Comparison
Breville Bambino Plus vs Ninja Luxe Café
One is the whole setup in a box; the other is a smaller, faster machine that needs a grinder beside it. What's already on your counter decides it.
Our pick
Editor’s pick
Ninja Luxe Café Premier
9.1/10
Buy this one if you don’t own a grinder yet. The burr grinder is built in and weighs the dose, so one box takes you from beans to a latte, with drip coffee on the side.
Around $600
The alternative
Breville Bambino Plus
9.4/10
Buy this one if you already have a grinder, or very little counter. Ready in three seconds, 7.7 inches wide, and its automatic wand froths milk to the temperature and texture you set.
Around $490
Side by side
| Ninja Luxe Café | Breville Bambino Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| Price | Around $600 | Around $490 |
| Grinder | ||
| Grinder | Built-in conical burr, 25 settings | None: buy one separately |
| Dosing | ||
| Dosing | Weighed by the machine | By hand, 19g basket |
| Tamping | ||
| Tamping | Assisted tamper | By hand |
| Heat-up | ||
| Heat-up | Not stated | 3 seconds (ThermoJet) |
| Temperature | ||
| Temperature | Adjusted per drink, per Ninja | PID, plus low-pressure pre-infusion |
| Milk | ||
| Milk | Whisk plus steam, 4 presets incl. cold foam, or manual | Automatic wand, adjustable temperature and texture |
| Other drinks | ||
| Other drinks | Drip coffee (6–18oz), cold brew, cold-pressed espresso | Espresso only |
| Portafilter | ||
| Portafilter | About 53–54mm, per SharkNinja; not in its specs | 54mm |
| Size | ||
| Size | 13 × 13.4 × 14.6in, per the listing | 7.7in wide |
| Warranty | ||
| Warranty | Not stated on the listing | 2 years, limited |
The Ninja wins on what comes in the box, the Bambino Plus on speed, size and standard parts. The grinder row decides it for most people.
Buy the Luxe Café if…
- You don’t own a burr grinder
- Drip coffee and cold brew matter as much as espresso
- You’d rather not judge the dose or the tamp
- You want cold foam for iced drinks
- You want one box on the counter, not a machine plus a grinder
Buy the Bambino Plus if…
- You already own a good burr grinder
- Counter space is tight: it’s 7.7 inches wide
- You want the machine ready the moment you are
- You want to learn the grind and the tamp on a simple machine
- You plan to add standard 54mm baskets and tampers
How the Luxe Café and the Bambino Plus differ
The question underneath this one is whether you already own a grinder. Espresso needs coffee ground fresh and fine, and the Bambino Plus doesn’t grind. The Luxe Café does, and then it weighs what it ground, so the dose stays the same when you change beans.
Past the grinder the two are closer than they look. Both froth milk for you: the Bambino Plus with an automatic wand you set for temperature and texture, the Ninja with a whisk and steam on four presets, cold foam among them. Neither asks you to learn a steam wand before your first latte. The Bambino Plus leaves the dose and the tamp to you; the Ninja weighs the dose and presses the puck with an assisted tamper.
The Bambino Plus wins on speed and size. ThermoJet heating is at temperature in three seconds, and at 7.7 inches wide it fits where an all-in-one won’t. It takes standard 54mm baskets and tampers too, so it grows with you if you get into espresso. On its own it costs $110 less than the Ninja; an electric grinder made for espresso takes it past.
The Ninja also brews drip coffee and cold brew, which matters in a house where not everyone drinks espresso. With no grinder already on the counter, it’s the simpler, complete buy.
Buying the Bambino Plus without a grinder?
Pair it with a burr grinder that goes fine enough for espresso; the pairings are in espresso machine and grinder combos, and the grinders on their own in the best coffee grinders.
Common questions
Which is better, the Ninja Luxe Café or the Breville Bambino Plus?
If you don’t own a grinder, the Ninja Luxe Café: the burr grinder is built in, it weighs the dose and assists the tamp, and it makes drip coffee and cold brew as well. If you already have a good grinder, or your counter is tight, the Breville Bambino Plus: it heats in three seconds, is 7.7 inches wide, froths milk automatically and takes standard 54mm accessories.
What’s the difference between the Breville Bambino Plus and the Ninja Luxe Café?
The Ninja Luxe Café has a built-in conical burr grinder that weighs the dose, an assisted tamper, hands-free frothing on four presets, and drip coffee and cold brew. The Breville Bambino Plus has no grinder; it is a compact espresso machine with three-second ThermoJet heat-up, PID temperature control, an automatic steam wand and a standard 54mm portafilter.
Do I need a grinder for the Breville Bambino Plus, or the Ninja Luxe Café?
For the Bambino Plus, yes, unless you buy pre-ground espresso coffee: it has no grinder, and espresso tastes best from beans ground fresh and fine, so it wants a burr grinder made for espresso beside it. The Ninja Luxe Café doesn’t; its conical burr grinder is built in.
Is the Ninja Luxe Café bigger than the Breville Bambino Plus?
Yes. The Bambino Plus is 7.7 inches wide; the Ninja Luxe Café’s listing gives about 13 × 13.4 × 14.6 inches, because it holds a grinder, bean hopper and accessory storage as well as the espresso machine.
Which makes milk drinks more easily, the Bambino Plus or the Ninja Luxe Café?
Both froth milk for you. The Breville Bambino Plus uses an automatic steam wand you set for temperature and texture; the Ninja Luxe Café uses a whisk with steam on four presets, including cold foam for iced drinks. The difference is before the milk: the Ninja also grinds, weighs and helps tamp the coffee.
Neither one?
If milk drinks are the point, see the best latte machines. For more machines at the Bambino Plus’s budget, see the best espresso machines under $500.