Bambino vs Bambino Plus

Breville Bambino vs Bambino Plus: Specs Side by Side

On paper, these machines are nearly twins. The practical differences are concentrated in four areas: milk frothing, hot water access, color options, and what’s in the box.

Pricing sourced from Breville.com, verified March 16, 2026. Google ratings sourced via Homes & Gardens’ barista-tested comparison. For current deals, both machines go on sale regularly during Prime Day, Memorial Day, and Black Friday — worth checking before you pull the trigger.

The Espresso Is the Same — and That’s a Good Thing

Breville built both machines on the same espresso platform, so you’re not trading shot quality when you choose one over the other. A few things make this setup genuinely impressive for the price range:

ThermoJet Heating: 3 Seconds to Ready

Traditional espresso machines use a boiler that takes anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes to reach temperature. Breville’s ThermoJet technology coats metal with a glass-ceramic enamel that heats to brewing temperature in about 3 seconds. For daily home use, this changes everything — no planning ahead, no wasted water while you wait for a machine to warm up. According to , ThermoJet also uses 32% less energy annually than traditional thermoblock systems.

PID Temperature Control and Pre-Infusion

A PID controller holds brewing temperature at a steady 200°F — the industry-standard mark for espresso extraction. Pre-infusion — where water gently saturates the puck at low pressure before the full 9-bar push kicks in — reduces channeling and produces more even shots. These are capabilities you’d typically find on setups costing twice as much. consistently note that both machines deliver reliably smooth espresso with less fuss than traditional single boilers like the Gaggia Classic Pro.

The One Thing Missing: No Pressure Gauge

Neither the Bambino nor the Bambino Plus has a pressure gauge. You can’t watch the needle in real time to know if your grind is dialed in. If that kind of feedback matters to you, the ($599) adds that feature while keeping the same brewing fundamentals.

A Note on Filter Baskets

US versions of both machines ship with pressurized (double-wall) filter baskets. These are forgiving — they produce decent crema even with a less precise grind — but they mask grind inconsistencies and cap your shot quality ceiling. To push either machine further, swapping to a single-wall basket is worth doing once you have a reliable burr grinder dialed in. (Note: Sage-branded European versions include single-wall baskets; US buyers need to purchase them separately.)

Milk Frothing Is Where They Go Different Ways

This is the only real split between the two machines. Everything else — the espresso, the heating, the footprint — is nearly identical. Milk is where you make your call.

Breville Bambino: Manual 360° Steam Wand

The Bambino’s wand rotates fully — you can angle it wherever you need it for a proper vortex. It has a single-hole tip, which slows down the steam flow and gives you more time to work the milk. That extra control is actually helpful for beginners: the milk heats more gradually, so mistakes are easier to catch. Once you develop a feel for it, the manual wand produces excellent microfoam — the glossy, wet-paint texture baristas use for latte art.

The wand also doubles as a hot water dispenser when turned the other direction. Pull a double shot, add hot water through the same wand, and you have an Americano without any extra steps. The Bambino Plus gave up this function to make room for the automated frothing hardware.

Non-dairy milks also fare better with the manual wand. Oat milk, almond milk, and soy milk are more heat-sensitive than dairy — they need longer, more controlled aeration that the Plus’s fixed presets can’t deliver. Multiple independent reviewers found that oat and soy milk would fail to froth properly — or scorch — under the automatic settings. Testing by Nook Coffee Bar (2025) confirmed it plainly: “the automatic steam wand was clearly designed for dairy milk.” If plant-based milks are your daily choice, the manual wand on the base Bambino is the better tool. See for technique guidance that applies to either setup.

Breville Bambino Plus: Automated Milk Texturing

The Plus gives you nine combinations to work with: three temperature levels (low, medium, high) and three texture settings (silky, smooth, frothy). You position the steam wand in the pitcher, press a button, and step away. The machine does the rest and auto-purges the wand afterward to keep it clean.

For dairy milk, the results are genuinely good. As noted in Bon Appétit’s full Breville guide, the Bambino Plus’s auto-froth “produces a thick blanket without any large bubbles and enough texture to try your hand at latte art.” For someone who wants a reliable cappuccino every morning without a learning curve, that’s exactly what it promises.

The wand doesn’t rotate like the base model’s does, but for automatic use, that’s not a concern — the machine positions the steam itself. The auto-purge is a useful touch: it vents a short burst of steam after each use, which keeps milk residue out of the wand tip without you having to remember to wipe it manually.

Size, Colors, and What You Get in the Box

Footprint and Counter Space

Both machines are compact. The Bambino comes in at 6.25″ wide × 13.5″ deep × 12″ tall, according to Breville’s official specs. The Bambino Plus is 7.5″ wide — about 1.25 inches wider — at the same depth and height. The height is identical, so neither has an advantage if you’re fitting one under a low cabinet. The extra inch-plus on the Plus is minor but worth measuring if your counter space is genuinely tight.

Both drip trays fill up fast. Reviewers consistently flag this: the Bambino Plus in particular may need emptying every day with regular use. takes care of this quickly.

Color Options

The standard Bambino comes in brushed stainless steel only. The Bambino Plus is available in nine finishes: Stainless Steel, Black Truffle, Sea Salt, Damson Blue, Oyster Shell, Royal Champagne, Red Velvet Cake, Black Stainless Steel, and Smoked Hickory. If you want the machine to match a kitchen aesthetic or just prefer a splash of something different, this matters.

What’s in the Box

Both machines include a portafilter, single and double-wall filter baskets, and a 16 oz stainless steel milk pitcher. The differences are small but real: the Bambino ships with a plastic tamper; the Bambino Plus includes a metal 54mm tamper that feels more substantial and is more consistent in use. The Plus also includes Breville’s Razor Precision Dosing Tool, which lets you level your coffee dose to the exact capacity of the basket — useful for repeatable shot quality without a scale.

The Feature the Bambino Plus Gave Up

One thing gets buried in most comparisons: the base Bambino has a hot water spout. Turn the steam dial the other direction on the Bambino, and it dispenses hot water — perfect for Americanos, Americano-style long blacks, or a cup of tea. It’s a simple feature that adds real utility to the machine as a daily kitchen appliance.

The Bambino Plus removed it. As Bon Appétit’s Noah Kaufman noted, the Bambino’s steam wand “doubles as a hot water dispenser to make Americanos or tea, a feature the Bambino Plus lacks.” If Americanos are a regular part of your morning routine, this is a real tradeoff worth weighing against the convenience of automated frothing.

You’ll Need a Grinder — Here’s What to Pair With Either Machine

Neither the Bambino nor the Bambino Plus includes a grinder. This is one area where both models look the same, but the decision you make here has a bigger effect on your espresso than the machine choice itself. A blade/spice grinder produces uneven particle sizes that lead to inconsistent extraction — use a burr grinder instead.

For a pairing that doesn’t break the bank, a few options work well at the $100–$200 range: the (around $170) is purpose-built for espresso and is widely recommended at this price. The Breville Smart Grinder Pro (~$200) integrates cleanly with Breville’s ecosystem. If you’re willing to go manual, the Comandante C40 or 1Zpresso JE-Plus produce grind quality that rivals grinders twice their price.

Breville also sells a on Amazon that packages both together at a slight discount if you’re starting from scratch.