In short: for a portafilter espresso machine, go Breville. For a push-button super-automatic, go De'Longhi.
In more detail:
- Want a portafilter machine? Go Breville: the Bambino on a budget, or the Barista Pro if you want a built-in grinder.
- Want one-touch coffee? Go De'Longhi. The Eletta Explore is the standout.
- Budget around $200 or less? Go De'Longhi: the ECP3630.
- Money no object? Go Breville: the Oracle Touch.
- Want a Nespresso that steams milk properly? Go Breville's Nespresso Creatista Plus.
How the Two Brands Compare
De'Longhi is generally cheaper, while Breville is generally better built. De'Longhi makes every type of espresso machine; Breville focuses on portafilter machines.
| Breville | De'Longhi | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical price range | ~$300-$3,000 | ~$150-$2,500 |
| Semi-automatic machines | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in grinder models | Yes | Yes |
| Assisted tamping models | Yes | Yes |
| Super-automatics | No | Yes |
| Nespresso machines | Yes | Yes |
General winners (not true of every single model):
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Better espresso | Breville |
| Better steamed milk | Breville |
| Better built-in grinder | Breville |
| Better build quality | Breville |
| More affordable | De'Longhi |
| Easier to use | De'Longhi |
| More drink options | De'Longhi |
| Better customer support | Breville |
Below I compare them in six categories:
Entry-Level (Under $250): De'Longhi Is Your Only Option
Breville does not really sell espresso machines below this price, so De'Longhi wins by default. The best option is the De'Longhi ECP3630.
De'Longhi ECP3630
One of the few machines this cheap that pulls a decent shot.
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| Specification | De'Longhi ECP3630 |
|---|---|
| Type | Semi-automatic |
| Milk | Panarello with two settings |
| Controls | Dial |
| Heating | Stainless steel boiler |
| Heat-up time | ~3 minutes |
| PID | No |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 7.3" x 12" x 9.5" |
It makes decent espresso, which is rare at this price. Without a PID and with pressurized baskets, its ceiling is limited. It is designed for pre-ground coffee, so pairing it with an expensive grinder is pointless.
Its standout feature is a two-setting steam wand: one setting froths, the other just heats milk. That makes café-style "coffee with hot milk" easy at home.
Still, I think the next price tier offers much better value. The Breville Bambino costs a bit more and is better in every way.
Why buy it: best espresso at its price, two milk textures, small footprint. Why skip it: cannot use very fine grinds, weak steam for larger jugs, better value one tier up.
Budget: Breville Bambino vs De'Longhi Dedica
The Breville Bambino is a far better espresso machine than the De'Longhi Dedica.
Breville Bambino
Its PID and pressure control make consistently excellent shots. The Dedica cannot match that consistency.
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| Specification | Breville Bambino | De'Longhi Dedica |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Semi-automatic with programmable shots | Semi-automatic with programmable shots |
| Steam wand | Single-hole | Panarello |
| Controls | Buttons | Buttons |
| Heating | ThermoJet (~3 s heat-up) | Thermoblock (~30 s heat-up) |
| PID | Yes | No |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 5.9" x 13" x 12" | 6.3" x 13.7" x 12" |
Espresso
The Bambino wins thanks to temperature control. Its PID keeps brewing within the ideal 195 to 205°F range. The Dedica has no PID and tends to brew cooler, which extracts less flavor. So the Bambino's espresso is richer and fuller-bodied.
Winner: Bambino
Milk
The Bambino wins by a long way. Its single-hole wand can make any texture with practice, including latte-art microfoam. The Dedica's panarello gives you big-bubbled foam, and coffee YouTuber James Hoffmann has pointed out its limitations too.
Winner: Bambino
Ease of Use
About the same. Both have buttons, programmable shot volumes and manual steam wands. If you want help with milk, the Bambino Plus adds an automatic wand. See Bambino vs Bambino Plus.
Winner: tie
Build Quality
The Bambino has the better heater and steam wand. It heats faster, holds temperature better, and steams faster with more control.
Winner: Bambino
Value
The Bambino is better value, even though it usually costs $50 to $100 more. Better espresso and better milk are worth that.
Winner: Bambino
Read my Breville Bambino review and De'Longhi Dedica EC680M review.
Built-In Grinder: Breville vs De'Longhi La Specialista
Breville wins. The Barista Express beats the La Specialista Prestigio thanks to its better grinder, and Breville's Barista Pro is better still.
Breville Barista Express
A grinder that adjusts finely enough for espresso.
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| Specification | Breville Barista Express | De'Longhi La Specialista Prestigio |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Semi-automatic with built-in grinder | Semi-automatic with built-in grinder |
| Grinder | Stainless conical burr | Stainless conical burr |
| Grind settings | 16 | Far fewer |
| Assisted tamping | No | Yes |
| Steam wand | Single-hole | Single-hole |
| Controls | Buttons with pressure gauge | Buttons and dials |
| Heating | Thermocoil (~40 s heat-up) | Thermoblock (~30 s heat-up) |
| PID | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 12.5" x 13.8" x 15.9" | 15" x 14.5" x 17.5" |
Espresso
The Barista Express wins because it grinds finer. In my experience, the La Specialista Prestigio's grinder cannot go fine enough for great espresso, which is a fatal flaw on an espresso machine. The Barista Express grinds fine enough, so its espresso is much better.
Winner: Barista Express, by a long way
Milk
About the same. The La Specialista steams slightly faster, but the final texture and temperature are similar.
Winner: tie
Ease of Use
The La Specialista wins thanks to assisted tamping. You pull a lever and it tamps for you. Tamping by hand on the Barista Express is easy to get wrong and can be messy.
Winner: La Specialista Prestigio
Design
The Barista Express is better designed where it counts. I would take a grinder that can actually make espresso over assisted tamping every time.
Winner: Barista Express
Value
The Barista Express, since the La Specialista Prestigio often costs more while making worse espresso.
Winner: Barista Express
My recommendation: if you want a Breville with a built-in grinder, I would actually step up to the Barista Pro. It has a faster, more stable ThermoJet heater and a finer-adjusting grinder. See Barista Pro vs Barista Express, Breville Barista Pro vs De'Longhi La Specialista and De'Longhi La Specialista vs Breville Barista Express.
Super-Automatic: De'Longhi Eletta Explore
Breville does not make super-automatics, so De'Longhi wins by default. The best is the Eletta Explore.
De'Longhi Eletta Explore
A touchscreen and cold milk foam make it the best one-touch machine from either brand.
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Buy it if: you want almost any coffee drink at one touch, and you love iced lattes. Skip it if: you will not use most of its menu.
Espresso
Decent, not amazing. All super-automatics are limited because they cannot prep a puck like a barista, so they cannot use very fine coffee. Their espresso is a bit flatter than a good portafilter machine's. Still, De'Longhi makes some of the best super-automatic espresso after Jura, at much lower prices.
Espresso: 8/10
Milk
Its automatic frother cannot make latte-art microfoam, but it can make cold foam, which is impressive. It froths to three hot textures, and its cold foam lets you make an iced latte without melting all your ice.
Milk: 8/10
Features
It makes almost any espresso drink, with 40-plus menu items in hot and iced versions, all adjustable for strength and size.
Features: 10/10
Ease of Use
Everything, including cleaning, is controlled from the touchscreen, and it explains each step in plain English. That makes it far easier than machines with cryptic flashing symbols.
Ease of use: 9/10
Build Quality
Very good. The touchscreen is responsive, and the brew unit comes out for cleaning and greasing, so you can keep it in top shape without a technician.
Build quality: 9/10
Value
Great value, if you use its features, especially cold foam.
- If you will not use cold foam, get the Dinamica Plus
- If you just want simple, affordable espresso, look at the Magnifica Evo
Value: 8/10
Premium: Breville Oracle Touch vs De'Longhi PrimaDonna Elite
I recommend the Breville Oracle Touch. Both are packed with features, but the Oracle Touch does the basics, espresso and milk, much better.
Breville Oracle Touch
Café-quality cappuccinos with almost no skill required.
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| Specification | Breville Oracle Touch | De'Longhi PrimaDonna Elite |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Automated semi-automatic (portafilter) | Super-automatic |
| Milk | Automatic steam wand | Automatic milk carafe (hot and cold) |
| Controls | Touchscreen | Touchscreen |
| Heating | Dual boiler | Thermoblock |
| PID | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 15.4" x 14.7" x 17.9" | 10.2" x 18.5" x 15" |
Espresso
The Oracle Touch wins by a long way. It grinds and tamps into a real portafilter, so it can use much finer coffee than a super-automatic's internal brew unit. Its dual boilers also give excellent temperature stability. The result is noticeably richer espresso.
Winner: Oracle Touch
Milk
The Oracle Touch makes better hot milk. Only the PrimaDonna Elite makes cold foam.
The Oracle Touch's automatic steam wand makes silkier, café-style milk, good enough for latte art. The PrimaDonna Elite is the better choice for iced lattes.
Winner: Oracle Touch
Features
The PrimaDonna Elite makes more drinks, including iced versions. The Oracle Touch lets you fine-tune each drink more, so it makes each one better, but the PrimaDonna has the bigger menu.
Winner: PrimaDonna Elite
Ease of Use
The PrimaDonna Elite is a little easier. Every drink is one press. On the Oracle Touch you still move the portafilter from the grinder to the group head and place the milk jug, though it is still very easy for the quality you get.
Winner: PrimaDonna Elite
Reliability
I expect the Oracle Touch to last longer. A super-automatic has to move coffee from its grinder to its brew unit by itself, and that mechanism, under constant heat, has more to go wrong. On the Oracle, you move the portafilter, which removes that weak point, and its dual boilers are built to last.
Winner: Oracle Touch
Value
The Oracle Touch. No other machine makes such good espresso and milk drinks with so little effort. The PrimaDonna Elite is not very different from the cheaper Eletta Explore, which I think is better value.
Winner: Oracle Touch
For more on Breville's top machines, see Barista Touch vs Oracle Touch.
Nespresso With Milk: Creatista Plus vs Gran Lattissima
I recommend Breville's Nespresso Creatista Plus over De'Longhi's Gran Lattissima, because its steam wand makes better-textured milk.
Nespresso Creatista Plus
A steam wand that automatically textures milk well enough for latte art.
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Both brands make several of the same Nespresso models, including Vertuo machines, the Essenza Mini and the CitiZ. There is very little difference between the Breville and De'Longhi versions.
The two brands' unique Nespresso lines are:
- Breville's Creatista range: an automatic steam wand
- De'Longhi's Lattissima range: an automatic milk carafe, similar to De'Longhi's super-automatics
They are very similar in:
- Espresso: both use Original capsules
- Ease of use: both brew and froth at the press of a button
- Drinks: both make all the Original line drinks and several milk textures
A steam wand makes better milk texture than a carafe, so I prefer the Creatista. The Creatista Plus offers the best price-to-performance of the range. For more, see my Nespresso machine comparison.
The Bottom Line
Overall, I prefer Breville. Its machines tend to make better espresso and are better built.
- For a portafilter machine: the Breville Bambino on a budget, or the Breville Barista Pro with a built-in grinder
- For a super-automatic: the De'Longhi Eletta Explore
For more, see the best Breville espresso machines and the best De'Longhi espresso machines.
Your Questions Answered
Is Breville better than De'Longhi?
For portafilter espresso machines, yes. Brevilles generally make better espresso and milk and are better built. For super-automatics, De'Longhi wins because Breville does not make them.
Which brand is cheaper?
De'Longhi. It makes machines at lower price points, starting around $150.
Does Breville make super-automatic espresso machines?
No. Its most automated machines, like the Barista Touch Impress and Oracle range, still use a portafilter, but automate grinding, tamping and milk steaming.
Written by · reviewed by the Cicada Coffee Bar team
Daniel Voss
Lead Equipment Reviewer, Cicada Coffee Bar
Daniel leads the equipment-testing side of Cicada Coffee Bar. Every super-automatic, semi-automatic, and grinder featured on this site is bought or sourced independently, set up on the test bench, and brewed with daily for at least two weeks before a single word is written — tracking espresso quality, milk texture, ease of cleaning, and long-term reliability. Reviews are updated whenever pricing or firmware changes.
