The 4 Best Coffee Grinders of 2026

The consistency and quality of the grind is the most important thing to look for in a coffee grinder, which is why we tested only burr grinders. But it’s not the only thing. Here’s what else we looked for:

Burr sets: The quality of a grinder’s burr set is the core of the grinder, affecting everything from the consistency of the grind to the longevity of the grinder.

Burr sets consist of a top and bottom piece, which work a little like teeth and can be made of steel, ceramic, or plastic (we prefer steel burrs, as they perform better). They come in a variety of styles and sizes — the wider the burr, the faster it will grind.

Burrs are either flat or conical: Flat burrs consist of two flat, ring-shaped pieces, whereas conical burrs are more of a V shape, with the center burr fitting into the outer one. Both types are lined with sharp-edged grooves that cut the beans as the two burrs press together.

Conical burrs usually produce more fines, which contribute to a roastier and rounder coffee profile, and flat burrs usually produce more particles in your target range, which allows for more clarity of flavor. But many other factors are at play in influencing the flavor profile of your final cup, so we’re wary of generalizing. We tested both flat and conical burrs for this guide.

We recommend avoiding disc burrs (also called block burrs), cheaply made versions of flat burrs that lack the sharp grooves that real flat burrs have. These burrs chew beans rather than cutting them, resulting in inconsistent grounds.

Grind settings: Most electric burr grinders have a range of numerical size selections, from very fine for espresso to very coarse for cold brew or French press coffee. Few grinders do this entire range well, though some of our picks are capable. But if you’re looking for a dedicated espresso grinder, our espresso-specific recommendations will suit you better.

There are two types of grind adjustments: stepped and stepless. Stepped grinders have preset numbers on a dial. With a stepless grinder, you can also select any point in between those settings, which means you can tinker endlessly with the size of your grinds. This is great for obsessive coffee drinkers, but casual coffee drinkers may prefer the clear markings and repeatability of stepped grinders. We include options for both in this guide.

Most grinders include starter guides to grind size, but their recommendations may not match up with your preferences. Be sure to experiment to find the setting that suits your taste.

Repairs and maintenance: With proper maintenance, a good grinder should last you many years. To maintain your grinder, it’s essential to be able to easily clean inside the burr chamber, especially with oilier, darker-roast, or flavored coffees.

We looked for machines that had easily removable parts — particularly around the burr set — to allow for regular cleaning and, if necessary, replacement.

We favored grinders with accessible, transparent customer service in the United States. Being able to replace all kinds of parts is also a plus.

Dosage measurements: Some grinders come with features that grind the same amount of coffee — known as the dose — each time, so you don’t have to measure the beans before or after you grind them. (This means you could store your beans in the grinder’s hopper, though most experts don’t recommend it, as they’re more exposed to light and air.)

Machines without these features require you to measure the beans yourself. Although it’s nice not to have to take that extra step, it’s also not a huge inconvenience to do so. Plus, beans are not all the same shape, size, or density, so it’s more precise to weigh them.

Messiness: Every electric burr grinder will create some static or mess, and that’s normal. This can vary depending on the humidity, the type and age of the coffee you’re grinding, the grind setting, the burr type (flat burrs are messier), and even what kind of surface your grinder sits on. We noted any grinders that were excessively messy.

Retention: Most machines retain some grounds after your beans have run through, an issue known as grind retention. Trapped grounds will then be pushed out in the next batch, adding some potentially stale or different-grind-size coffee to your fresh grounds.

The best way to counteract this is to purge your grinder by running a small amount of beans through at your desired grind size, then discarding those before grinding the rest. But a grinder with low retention could help you avoid this step.

Hand grinders: The top-ranked manual grinders are more expensive than even our upgrade electric pick. But there are plenty of excellent options on the lower end. We set out to recommend a good-quality manual grinder that costs less than our top pick, is small enough to carry in a bag, and is comfortable and good enough to use every day.

How we tested

A good coffee grinder should produce a delicious cup of coffee without disturbing your morning flow. With the home kitchen in mind, this is how we evaluated each grinder:

Grind-size range: We ground coffee on the finest setting, a medium setting, and the coarsest setting, to get a sense of each grinder’s range. We closely measured each set of grounds with the help of the Kruve Brewler.

Consistency and uniformity: For proper extraction, coffee grounds need to be a uniform shape and size. Some variation in size is inevitable, but the majority of the grounds should be a similar size.

We visually analyzed the grounds from each machine on a range of settings. We then used an application developed by astrophysicist and coffee expert Jonathan Gagné to measure the grind-size distribution. We also used a Kruve sifter for further analysis of some grinders.

Noise: Electric grinders are noisy — there’s no getting around it. But some are worse than others. We used the NIOSH Sound Level Meter app to track the decibel output of each grinder. We also listened closely for any high-pitched or uncomfortable sounds.

Time: We timed how long each grinder took to grind 20 grams of beans for fine, medium, and coarse grinds. For grinders with built-in timers, we timed whether those were accurate.

Retention: We weighed our coffee before and after grinding to see how much each grinder retained. We then tapped each machine to see how much we could recover. We repeated this step for every grind-size setting we tested.

Brewing: We brewed coffee ground with each of our finalist machines using a Technivorm Moccamaster KBT, one of our picks for the best drip coffee maker, and tasted the results.

For grinders that claimed they were also capable of an espresso-grind size, we used the Gaggia Classic Evo Pro to dial in a shot of espresso.

We then brought our finalists to Coffee Project NY, where founder Kaleena Teoh used an Origami dripper to dial in a pour-over with each grinder. She then used a refractometer to measure the TDS (total dissolved solids) of each brew, which provides a precise measurement for how much of the coffee grounds are dissolved in the water. This tells us how successful the extraction of the coffee was, reflecting the consistency of the grind.