Ninja just launched an automatic espresso machine, but should you choose the new Auto Barista Pro or go for the cheaper Ninja Luxe Café? I'm here to help | Tech Radar
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Ninja just launched an automatic espresso machine, but should you choose the new Auto Barista Pro or go for the cheaper Ninja Luxe Café? I'm here to help
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Last week, Ninja launched its first automatic espresso machine — the Ninja Auto Barista Pro. It offers a menu of 13 customizable drinks, with hot and cold brewing and automatic milk frothing. However, it's also much more expensive than the company's previous flagship coffee maker, the Ninja Luxe Café. Not sure which one is right for you? I'm here to sketch out the key differences between the two, so you can make the best choice. I'd also recommend taking a look at Tech Radar's complete guide to the best coffee makers, so you can weigh up your options from other brands, such as De'Longhi, Breville, Kitchen Aid and Philips.
A fully automatic espresso machine that brews drinks at the press of a button. You can tweak your drinks, but there's no experience or skill needed.
A semi-automatic coffee maker that can do the work of dosing and grinding for you, or let you take control manually. Available with or without a tamping lever.
Ninja Luxe Café Premier:
Ninja Luxe Café Pro:
Ninja Auto Barista Pro:
There are two Ninja Luxe Café models, one of which costs considerably more than the other. The original Ninja Luxe Café launched in June 2024, and was followed a few months later by the Luxe Café Pro, which has a lever on the side for tamping down your coffee grounds, plus extra coffee- and milk-frothing options.
To differentiate between this new machine and the original, the company renamed the original coffee maker the Ninja Luxe Café Premier.
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The Ninja Luxe Café Premier has a list price of
Now that they're a couple of years old, you'll often find both models at a discount, particularly during sales events like Amazon Prime Day — Amazon just confirmed its next Prime Day event for June 23-26 — and Black Friday.
The Ninja Auto Barista Pro was released in May 2026, priced at
Ninja Auto Barista Pro brews coffee at the press of a button
Ninja Luxe Café requires you to get a bit more hands-on
Both steam milk automatically, but you need to pour it yourself
The Ninja Luxe Café is a semi-automatic coffee maker, while the Ninja Auto Barista Pro is fully automatic. Both take whole beans and let you make coffee with no prior experience, but the Luxe Café is a little more hands-on.
The Ninja Luxe Café grinds your coffee into a portafilter, which you then move under the brewing group (the part of the machine that dispenses hot, pressurized water). With the Auto Barista Pro, the entire brewing process happens inside the machine, so you only have to press a button and wait for your drink to be dispensed.
The Ninja Auto Barista Pro has two bean hoppers, so you can switch between coffee types on the fly (particularly handy if, like me, you prefer to drink decaf in the afternoon), whereas the Ninja Luxe Café only has one.
The Ninja Luxe Café is available in two versions: a model with a built-in tamping lever, and a more affordable one without (Image credit: Future)
Both machines have steel burr grinders. The Ninja Luxe Café has 25 grind settings, while the Auto Barista Pro has 50 settings, giving you more control over the rate at which your coffee is extracted — and therefore the final flavor. Both machines guide you to help achieve the optimal grind size for your chosen coffee, but the Auto Barista Pro takes into account extra factors such as the age of the beans, tweaking the settings accordingly.
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Both machines are capable of brewing espresso and drip coffee (which is quite unusual), as well as cold-brewed coffee. Both can also produce creamy foamed milk for lattes and cappuccinos, with different texture settings. Alternatively, you can raise the steam wand of either machine a few degrees and steam milk manually.
Neither coffee maker will dispense milk into your cup; whether you use the auto foaming function or use the steam wand manually, you'll need to pour it in yourself. This is particularly unusual for a fully automatic coffee maker, but has the advantage that you can experiment with pouring latte art.
Auto Barista Pro has a fan to keep components cool and dry
Fully automatic coffee makers usually take more effort to maintain than semi-automatic models because of the heat, moisture, and coffee grounds inside the case, but all of the Auto Barista Pro's removable components are dishwasher-safe, and there's a fan inside to keep everything cool and dry (something I've never seen before on a coffee machine).
The Ninja Luxe Café is also easy to keep clean; just wash the portafilter and basket, clean the drip tray, purge and wipe down the steam wand, and flush the group set with hot water to keep it fresh.
If price is the most important factor, then you can't go wrong with the Ninja Luxe Café. It's an excellent coffee maker that gives you far more features than many other models in the same price range. Personally I'd choose the Premier model rather than the Pro. Although the tamping lever is a nice addition that's satisfying to use, and means you're never in contact with loose coffee grounds, tamping coffee by hand isn't hard and I don't think it's worth an extra $150 / £150.
If time is more valuable to you, and you want a machine that can brew your coffee while you tackle other tasks, the Ninja Auto Barista Pro is a better choice, handling the whole process for you. It's also easier to keep clean and hygienic than most automatic coffee makers, so you won't have to sacrifice time later in the day washing components by hand and drying the interior.
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➡️ Read our full guide to the best coffee makers
- Best espresso: Breville Barista Touch Impress
- Best drip: Breville Luxe Brewer Thermal
- Best all-in-one: Ninja Luxe Café
- Best Nespresso: Krups Nespresso Pixie
Cat is Tech Radar's Homes Editor, covering smart home tech, kitchen appliances, vacuums, haircare and more. She's been a tech journalist for 15 years, having worked on print magazines including PC Plus and PC Format, and is a Speciality Coffee Association (SCA) certified barista. Whether you want to invest in some smart lights, find your ideal hair styler, or pick the espresso machine of your dreams, she's the right person to help.
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