Ninja Luxe Café vs. De'Longhi La Specialista Touch – which is the best Prime Day discount to shop before the bean-to-cup coffee deals run dry?

ninja vs delonghi
(Image credit: Future)

Prime Day is coming to a close, and if you've been mulling over your options for coffee maker deals, I'm here to help. Right now, the popular Ninja Luxe Café is just $498.99 (was $599.99) while the new De'Longhi La Specialista Touch is $799.99 (was $999.99), making these two coffee makers some of the best deals on Amazon right now.

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I've tested dozens of machines over the last few years, weighing their cost, ongoing maintenance, design, and performance to assess which is best suited for different customers' needs. Now, I'm all lined up to help you save and pick between two of the best bean-to-cup models on the market.

We've rounded up all of the best coffee maker deals in general, but these two models stand out as great options for those who want a machine that does it all, from grinding beans to extracting coffee and making delicious frothed milk. Both of these have seen huge discounts for Amazon Prime Day, and both are relatively new; so what's the deciding factor? Read on for my comparison.

(Not in the US? See today's best deals in your region below)

Ninja Luxe Café: Pros and Cons

The Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier coffee machine on a kitchen bench

(Image credit: Danielle Abraham / TechRadar)

Stylish and modern, the Ninja Luxe Café is a gorgeous bit of kit for your kitchen, albeit a little bulky, but don't let that distract you from how very, very capable it is.

Scoring 4.5/5 stars in our Ninja Luxe Café review, this three-in-one bean-to-cup machine offers multiple extraction techniques for different tastes. So, say you've got a cold brew lover at home, but you want delicious espresso yourself, and need a drip coffee option for larger doses; this machine can do it all. Just note that you're limited to 18-oz coffee brews.

One thing that stands out about the Ninja Luxe Café is its ease of use, even for newbies to the coffee-making game. Beyond offering a weight-based dosage system and automatic milk frother, it'll even suggest the grind size for its conical burr grinder based on what drink you're making.

Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier Series
Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier Series: was $599.99 now $498.99 at Amazon

This version of the hugely popular Ninja Luxe Cafe machine is down to a record-low price for the second half of Prime Day. It can make regular or cold-extracted espresso, prepare drip coffee, and foam milk automatically or manually. It was already a good value at full price, and now it's even easier to recommend.

Given this is Ninja's first foray into espresso extraction, we'd expected some concessions to be made, but the Ninja Luxe Café really impressed us with its results and the approachable price tag.

Now, that in itself presents a glaring issue. Yes, it's affordable as-is (and doubly so in this Prime Day deal!), but it also has limited repairability. Experienced coffee makers know that it's important to offer device support well in excess of the warranty agreement; from what I've seen so far in customer reviews and experiences, as well as my own with other Ninja products, that's unlikely to be the case here.

If you can be at peace with the fact that affordability might come with a long-term cost, and especially if you want to use the machine regularly, then it's well worth the investment.

De'Longhi La Speciaista Opera: Pros and Cons

De'Longhi La Specialista Touch coffee machine on kitchen counter

(Image credit: Future)

One of the highest-scoring coffee makers we've reviewed this year, the De'Longhi La Specialista Touch is a great option if you want to preserve your counterspace and learn the ropes of coffee making.

This semi-automated machine grants a great level of control and customization as you experiment your way through becoming a home barista, but if you'd rather take a back seat, it can handle most of the process for you. Additionally, you can save up to nine custom drinks alongside the extensive menu of customizable options.

De'Longhi La Specialista Touch
De'Longhi La Specialista Touch: was $999.95 now $799.95 at Amazon

We gave the La Specialista Touch a full five stars in our review earlier this year, and with $200 off for Prime Day, we can't recommend it highly enough. It's particularly good if you're new to making espresso and want to develop your skills, as it provides as much help as you need, guiding you through the process, then lets you take over once you're confident. One of today's best deals, by far.

Offering effective smart dosing and tamping tools that ensure your puck is well-measured and even to deliver effective results, an excellent steam wand with your choice of manual or automatic milk texturizing, there's some seriously smart stuff going on inside the La Specialista Touch.

It also features a great built-in conical burr grinder, all packed into an impressively small form (relative to other bean-to-cup machines, of course), that won't completely dwarf your kitchen countertops.

Of course, it's significantly more expensive than the Ninja Luxe Café, even with the discount in play, but that does come with some assurance of its longevity; De'Longhi have been in the coffee maker game for a long time and know well the benefit of crafting devices that will last and, more importantly, offers a robust set of options for repairs and maintenance.

Which one is right for you?

Both of these deals are, in their own right, fantastic; as are both machines, which is why we rank them among the best bean-to-cup coffee machines we've tested. Which is best for you will ultimately come down to your personal needs, of course, but overall I'd say the De'Longhi La Specialista Touch makes for a better deal.

With a significant discount, better long-term prospects, and some seriously smart tech on board, it's a fantastic all-rounder. Considering it's even newer than the Ninja Luxe Café, too, it's a surprisingly bold deal from De'Longhi.

That being said, there are situations where the Ninja Luxe Café might make better sense. Naturally, if you're on a budget at this very moment, you're best off saving some cash for an almost equally equipped machine. The Italian-inspired design of De'Longhi might feel too dated for you, too, compared to the more modern and boxy Ninja model, though the latter is two inches wider than the former.

Josephine Watson
Managing Editor, Lifestyle

Josephine Watson is TechRadar's Managing Editor - Lifestyle. Josephine is an award-winning journalist (PPA 30 under 30 2024), having previously written on a variety of topics, from pop culture to gaming and even the energy industry, joining TechRadar to support general site management. She is a smart home nerd, champion of TechRadar's sustainability efforts as well and an advocate for internet safety and education. She has used her position to fight for progressive approaches towards diversity and inclusion, mental health, and neurodiversity in corporate settings. Generally, you'll find her fiddling with her smart home setup, watching Disney movies, playing on her Switch, or rewatching the extended edition of Lord of the Rings... again.

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