There are basically two good times to buy an espresso maker: Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday.

That's when the most popular, top-line espresso and latte machines go on the biggest sales of any given year—including the two most popular espresso machines on earth, according to Amazon sales figures. The Breville Barista Express and the Ninja Luxe Cafe Pro—each No. 1 in sales in their respective categories—are on massive early Prime Day sales this week, up to $200 off list price.

Both of these are also happen to be among my favorite espresso machines for most people—the devices I often recommend to espresso beginners who'd like to stop paying $7 a drink at Starbucks. That makes these two of the best early Amazon Prime Day Deals of 2026.

Breville's Barista Express is a semiautomatic espresso machine, which means that the grinder and steaming wand are included in the machine—a one-stop shop for milk-frothy drinks. It's been the top-selling espresso maker of its kind for so long I don't even remember when this wasn't true.

This $200 discount during Amazon Prime Day 2026 makes for the lowest price I've seen on the Barista Express in about a half-decade—a deal good enough I had to double- and then triple-check it to make sure it was true.

WIRED has been recommending the Express as one of our favorite espresso makers for about a decade for its mix of value, reliability, precision, and ease of use. Breville's Barista Express semiautomatic espresso machine has been Amazon's best-selling espresso machine for years—so long it's hard to remember a time when it wasn't the top-selling pick.

Why's it so popular? It's a Goldilocks thing—a mix of accessible price, Breville's excellent reputation for customer service on high-ticket items, and beautiful ease of use. While the built-in grinder isn't as good as on Breville's top-tier Oracle Jet, the Express will make full-flavored, consistent, well-extracted espresso on medium and dark roasts. Breville's excellent reputation for honoring warranties and offering excellent customer service doesn't hurt—a big deal on a device that'll hopefully be with you for years.

Besides, we can attest to this longevity: WIRED senior gear editor Julian Chokkattu has been pulling shots from his Barista Express for seven years, and it's still going strong.

Ninja's flagship semiautomatic espresso machine is also on a great sale for Prime Day 2026, in a deal that already started this week. The Ninja Luxe Cafe Pro is on sale for $150 off, matching the lowest price I've seen it.

When Ninja announced it was jumping into the semiautomatic espresso market in 2024, I was skeptical. But both the Pro and the slightly downmarket Luxe Cafe Premium have surprised me with their ability to make excellent espresso with minimal effort. The best deal is on the Pro, which includes a useful bean assist function to help you dial in your beans—a rarity at this price point. It also offers a manual tamping lever and a hot water spout that was mysteriously lacking in Ninja's lower-tier device.

Ninja's devices aren't as tried and tested as the Breville. And the “drip coffee” function is best left alone. But if you're a latte lover, you may still have reason to prefer Ninja's coffee maker. The reason is the milk frother, which is among the best on any semiautomatic espresso machine I've seen, courtesy of a magnetic metal whisk at the bottom of the milk carafe. It's some of the most integrated, well-frothed milk I've seen from an automatic frother.