Compact Espresso Machines: Width, Depth and Cup Clearance Compared

The people who search for a compact machine usually have a specific problem: a gap under a cabinet, a corner beside the sink, or a rental kitchen with no room to spare. A word on a listing won't solve that. Numbers will, so this page starts from those.

We compare by published specs and have not measured these machines ourselves. Where a size comes from someone other than the maker, or is missing, the table says so. For the other categories of machine, our comparison by spec sheet has the full field.

Our pick: with a separate grinderAd

Breville

Breville Bambino

A compact machine with a 54 mm portafilter, ready in 3 seconds. The grinder is yours to choose.

Why here: A small first machine whose size and specs Breville publishes itself, ready in 3 seconds, with the grinder left up to you.

Best for: Beginners who want to pick their grinder and upgrade it later

• +Ready to start in 3 seconds (Breville)
• +54 mm portafilter, 18 g dose (Breville)
• +Manual steam wand for hand-textured milk (Breville)

• –Needs a separate espresso-capable grinder
• –Breville's product page does not mention PID, though its BES450 instruction book does

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Heating

ThermoJet

Pump, as stated

15 bar

Brew pressure, as stated

9 bar

Portafilter

54 mm

PID

Yes, per the instruction book

Built-in grinder

No

Milk

Manual wand

Price class

Mid-range

Which machine for whom

Your order

• If you want a small machine and a free hand on the grinder → Breville Bambino

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• If you mostly drink milk and don't want to learn the wand first → Breville Bambino Plus

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• If you want a slim De'Longhi with an automatic wand → De'Longhi Dedica Maestro Plus

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• If the budget decides and you want a small body → CASABREWS CM5418 · Seller data only

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• If you would rather keep everything in one body

  See machines with a grinder

Width, depth and height compared

Treat this as a starting point. We found three things worth knowing:

• Breville's labels look mixed up. We quote them as printed, and its page labels the Bambino's 11.9 in as width. Other machines in this table list a narrow width and about 12 to 14 in of depth, so we don't rank widths from these figures. Hold the footprint both ways against your gap.
• Slim isn't the same as small. The Dedica's 8.15 in width comes with 13.62 in of length, per De'Longhi. A long machine needs a deep counter, and you still have to reach the tank.
• A small tank means more refills. The figures here run from 34 oz to 64 fl oz, so check the tank before you commit, especially if you fill it far from the sink.

A tall glass and a small cup. Measure for the one you actually drink from.

The machines side by side

Comparison: Breville Bambino, Breville Bambino Plus, De'Longhi Dedica Maestro Plus, CASABREWS CM5418, De'Longhi Stilosa

Comparison	Our pick: with a separate grinderBreville Bambino	Our pick: milk drinksBreville Bambino Plus	De'Longhi Dedica Maestro Plus	Seller data onlyCASABREWS CM5418	Budget first tryDe'Longhi Stilosa
Type	–	–	–	–	Pump machine
Heating	ThermoJet	ThermoJet	Thermoblock	–	Stainless steel boiler
Pump, as stated	15 bar	15 bar	15 bar	–	15 bar
Brew pressure, as stated	9 bar	9 bar	9 bar	–	–
Portafilter	54 mm	54 mm	–	–	–
PID	Yes, per the instruction book	Yes, per the instruction book	–	–	–
Built-in grinder	No	No	No	No	No
Milk	Manual wand	Hands-free or manual	Automatic wand	Steam wand, per listing	Manual frother
Price class	Mid-range	Mid-range	Mid-range	Budget	Budget
Best for	Beginners who want to pick their grinder and upgrade it later	Latte and flat white drinkers who do not want to learn the wand first	Milk drinkers who want an automatic wand in a body about 8 inches wide	A first try at espresso on a tight budget	Budget first machines from a brand you already know
	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon

Breville's two columns come from its own pages. The others are listing data, so many rows stay empty, and how we compare explains why we don't fill those gaps.

The machines one by one

Breville Bambino: our pick

The Breville Bambino^* has what most people with a small kitchen are after. Breville lists a 54 mm portafilter, an 18 g dose, a ThermoJet heating system that is ready to start in 3 seconds, and a manual steam wand. The box includes a tamper and a milk jug, so a grinder and a scale are what's left to buy.

The downside is that you still need to find room for that grinder, and you have to learn the wand. Breville's product page does not state PID, while its US instruction book does. Our Bambino page goes further.

Breville Bambino Plus: for milk drinkers

The Bambino Plus adds a wand that textures milk by itself, with 3 temperatures and 3 foam levels. It's a little deeper and taller than the Bambino, and Breville's booklet gives it a 64 fl oz tank. Our page on it sets out what independent reviewers found.

Take the Bambino Plus^* if a latte is your daily drink. It needs the same separate grinder as the Bambino.

De'Longhi Dedica Maestro Plus: slim, with an automatic wand

The Dedica Maestro Plus^* has an automatic steam wand with 3 milk temperatures and 3 textures, per De'Longhi. It lists a thermoblock, a 15 bar pump with about 9 bar during extraction, and a maximum cup height of 4.68 in. Its spec table shows an obvious error for the tank, so we use the 54 oz from its description.

Its pitch is close to the Bambino Plus: hands-free milk in a narrow body. De'Longhi lists single and double wall baskets, which gives you room to move from pre-ground to fresh coffee. It does not state the portafilter size, which matters when you buy tools, so we rank it behind the Breville.

CASABREWS CM5418: small, on a budget

The CASABREWS CM5418^* is about 5.5 in wide per TechRadar's data. CASABREWS' manual for the CM5418 Basic gives a 51 mm portafilter and two dual wall baskets, designed for about 7 to 9 g and 13 to 15 g. That's a smaller dose than the 18 g in most recipes, and tools for 54 or 58 mm won't fit.

It also needs a pause after milk. The manual says the boiler can run too hot to brew right after steaming, and that the buttons will flash to tell you. Running hot water from the wand for 8 seconds cools it down. For the bigger picture on this class, see budget espresso machines.

De'Longhi Stilosa and Neretva: the low end

The De'Longhi Stilosa^* is sold as compact and

What to measure before you buy

Height under the spouts

Measure your tallest regular cup, then add the scale you'll stand it on. Acaia's Lunar adds 15 mm and Timemore's Basic 2 adds 26 mm, according to the data on our scale page. A short cup like this one fits nearly anywhere. A tall glass may not.

Read about espresso scales

• The gap under your cabinet. Bring the listed height, then add room above for lifting out or filling the tank. Breville's booklet has you lift the Bambino Plus tank out of the machine.
• The depth you can reach. You lock in a portafilter and work a steam wand in front of the machine, so count the handle and your jug as well.
• The space beside it. Unless you pick a machine with a grinder inside, a grinder sits next to it. Measure that footprint too.
• Where the water comes from. A tiny tank close to the sink is fine. A tiny tank across the room gets old quickly.

Common mistakes

• Trusting the word “compact.” It's not a measurement.
• Measuring only the width. Depth and height decide as often.
• Forgetting the grinder. Two small boxes can take up more room than one machine with a grinder. Built-in or separate goes through that decision.
• Buying tools before checking the portafilter. A 51 mm basket takes different tools from a 54 mm one.
• Choosing by the bar number. It tells you nothing about size, or about the shot.

Let four questions decide

Still between two answers? These questions end in one machine, with the reason next to it.

Our recommendation

Measure first. For most small kitchens, take the Bambino and a separate grinder, and switch to the Bambino Plus if milk is the point. If the budget decides, read about what the budget class can and cannot do before you order. New to all of this? The guide for beginners sets out the buying order, and our coffee bar setup page covers the rest of the counter.