In brief: how we read the data
Based on spec sheets, not on measurements of our own.
For black coffee, with a fine-stepped grinder
Philips Series 2200 EP2220/10
The entry point to the Philips range: 12 grind settings, a ceramic grinder, a removable brew group and 7.5 kg, the lightest of the four.
- Milk system
- Steam wand
- Water tank
- 1.8 l
- Drinks advertised by the manufacturer
- 2
- Width
- 24.6 cm
Manufacturer’s RRP:£329.99Price stated by the manufacturer, excluding promotions. The retailer’s current price may differ.
For buttons and a dial
De'Longhi Magnifica S ECAM 22.110.B
Physical controls, a 1.8 l tank, a 250 g hopper and room for cups up to 14 cm. De'Longhi does not publish the number of grind settings.
- Milk system
- Steam wand
- Water tank
- 1.8 l
- Drinks advertised by the manufacturer
- 2
- Width
- 24 cm
Price at Amazon:£299.99Including VAT; delivery may be extra. The price is checked once a day and may have changed since. The price shown on Amazon at the time of purchase is the one that applies.
Regular price on the manufacturer’s website:£349.99
For automatic milk on this budget
Philips Series 3300 LatteGo EP3347/90
The only one of the four with an automatic milk system: a 0.26 l LatteGo container and five pre-programmed drinks. It sits at the very top of the bracket.
- Milk system
- LatteGo
- Water tank
- 1.8 l
- Drinks advertised by the manufacturer
- 5
- Width
- 24.6 cm
Price at Amazon:£420.86Including VAT; delivery may be extra. The price is checked once a day and may have changed since. The price shown on Amazon at the time of purchase is the one that applies.
Regular price on the manufacturer’s website:£569.99
The models compared on the data
Table scrolls sideways →
| Model | Offer | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Philips Series 2200 EP2220/10 | Steam wand | 2 | 12 | Yes | 1.8 l | 275 g | 7.5 kg | 24.6 × 37.1 × 43.3 cm | Mid-range | not stated | £329.99 (RRP) | Check price on Amazon |
 De'Longhi Magnifica S ECAM 22.110.B | Steam wand | 2 | not stated | Yes | 1.8 l | 250 g | 8.9 kg | 24 × 35 × 43 cm | Mid-range | £299.99 | £349.99 | Check price on Amazon |
 De'Longhi Magnifica Start ECAM 222.20.B | Steam wand | 4 | not stated | Yes | 1.8 l | 250 g | 8.8 kg | 24 × 35 × 44 cm | Mid-range | £364.49 | £319.99 | Check price on Amazon |
 Philips Series 3300 LatteGo EP3347/90 | LatteGo | 5 | 12 | Yes | 1.8 l | 275 g | 8 kg | 24.6 × 37.1 × 43.3 cm | Mid-range | £420.86 | £569.99 | Check price on Amazon |
No model matches this selection.
Sources: manufacturer spec sheets and product pages. “not stated” means not stated by the manufacturer or not yet verified by us. Prices at Amazon: as of 10 Nov 2026, 10:31, checked once a day. They may have changed since; the price shown on Amazon at the time of purchase applies. Price stated by the manufacturer, excluding promotions. The retailer’s current price may differ. Photos: the respective manufacturers. Offer: Paid link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The short answer
The bracket we call mid-range, which runs up to £400, is where bean-to-cup machines begin in our database. Four models sit in it:
- If you drink espresso and black coffee, take one of the two entry models: the Philips 2200 if a published 12-step grinder matters to you, the De’Longhi Magnifica S if you prefer physical buttons and a dial. The two are compared line by line in Magnifica S vs Philips 2200.
- If you want a more recent interface without paying for a milk system, the Magnifica Start has a touch-sensitive panel and the same capacities as the Magnifica S.
- If cappuccino is a daily habit, the Philips 3300 LatteGo is the only one of the four that froths and pours the milk itself.
What this bracket buys, and what it does not
The good news is in the columns that do not change. Inside each brand, the affordable machines have the same core figures as the expensive ones.
The Philips 2200 and 3300 hold 1.8 l of water and 275 g of beans, with 12 grind settings and a ceramic grinder: exactly what Philips states for its 5400 and 5500 series. The Magnifica S and Start hold 1.8 l and 250 g, like the Magnifica Evo above them. All four state a pump pressure of 15 bar.
What you give up is automation:
- Programmed drinks. Two on the Philips 2200 and the Magnifica S, against 12 or more on the upper mid-range Philips machines. Remember that the figure is the manufacturer’s own count.
- Automatic milk. Three of the four have a steam wand.
- Profiles and display. No user profiles are stated for any of the four.
A note on that chart: De’Longhi counts steam among the Magnifica Start’s four one-touch recipes, so it makes three coffee drinks. Philips advertises the 3300 as a six-drink machine by counting hot water; its spec sheet lists five.
The criteria that separate the four
Milk: wand or LatteGo
With a steam wand, the machine brews the coffee and you froth the milk by hand. It takes a jug, and there is no milk container to wash.
The 3300’s LatteGo container holds 0.26 l; Philips describes it as two parts with no tubes. If milk drinks are what you buy a machine for, this is the feature worth stretching the budget for. If they are a weekend treat, a wand keeps you in the lower half of the bracket. The milk systems comparison covers the options beyond this budget.
Grinder: published on one side only
Philips states 12 settings and a ceramic grinder for both its machines. De’Longhi publishes neither the number of settings nor the burr material for the Magnifica S and Start. That does not make the De’Longhi grinder worse; it means we cannot compare it. If you like to adjust the grind when you change beans, the grind size guide shows what to look for.
Cleaning: the brew group
A removable brew group is stated for all four machines; for the Philips 3300 LatteGo, the source is the manual for the 2300 and 3300 series. Descaling applies to all four as well; the descaling guide explains the principle and how often.
Size and weight
All four are under 25 cm wide, so the worktop rarely rules one out. The Philips machines are 37.1 cm tall, the two De’Longhi 35 cm. Weights run from 7.5 kg for the Philips 2200 to 8.9 kg for the Magnifica S, which matters if the machine lives in a cupboard between uses. For kitchens where every centimetre counts, see the compact comparison.
The four models, one by one
Entry model, Philips
Philips Series 2200 EP2220/10
Espresso and coffee at the press of a button, plus hot water, on the UK model EP2220/10. A classic milk frother, no user profiles, no app. Of the two entry models, it is the one whose grinder is documented.
- Drinks advertised by the manufacturer
- 2
- Grind settings
- 12
- Removable brew group
- Yes
- Weight
- 7.5 kg
- Width
- 24.6 cm
Manufacturer’s RRP:£329.99Price stated by the manufacturer, excluding promotions. The retailer’s current price may differ.
Entry model, De'Longhi
De'Longhi Magnifica S ECAM 22.110.B
The long-standing De’Longhi: two coffee recipes plus hot water, a steam wand, physical controls. The heating system is not specified on the product page, and De’Longhi’s manual says no component can go in a dishwasher.
- Drinks advertised by the manufacturer
- 2
- Maximum cup height
- 14 cm
- Removable brew group
- Yes
- Weight
- 8.9 kg
- Width
- 24 cm
Price at Amazon:£299.99Including VAT; delivery may be extra. The price is checked once a day and may have changed since. The price shown on Amazon at the time of purchase is the one that applies.
Regular price on the manufacturer’s website:£349.99
Top of the bracket, touch panel
De'Longhi Magnifica Start ECAM 222.20.B
The Magnifica S brought up to date: a touch-sensitive panel, a thermoblock stated on the product page and three coffee drinks on the UK model ECAM 222.20.B. Other Magnifica Start codes are sold in the UK; we have not read their pages, so check the code on the listing.
- Drinks advertised by the manufacturer
- 4
- Heating system
- Thermoblock
- Removable brew group
- Yes
- Weight
- 8.8 kg
- Width
- 24 cm
Price at Amazon:£364.49Including VAT; delivery may be extra. The price is checked once a day and may have changed since. The price shown on Amazon at the time of purchase is the one that applies.
Regular price on the manufacturer’s website:£319.99
Top of the bracket, automatic milk
Philips Series 3300 LatteGo EP3347/90
Espresso, coffee, cappuccino, latte macchiato and iced coffee. Its price hovers around the upper limit of the bracket, so on a given day it may tip into the next one. Note that a 3300 with a classic frother also exists under other model codes; this row describes the LatteGo version EP3347/90.
- Milk system
- LatteGo
- Milk container
- 0.26 l
- Drinks advertised by the manufacturer
- 5
- Grind settings
- 12
- Width
- 24.6 cm
Price at Amazon:£420.86Including VAT; delivery may be extra. The price is checked once a day and may have changed since. The price shown on Amazon at the time of purchase is the one that applies.
Regular price on the manufacturer’s website:£569.99
Think in cost per cup, not only in purchase price
A machine in this bracket is still a significant outlay, and the purchase price is only part of the bill: beans, descaler, water filters and cleaning tablets come on top, year after year. The fair comparison with pods or with a dearer machine is a cost per cup that includes the machine itself.
Run the sum with your own figures in the calculator, or read what a cup of coffee really costs.
ToolCost per cup calculator: beans or pods?If your budget is tighter, or looser
Tighter. If under £200 is the limit, no bean-to-cup machine in our database fits. Two entry-level appliances can: a small espresso machine and a grinder. It is more work per cup and a different way of making coffee; the machine and grinder pairings page sets out the combinations.
Looser. One bracket up, the Magnifica Evo adds a milk carafe and the Philips 5400 LatteGo adds user profiles. The full bean-to-cup comparison has all nine machines.
The limits of this list
The selection and its order rest on manufacturer data and on a price bracket, not on measurements: we have not yet used or measured these machines, and we will add our own results as we buy them. Price brackets are a rough guide recorded when we built the database; a promotion can move a machine across a boundary. And none of the four manufacturers’ spec sheets states a noise level, so we do not rank on it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest bean-to-cup coffee machine?
Where available, we show the Amazon price, with the date and time we checked it; it is checked once a day and may have changed since, so the price that counts is the one Amazon shows when you buy. Where the manufacturer publishes one, we also show the manufacturer's RRP with the date we checked it. What we can say is that the four most affordable machines in our UK database share the same mid-range bracket: the Philips 2200, the De'Longhi Magnifica S, the De'Longhi Magnifica Start and the Philips 3300 LatteGo. The first two are the entry models of their ranges; the last two sit at the top of the bracket. The button next to each model shows the current price.
Is there a bean-to-cup coffee machine under £200?
Not in our database. Every bean-to-cup machine we have verified for the UK falls in the mid-range bracket or above. If under £200 is a firm ceiling, the realistic alternative is an entry-level espresso machine, with pre-ground coffee to begin with and a grinder later.
What do I lose by choosing an affordable bean-to-cup machine?
Mostly automation and interface, not capacity. The Philips 2200 has the same 1.8 litre tank, 275 g hopper and 12 grind settings as the Philips 5400 LatteGo, one price bracket above it. What the dearer machines add is an automatic milk system, more programmed drinks, a display and, on the 5400, user profiles.
Can an affordable bean-to-cup machine make cappuccino?
Yes, in two ways. Three of the four have a steam wand: the machine makes the espresso and you froth the milk in a jug. The Philips 3300 LatteGo does it automatically, with cappuccino and latte macchiato among its five pre-programmed drinks.