If there’s only a couple of coffee drinkers in your house, the best 4 cup coffee maker of 2021 makes more sense than a larger 12 cup maker.
Are 4 cups really 4 cups?
The first thing to remember is that 4 cups isn’t really 4 cups. In coffee makers, the standard cup is taken to be 5 oz and 4 cup coffee makers have 20 oz carafes.
5 oz is a little small, and you’ll probably only get 2 cups worth with the mugs you have at home. In comparison, a travel mug is 16 oz, and a Starbucks Venti is 20 oz (a full carafe!)
This makes a 4 cup coffee maker better suited for a 2 person household. I have also included the best 5 cup coffee makers in this list because it’s also suitable for 2 people.
If there are two of you drinking coffee at different times. a single cup coffee maker might be worth considering. This way, coffee is fresh, and won’t be stewed on a burner.
How to Choose the Best 4 Cup Drip Coffee Maker
Different coffeemakers have different features, so firstly decide on what you need to have:
- Programmable: Would you like to wake up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee every morning? A programmable coffee maker will start brewing at whichever time you programme into it.
- Stainless Steel Carafe: At this size, the stainless steel carafes are not thermal carafes – the stainless carafe still relies on a hot plate to keep it warm. The advantage of a stainless steel carafe is that it won’t shatter if dropped like a glass carafe will.
- Permanent Filter: Some 4 cup coffee makers come with a permanent filter. This means you don’t need to use a paper filter, although you still can if you prefer the flavor of paper filtered coffee.
Because there are so many different 5 and 4 cup coffee makers, and because it’s hard to tell which features each ones have, I’ve compiled the ultimate comparison table below.
The Ultimate Guide to the Best Four Cup Coffee Makers
It’s easy to see which features each one has at a glance, and it’s easy to have it show only the coffee makers with the features you want.
For example, if you only want to see programmable coffee makers displayed in order of price, type:
‘programmable’ into the Search box, and then click the ‘Price’ heading to sort by price.
The Best 4 Cup Coffee Maker Reviews:
For the Best Tasting Coffee
Zojirushi EC-DAC50 Zutto 5-Cup Drip Coffeemaker
At a glance: Precision engineered for the best tasting coffee.
Zojirushi don’t make a lot of coffee makers, but the ones they do make are engineering wonders.
Special attention has been placed on making great coffee – the temperature is carefully controlled, and the water is evenly distributed over the grounds in the filter.
It uses a cone bottom filter instead of a flat bottom one – this ensures that water drips through all coffee grounds and gives a fuller cup of coffee. It also has a built in carbon filter to remove chemicals and imperfections from the water. In other machines, this would make it into your coffee, making it taste bad.
The hot plate is designed to keep coffee as hot as possible without burning it.
It’s also engineered with convenience in mind – it has a removable water reservoir which you can take to the sink to fill up, and the filter basket is inside the carafe. This makes it easy to fill without making a mess, and quick to clean.
The filter in the carafe also helps keep the unit compact and elegant looking.
Although it’s a little over 4 cups (25 oz instead of 20 oz), it’s the best 4 cup drip coffee maker giving the tastiest coffee.
- Click here for the best price at Amazon.
Best Programmable Coffee Maker
Mr. Coffee DRX5 4-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker
At a glance: A budget programmable coffee maker which works.
The Mr Coffee DRX5 is a budget 4 cup coffee maker. At this price, the most important thing it needs to do is work – and thankfully, it does.
The clock keeps good time (not perfect, but good enough), and the coffee tastes fine (not as good as the Zojirushi above, though).
The biggest difference in in the way it looks. This is true for most of the Mr. Coffee machines at this price – performance is similar, but they have slightly different designs.
- Click here for the best price at Amazon.
Best Coffee Maker with Steel Carafe
Mr. Coffee JWX9 5-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker with Stainless Steel Carafe
At a glance: A programmable coffee maker with stainless steel carafe.
The Mr Coffee JWX9 is a budget 5 cup coffee maker with a stainless steel coffee pot.
It’s very similar to the DRX5 in many ways – its programmable and the clock is decent. The coffee quality is around the same.
This coffee maker is a 5 cup maker, or 25 oz in all. This is enough for two large mugs or two travel mugs. The stainless steel carafe means it won’t shatter if you drop it, but you also won’t be able to see how much coffee is left at a glance.
Although not strictly 4 cups, the JWX9 is the best 4 cup coffee maker with a stainless steel carafe.
- Click here for the best price at Amazon.
Juan Miguel says
Most of these small size, four-cup coffee makers easily fit on just any counter top. The compact size makes them perfect space saver devices.
Jeff Logan says
Since cone vs. flat bottom filters are, or can be, important for strength and taste, it would be nice to know filter type on your reviewed coffee makers.