Comparison · Bean-to-cup machines
De'Longhi Eletta Explore vs Rivelia: cold brew, bean switching and price
De'Longhi Eletta Explore vs Rivelia: cold drinks and cold brew against two swappable bean hoppers for £250 less at De'Longhi UK. UK prices, key differences and who should pick which.
If you’re weighing up the De’Longhi Eletta Explore vs Rivelia, you’re choosing between two of De’Longhi’s touchscreen bean-to-cup machines that solve different problems. The Eletta Explore ECAM450.86.T is designed for cold drinks and cold brew as well as hot coffee, and it’s £999.99 at De’Longhi UK, checked 3 Oct 2026. The Rivelia is designed around two swappable bean hoppers, and the black EXAM440.55.B is £594.00 at Currys, checked 3 Oct 2026. We haven’t tested this in person. This comparison is based on De’Longhi UK’s product pages, Currys’ listings and UK prices checked 3 Oct 2026. Read how we compare.
We’ve already covered each machine on its own in our De’Longhi Eletta Explore review and our De’Longhi Rivelia review, so this page sticks to the differences that should decide which one goes on your worktop.
De’Longhi Eletta Explore vs Rivelia: the short answer
Choose the Eletta Explore if iced lattes and cold brew are part of your week, not an occasional treat. It’s the one with cold drinks built in: De’Longhi UK lists LatteCrema Hot and Cool milk technology and a cold brew function, and it can store your own recipes through the app.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who drinks hot coffee almost all the time. You’d be paying £250 more at De’Longhi UK for features you won’t use.
Choose the Rivelia if your household drinks more than one kind of bean. Two 250g hoppers that swap in and out mean you can keep, say, a dark roast and a decaf ready without emptying one to use the other. It also costs much less.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants cold milk drinks straight out of the box. De’Longhi says the Rivelia needs a separate LatteCrema Cool upgrade set for those.
What they cost right now
These are the prices we found on 3 Oct 2026, from Currys’ Eletta Explore results, Currys’ Rivelia results, De’Longhi UK’s Eletta Explore page and De’Longhi UK’s Rivelia page:
- Eletta Explore ECAM450.86.T: check price at Currys.
- Eletta Explore ECAM450.86.T: £999.99 at De’Longhi UK, checked 3 Oct 2026.
- Rivelia EXAM440.55.B (black): £594.00 at Currys, checked 3 Oct 2026.
- Rivelia EXAM440.55.BG (beige): check price at Currys.
- Rivelia EXAM440.55.G (grey): £599.99 at Currys, checked 3 Oct 2026.
- Rivelia EXAM440.55.G (grey): £749.99 at De’Longhi UK, checked 3 Oct 2026.
On the day we checked, the grey Rivelia was £250 less than the Eletta Explore at De’Longhi UK, and the Rivelia was cheaper again at Currys, so it’s worth comparing before you buy. Prices can change.
Watch the model codes. Currys also sells a Rivelia Start (EXAM420.55), which is a different machine with its own spec. Everything on this page refers to the Rivelia EXAM440.55.
Cold drinks: where the Eletta Explore pulls ahead
This is the biggest difference between the two. On the Eletta Explore, cold drinks are part of the design. De’Longhi UK lists both LatteCrema Hot and LatteCrema Cool milk technology, so there’s a way to make cold milk foam as well as hot. It also has what De’Longhi calls Cold Extraction Technology: the machine grinds and tamps the coffee, then steeps it in room-temperature water to make cold brew on demand. De’Longhi’s page describes more than 50 hot, cold and cold brew recipes.
The Rivelia takes a different approach. It ships with LatteCrema Hot for hot milk drinks, and De’Longhi says the LatteCrema Cool upgrade set unlocks six cold milk drinks. That’s handy if you’d like to add cold drinks later, but it’s an extra purchase, and the Rivelia has no cold brew function listed.
Who it isn’t for: if cold coffee is a summer-only thing for you, the Eletta Explore’s main advantage won’t earn its price. Ice and a hot espresso from the Rivelia might be all you need.
Beans: where the Rivelia pulls ahead
The Rivelia’s party trick is the Bean Switch System. De’Longhi UK says it comes with two interchangeable 250g hoppers. You use a switch mode to clear the grinder, then lift one hopper off and put the other on. Currys also sells a spare DLSC403 Rivelia hopper for £19.99, checked 3 Oct 2026, if you’d like a third coffee waiting.
The Eletta Explore has a single, larger hopper. De’Longhi lists it at 300g. If you only buy one coffee at a time, that’s simpler and means fewer top-ups. If you want to switch between beans, you’d have to wait for the hopper to run low or empty it by hand.
Both machines list Bean Adapt Technology, which De’Longhi says adjusts settings to suit the beans you’re using. On the Eletta Explore, De’Longhi links this to its Coffee Link app. If you’re choosing beans to start with, our coffee beans guide covers UK options.
Who it isn’t for: anyone who sticks with one coffee. The Rivelia’s swappable hoppers are its main selling point, and without them it’s simply a good-looking automatic machine.
Screen, drinks and recipes
The two machines look similar on paper here. De’Longhi UK lists a 3.5-inch colour TFT touch display and up to four user profiles on both, so each person in the house can save their own drinks.
The differences are in the menu. De’Longhi’s Eletta Explore page lists 52 one-touch drinks, while the Rivelia page lists 16. There’s also a gap in flexibility. De’Longhi’s spec data says you can create your own recipes on the Eletta Explore through the app, and that you can’t on the Rivelia. You can still adjust the Rivelia’s drinks, but there’s no blank recipe to build from.
If you’d rather not use an app at all, bear in mind that De’Longhi ties Bean Adapt and its recipe library to the app on the Eletta Explore. The Rivelia’s spec data doesn’t list app control, so check the listing if that matters to you.
Size, tank and everyday running
Both machines list a 19-bar pump and 1,450W of power on De’Longhi UK. The practical differences are size and capacity:
- Dimensions: De’Longhi lists the Eletta Explore at 260 x 450 x 385mm and the Rivelia at 245 x 430 x 385mm. The Eletta Explore needs a little more width and depth on the worktop.
- Water tank: 1.8 litres on the Eletta Explore and 1.4 litres on the Rivelia, so expect to refill the Rivelia more often.
- Grounds container: De’Longhi lists room for 14 used pucks on the Eletta Explore and 10 on the Rivelia.
- Cup height: De’Longhi lists a maximum cup height of 140mm for the Rivelia. For the Eletta Explore, its page gives two different figures, 143mm and 170mm, so measure your tallest glass and check before you buy.
Who it isn’t for: if you have a small kitchen, check the Eletta Explore’s depth against the space under your wall cupboards. Neither is a compact machine.
Which should you buy?
The Eletta Explore suits households where iced lattes and cold brew are as normal as a morning flat white, and who are happy to pay for that. Its bigger tank, larger menu and app recipes are useful extras, but cold drinks are the real reason to choose it.
The Rivelia suits households where two people drink different coffee, or anyone who keeps a decaf on the go. It covers the everyday hot drinks with automatic milk, and on the day we checked it cost £250 less at De’Longhi UK.
Consider neither if you mainly drink espresso or black coffee and want to keep spending down. Our guide to bean-to-cup machines covers cheaper options, and our De’Longhi Rivelia vs Magnifica Evo comparison looks at what you give up by stepping down from the Rivelia.
Common questions
Can the Rivelia make cold brew? De’Longhi doesn’t list a cold brew function for the Rivelia. Cold brew is one of the Eletta Explore’s headline features.
Can the Eletta Explore use two types of beans? Not in the way the Rivelia does. It has a single 300g hopper, according to De’Longhi UK, so changing beans means emptying it first.
Which is cheaper? The Rivelia. It was £594.00 at Currys for the black EXAM440.55.B, and the grey was £749.99 at De’Longhi UK against £999.99 there for the Eletta Explore, all checked 3 Oct 2026. Prices can change.