Breville Barista Express vs Ninja Luxe Café Premier
Get the Ninja Luxe Café Premier. Unless you want to learn the craft and control every setting yourself — then the Barista Express.
Breville Barista Express
Hands-on espresso with a built-in grinder — the classic first serious machine.
Ninja Luxe Café Premier
Real espresso with a built-in grinder and scale that guide you, plus filter and cold brew.
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Both grind fresh beans for real espresso. The Ninja suggests the grind, weighs the dose and froths the milk by itself, so beginners get good coffee fast, and it makes filter coffee and cold brew too; the Barista Express takes practice but gives you control of dose, grind and temperature.
- —You enjoy the process and want to tweak every shot.
- —Your counter is small: the Ninja is big.
- —You're in the UK and want to spend a bit less.
- —You want café-style espresso without a learning curve.
- —You'd also drink filter coffee or cold brew.
- —You want the milk frothed for you.
Key differences
Pros and cons
- +Built-in grinder with dose control
- +Rich espresso with good crema
- +Steam wand for proper milk texture
- −It's noisy when grinding.
- −It gets a little messy around the grinder.
- −The filter baskets are fiddly to take out of the portafilter.
- +Grinder and scale that guide you
- +Hands-free milk frothing
- +Espresso, filter and cold brew
- −It's bulky, so measure under your cupboards.
- −The grind dial can be stiff.
Ready to choose?
- Is the Barista Express worth it?
- Is the Luxe Café Premier worth it?
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How we reached this verdict
We compared independent expert reviews with the manufacturer's specifications, then checked it's sold at a major retailer where you live. We don't test products ourselves.
Sources: TechRadar, Trusted Reviews, Tom's Guide, manufacturer specifications.