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Keurig K Cafe vs Nespresso Vertuo: Which One Should You Buy?

Keurig K Cafe vs Nespresso Vertuo

Trying to decide whether you should get the Keurig K Café or the Nespresso Vertuo?

Both of them are excellent machines that make coffee shop drinks accessible right at home. However, there are differences between them that might make one more preferable to you than the other.

We’ll be comparing and contrasting the Keurig K Café vs Nespresso Vertuo here, so you can determine which one is right for you. Here’s what you’ll learn:

  • The qualities in common between these two machines
  • What differences are unique to either one
  • Our advice on how to choose one

Quick Summary

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Attribute

Keurig K-Cafe

Nespresso Vertuo

Image

Keurig K-Cafe Single Serve K-Cup Coffee, Latte and Cappuccino Maker, Dark Charcoal

Nespresso Vertuo Coffee and Espresso Machine by Breville, 5 Cups, Chrome

Water Tank Capacity

60 Ounces

40 Ounces

Milk Frother

Yes

Optional

Drink Sizes

6, 8, 10, and 12 oz

1.35, 2.7, 5, 8, and 14 oz

Pod/Capsule Compatibility

Yes

Yes

Grounds Compatibility

Yes

No

Single-Serve Brewing

Yes

Yes

Ideal Uses

Home

Home

Pricing

If you’re looking for a machine that can handle multiple drink orders in the morning, the Keurig K Café could be ideal for your home. With a 60-ounce water tank, it can make several drinks before needing a refill, which makes it perfect for homes with multiple coffee lovers.


The Nespresso Vertuo’s single-button operation leads to it being one of the most user-friendly coffee machines on the market today. Simply put in a pod, lock the top, and press the button while it handles the rest for you. This is what makes the Nespresso Vertuo wonderful for beginners who don’t have time to fuss with settings.

Similarities

Pod Compatibility

With home coffee machines, you will use either coffee grounds or pods to brew your drinks. Grounds are the traditional way, and involve adding coffee grounds to a filter that then gets placed in the machine.

Pods are more of a recent invention. Instead of having to measure out the correct amount of grounds, the pod is a small container which holds an amount of pre-measured grounds for you. All you need to do is drop it into the coffee machine and it will brew a serving for you.

Both the Keurig and the Nespresso use pods. This is what makes them so user-friendly; you can choose a pod flavor you’re craving and let the machines take it from there. The drawback to pods is that they can get a little expensive over time, and they’re not as fresh as recently ground coffee beans.

Wide Drink Variety

Either the Keurig or the Nespresso will give you a huge range of drink flavors to choose from. No matter which mood you’re in, you’re likely to find a pod for either one that fits your craving.

The brands will be different, though. Keurig will allow you to use any K-cup, but with the Nespresso, you’ll be able to choose any Nespresso capsule.

With the Keurig or Nespresso, you’ll have the option to choose from a variety of cappuccino, latte, and coffee blends that accommodate a range of tastes.

Milk Frothers

You can’t have a latte or a cappuccino without frothed milk. Fortunately, both the Keurig and the Nespresso include milk frothers that will take care of that aspect for you.

There is a slight difference in their operation. The Keurig’s milk frother is attached to the machine, and you can choose whether you want it to froth enough milk for a latte or cappuccino. It can also heat your milk for you if you want a hot drink.

The Nespresso can come with the Aeroccino milk frother if you want, which is detached from the coffee machine. Like the machine itself, it has a single-button operation, so all you need to do is pour the milk in and press the button. It does not heat your milk for you.

Power Saving Modes

Nowadays, energy efficiency is something we focus on. Energy-efficient appliances not only help us protect our environment from needless waste, but they can help you save on your electric bills.

Fortunately, both the Keurig and Nespresso are designed with energy efficiency in mind. Either one has a power-saving mode, which turns them off when they’ve been on without being used for long enough.

The amount of time it takes for them to turn off is the only difference in these functions. In the Keurig K Café, it takes two hours of inactivity before it powers off. For the Nespresso, this occurs after nine minutes of inactivity.

Removable Drip Trays

The risk involved with any coffee machine is that it might leave unsightly drips on your counters. To protect your counter tops, both these coffee machines have removable drip trays.

When you pull your mug off the tray after brewing a fresh cup, the drip tray will capture any droplets. If you’re ready to clean it, you can simply slide the tray off the machine and wash it out.

Differences

Water Tank Size

Imagine you’re up in the morning, getting ready for work. Your family is up, as well, either also getting ready for work or school, and everyone wants a cup of coffee.

You use the coffee machine to power through each person’s drink, and while it works, you focus on doing whatever else you need to get ready. In this type of scenario, the last thing you’ll want to have to do is stop everything to add water to the machine every several minutes.

This is why the size of the water tank matters. If you have a larger water tank, you won’t need to refill it as often, which means it can make more drinks. In this particular aspect, the Keurig is the winner, with a water tank that can hold up to 60 ounces of water.

The Nespresso, in comparison, holds up to 40 ounces. That’s still a reasonable capacity, but you will need to refill it more often than the Keurig.

Number of Cup Sizes

Our needs and cravings change. One day, you might want an extra-large cup of coffee to get you through your morning, and on others you might want something smaller as a little pick-me-up.

Your coffee machine will be more useful to you if it can satisfy cravings of any size. Both the Keurig and Nespresso will allow you to make drinks in various sizes, but the Nespresso offers you just a little more in this regard.

With the Nespresso, you can brew five different drink sizes. The Keurig technically allows you to do four different sizes and a shot if you’re making espresso.

Nespresso Vertuo Single-Button Operation

If you’re in a rush, having to stop to mess with numerous settings can be annoying at the best and an absolute struggle at the very worst. This is where the Nespresso makes it extra easy.

Because of its extraction technology, you won’t need to mess with multiple settings, such as choosing cappuccino, latte, or coffee. All you need to do is place the capsule in, lock the top, and press the button. Then, all that’s left is the wait while the machine brews the perfect drink for you.

With the Keurig K Café, there are a few more steps involved. You will need to choose whether you want coffee or a latte or cappuccino. You’ll also need to indicate the size you want, as well as whether any milk you’re foaming is for a latte or cappuccino and if you want it hot or cold.

All this customization is nice when you have time to go through it. Sometimes, however, you just want simplicity.

Keurig K Café Dishwasher-Safe Frother

Cleanup is most people’s least favorite part of cooking or making drinks. With the Keurig K Café, even this part is easy, because you can put your frother in the dishwasher.

No more having to waste time scrubbing milk suds out of the parts. You can let your dishwasher take care of the cleanup for you.

Nespresso Vertuo Automatic Capsule Disposal

As it turns out, the Nespresso Vertuo helps you with cleanup, too. You won’t need to pull the capsule out of the machine by hand once it’s done brewing.

Instead, the Nespresso will automatically discard the capsule into an attached capsule storage container. It’s sort of like a mini-garbage can built into the machine.

Once that compartment fills up, you can just pull it off and dump the empty pods out.

Keurig K Café Smart Start

Most coffee machines don’t instantly warm up. When you turn them on, you need to wait for them to get to the right temperature before they’re capable of brewing. The amount of time this takes can range anywhere from seconds to minutes.

That’s waiting time that can add up fairly quickly, which is why the Keurig’s Smart Start technology is so useful. Instead of having to hover over the machine while you wait for it to warm up, you can set it up to brew, input your preferences, and walk away.

Once it’s warm enough, the K Café will automatically brew the beverage for you. This hands-free brewing gives you time to focus on the things that really matter.

Nespresso Vertuo Automatic Blend Recognition

With the Keurig K Café, you have to stop to input your preferences every time, including what kind of drink it is, the size, and how you want your milk foamed. If you’re a beginner or you’re in a real rush, these things can be confusing, as well as time-consuming.

The Nespresso Vertuo simplifies the drink-making process. You operate the machine with a simple press of a button, and the machine will brew the right drink for you.

All of this is possible because of its Automatic Blend Recognition System. Each capsule has a barcode printed around the lip, and the machine reads the barcode when you put a capsule in. This code tells the machine what to make and how to make it, so you won’t have to worry about messing with complicated settings time after time.

Which One Should You Buy?

At the end of the day, both of these machines are models of convenience and variety. They won’t give you quite the level of punch and depth that an authentic espresso machine will, but they can still make tasty drinks.

That being said, there are a handful of reasons you might choose one instead of the other.

For instance, the Automatic Blend Recognition and single-button operation of the Nespresso Vertuoso make it great for beginners. The fact that all you need to do is choose the pod flavor you want and optionally turn on the milk frother means anyone of any skill level can brew with it.

But if you’re very particular about your drinks, this lack of customization might not be enough for you. You might prefer all the settings you can tweak with the Keurig, like drink size, strength, and the temperature of the milk.

The Keurig K Café may also be best if you’re going to use it more frequently. Its water tank is about 30% larger than that of the Nespresso, so you won’t need to refill it as often.

Here’s our recommendation:

Go with the Nespresso Vertuo if you’re a coffee novice or you won’t have much time to play with settings. Its pared-down functions make it even easier to learn than your average coffee machine.

But if you’ve got more coffee drinkers in your home or you want more control over your drink, pick the Keurig K Café. It gives you more power over drink settings, and it has a larger water tank.

You can learn more about either coffee maker here:

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