The Best K-Cup Compatible Coffee Machines

Food & Drink

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Did you know there is an entire slate of K-Cup compatible machines that aren’t made by Keurig? If you are in that pod life you probably already know this, but while Keurig might dominate the market it created with an entire ecosystem of coffee brewing reliant on K-Cup pods there are a bunch of competitive machines out there that have side-stepped their way into the K-Cup world.

Most of these machines are compatible with K-Cups and some of them have features that make them even more appealing than a standard Keurig machine. Want to make tea or use your own coffee as well as K-Cup pods? Some of these machines do that.

The point is that even though the market seems dominated by Keurig when it comes to pod machines, there are plenty of alternative options available. Sure, you might be brand loyal to Keurig and don’t want to think that you missed an opportunity to put a different machine on your counter that serves the same purpose, but it’s never too late to add another coffee machine to your kitchen.

Here are Keurig alternatives that will still keep you knee-deep in K-Cup pods.

Sboly Single Serve

The Sboly single-serve coffee maker is a great alternative to the Keurig K15 (admittedly, a lot of these machines are comparable to the K15). You can brew coffee with or without a pod using the pod holder or grounds basket. There are two simple buttons for each operation and an auto-cleaning feature for quick descaling. It’s a compact, simple machine that easily allows you to take a break from K-Cups and use your own coffee.

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Hamilton Beach Single Serve

The Hamilton Beach single-serve coffee maker is very similar to Sboly. It uses either K-Cups or your own ground coffee with the adaptable baskets for each. The Flexbrew feature only heats the water when you are ready to brew and you can even fit a travel mug under the spout for your on-the-go brew.

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Mueller Ultima Single Serve

The Mueller Ultima Single Serve is a larger machine at a smaller machine price. Comparable in footprint to the K-Select line of machines, this has a large 48-ounce removable water reservoir. It also has three brewing sizes and makes coffee in under a minute. It was designed to fit all 1.0 and 2.0 K-Cup pods, so if you’ve got a stash of early-release pods collecting dust, this will brew them.

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Chulux Single Serve

The Chulux Single Serve is kind of like the machines you’d find in a hotel room. It’s a one cup at a time brewer—just pour in the water, pop in your pod or ground coffee and press the button. There are few complexities here. It’s designed for travel, though I can’t think of anyone who is carrying their pod coffee machine with them when they travel. There is one where you are going, I guarantee it.

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Dnsly Coffee Maker Single Serve

The Dnsly is very similar to the Chulux and Sboly in the sense that it is fairly compact and brews a single-serve cup of coffee within three minutes. It has the option for using ground coffee in addition to K-Cups and brews in about three minutes. It also has a strength control feature as well as self-cleaning function.

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Gourmia 3-in-1 Coffee & Tea Maker

The Gourmia 3-in-1 is probably my favorite of the Keurig alternatives. Not only can you use K-Cups in the specialized K-Cup holder as well as your own ground coffee in that adapter, but it has a tea infuser. As a tea drinker, this is appealing. It’s a one-touch machine (tea and coffee buttons) and has a 16-ounce water reservoir. The tea and coffee adapters are independent of each other, so the flavors never mix. The tea infuser isn’t where you stick a tea bag, but rather it infuses loose leaf tea with hot water to make a perfect cup of afternoon tea.

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Homia Kahve Single Serve

The Homia Kahve Single Serve machine comes with three reusable capsules for your ground coffee (in case you don’t want to wash them as often) and also works with K-Cups. It doesn’t fit travel mugs, but if you are using the machine as advertised, you are traveling with it for some reason so you don’t need a travel mug anyway.

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SUNVIVI OUTDOOR Single Serve

Where some of the previous models were advertised as being for travel, the Sunvivi Outdoor single serve coffee maker is advertised as for outdoor use. Regardless, it can be used with coffee grounds through a permanent filter or K-Cups and fits up to a 14-ounce mug, which is probably your travel mug. It’s a perfect machine for a dorm room or your WeWork office space.

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OXX COFFEEBOXX Job Site Single Serve

If you really want an outdoor coffee pod machine, then you’ll fork over the $229.99 for the Oxx Coffeeboxx job site single serve coffee maker in desert tan. This is a rugged coffee machine with a crush proof chassis and a 1500lb load rating and impact resistant design. It requires 120V of grounded power and is IP54 water and dust resistant. It has an 85-ounce water tank to provide coffee all work day long. It makes three sizes and uses K-Cup pods while skipping the smaller six-ounce size because you are at work, outdoors, and need more coffee than a pithy six ounces. If you didn’t think coffee was a tool before, it is now.

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