Thinking about a coffee machine? Read this first.
A 5-minute comparison for people who want café coffee at home, without the hassle.
1. What each option really costs you
Espresso / bean-to-cup machine
- Upfront: $568–1,450
- Per cup: beans + milk
- Daily upkeep: grind, tamp, wipe, descale
- Space: a big chunk of counter
Capsule machine
- Upfront: $198–299
- Per cup: ~$0.90 per shot
- Daily upkeep: empty the capsule bin, descale
- Space: medium
Café latte
- Upfront: $0
- Per cup: $5.60–6.80
- Daily upkeep: none, except the queue
- Space: none
Specialty coffee crystals
- Upfront: $0
- Per cup: ~$1.04 per shot ($0.89 on subscription)
- Daily upkeep: a cup and a spoon
- Space: a drawer
2. The honest bottom line
Per shot, crystals cost about the same as capsules. What's different is everything else: no $200+ machine, nothing to clean, and it goes wherever you go.
And the taste? One customer who switched from capsules: "The coffee is so clean I couldn't go back to Nespresso capsule."
3. Three café drinks, no machine
- Iced oat latte: one pod in 30 ml hot water, then ice and 150 ml cold oat milk.
- Hot latte: one pod in 30 ml hot water, then 150 ml warm milk. A $10 handheld frother makes it café-smooth.
- Black / kopi-o: one pod in 120–150 ml hot water. Less water makes it stronger.
4. Try it without the risk
Your first box is covered: if it isn't the café-quality coffee you expected, you get your money back and don't need to return anything.
Prices in SGD. Machine prices: MissLobang 2026 roundup. Capsule prices: Nespresso SG, read 1 Oct 2026. Café prices: 2024 survey.