This is our comparison of the Breville Bambino vs. Bambino Plus.

Finding the differences between the Breville Bambino Plus and the Breville Bambino might seem simple after looking at their sizes and prices. 

But things aren’t that easy.

After analyzing dozens of espresso machines, we can tell that these bambini are worth taking seriously. They’re affordable, convenient, compact, easy to use, and reliable.

So, let’s drill down into why is the Breville Bambino Plus pricier than the Breville Bambino. We’ll give you all the information you need, but it’s up to you to save those extra bucks or indulge yourself!

At a glance: Breville Bambino vs. Bambino Plus

The Breville Bambino Plus is larger and more advanced than the Breville Bambino. Furthermore, the Breville Bambino Plus is more expensive too!

Breville Bambino

• Capacity: 47 fl. oz capacity
• Size: Very compact (6.3″ x 13.7″ x 12″)
• Price: Usually below 400$
• Milk frothing: Manual handling with one default setting
• Espresso quality: Good and consistent extraction
• Customization: Available only in brushed stainless steel finish

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Breville Bambino Plus

• Capacity: 64 fl. oz.
• Size: Medium size (7.7″ x 12.6″ x 12.2″)
• Price: Around 500$
• Milk frothing: Hands free milk-texturing with different settings
• Espresso quality: Good and consistent extraction
• Customization: Comes in nine different colors

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They both have pre-programmed settings and are easy to use, making them perfect for espresso novices. However, a few key differences may make one machine better for your needs than the other.

Both are well-built, compact, and very similar in terms of capabilities in terms of quality. Likewise, the main difference between them is that the Breville Bambino Plus has a bigger water tank, therefore delivering more drinks without refilling the tank.

Besides capacity, the Breville Bambino has a decent performance next to the Breville Bambino Plus. The plain Bambino can produce good espresso, and it’s pretty decent to froth milk. Here, the Bambino Plus has a slight advantage because it offers more options.

Overall, the Breville Bambino is suitable for anyone looking for an affordable espresso machine for home use. Moreover, if you don’t care too much about latte art, the plain Bambino will deliver milk-frothing capabilities up to your expectations.

Breville Bambino vs. Bambino Plus: Similarities

• 9 bar pressure extraction.
• Easy-to-use panel to pick single and double espresso.
• 18-22 g portafilter capacity.
• Pressurized portafilter.
• PID controlled water temperature (200 °F) for espresso.
• 266 °F temperature for milk-frothing.
• Proprietary thermojet heating system.
• Simple interface.

Breville Bambino vs. Bambino Plus: Differences

• Breville Bambino Plus has a bigger water reservoir.
• Breville Bambino Plus comes in nine different colors, while the plain Bambino comes in brushed stainless steel finish only.
• Breville Bambino Plus has three adjustable milk heating and texture settings, while the Bambino has one by default.
• Breville Bambino Plus has a hands-free automatic frothing wand. The plain Bambino requires manual handling.

Breville: Overview of the Company

Breville was founded in the 1930s by Bill O’Brien and Harry Norville in Melbourne, Australia. The company started out as a small business that produced radios. The company set a new direction in 1953 after another company bought Breville’s radioelectric business. Then, Breville began to expand and started making kitchen appliances.

In the 1970s, Breville achieved a milestone thanks to their toaster’s immense success. Then, decade after decade, Breville became a world-class appliances manufacturer.

Just recently, in 2013, Breville launched its first dual-boiler espresso machine for home use. Soon after that, in 2016, Breville partnered with Nespresso and started selling several Nespresso machines with great success. Then, Breville placed itself as one of the home espresso market leaders in America and other markets.

Overall, Breville isn’t too popular among espresso purists and hardcore enthusiasts. Still, the brand keeps growing in the home market, year after year. One of the keys to their success is building affordable products for home use, which are relatively easy to use. Moreover, they offer good customer service and technical support.

Recently, the company acquired Baratza (2020), one of the biggest home grinders companies, and Lelit (2022), a prosumer espresso machine brand. Although these moves irritate some coffee fans, they may represent faster quality improvements and product innovation for home baristas.

Breville Bambino vs. Bambino Plus: Side-By-Side Comparison

Breville has dozens of coffee machines. Last time I checked, Breville had more than ten different espresso machines available.

For this comparison, we’ll look at the key features of the Breville Bambino and the Bambino Plus.

Both machines have a good design and construction but…

The Breville Bambino and the Breville Bambino Plus espresso machines have a stainless steel case. This gives them a minimalist and sleek design, with their control panels limited to just a few buttons. The Breville Bambino Plus has three additional buttons to adjust milk heating temperature and frothing settings. Still, the user interface is pretty intuitive. Those extra buttons add an exciting layer of customization to the Breville Bambino Plus.

The Breville Bambino Plus has more colors available, making it a better option for those looking for a specific palette. Moreover, if you’re a fan of Breville appliances, they have other products in matching colors. In this regard, we found that Breville’s online store tends to have more colors available than other retailers.

Yet, for those looking for a sleek brushed stainless steel finish, the Breville Bambino has it without paying anything extra.

The symmetry of both machines’ control panels is notable– with single and double shot options on the left side and steam or water buttons on the right side of their respective control panels.

Aesthetically, both machines have a similar style. So, besides the colors, they look nice and compact. Indeed, they don’t look like prosumer gear, but it’s easy to imagine a good-looking coffee bar with any of them.

The Breville Bambino Plus has the upper hand with a manufacturer’s 2-year limited warranty in terms of durability and reliability. Considering the versatility, style, and warranty offered for the Breville Bambino Plus, it’s slightly better than the Breville Bambino.

Winner: Breville Bambino Plus.

Both machines brew great espresso, with good flavor extraction and speed

Brew Performance between the Breville Bambino and Bambino Plus is very similar. Both have the same heating technology and portafilter design. Additionally, both use Digital Temperature Control (PID), making it a pretty forgiving machine.

According to most users, both the Breville Bambino and the Bambino Plus deliver good shots without having barista skills or experience. On the contrary, Breville made these machines to cater to beginners and offer a smooth espresso-making experience.

Each machine also has a low-pressure pre-infusion feature that ensures maximum flavor extraction. The Bambino Plus even has a feature that dampens coffee grounds before pulling the espresso shot, which is usually only found on more expensive espresso machines.

We found that most customers praise both machines’ brew performance. The heating system is pretty fast, and there’s little wait to switch from espresso-making to milk frothing. Moreover, making a few espressos in a row isn’t a problem either.

Considering the water capacity in the Breville Bambino Plus and the Breville Bambino, you can easily prepare dozens of shots without filling the tank. And although the Breville Bambino Plus has more water capacity, that doesn’t seem to be that important in a home setting.

The portafilter capacity and design, combined with Breville’s espresso extraction technology, deliver pretty good espresso. Bear in mind that producing a beautiful, delicious shot depends more on the coffee beans, water, and grinder than on the espresso machine.

That said, the results are great for both machines. And, in terms of speed and convenience, they are ready to make espresso in seconds. Considering that most commercial and prosumer espresso machines take minutes to prepare, this is quite a feat.

Verdict: Tie.

The Breville Bambino Plus has a superior milk Frothing Performance

Are you a fan of cappuccinos, cortados, and caffè lattes? Then, you’ll love the Breville Bambino Plus.

The Breville Bambino Plus is the clear winner regarding milk frothing performance. Its automatic milk wand eliminates the need to handle the jug and wait for heating, saving you time and effort in the long run. The Bambino Plus has two buttons that let you choose from three different milk temperature levels and three different texturing levels. This gives you greater control over your foam than the plain Bambino.

Another advantage of the Breville Bambino Plus is has a hands-free milk-frothing setting. I like this feature because it’s perfect for when you don’t want to focus that much on operating the machine but still want a silky cappuccino or latte.

The steam wand design and power in the Breville Bambino Plus are superior to the Breville Bambino (and many other home espresso machines.) Thanks to these features, the Breville Bambino Plus steam wand works very fast, creating a uniform foam without overheating the milk.

The Breville Bambino Plus steam wand is better than the Breville Bambino’s because it replicates the control and accuracy of prosumer and commercial machines. The Breville Bambino offers a basic performance with some milk-frothing capabilities that are good enough for convenience-oriented home baristas.

Overall, the Breville Bambino Plus has a better milk frothing performance. I would say that here is where the price difference becomes more evident between the Breville Bambino and the Bambino Plus.

Winner: Breville Bambino Plus.

Both the Breville Bambino and the Bambino Plus are user-friendly

I can’t say there is a clear winner regarding ease of use.

Both espresso machines have straightforward panels, with a few buttons and few adjustments available. Here, the Breville Bambino Plus has more customizations for milk frothing, but that doesn’t complicate or smoothen the user experience.

Overall, most regular tasks with both machines are straightforward. Both have removable water tanks, which makes filling them easier. The steam wands are easy to use, as well. And the cleaning process is straightforward for both.

Most users claim that it’s easy to operate the Breville Bambino Plus and the Breville Bambino. For cleaning and maintenance, it’s pretty straightforward too.

We found that some professional baristas have tested and used these machines at home for a while through further research. In these cases, it’s common to find praise for the convenience and reliability of the Breville Bambino and the Bambino Plus.

Overall, the main issue for most advanced users is that they prefer to adjust the settings for a single and double espresso. Still, following the steps in their tutorials and manuals is pretty easy, and it doesn’t take too long to get a good shot of espresso.

Verdict: Tie

The Breville Bambino is more affordable

When it comes to the Breville Bambino espresso maker, there is no doubt that it is great value for money. It offers features not found in other machines of its size and price range. In addition, it also comes with Breville’s latest technology and a good steam wand. This makes it an excellent choice for anyone who wants an affordable machine to produce high-quality espresso shots and milk drinks.

The Bambino Plus is also a good value for money, offering more milk-frothing features. Finding another compact machine that makes such excellent and reliable milk texturing is hard. However, besides advanced frothing features, the other benefits of the Breville Bambino Plus don’t seem attractive enough to pay that extra money.

Sure, the Bambino Plus has more capacity and comes in different colors. Yet, if you prefer to drink espresso without adding milk, you might choose to save those bucks and get the Breville Bambino.

Winner: Breville Bambino.

No meaningful differences in accessories

The Bambino and the Bambino Plus coffee machines come with a good range of accessories without any meaningful difference.

The Breville Bambino Plus includes a dosing tool that the Breville Bambino espresso machine doesn’t. Other than that, both include a decent milk jug, a solid plastic tamper, and a 58 mm portafilter with a plastic handle.

As you may imagine, it’s easy to upgrade all these accessories, but they aren’t indispensable. Most users claim that using the plastic tamper is good enough. Moreover, you can get good espresso using the default portafilter.

Verdict: Tie

The Verdict: the winner between the Breville Bambino vs. Bambino Plus

The clear winner is the Breville Bambino Plus espresso machine, considering the overall features. It looks good, is reliable, punches above its weight in almost every aspect, and has a 2-year warranty to protect you from any mishap.

The Breville Bambino Plus is an excellent machine for beginners and any coffee aficionado who prefers a compact and easy-to-use espresso machine.

On the other hand, the Breville Bambino espresso machine is a solid choice for coffee lovers who aren’t focused on latte art and milk drinks. The Bambino machine produces good espresso, is easy to use, and fits almost any countertop with its unique compact design.

Read our review of the best espresso machines under $500 for more options.

Credits

The featured image of the blog post is an adaptation of the original pictures owned by Breville.