The single-serve versus carafe debate tends to rage on in the coffee lovers’ world. Interestingly enough, though, the real debate should be between pods and coffee grinds because there are actually quite a few coffee makers out there that allow you to easily enjoy the best of single-serve and carafe options.

For example, the 2-Way Brewer Coffee Maker from Hamilton Beach is one of the best options that we’ve seen which allows you to properly enjoy the best of both worlds.

It starts with the single-serve option. By placing a small amount of grounds and water into the upper compartment of the attachment, you can easily brew a single cup of coffee any time. What really impresses about this design, though, is the way that the machine lets you easily choose between a small cup of coffee or a larger, single-serve mug with just a few simple adjustments. It’s not quite as easy as just popping in a pod, but it affords you quite a bit of flexibility and control over the strength of your cup.

The carafe option is also quite good. While relatively simple, it does offer easy scheduling options, a couple of brewing modes, and even the ability to pull the pot out early and pause brewing temporarily in order to “sneak a cup.”

The Hamilton Beach 2-Way Brewer Coffee Maker is just a fantastic all-around option that will likely be more than enough for a variety of households and preferences.

While Keurig and other single-serving coffee machines have their advantages, they also come with inherent downsides—the biggest of which is usually their lack of functionality. Often, you tend to just get a lone, quick cup of coffee out of them, and that’s about it.

The Keurig K-Cafe Coffee Maker immediately distinguishes itself in this respect by allowing you to brew much more than just a cup of coffee!

Along with single cups of pod coffee, this machine allows you to easily create lattes and cappuccinos. Doing either requires a bit more work, but with its relatively simple set-up, you’d be surprised how easy it really is to make these extra drink options. This machine even supports the usual array of Keurig coffee pods, so you really don’t have to go out of your way to add this machine to your routine.

Generally speaking, the ease-of-use of this machine is one of its greatest qualities. It’s even more painless to use than competing, similar machines that offer the same basic drink options. The coffee itself also tastes quite good, which of course, is an important box to check.

One thing that you should know is that the Keurig K-Cafe Coffee Maker leans toward the more expensive machine options. You mostly get what you pay for in terms of the jump in quality, but you also want to make sure that you intend to use this machine for all it can do.

As we previously noted, there’s really no such thing as a simple coffee machine. By that, we mostly mean that the best machines make brewing look simple, but we also want to impress that even users without many needs should still analyze the smaller features that separate the “basic” models.

This brings us to the 5-Cup Coffeemaker from BLACK+DECKER, which can easily be considered one of the best coffee machines in its price range.

We’re especially big fans of this coffee machine’s carafe; it not only looks fantastic, but its design makes it that much easier to pour yourself a cup of coffee. This detail is certainly a little thing, but you’d be amazed how much it improves the overall quality and design of this model when compared with its competition.

This machine’s filter system is another slightly more significant benefit. It utilizes a permanent filter, which should help you avoid having to constantly keep up with stocking paper filters. Some people may be slightly put-off by the cleanup required, but generally speaking, it’s a well-designed solution which feels good to use and saves costs in the long run.

This coffee machine’s smaller capacity may not be ideal for homes that have multiple coffee drinkers, but its smaller size certainly is nice for those who have less storage or counter space. Generally speaking, there’s a good chance you’ll love the 5-Cup Coffeemaker if you know what you should expect to get from it.

The French press method of coffee brewing has become increasingly popular over the years. From upscale restaurants to the homes of coffee aficionados, you can find a good French press wherever you happen to find someone who wants to get the most flavor out of their coffee maker as possible.

If you’d like to add a French press to your kitchen collection, be sure to check out the aptly named French Press Coffee Maker from Kona.

Like most French presses on the market, this model is first and foremost designed for those who want to extract the best flavor possible for their coffee or tea. Only the most luxurious, high-end machines can do that as well as a French press can, and we can guarantee you that you’re going to have a hard time finding a machine that can promise that for as friendly of a price.

Having said that, you do have to understand that it might take a little practice and studying in order to properly use this French press, as the process does differ a bit from what you may be used to. Thankfully, that’s more of a comment on the technology and technique of a French press in general, and not a burden relegated to this particular model.

The French Press Coffee Maker from Kona is easy-to-use, looks great, and consistently produces the kind of results that you’re looking for. This isn’t your “typical” home coffee maker, but it could be the one you’ve been searching for.

The Mr. Coffee line of products is practically infamous for its focus on a kind of “no nonsense” approach to making coffee. Their machines are built to be easy to use, built to last, and—most importantly to some—they’re built to offer everyone a quality coffee maker in an affordable price range.

If these characteristics sound like what you’re looking for, then you’ll be happy to know you can find all of that (and more) in the Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Coffee Maker.

The first thing that’s going to stand out to you about this particular model is likely its larger reservoir. There’s no shortage of people looking for a comparatively simple coffee maker that is perfect for catering to coffee-loving families, or even just those who like to make a lot of coffee at once and have a warm reserve waiting for when the next cup runs dry. This is certainly that coffee machine!

Some users will also love this model’s one-button brew feature; with just the flick of a switch, you can start brewing a cup of coffee. If you simply have no need or patience for more advanced and more complicated options, then you’ll be happy to hear that this machine will not burden you with any of those additions.

While there’s not much to talk about with the 12-Cup Coffee Maker in terms of advanced features, there’s also not much to knock.

At a time of endless options and increasingly complex coffee makers, some people begin to really value simplicity. This phenomenon is perfectly understandable, as there are some coffee fans who really just need a reliable coffee machine to make a great pot of coffee in the morning, with no extra bells and whistles.

While that’s certainly the draw of the 12-Cup Thermal Coffeemaker from BLACK+DECKER, you’ll actually be surprised by how much you end up getting from such an inconspicuous coffee maker.

The first thing you’ll notice about this machine is the carafe. It’s large, it’s made of steel, and it grants the machine a somewhat novel look. It also features one of the better spouts that you’ll find amongst coffee machines, which increases its ease of use and helps contribute to the effortless feeling this coffeemaker offers. For a coffee machine that is mostly about making a pot of coffee, it’s great that the pot in question is not only sturdy but incredibly simple to use.

The real star of the 12-Cup Thermal Coffeemaker, however, is something you don’t really see. The way that this model evenly dispenses coffee over your filter ensures that you’re able to really enjoy the full flavor of your chosen ground coffee. In combination with the strong brewing options available, you really do get a more substantial cup of coffee from this machine.

Overall, this is a well-priced and solidly made machine that lacks a few advanced features but more than serves its purpose.

It is, of course, impossible to really talk about the “single-serve versus carafe” debate without including Keurig. The company that really put coffee pods on the map is obviously synonymous with the single-serve option. What you may not know, however, is that Keurig also manufactures more traditional carafe machines—and they’re quite good!

Actually, the Keurig K-Duo Coffee Maker is arguably one of the best dual options currently on the market for those who are looking to buy one of the best coffee makers.

You probably have an idea regarding what you get from this coffee maker’s single-serve option’ it's your basic, standard Keurig. You pop in a pod, you wait a bit, and you end up getting a cup of hot coffee, tea, cocoa, etc. For years, the convenience of this premise has continued to draw people to Keurig pod machines.

As we’re most already familiar with that facet of the Keurig, it’s really the carafe option that’s worth diving into. The carafe feature on the K-Duo Coffee Maker allows you to use pods or regular ground coffee in order to make a larger pot (carafe) of coffee. While the idea of having to possibly keep so many cups of coffee sitting around may be annoying to some, it’s actually quite nice for a household of multiple coffee drinkers, or for entertaining situations.

Overall, we can recommend this highly to frequent hosts, as well as Keurig single-serving fans who don’t want to give up more traditional options entirely.

Not all “simple” coffee makers are made equally. Some are actually a little more complex than they initially appear to be, while others are truly devoid of extras. The best simple coffee makers actually just make the brewing process look simple.

This latter option is certainly the case with the Cuisinart Stainless Steel Thermal Coffeemaker (model DCC-3400P1). It might look like your average coffee machine, but it actually offers so much more!

This model’s benefits start with its heating element. You’d be surprised how often even the best coffee machines suffer from a weak heating element, which not only affects their durability, but also the quality of the coffee itself. This model’s heating technology actually manages to produce hotter coffee without that nasty “burnt” taste that you get from other, competing machines that promise something similar.

Those who are used to an even more basic coffee machine than this one will almost certainly love the Stainless Steel Thermal Coffeemaker’s self-cleaning option. It’s one of those little extra touches you get with this machine that makes a huge difference. Similar welcome features include dual-window water containers, a stainless steel carafe, bold brewing coffee options, and brew pausing features.

This machine basically exemplifies everything that you’d hope to find from a relatively basic coffee machine. It lacks some advanced features, but it’s durable, easy to use, and it simply makes a great cup of coffee every time you use it.

We reference Keurig’s single-serve “pod” coffee machines several times throughout our look at the best coffee machines on the market, but each of the Keurig units we highlight have gone beyond the “typical” Keurig machine. Some offer carafe brewing options, while others make more than just coffee. After these choices, a Keurig which just brews coffee pods probably sounds like a step back; however, depending on what you’re looking for, that might not be the case at all.

The beauty of the Keurig concept has always been the simplicity of their fundamental design. It’s easy to get a variety of different pod (K-Cup) flavors at a fair price, and it’s even easier to plug a unit in, turn it on, and quickly enjoy a hot cup of coffee.

The Keurig K-Select Coffee Maker makes the most of all of the classic qualities we’ve come to associate with their brand. It’s designed to appeal to those who like to make coffee on-command and without much fuss. It features a sizable water reservoir, multiple cup size brewing options, optional brewing strength, and incredibly easy controls.

With its sturdiness, simplicity, and clean aesthetic design, there’s really nothing about this machine that will give you any trouble, and that’s certainly part of its appeal. If you really are just looking for a reliable coffee machine that will offer you more coffee than fuss, this is quite possibly the one for you.

Keurig may be synonymous with the concept of pod coffee makers, but recent years have shown that they’re not the only players in that game worth talking about. There are pod competitors out there who offer the same basic single-serving experience but with some of their own advantages.

In the case of the Chulux Single Serve Coffee Maker, the biggest advantage is certainly its price. Coming in at just under $40 retail, this coffee machine from lesser-known Chulux offers a deal that is almost too good to believe

Thankfully, there are relatively few catches here. This model offers the basic single-serving experience that you’d expect from similar, competing designs, but at a much lower price. The machine itself is not quite as large or elaborate-looking as a Keurig, but you’d be amazed how little you have to sacrifice for the major features you’d expect from such a design.

There are even a few things you’ll get from this model that you might not expect; this coffee machine’s single-button operation is an excellent complement to its easy-to-fill reservoir and great heating elements. The core components of the Single Serve Coffee Maker just irrefutably work well, and you can even use more traditional coffee grounds in it, rather than pre-packaged pods, if you prefer to do so.

“Affordable” is really only a virtue if you’re still getting more than what you paid for, and that’s pretty much what you should expect from this model.