De'Longhi Magnifica S vs Philips 2200: which suits you?

Three small things decide it

Each is the entry model of its brand’s range: a bean-to-cup machine for black coffee, with a manual frother for the occasional milk drink, in the same price bracket. On the lines that usually decide a purchase they tie. Both have a 15 bar pump, a 1.8 l tank, a removable brew group and two coffee recipes by their makers’ counts.

So the choice comes down to three smaller things:

• You care about the grinder data. Philips states 12 grind settings and a ceramic grinder. De’Longhi publishes neither the number of settings nor the burr type for the Magnifica S. If you like to know what you are buying, that favours the Philips.
• You care about the controls. The Magnifica S has buttons and a dial. The 2200 has a touch-sensitive panel. Neither has a graphical screen. This is taste, and only you can settle it.
• You are short of height. The Magnifica S is 35 cm high in its manual, the 2200 37.1 cm. Two centimetres is nothing on an open worktop and everything under a low cupboard.

Line by line

Grinder. This is the biggest gap in the table, and it is a gap in information, not a measured difference. Twelve stated settings tell you how finely you can step the grind; they do not tell you how evenly either machine grinds. The absence of a figure for the De’Longhi does not mean it has few settings. It means we cannot tell you. Our grind size guide explains what the setting changes in the cup.

Bean hopper. 275 g against 250 g. Both swallow a 250 g bag; the Philips leaves a little room on top. At an assumed 8 to 10 g a cup, the difference is two or three cups per fill. Not a deciding factor.

• De'Longhi Magnifica S ECAM 22.110.B8.9 kg
• Philips Series 2200 EP2220/107.5 kg

Size and weight. Width and depth are within a few millimetres. The Philips is taller and, at 7.5 kg against 8.9 kg, lighter. One caution on the De’Longhi figures: its manual and its product page disagree slightly on dimensions and markedly on weight. We use the manual.

Cup clearance. De’Longhi states 14 cm under the spout. We have no figure for the Philips, so the table shows not stated. If you drink from tall mugs, that is a point to check on the Philips before ordering.

Drinks. Two each by the manufacturers’ counts, but not the same two. De’Longhi lists espresso and espresso lungo, with a two-cup function; Philips lists espresso and coffee. Both add hot water.

Milk. Identical in principle. De’Longhi fits a steam wand, Philips what it calls a classic milk frother; our table files both under steam wand because in both cases you hold the jug. If you want milk at one touch, neither is right, and you should look at bean-to-cup machines with a milk system.

Connectivity. Philips answers “no”. We have no statement from De’Longhi for this model, hence the blank.

A note on UK model codes

The De’Longhi data describes the ECAM 22.110.B and the Philips data the EP2220/10; both are listed on the manufacturers’ UK sites. Both names also cover other variants. A 2200 with the LatteGo carafe exists in other countries, but the EP2231/40 has been withdrawn from Philips’s UK catalogue. Check the model code on any listing against the ones above. Both makers give two years for the UK: De’Longhi on its care pages, Philips in its UK product data.

What the spec sheets leave open

We have not used either machine, and the manufacturers’ documents are silent on the questions people most want answered:

• Taste. No spec predicts it.
• Noise. Neither De’Longhi nor Philips publishes a decibel figure for these models. Noise is among our planned measurements.
• Grind consistency and temperature in the cup. Both need measuring, and we have not yet done so.
• How long they last. Not something a product page can tell you. What both makers do state is a removable brew group, which lets you rinse the part that does the brewing; see our cleaning guide and descaling guide.

This comparison rests on manufacturer data only. Our own measurements will follow as we buy machines, and will be labelled as such.

Where to go next

Each machine has its own profile with sources for every figure: De’Longhi Magnifica S and Philips 2200. If you are still deciding on a budget, our affordable bean-to-cup comparison widens the field, the machine finder narrows it again by your needs, and the cost per cup calculator shows what either machine costs per cup with your own prices.