Best AeroPress Coffee Makers Tested and Reviewed (2025)

Once upon a time, every AeroPress was the best AeroPress. But the humble AeroPress coffee maker has since multiplied. It has become various. The past half decade or so has brought an explosion of new versions of AeroPress: a plastic-free premium AeroPress (7/10, WIRED Recommends), a big AeroPress, a small AeroPress, a red AeroPress, a blue AeroPress.

But at its heart, the AeroPress remains a compact and ingeniously simple coffee maker, using pressure applied by hand to extract a smooth but richly flavorful and aromatic cup. Famously created by a Stanford-educated inventor previously known for improving the aerodynamics of the flying disc, each AeroPress looks a bit like a fat syringe that injects brewed coffee through a filter and into your waiting mug. It doesn’t seem like it should make coffee as good as it does. And yet it does, attaining a result somewhere between French press, espresso, and filter coffee. Feel free to follow the recipe on the box. But the device also allows a remarkable amount of control over your coffee as you adjust grind, brewing time, agitation, bloom, and filter of choice.

The AeroPress has inspired cultish fandom since its introduction in 2005, not to mention a burgeoning aftermarket of accessories and mods. And yet it took till 2019 for AeroPress to release a second model, a slightly smaller travel version called the AeroPress Go (9/10, WIRED Recommends). After equity company Tiny Capital acquired a majority stake in AeroPress in 2021, the portal to the AeroPress multiverse was thrown open. Aeropress now makes alternate filters, flow-control caps, gadget organizers, and a hot pink AeroPress (because why not?). Some of this is marketing. Some’s a real improvement—or at least an alternate vision for an already quirky coffee maker.

Here’s our best advice on which version of AeroPress to get, and our favorite accessories from AeroPress and other makers.

Be sure to check out our other coffee guides, including the Best Coffee Grinders, Best Drip Coffee Makers, Best Coffee Bean Subscriptions, and Best Espresso Machines.

Updated April 2025: We’ve added the AeroPress Premium, Fellow Prismo, AeroPress Travel Filter Holder, AeroPress Stainless Steel Filter, Hexnub Bamboo Organizer, and Coffeesock wool filters. We’ve also retested previous AeroPress devices, and updated links and prices throughout. The original version of this guide was written by WIRED contributor Joe Ray.

Best AeroPress Overall

The WIRED team has long admired AeroPress. Reporter Steven Levy profiled its inventor in his Palo Alto office a decade ago, when AeroPress mania was first reaching fever pitch. But like a lot of low-cost, convenient things, the original AeroPress is made of (BPA-free, pthalate-free, certified food-safe) plastic. And microplastics are a concern that is rapidly rising in scope and importance, amid some real health questions.

At a bit of a price premium, the new plastic-free AeroPress Premium is the answer: a steel-and-glass AeroPress with sturdy construction and the same great ability to make AeroPress-style coffee. WIRED commerce director Martin Cizmar, a longtime AeroPress fan, has stowed his beloved original AeroPress with his camping gear in favor of the new Premium as a home device. Note, however, he had intermittent issues with coffee blowouts on one review sample, a “manageable quirk” he solved by using AeroPress’s stainless steel filter we discuss below.

Prettiest AeroPresses

Beauty isn’t free. It costs $10 extra. The new Clears and Colors (which are also considered Clears) are pretty much the same device as the good old-fashioned AeroPress Original. They just happen to be better-looking, brighter, more various, and slightly more expensive. Some AeroPress lovers appreciate that the Clear lets you see the brewing process—though if I’m going to be honest, coffee slurry isn’t exactly a fireworks show. The real benefit of the new designs is that you get to choose a color that matches your shirt, your kitchen decor, or your whole vibe.

Best Budget Classic

If you’re a longtime AeroPress owner, chances are this is the one you’ve got. You probably feel nostalgic and deeply attached, and rightly so. That said, the original Original AeroPress color was actually clear. This “smoked” color was added in 2010 to reduce perception of coffee staining, back when AeroPress was made with a different material. Now, this smokiness has evolved into a design hallmark. Amid the proliferation of AeroPress sizes and colors, the Original’s design has remained mostly unchanged for 15 years. And these days it’s $10 cheaper than the newer bright-colored and clear AeroPresses, which work the exact same way. Buying the Original marks you as a practical person who cares not for frippery.

Best for Frequent Fliers

The travel-friendly 8-ounce Go (9/10 WIRED Recommends) is, on the one hand, just a slightly smaller AeroPress. On the other, says WIRED contributor Joe Ray, it’s an “ingenious” upgrade he may prefer to the original, nestling inside a mug for easy transport to a campsite or a hotel. Voila: no more sad hotel K-cups. Grind whatever beans you can before heading out camping—or if you’re in a new city, buy a bag and ask them to grind for AeroPress. (Although, if you really want to go for it while camping, try our favorite hand grinder, the Kingrinder K6, at a grind setting between 60 and 90 clicks.)

AeroPress also released an updated travel AeroPress called the Go Plus ($80), but this one’s a bit of a dud, according to Ray: It’s made for an insulated travel mug whose magnetic slider makes it unpleasant to drink from. The Go Plus is also too small to use with standard-sized mugs at home, limiting its use case considerably. Stick with the standard Go.

Best for (Really) Big Boys

AeroPress fans have been clamoring for a bigger version of the classic brewer for years, mostly because the Original’s 10-ounce capacity means that making coffee for more than one person can be a pain in the butt. Those fans got their wish with a model that’s twice the size of the original. But bigger does not seem to be better. In fact, bigger seems a little more dangerous. While the Original, Clear, and Go all use the same size cap and filter, each piece of the XL is larger. It has its own filters, and you brew into the carafe it comes with, because the XL’s larger diameter makes it too big to brew directly into most mugs. It also gains a lot of height. With the plunger extended and connected to the barrel, and all of that sitting on the carafe, it’s 19 inches high. In our testing, 5’3″ Seattle barista Reyna Callejo from Olympia Coffee Roasting Company stood on a stool to get it to work, a balancing act involving hot liquids you likely will not want to be doing before your morning coffee, or ever, really. Using the inverted method also feels more perilous—that’s half a liter of hot water you’re perching high above your countertop, legs, and private parts. If you really love AeroPress, want an extra cup’s worth every time you brew, and aren’t put off by the potential perils, go for it, but most of us who crave more coffee would likely be better off with a different kind of brewer. —Joe Ray

Put a Lid on It?

The Fellow Prismo, originally released in 2020, was a revelation, though not for the reason it was advertised. The big idea is that by replacing the standard filter cap with a cap outfitted with a pressure-actuated valve, you can pave the way to make actual espresso with your AeroPress. You do this by grinding your coffee finer and then pushing really, really hard on the plunger. In practice, this is a little bit of hooey. Your arm is not creating the nine bars of pressure required to produce espresso, no matter how hard you lean. But by grinding fine, using less water, and pushing the brew through the tiny holes of the Prismo’s stainless steel filter, you can indeed make a strong and espresso-like substance with some crema. It’s a bit more astringent than espresso, to my taste. But here we are.

For me, what made the Prismo terrific was that its valve fixed the slow leak through the AeroPress’s standard filter cap. The standard version dribbles a bit while steeping, causing aficionados to do weird stuff like brew “inverted,” and then flip over a column filled with boiling hot liquid before plunging. The Prismo avoids the need for such early morning adrenaline, and also stops your precious elixir from dribbling into your mug before you plunge the AeroPress. I pretty much exclusively use the Prismo or AeroPress’s flow control cap, for this precise reason. And though the stainless steel filter is required for the Prismo to work, you can add a paper filter atop it for more clarity of flavor.

AeroPress now has its own version of flow-control filter cap called, catchily, a “Flow Control Filter Cap.” The original flow control had a tendency to leak, according to some online reports, but AeroPress seems to have fixed this issue in the meantime: I have not had the problem. The Flow Control Cap costs the same as the Prismo, and both are equally successful at stopping the AeroPress from leaking before its time. So the main difference between AeroPress’s and Fellow’s filter cap is as follows: The Prismo comes with a stainless steel filter at the same price, but also requires that you use the steel filter. (The rubber O-ring on Prismo’s steel filter stops the device from leaking.) So if you like a stainless steel filter? Use the Prismo. If not, roll with AeroPress’s version.

Also, here’s a tip for those who can’t figure out how to expel coffee pucks using the Prismo or Flow Control without making a mess. Pull back the plunger a little after brewing. This will create a vacuum and suck the coffee puck back up with it. Then remove the filter cap, and plunge out the coffee puck into the bin. You’re welcome.

Filtered Results

AeroPress makes reusable steel filters in multiple colors as an alternative to disposable paper filters. Some people pitch this as an environmental decision, in reducing waste. But given that paper filters are small, and you’re using water and soap to rinse coffee oils off this steel filter, it’s all likely a bit of a wash (see what I did there?). The real difference is preference and flavor. The steel filter will offer body that’s a bit more like French press, with more coffee fines and oils in the coffee, but to some (including me) the flavor will taste more diffuse or muddy. The steel filter will also give you a bit of satisfying crema if you push fine coffee through it with the Prismo or Flow Control Cap. The standard paper filters will offer more clarity of flavor and remove all sediment and a lot of the coffee, but won’t have the body of the steel-filtered stuff. But note for the heart-conscious: Studies going back decades show that unfiltered coffee contains chemicals called diterpenes that are associated with a significant increase in LDL cholesterol. Paper filters have been shown to remove these chemicals. Steel filters have not.

Another theoretically environmentally friendly option is cotton-wool filters, not unlike the filter used in the classic Toddy to make cold brew. An Austin, Texas, company called CoffeeSock makes reusable woolen filters for cold brew, pour-over, AeroPress, you name it. A three-pack goes for $15. I didn’t overwhelmingly like the flavor I got using woolen filters on my AeroPress—it was a little muddy-tasting, and maybe even a little gym-socky—and it’s a lot of work rinsing and drying and basically doing laundry on my coffee filter. But maybe you’ll like it more than I did.

The Best AeroPress Caddy

The AeroPress is both a remarkably simple coffee device and a device with a lot of funny little parts. There’s a scoop if you’re a scooping type, a funnel if you’re a grinder and pourer, a tamper if you like to mix up your AeroPress while it brews. There are filters. There’s a filter cap, and maybe your alternate valve-modulated filter cap. Thank goodness for Hexnub, a British company founded by former F1 racing gearheads, which makes by far the most compact and downright handsomest solution I’ve found. This little bamboo caddy sits nicely on a countertop, with slots for an AeroPress and all the . It sports equally handsome little silicone mats to catch stray liquid. AeroPress makes its own stainless steel countertop organizer ($100) for its devices, if you’d rather a cyberpunk vibe.

Taking the Case

Each AeroPress used to come with a little vertical stand for your filters. This is no longer true. Instead, this compact little travel case is sold separately. Do you need a little filter-holder? I dunno. But it doesn’t cost a lot, it’s compact if you’re taking the AeroPress on the go, and it looks undeniably nicer than a ziplock baggie. It also removes the chance you splash all your paper filters with water from your sink. What I can say is that I’m a little happier now that I have it.

When You’re Having Funnel

This is a funnel. It also used to come with the AeroPress but no longer does. If you pour fresh-ground coffee into your AeroPress rather than scooping, you’ll probably appreciate having this. It’s also nice for not spilling water while pouring rom a kettle. Funnels are nice for not spilling stuff, in general. A few companies make knockoffs, but the ones we’ve seen aren’t even cheaper than the one from AeroPress. And this funnel says “AeroPress” on it, which is classier.