitchen. Also, be sure to click the yellow buttons below to see their best deals on Amazon! With that, here are five of the best options that we rounded up especially for you.

Sboly Single-Serve Coffee Maker

Sboly Single Serve Coffee Maker & Milk Frother, Coffee Brewer for K-Cup and Ground Coffee, Cappuccino Machine and Latte Maker Bundle
Specifications

Dimensions

7.3 x 5.4 x 11.6 inches

Weight

6.16 pounds

Color

Black

Material

Stainless Steel

Rating: 96% Overall
97%
speed
95%
efficiency
94%
ease of use
96%
versatility
Pros
  • The package includes a coffee maker and a milk frother.
  • Perfect for making cappuccinos and lattes
  • Compatible with both k-pods and coffee grounds
  • Comes with a self-cleaning feature
  • Makes coffee in three minutes or less
  • Great for making both hot and cold coffee
  • Comes with one-touch brewing functions
  • Features a compact and durable design
Cons
  • The frother has only one single setting but is very efficient in delivering a desirable brew.
  • The milk frother is not suitable for non-dairy milk.
Verdict

This is an excellent single-cup coffee maker for those who love milk in their favorite brew. You can easily produce bubbly, frothy, thick, and creamy hot beverages with this package. Aside from coffee, you can also use the frother for chocolate milk, milk tea, and many more. The versatility of the coffee maker itself means that you can still brew if you only have ground coffee or k-pods. There is no need to agonize over your choices and go with your favorite beans of the day.


Chefman InstaCoffee Single-Serve Coffee Maker

Chefman InstaCoffee Single Serve Coffee Maker Compatible with K-Cup Pods, Grounds & Loose-Leaf Tea w/Reusable Filter, Compact 14 oz, Black/Stainless Steel, Mug Not Included, 14 x 7.6 x 5.6 inches
Specifications

Dimensions

14 x 7.6 x 5.6 inches

Weight

2.79 pounds

Color

Black

Material

Stainless Steel

Rating: 95% Overall
96%
speed
94%
efficiency
93%
ease of use
96%
versatility
Pros
  • Makes coffee in 30 seconds
  • Extremely versatile and easy to adjust the coffee’s strength
  • Comes with a one-touch operation
  • Has 950W of brewing power
  • Accepts both k-pods and coffee grounds
  • Fits any countertop space
Cons
  • The filter can be too small.
  • Unable to accommodate reusable filters
  • Cleaning can be a challenge.
Verdict

This is the perfect single-cup coffee maker for those who are always in a hurry. In less than a minute, you can have a mug of coffee ready to go. You can be the one to decide how strong the flavor is going to be by just adjusting the water too. There are no complicated buttons to get used to either. Best of all, you can make coffee with k-pods and the ground coffee of your choice.


BLACK+DECKER Coffeemaker

BLACK+DECKER Coffeemaker, 1, Black/Stainless Steel
Specifications

Dimensions

10.2 x 7 x 6.9 inches

Weight

1.4 pounds

Color

Stainless Steel

Material

Stainless Steel

Rating: 93% Overall
93%
speed
94%
efficiency
92%
ease of use
93%
versatility
Pros
  • Brews coffee directly into your travel coffee mug
  • Comes with a permanent grounds filter
  • Automatically shuts off after brewing
  • Comes with a 15-ounce coffee mug
  • Perfect for small kitchens or office spaces
  • Easy to use and simple to maintain
Cons
  • The water reservoir is difficult to refill due to the coffee maker’s built.
  • Fine coffee ground particles can occasionally still get through without disposable filters.
  • Brewing coffee can take a while.
  • Four
  • Five
Verdict

For those who love to drink their coffee in large travel mugs, this is the machine to get. It’s quite simple to operate with only one button to push for the whole thing to work. You can decide how strong or weak your brew is going to be with the amount of ground coffee beans you scoop in. The machine itself is compact enough that you can place it pretty much anywhere. The travel mug is a great way to enjoy coffee as well.


Hamilton Beach Scoop Single-Serve Coffee Maker

Hamilton Beach Scoop Single Serve Coffee Maker, Fast Brewing, Stainless Steel (49981A)
Specifications

Dimensions

8.35 x 6.7 x 8.67 inches

Weight

5.58 pounds

Color

Stainless Steel

Material

Stainless Steel

Rating: 92% Overall
92%
speed
94%
efficiency
90%
ease of use
91%
versatility
Pros
  • Perfect for brewing an eight-ounce cup in less than 90 seconds
  • The machine comes with a mesh scoop filter for your choice of coffee grounds.
  • Features an automatic or bold brewing option
  • Built to last a long time
  • Automatically turns off after it is done brewing
  • Easy to clean and food-safe
Cons
  • Needs to be used with tall cups as it splashes a lot
  • Could smell plastic during the first few uses and needs to be thoroughly cleaned to remove the odor
Verdict

This is a fairly versatile coffee maker that is perfect for your brewing needs. It’s best used for medium-ground coffee beans and you can decide how strong it is going to be. The stainless steel parts are safe and guaranteed to last a long time. It does not come with a storage tank, so you can be sure that the water is fresh for every brew. The coffee itself will always be piping hot and as strong as you want.


Keurig K-Cafe Single-Serve Coffee Maker

Keurig K-Cafe Coffee Maker, Single Serve K-Cup Pod Coffee, Latte and Cappuccino Maker, Comes with Dishwasher Safe Milk Frother, Coffee Shot Capability, Compatible With all K-Cup Pods, Charcoal
Specifications

Dimensions

17.32 x 14.17 x 14.41 inches

Weight

13.17 pounds

Color

Charcoal

Material

Plastic

Rating: 90% Overall
90%
speed
93%
efficiency
88%
ease of use
89%
versatility
Pros
  • Makes delicious lattes and cappuccinos
  • The k-pod makes brewing coffee convenient and fast.
  • Comes with a 60-ounce water reservoir
  • Comes with a programmable auto-off feature
  • Able to accommodate a travel mug
  • Simple and easy to operate for brewing
Cons
  • It only uses k-pods.
  • The machine needs to be plugged into its own circuit as it can pull substantial amps that could trip GFI circuit breakers.
  • Consumes too much space for a single-cup coffee maker
Verdict

This coffee maker is all about convenience. With the k-pod selections that you can choose from, you can have any coffee flavor you want. The process itself involves no scooping or measuring for simple brewing. The operation involves a push of a button and you are done. Best of all, the milk frother makes some truly thick foam for your enjoyment.

Single-Cup Coffee Maker Buyer's Guide

size

Although single-cup coffee makers are intended to make enough coffee for one person, this still comes with a considerable amount of space for variety. As such, while some machines can make as little as five ounces of coffee, others can go for double that. This has to do with the fact that different people drink different amounts of the beverage. So it pays to choose a machine with more flexibility on this front.

type

There are different types of single-cup coffee makers that will affect how they are used, what they can make, and how much they can make. In the case of machines that accept k-pods, for example, they are precisely measured and produce only a certain amount of caffeine for each pod. Then there are the machines that accept scoops of ground coffee beans, which are less convenient but are more flexible.

capacity

Some single-cup coffee makers are set to be able to brew only a certain amount of coffee. A lot of this has to do with how much water and coffee grounds they can hold. This is a separate issue from how much coffee can be produced. Just because a coffee maker is meant to make only five ounces of coffee, this does not mean that it can only hold five ounces of water. The more water the machine can hold, the less often it needs to be refilled.

features

The simplest single-cup coffee makers are those that have a single button to start the process. This will heat up the water, run it through the coffee grounds, and start the brewing. On the other hand, there are more complex machines that keep the cup warm, can pause the brewing process, and even prepare the beverage to be made into iced coffee. Be sure to pay attention to the features and decide if they are worth the cost or not.

easy to use

Even if the single-cup coffee maker has a lot of features and functions, it should never be too complicated for people to use. On top of coming with instructions that are easy to follow, you should be able to understand what they do right away. If not that, then you should be able to become familiar with them enough that you can use the machine with no major issues in no time.

FAQs

Why get a single-cup coffee maker for my kitchen?

Single-cup coffee makers are perfect for people who don’t want to waste coffee or wait for a long time to get their cup of caffeine. Thanks to the smaller volume that needs to be brewed, coffee makers that are meant only for one person will produce them faster and with fewer ground beans. This also saves on power and water.

Is it okay to use any mug for single-cup coffee makers?

It would depend on the coffee maker but generally speaking, most would accept mugs with stand shapes and sizes. Obviously, if the mug is ridiculously big or has bulky decorations that will get in the way, the coffee maker might not be able to accommodate it. Likewise, small coffee cups might not be a good fit either if they can’t hold all of the coffee that will be brewed. The coffee would overflow.

When should I get a single-cup coffee maker?

Single-cup coffee makers are best for people who live alone or with someone else they don’t need to prepare coffee for. Examples include students in dorms, those who live in small apartments, as well as those who have their own offices. If you don’t need to make coffee for the rest of the family, then there is no need to get coffee makers with big pitchers.

Should I get a k-pod single-cup coffee maker?

It depends on your preference and your choice of brew. K-pods are convenient, versatile, and accurate in how much coffee they can produce. On the other hand, you will not be able to customize them to your heart’s content. If you want a brew that is exactly to your taste, you will need single-cup coffee makers that can also accommodate scooped coffee grounds.