The Best Drip Coffee Makers for Small Spaces: 2023 Recommendations and Buyer’s Guide

Everyone needs coffee, right? It’s right up there with water and food in terms of necessity, and that includes people who live or work in small spaces. Whether you live in a tiny home, work in a small office setting, or you just have limited counter space in your kitchen, a small drip coffee maker might be exactly what you need to put some pep in your step without the clutter.

In this guide, I’ll be offering my top picks for small drip coffee makers that can fit in just about any kitchen, office, or coffee bar. I’ll also explain everything you should look for in a small drip coffee machine to help you pick the best one within your budget.

The Top 5 Best Drip Coffee Makers for Small Spaces

1. Bonavita 5-Cup Drip Coffee Maker Machine — Best Overall
2. Black + Decker CM0700B 5-Cup Coffee Maker — Most Affordable
3. Cuisinart 4-Cup Coffee Maker w/ Stainless Steel Carafe — Best Carafe
4. Hamilton Beach The Scoop Single-Serve Coffee Maker — Best Single-Serve Option
5. Black + Decker CM618 Single-Serve Coffee Maker — Smallest Footprint

1. Bonavita 5-Cup Drip Coffee Maker Machine — Best Overall

I absolutely adore this coffee maker, and if I lived in a tiny home or had limited space, this would absolutely be my go-to brewer. It’s a little on the expensive side, but it is well worth the investment to get actually good coffee every morning. Small drip machines usually have to sacrifice on quality, so I’m super impressed to enjoy what comes out of this little brewer.

First off, it comes with a thermal stainless steel carafe, which is, right off the bat, going to be better than a glass carafe and a heating plate. Stainless steel carafes like this keep your coffee warm without an external heat source, which will burn your coffee, continue extraction, and leave you with bitter, burnt flavors that are unpleasant.

Second, it actually heats the water to the proper brewing temperature. You really want to get your water above 200 degrees to extract the optimal flavonoids from your coffee grounds. Any lower and you’re likely to pull acids but miss out on the sugars and oils that give coffee its sweet and robust taste. This brewer consistently hit above 200 when I tested it — yes, really, I tested the water temperature several times and averaged the readings…

In case that’s not enough, this coffee machine uses a shower head similar to the Breville Precision Brewer, my all-time favorite drip coffee maker. This makes the bed of grounds evenly wet and helps control the bloom. It’s no wonder this coffee maker is certified by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).

2. Black + Decker CM0700B 5-Cup Coffee Maker — Most Affordable

On quite the other end of the scale, you have this 5-cup coffee maker from Black + Decker. This drip coffee machine is simple and small and offers no bells or whistles. However, it’s the most affordable brewer on the list and the cheapest one I’m comfortable recommending.

This machine makes up to five small cups of coffee — about 25 ounces total — and does it in just a few minutes. While this is convenient, it also means that the brew time is a bit shorter than it should be for five cups. Combined with the fact that the water heater doesn’t ever seem to hit 200 degrees (F), you won’t get world-class coffee from this machine no matter how much you fiddle with it.

There are some other downsides, like a glass carafe and the use of a heating plate. However, for the money, I wouldn’t expect an insulated stainless steel carafe.

This coffee maker is bare bones, but it works and will likely continue working for years to come. It also comes with a reusable mesh filter, so those years will require slightly less money spent on paper filters.

3. Cuisinart 4-Cup Coffee Maker w/ Stainless Steel Carafe — Best Carafe

Think about the Black + Decker model mentioned above, but you spend $10 more and get a stainless steel carafe instead. Now imagine it says “Cuisinart” on it instead of “Black + Decker,” and you’ve envisioned this brewer!

This small drip coffee maker has a very small footprint and is a bit sleeker than most others at this price point. Its power cord is just as short, though, which seems to be a trend among small coffee makers and can be a bit annoying.

This machine makes up to four cups of coffee — a total of around 20 ounces — so it’s perfect for one moderate coffee drinker or two people who drink a small amount each day.

Unfortunately, this is another machine that doesn’t bring the water up to 200 degrees. It will make decent coffee, but don’t expect anything you brew with this to win any awards.

Most importantly, it has a metal carafe and doesn’t use a hot plate to keep your brewed coffee warm. This will cut down on the bitter compounds that continue to develop when you heat coffee with an external source and lead to a better-tasting brew overall.

Overall, this won’t make great coffee, but it’s cheap, small, and gets the job done.

4. Hamilton Beach The Scoop Single-Serve Coffee Maker — Best Single-Serve Option

This single-serve drip brewer is unique in that it includes a coffee scoop that doubles as the filter. It has mesh on the bottom and acts like a reusable mesh filter. There’s no reason I should like this feature so much, but it just seems like a cool idea, and it does mean one fewer thing to wash after you’re done brewing.

This coffee maker has a super small footprint, making it a good option for really cramped spaces.

Of course, a small size means that there’s limited space for the internals, and that leads to some underperformance. It doesn’t heat water up to the desired 200 to 205 degrees (F), although it does get hotter than a bunch of the other compact coffee machines on the list. It makes decent coffee overall, but nothing like the Bonavita.

Of course, as a single-serve option, you’d really only buy this if you’re the only coffee drinker in your home or office. This is a hearty little machine, but it’s not going to last long if you’re cranking out 5+ cups every day.

Finally, it has “regular” and “bold” options, although there really doesn’t seem to be any difference in how the coffee tastes. I think “bold” might just make the machine a little noisier. The only real customization you have is for brewed volume, from 8 to 14 ounces.

5. Black + Decker CM618 Single-Serve Coffee Maker — Smallest Footprint

Much like the previous option from Black + Decker, this coffee maker is a bare-bones model that just works. It doesn’t use any special shower head to wet your grounds evenly, it doesn’t offer brewing customization, and it doesn’t reach the optimal water temperature for brewing.

This is an underpowered machine, but it works, and it works reliably. I’d expect this to last for at least a few years, meaning you get great value for the low price tag.

This drip coffee maker brews directly into a travel mug, which is included. It uses a reusable mesh filter that you can wash by hand or in the dishwasher.

As the name implies, it only brews a single cup, so it’s only suitable for people who live or work where they are the only ones who drink coffee. While it’s durable, it’s not going to last long in situations where it’s getting run numerous times every day.

It doesn’t have any brewing customization available; you can’t even pick different brewed volumes. This is a simple, straightforward, hit-the-button-and-take-your-coffee type of machine, which is great for some people.

Buyer’s Guide — What to Look for in a Drip Coffee Maker for Small Spaces

Coffee makers might seem simple, but I really recommend doing some research on the models you think might suit you and deciding which is likely to make the best coffee within your budget and space limitations. Below, I’ll discuss all of the things I recommend prioritizing in your small-space drip coffee maker, loosely ordered by importance, in my opinion.

Size/Footprint

Okay, this might seem obvious. Of course, if you’re looking for a drip coffee maker for small spaces, then you’ll, of course, be concerned with the footprint. Still, it’s worth mentioning.

I recommend you find a spot in your kitchen, office, or coffee bar where you’d like to keep your brewer.

Pro tip: choose a spot near an outlet! For some reason, just about every manufacturer that makes coffee machines for small spaces thinks that outlets must be placed every 2 feet along the wall. The cords on all of these machines are short, so choose a spot near an outlet so that you don’t have to lug your brewer to an outlet every morning.

Once you find the spot you want to keep your brewer, check the dimensions and make sure it will fit.

Water Temperature

One of the most important factors in getting your coffee to taste good — you know, like sweet and well-balanced and not rubbery, burnt, charred, ashy, acidic, or otherwise nasty — is to get the water you’re going to use for brewing up to at least 195 degrees (F) and ideally between 200 and 205.

A ton of drip coffee makers just don’t do this. In fact, a lot of the ones I’ve tested over the years have barely hit 190. I strongly recommend you choose a brewer that gets up to that optimal range. That does mean you’ll be spending quite a bit more money for a better quality machine, but I think it’s well worth it.

Height When Open

Sure, measuring the width and depth of a coffee maker is a good idea to make sure it fits in your space…but here’s something no one thinks of until they have their coffee maker in their house: you should check the HEIGHT of the brewer with the lid OPEN.

Why? Because when you go to open the lid every morning to dump water and grounds in, you’re going to be unhappy if the lid won’t open because of a nearby cabinet. And unfortunately, small spaces tend to have obstructions above the coffee maker that restrict opening.

I can tell you with confidence that a coffee maker with a lid too high that makes you yank the machine out, unplug the ridiculously short cord, fill the machine, shove it back into place, plug it back in, and then brew isn’t worth the money no matter how cheap it is.

Batch Size

Batch size is usually another obvious thing to consider when buying a drip coffee maker, but a lot of people forget to consider how much coffee they’ll be drinking each day. If you live by yourself, you might want to consider a single-serve maker. If you live with other coffee drinkers, or you drink a lot of coffee yourself, spare yourself the frustration of having to clean your brewer multiple times a day and just go for a 4- or 5-cup coffee maker.

Also, remember that overworking a small-batch machine to meet higher coffee demands will limit your equipment’s lifespan.

Accessories

A lot of drip coffee makers come with accessories, so you can consider these to help you decide between brewers in some cases. Some accessories that come with small drip coffee makers include:

• Reusable Mesh Filters: A reusable mesh filter is a great option for cutting down on waste and saving money on paper filters. Plus, some small brewers don’t take standard filter sizes, so a mesh filter is a must.
• Travel Mug: Some of the single-serve coffee makers include a travel mug that you can brew directly into. This saves on the number of things that need to be washed after brewing, and you can save some money on having to buy a standalone mug.
• Water Filters: Most small coffee makers don’t include a water filter, but some do. Replacing these will be an added expense, but a filter can remove contaminants and minerals from your water to produce consistent coffee, cup after cup.

Price

And finally, you should consider the price. I’ve put price last because, in my opinion, good coffee that you look forward to every single morning is well worth just about any price you’d pay for a brewer.

I suggest investing in something that will last you for years to come. That will ensure you continue enjoying your coffee and don’t have to spend more on a replacement machine when the original one breaks down.