Keurig K-Elite vs Ninja Coffee Bar: Which is Better?

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Are you trying to decide if the Keurig K Elite or the Ninja Coffee Bar is better for your home?

We’ll help you answer that question. We’ve created this comprehensive guide to compare and contrast the Keurig K Elite vs Ninja Coffee Bar.

You can expect to discover:

• Similar features shared by the K Elite and Ninja Coffee Bar
• Differences between these machines
• Our advice on which one you should choose 

Let’s get started. 

Quick Summary

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Five different cup sizes, iced coffee, and dispensable hot water make the Keurig K Elite quintessential for families of coffee enthusiasts. It’s an excellent pick for large households. 

The Ninja Coffee Bar is an incredibly flexible machine, capable of brewing sizes ranging from a single cup to a carafe. This is the machine for big homes searching for a user-friendly coffee maker that can make coffee shop-like drinks. It's also fantastic for homes that need to entertain groups of guests.

Similarities

Single Serve Cups

Both the Ninja and the K Elite are capable of serving single cups. 

The reason why this is so useful is because it’s precise. Everyone can prepare each cup just the way they like it.

Except this often isn’t possible when you brew entire pots. An entire pot consists of one coffee, and there are likely a few people who won’t drink any of it because it’s not what they wanted.

With the option to brew single portions, everyone can get exactly what they want when they want it.

Iced Coffee

A nice, cold drink on a hot day can be an absolute game changer.

Fortunately, when you need a refreshing cool drink, you can brew one iced on either the Ninja or the K Elite. Both come with an iced button that will brew your beverage of choice over ice for you.

To put it differently, this saves you from the trouble of having to add ice later, which could water down your drink. 

Ground Coffee Compatibility

Most coffee experts will tell you that the fresher coffee is, the better.

One way to ensure your cup tastes the best it can is to grind it just before brewing it. The K Elite and the Ninja can both work with grounds for your favorite blends.

In short, this means you can enjoy the freshest possible coffee on either one. 

Coffee Strength Adjustability

Want a more distinct coffee taste to your beverage? 

These machines have got you covered. The K Elite and the Ninja both have buttons that allow you to strengthen the flavor of your brew.

On the K Elite, you’ll just need to press the Strong Brew button before brewing. The Ninja, alternatively, has a Rich Brew button that intensifies the coffee flavor.

When you just need something stronger to keep going, these machines will have you covered.

Differences

Dimensions 

Ever had to completely rearrange a space to fit in a new purchase? 

Completely altering the layout of your kitchen can be a pain. As a rule, it’s important to look into the dimensions of your appliances before buying them.

If you’re concerned about fitting your purchase into your layout, the K Elite is a bit more petite. It measures at 13.1 inches tall, 9.9 inches wide, and 12.7 inches deep.

Comparatively, the Ninja is 16.3 inches tall, 15.3 inches wide, and 15 inches long. It’s not necessarily much larger than the K Elite, but in a side-by-side comparison, the K Elite is noticeably smaller.

However, both of them are small enough that you won’t need to struggle to find room for them.

Water Tank Capacity

When it comes to appliances, most people want to spend less time on maintenance and more on using the appliance in question.

Water tanks are one thing you need to pay attention to in coffee makers, refilling them as the water levels get too low.

A larger water tank means refills don’t need to occur as much. For that reason, Keurig designed the K Elite with an absolutely massive 75-ounce water tank. 

Refills won’t be constant – in fact, you’ll be able to make several drinks back to back without needing to stop to pour water in.

A little smaller, the Ninja’s water tank can hold up to 50 ounces. This is still a decently sized reservoir, though, and you won’t need to stop what you’re doing constantly for refills with the Ninja, either.

Ninja Coffee Bar Frother

If your goal is to get the closest you can to a coffee shop experience from home, then the Ninja’s frother will help you get there.

Many coffee and espresso-based drinks use foamed milk nowadays, including the timeless cappuccino. With the wand built into the side of the Ninja, you can achieve the same effect.

Beyond that, the wand can steam both cold and hot milk. So if you’re looking to top off that iced coffee with a creamy layer of cold milk foam, it’s no sweat for the Ninja. 

Keurig K Elite K-cups

It can be confusing figuring out how to brew coffee when you’ve never done it before.

That’s why the K Elite is designed to be able to use K-cup pods that come with pre-ground and measured doses of coffee or cocoa. Beginners can just choose the flavor they want from the huge variety of pods, pop it into the Keurig, and let it go from there.

Pods are sort of an equalizer, allowing even novices to enjoy delicious and quality cups of coffee. 

Of course, if you want something fresher or more advanced, you also have the option to use your own grounds in the K Elite with the purchase of the K-Cup Universal Reusable Coffee Filter. 

Ninja Coffee Bar Carafe

If you need to provide drinks for a group of people at the same time, it’s more convenient and economical time-wise to brew an entire pot.

The Ninja Coffee Bar is capable of brewing a 10-cup carafe of coffee on demand. As an added benefit, the carafe is available double-walled and thermal so it can keep your coffee heated for up to two hours after brewing.

Because it’s not sitting on a heating plate to keep warm, there’s virtually no risk of the coffee being burnt in the carafe. You can safely take your time enjoying each batch.

Keurig K Elite Temperature Adjustments

Do you hate burning your mouth on hot coffee? Or, on the flip side, have you ever asked a barista to make your drink hotter to warm yourself up with?

The Keurig K Elite brings temperature control to its users so that they can further tailor each cup to their own unique preferences. Aside from getting an iced drink, you can adjust the temperature anywhere within the range of 187-192 degrees Fahrenheit.

This gets you even closer to the perfect beverage for you. Having more options is almost always better, which makes the K Elite wonderful for catering to the needs of multiple people.

Ninja Bar Programmable Delay Brew Button

Brewing coffee when you first wake up in the morning can be tedious. 

The good news is, the Ninja comes with a 24-hour programmable delay brew button. This makes it possible for you to set up the machine to brew a pot of coffee up to 24 hours in advance.

You can prepare it before bed and wake up to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee the next morning, or you can set it up at the end of your shift and return to coffee ready to drink the following day. 

Keurig K Elite Smart Start

Brewing your first cup or pot of coffee in the morning takes a few steps: adding the water, turning on the coffee maker, waiting for it to warm up, and actually brewing the drink.

The Keurig K Elite combines these steps into one simple step. You can turn the machine on, warm it up, and brew your perfect cup at once instead of having to wait around for it to heat up before you can choose your beverage.

This can simplify your morning routine and save you a little time when you’re in a rush.

Which One Should You Buy?

Understanding some of the features offered by a coffee maker only tells you about the machine – not whether or not you should buy it. To determine that, you’ll need to think about your needs and how each coffee maker applies to them.

So which one should you buy?

You can start by thinking about how many and which kinds of people will be using your coffee maker. 

If you often have guests or a family of people all wanting coffee, you'll need a coffee maker that can serve multiple people at once. This is where the carafe in the Ninja Coffee Bar comes in handy. 

The Keurig K Elite can only make single-serving portions, although it’s capable of brewing each cup in under 60 seconds. 

However, the K Elite really shines in situations where several people will be using it, such as in a large household. That's because of its extensive drink menu that includes iced drinks and the ability to alter the temperature of each hot beverage.

You can also consider what kinds of drinks those using it will want the most. Are you going to be making basic coffees most often?

Then the carafe on the Ninja Coffee Bar will do fine for you, allowing you to brew one big pot of coffee to enjoy over the course of a couple hours.

But if you’re searching for something that can make specialized drinks, the K Elite’s temperature control can make all the difference. 

At the same time, if you see yourself and others using milk or creamer a lot with their coffee, the Ninja’s milk frother is invaluable.

Here’s our advice:

Get the Ninja Coffee Bar for larger settings or gatherings. Its carafe will help you to provide coffee for groups of people and its milk frother will put a coffee shop twist on any cup you want.

But if you need a coffee maker that can make barista-level drinks from a home for people of any skill level, pick the Keurig K Elite. It has a wide menu of drink sizes, temperatures, and iced drinks, and you can make any of these with pods if you’re not familiar with the process.

You can dive deeper into either of these coffee makers here: