Guide · Grinders
Best coffee grinder under £200: the step up from budget burr grinders
Between £100 and £200 you get better burrs, finer adjustment and grinders that can manage espresso as well as filter. Six UK picks, with prices checked on 3 Oct 2026.
The best coffee grinder under £200 is the one that matches how you brew. Spend between £100 and £200 and you move past the basic burr grinders, which are mostly built for filter coffee, into grinders with better burrs, finer steps and, in some cases, a proper espresso range. We haven’t tested this in person. This guide is based on makers’ published specs, UK retailer listings and prices checked on 3 Oct 2026. Read how we compare.
If you’re still deciding whether to spend this much, our guide to burr grinders under £100 explains what the cheaper options can and can’t do.
What the extra £100 buys
Compared with a sub-£100 grinder, the grinders here typically give you:
- Better burrs. Several use 40mm conical steel burrs from Baratza or Fellow, and the retailers describe the burr set by name, which budget grinders often don’t.
- A finer range. The Encore ESP, Sage grinders and Fellow Opus all list settings fine enough for espresso, not just filter.
- More settings in the right place. It’s not just the number of settings that matters but how they’re spread. The Encore ESP puts half of its 40 steps into the espresso range.
- Dosing help. Timers (Sage, Virtuoso+) or a stop-when-empty single-dose design (Opus) make it easier to grind the same amount each time.
Best coffee grinder under 200: the short answer
Get the Baratza Encore ESP if you want one grinder for espresso and filter. Redber lists settings 1 to 20 for espresso and 21 to 40 for filter, cafetière and cold brew. It was £154.95 at Coffee Hit (checked 3 Oct 2026); check price at Redber.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants a timer. You stop it by hand.
Get the Baratza Encore if you only brew filter, pour-over or cafetière coffee. Coffee Hit describes it as designed for filter brewing, with 40 settings and a 300g hopper. It was £139.95 at Redber and at Coffee Hit (checked 3 Oct 2026).
Who it isn’t for: espresso drinkers. Its steps are set up for filter.
Get the Fellow Opus if you weigh beans for each brew and want a compact grinder that covers everything from espresso to cold brew. It was £189.00 at Bella Barista (white in stock, checked 3 Oct 2026).
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants a big hopper. Bella Barista lists a 110g capacity.
Get the Sage Smart Grinder Pro if you want timed doses straight into a portafilter. Check price at Redber.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who switches beans every day. A 450g hopper holds coffee between uses.
Prices right now
These are the prices we found on 3 Oct 2026:
- Baratza Encore: £139.95 at Redber and at Coffee Hit, checked 3 Oct 2026. See it at Coffee Hit
- Sage the Dose Control Pro: £149.95 at Currys, in stock, checked 3 Oct 2026. It’s £169.95 at Sage UK, checked 3 Oct 2026. See it at Currys
- Baratza Encore ESP: £154.95 at Coffee Hit, checked 3 Oct 2026; check price at Redber. See it at Redber
- Sage the Smart Grinder Pro: Check price at Redber. Sage UK and Currys both had it at £209.95, checked 3 Oct 2026. See it at Redber
- Fellow Opus: £189.00 at Bella Barista, checked 3 Oct 2026. The white version was in stock and the black wasn’t. See it at Bella Barista
- Baratza Virtuoso+: £199.95 at Redber, checked 3 Oct 2026. See it at Redber
Best for filter coffee
Baratza Encore. This is the simplest grinder here. You twist the hopper to choose one of 40 settings and switch it on. Coffee Hit lists 40mm M3 conical steel burrs, a 300g hopper, a 120g grounds bin and a motor that grinds 1.3g to 2.2g a second, depending on the setting. It’s the natural choice if you make pour-over, AeroPress or cafetière coffee and want a reliable upgrade from a budget grinder.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who might buy an espresso machine later. Spend the extra £15 on the Encore ESP instead.
Baratza Virtuoso+. This sits above the Encore, with 40mm M2 conical steel burrs, 40 settings and a digital timer you can set to a tenth of a second, according to Redber. It also has a backlit grounds bin so you can see what you’re grinding. The timer is useful if you brew the same amount every morning.
Who it isn’t for: dedicated espresso makers. Its 40 settings are spread across the whole range, from espresso to cafetière, rather than concentrated in the fine end like the Encore ESP’s.
Best for espresso
Baratza Encore ESP. The espresso version of the Encore uses 40mm M2 burrs and a metal adjustment system, and splits its settings into an espresso range and a filter range, according to Redber. Coffee Hit lists a 54mm dosing cup with a 58mm adapter in the box.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants hands-off dosing.
Sage the Dose Control Pro and Smart Grinder Pro. Both have 60 settings, stainless steel conical burrs and cradles for 50-54mm and 58mm portafilters, according to Sage UK. The Dose Control Pro is the cheaper of the two, with a 340g hopper and a dosing timer. The Smart Grinder Pro adds an LCD screen, a 450g hopper and grind time in 0.2-second steps (Redber). Our guide to the best coffee grinder for espresso compares these with pricier espresso grinders.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who mostly brews filter. You’ll pay for features you won’t use.
Best for single dosing
Fellow Opus. Bella Barista lists six-blade 40mm conical burrs, more than 41 settings with a printed grind guide, anti-static design and a timed auto-stop. It’s designed to be loaded with just the beans you need, up to 110g, and has a magnetic catch cup with a spout. Fellow pitches it as an all-purpose grinder for everything from espresso to cold brew.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants to grind straight into a portafilter. You pour from the catch cup instead.
When a hand grinder is the better buy
If you make one or two cups at a time and don’t mind a minute of turning, a hand grinder gets you good burrs for less. The Timemore C3 Pro was £74.95 at Redber (checked 3 Oct 2026). Our guide to the best manual coffee grinders covers hand grinders for filter and espresso.
Noise, cleaning and retention
Electric burr grinders are noisy, and none of the retailers here publish decibel figures, so we can’t compare them on noise. For cleaning, the Encore ESP has a quick-release burr, according to Coffee Hit, and Sage includes a burr cleaning brush with the Smart Grinder Pro. Hopper grinders keep some coffee inside between uses; single-dose grinders like the Opus are designed to keep that to a minimum.
Downsides to know
- Prices change. Grinder prices move often, so check price at Redber and Coffee Hit on the day.
- Stock varies by colour. Only the white Fellow Opus was in stock at Bella Barista when we checked.
- No published noise figures. We couldn’t compare how loud they are.
FAQ
What’s the best coffee grinder under £200 for espresso? The Baratza Encore ESP (£154.95 at Coffee Hit, checked 3 Oct 2026) if you also brew filter, or the Sage Smart Grinder Pro if you want timed dosing.
Is a £200 grinder worth it over a £60 one? If you make espresso, usually yes, because budget grinders often can’t grind fine or evenly enough. For filter coffee, the gap is smaller. See our pour-over grinder guide and all our grinder comparisons.
Can these grinders use any beans? Yes. They’re all designed for whole coffee beans. The Sage grinders, Encore and Virtuoso+ have hoppers, while the Opus is loaded one dose at a time.