Best Cheap Burr Coffee Grinders (2023 Review)
Good grinder is the most important thing when it comes to brewing coffee. Grind quality is what affects the flavor of your coffee the most. This is why burr coffee grinders have become so popular lately – they output significantly more uniform grounds than blade grinders and allow you to select optimal grind size for specific brewing methods making up for a much better and richer tasting coffee. Today we will find out which 7 cheap burr grinders will allow you to get the best out of your coffee without breaking a bank.
However when we talk about inexpensive burr grinders things can get confusing. When high end units can cost well over thousand dollars then what’s inexpensive is left to interpretation. Is it under $100? under $200? Under $350? Since there are so many different price options we will cover them all to find the best grinder for your budget and coffee habits.
If you are in a hurry and don’t want to read the whole article (we would still recommend you do to find out cons and pros of each model) here’s a short overview:
- Best cheap burr grinder for all brewing methods: Breville BCG820BSS Pro
- Best cheap burr grinder for Espresso and Turkish coffee: Baratza Sette 30
- Quietest cheap burr grinder: KitchenAid KCG8433
- Cheapest burr grinder that can be considered to be quite good overall: Baratza Encore
Keep in mind that the first 3 models in this list are on a more expensive side of cheap burr grinders. If you are looking for a true “on a budget” model look at ones starting #4 and onwards.
#1 Best all-around burr grinder: Breville BCG820BSS Pro
Breville BCG820BSS Pro is the best do-it-all reasonably priced burr grinder. It’s not the best grinder for one specific type of coffee like Espresso or French Press but it can grind well for all types of coffee which is something that other grinders can’t.
Consistency is really good all across the range from coarse to extra fine which is a rare sight to see. You can also make very fine adjustments as it has 60 macro and 10 micro settings making up for a total of 600 different grind size settings. Breville BCG820BSS Pro is equipped with hardened stainless steel conical burrs and has 165 watt motor.
Not everything is perfect though. Sometimes it feels like Breville BCG820BSS Pro is struggling like it lacks power. It still does the job just fine but it raises question if it indeed lacks power will this decrease longevity of the motor?
Another slight flaw is that grounds can sometimes come out in clumps (they are kinda stuck together). Consistency is still great but you have to break them apart by tapping or using toothpick.
Adjusting burrs
If you find that Breville BCG820BSS Pro doesn’t grind fine or coarse enough you can manually adjust burrs. There are total of 10 different positions with position 1 being the finest. From factory it’s set on position 6.
To do this you have to remove bean hopper, then remove upper burr and wire handles from both sides of the burr. Now you can adjust burr to desired position and assemble everything back. If that sounds a bit difficult don’t be worried it’s actually very simple process.
Quality
With the stainless steel housing Breville BCG820BSS Pro feels well made and sturdy.
Accessories
Breville BCG820BSS Pro comes with two different sized portafilter cradles so you can grind directly into portafilter. One is small sized (50-54 mm) and the other one is large (58 mm).
It also comes with cleaning brush for burrs.
Conclusions
If you use different brewing methods then Breville BCG820BSS Pro is a great burr grinder that won’t break a bank.
#2 Best burr grinder for espresso: Baratza Sette 30
Baratza Sette 30 is the best affordable burr grinder for espresso. It’s based on acclaimed but more expensive Baratza Sette 270. It’s equipped with 40mm hardened steel conical burrs and has 31 different grind size settings.
What makes Baratza Sette 30 unmatched for espresso in this price class is its ability to grind very fine with superb consistency. It also grinds significantly faster than other grinders (3.5 to 5.5 grams per second).
Nothing is perfect so Baratza Sette 30 has some flaws too. The most significant one is noise. It’s very loud, louder than burr grinders typically are. You definitely don’t want to grind when someone is sleeping in your home.
Second flaw is kinda expected as this grinder is made for espresso. Baratza Sette 30 doesn’t work well for coarser grinds. Even on coarsest setting it still grinds pretty fine. You will never use this grinder for something like French Press.
Ease of use
Baratza Sette 30 is fairly simple to use. Grind size is adjusted via dial and there are 4 buttons: “Stop”, “Start/Pause”, “Up” and “Down” (the latter two are for adjusting grind time which can be changed in 0.1 seconds increments).
Quality
You can’t say Baratza Sette 30 is badly made but some of the similarly priced grinders use higher quality materials. This is not to say that it won’t last or doesn’t feel sturdy, but some grinders might feel more high-end than Baratza Sette 30 even if they don’t grind as well.
Bean hopper and grounds bin
Bean hopper capacity is 10 oz (300 to 400 grams) and grounds bin capacity 5.5 oz (160 grams). Grounds bin is apparently made of “anti-static plastic” but you might still notice some.
Features
Baratza Sette 30 has adjustable “arms” that can hold your portafilter so you can grind directly into it.
Baratza Sette 30 is certified by CB, ETL and cETL and complies with UL, CSA, CE and EK safety standards
Conclusions
Baratza Sette 30 is exceptional burr grinder for Espresso. It won’t work for coarser grinds though and is a bit loud.
#3 Quietest cheap burr grinder: KitchenAid KCG8433
KitchenAid KCG8433 burr grinder is best suited for medium (i.e. Drip, Aeropress, Siphon) to fine (i.e. Espresso & Turkish) size grinds. It can’t really grind coarse enough for something like French Press so it’s not a grinder for every brew method.
Grounds coffee comes out very uniform. Grinding performance is also consistent every time. With 70 different grind size settings you can make very fine adjustments, so fine in fact it might take you few days to find the perfect setting.
Burrs position can be adjusted too and from factory are set on coarsest setting. Because of this it might not grind as fine as you would like for Turkish coffee but this can be fixed in like two minutes.
Another cool thing is that there is absolutely zero static cling. Many burr grinders claim they have no static cling but very few can deliver on this promise at this price point.
Noise
Burr coffee grinders are usually quite loud but this is not the case with KitchenAid KCG8433. It’s not completely noiseless, but it’s significantly less loud than other models.
Features
KitchenAid KCG843 had adjustable portafilter holder that’s compatible with portafilters ranging from 54 to 58 mm.
Colors
KitchenAid KCG843 burr coffee is available in 4 colors: Black Matte (KitchenAid KCG8433BM), Onyx Black (KitchenAid KCG8433OB), Charcoal Grey (KitchenAid KCG8433DG) and Empire red (KitchenAid KCG8433ER).
Conclusions
KitchenAid KCG843 is a great burr grinder for brew methods that require medium to fine grind size. It also stands out among competition by having no static cling and being relatively quiet.
#4 Baratza Encore
Baratza Encore is often the recommended entry-level burr grinder. It ticks almost all of the boxes when you look for a decent unit – it outputs consistent grinds, has replaceable parts and is simple to use all at an affordable price.
It works really well for anything that requires coarse to medium size grind (think French Press and Cold Brew to Drip and Aeropress as well anything in-between). Grind consistency isn’t as good as you get with more expensive models but it’s really good for the money.
Unfortunately there aren’t good grinders for Espresso or Turkish coffee at this price point and Baratza Encore isn’t exception. They just don’t grind fine enough. Encore might do acceptable job if you use pressurized portafilter but if you drink Espresso or Turkish you should ideally look for a more expensive grinder like Baratza Sette 30 or Breville BCG820BSS Pro depending which fits your coffee habits best.
Baratza Encore is also a bit on a slower side of things when it comes to grinding. Its 40mm hardened alloy steel conical burrs spin at 550 RPM grinding 0.8 to 1.1 grams of beans per second. This however isn’t a significant flaw for home use and might even be advantageous one – less RPM means less friction which also means less heat during grinding process and as you might know heat can extract flavor.
Baratza Encore has a total of 40 different grind size settings. Not as many as more advanced models but still plenty to make fine enough adjustment.
Noise
So what about noise, is Baratza Encore loud? If you have never owned a burr grinder before you will certainly find it quite loud. If you have had burr grinders in the past then it will be about as loud as you expect it to be as it’s about as loud as other burr grinders generally are.
Bean hopper and grounds bin
Bean hopper capacity is 8 oz (227 grams) and grounds bin holds up to 5 oz (142 grams) of grounds coffee.
Conclusions
Baratza Encore is a tremendous entry level burr grinder. Even though it doesn’t grind as well as more expensive models its performance is very impressive for the money. Only real thing you can complain about is that it doesn’t grind quite fine enough for Espresso.
#5 Capresso Infinity 560.01
Capresso Infinity 560.01 works best for medium sized grinds. The coarser you go the less consistency you get so it’s not great for something like French Press but still might do acceptable job. It also can’t grind very fine like you would like for Espresso (might do acceptable job if you use pressurized portafilter) or Turkish coffee.
Burrs grind at 450 RPM so you don’t have to worry about flavor extraction before brewing. Capresso Infinity 560.01 is equipped with conical steel burrs.
Upper burr can be removed and you can clean burrs with included brush.
Housing is made of ABS plastic which does feel a bit cheap and not too sturdy. Probably not an issue if you use Capresso Infinity 560.01 with care but you don’t want to drop it.
Bean hopper and grounds bin
Bean hopper capacity is 8.8 ounces and grounds bin capacity – 4 ounces.
Conclusions
Works reasonably well for brewing methods that require medium size grind but overall Baratza Encore would be a better choice.
#6 OXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
OXO Brew is another very popular entry-level burr grinder. It has 40mm stainless steel conical burrs and 15 different grind size settings.
OXO Brew is best at medium size grinds, that’s where consistency is decent. As expected at this pricing it doesn’t grind fine enough for Espresso (but might work if you use pressurized portafilter). The biggest disappointment is when you go coarse – the coarser you go the less consistency you get.
OXO Brew works well for Drip, Aeropress and Pour Over. Anything that requires coarser or finer grind will likely end up producing disappointing results.
Noise
OXO Brew is as loud as burr grinders typically are, maybe a bit less noisy than average.
Bean hopper & grounds bin
Bean hopper holds up to 16 ounces of coffee beans and ground bin up to 110 grams of grounds coffee (about 12 cups worth).
Grounds bin is made of stainless steel which is very rare feature at this price point. This eliminates static cling which is a common issue that makes grounds coffee to stick to the container or spew out once you open it.
Another note worthy feature is UV blocking tint on bean hopper which will help your beans remain fresh for a longer period of time.
Conclusions
OXO Brew has some neat features other burr grinders doesn’t offer at this price but Baratza Encore still seems to be a better choice overall.
#7 SHARDOR CG845B
SHARDOR CG845B is not a good burr grinder. The only reason it’s included here is because it’s one of the cheapest burr grinders that can do a better job than a blade grinder. This is the grinder you get if you absolutely can’t afford anything more expensive but don’t want to use blade grinder anymore.
Maybe the above description is a bit too harsh but you really shouldn’t cheap out this much on a burr grinder. Getting something a bit more expensive that can grind better might be cheaper long term as it’s questionable how long grinder this cheap will last (but it might for a long time, you never know).
Grind consistency isn’t great but it isn’t absolutely terrible. It’s still better than using blade grinder. SHARDOR CG845B can’t grind very fine so it’s not a good option for Espresso. Range of grind size will fit anything from French Press to maybe Aeropress. There are 14 different grind size settings.
Bean hopper and grounds container
Claimed bean hopper capacity is 8.8 ounces but it seems to hold just under 8 ounces of beans. Grounds bin holds up to 3.35 ounces of ground coffee. Grounds bin is made of plastic so there’s some static cling but not as much as you would usually see on grinders this cheap.
Conclusions
Using SHARDOR CG845B is better than using blade grinder but if you have taste buds you should try to save up for Baratza Encore or at least Capresso Infinity. Getting something like Breville BCG820BSS Pro or Baratza Sette 30 would be even better.
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