Last Updated on February 20, 2023 by Marie Cooper
Burr coffee grinders are better than blade ones because they offer you more consistent grinding, uniform grind sizes, and help you create better tasting cups of coffee, but they can be expensive. You can find options on the market for as low as $19 for the cheapest models to as high as $300 for the highest quality models designed for homes, and options that cost thousands of dollars designed for commercial use.
So, these burr grinders aren’t cheap, and if your budget is around $50 or less, it’s important to purchase one of the best burr coffee grinders under $50 so you can get the best bang for your buck. This is important for every product in every price range, but it’s even more important when you’re on a low budget, because the lower your budget, the lower the number of high-quality models that will be available for you to buy.
In other words, there are more low-quality grinders in the lower price ranges than in the upper ones because it costs money to make a quality grinder. I’ve done the work for you and the products I’ve reviewed below are the best burr grinders you’ll find in the below $50 price range.
The 4 Best Burr Coffee Grinders Under $50
Hamilton Beach Electric Burr Coffee Grinder
This Hamilton Beach grinder is one of the top models available to you on the market, and, at first glance, it looks like a product that costs way more than $50 due to its attractive design. I believe it looks this good because its price is just a dollar or two shy of your budget, which means more money went into its production, probably.
Aside from its appealing design, one of the features of this grinder that will draw your attention is the beautifully designed knob positioned on the top of the grinder, close to the hopper. This knob is the cup selector knob or dial, and it allows you to select the number of cups of coffee you’re brewing so the machine knows how much beans to grind. You can select from 2 cups all the way to 14 cups.
There’s a second dial on the right side of the machine which, as you’d guess, is the grind size dial. Without this, all grinders that grind beans with burrs would be worthless. Since there are so many brewing methods requiring different grind sizes to produce perfect cups of coffee, Hamilton Beach offers you all the size settings you’ll need for any of these brewing methods.
You can turn the dial from French Press (coarse) to espresso (fine), and there are 16 grind settings in between these, bringing the total number of settings to 18.
The hopper on the top of the machine is large enough to hold 2 cups of beans, which should be enough for most people. As the burrs do the grunt work, your beans is fed smoothly to the burrs, and the grounds container at the bottom receives the fresh, even grounds you need. When it’s done, the grinder shuts off automatically to ensure that it only produces the amount of grounds you need.
After you’re done with grinding, cleaning is the next step, and this is an easy one with this grinder because it’s not only easy to clean, but its top burr is removable and can be cleaned easily with the small cleaning brush included in the package. The lids and containers are dishwasher-safe, too. After cleaning, storage is made easier by the space provided to wrap the cord around the machine.
One cool feature I like about this product is the snap-on lid of the grounds container which helps to minimize mess. All burr grinders should have this feature.
Pros: Cheap (costs less than $50), easy to use and clean, beautiful design, consistent and even grounds, and the snap-on lid minimizes mess.
Cons: Very loud; occasional clogging.
Mr. Coffee Electric Burr Coffee Grinder
This Mr. Coffee burr grinder is similar to the Hamilton Beach in looks. It’s enclosed in stainless steel and looks lovely. In addition to that, it has all the features you’ll need in a basic burr grinder, and most importantly, it costs less than $50. There are two versions of this product on the market – the old version and the new version. For some reason, the old one costs a bit more than the new one but its price is still under $50.
Both machines look different and the new one has been completely redesigned. It’s more compact and occupies less vertical space compared to the older. The capacity of the hopper is the same (8 oz) in the old and new — and instead of a grind size selector dial, you have to turn the hopper until the indicator is pointing at the size you want in the old version. The old version has a cup selector dial just like the new one.
The new version, which I’ll be reviewing and recommend here, has two dials – one on the front side of the machine which is the cup selector dial and one on the right side, which is the grind size selector. You can choose from 2 to 18 cups using the former and from coarse to ultra-fine using the latter.
When it’s time to clean this machine, you’ll find this an easy task as its parts are dishwasher-safe. While the flat burrs on this machine are not removable, they are easily accessible for cleaning. With the brush packaged with this grinder, you can give the burrs a good clean.
Brewing espresso, regular coffee, drip, French Press and more is possible with this machine. The grounds it produces are fine and consistent for espresso, but your satisfaction level would depend on how easy you are to please. Most people should be satisfied with the fineness of the grounds this machine produces for espresso.
This Mr. Coffee grinder is very similar to the Hamilton Beach model I reviewed above and I couldn’t tell you which one’s better if you asked me. You’ll spend roughly the same amount for both, so just pick the one you like best or keep reading to see the other two models I recommend.
Pros: Cheap, easy to use, easy to clean, lovely design, impressive performance for the price, and it’s not too noisy.
Cons: Non-removable burrs; beans get stuck in the hopper sometimes (shaking the grinder a little resolves this).
Secura Electric Burr Coffee Grinder
Although prices change all the time, the Secura electric burr grinder is currently cheaper than the two grinders reviewed above. It has a minimal design which I love, and its hopper is flat, which minimizes the amount of vertical space it uses up. It has a small footprint as well, so if you have limited counter space, you won’t have any trouble fitting this grinder among your kitchen appliances.
The amount of beans you can fit in the bin or hopper at a time is 100g, which is generous for a small grinder. The grounds bin or container holds 12 cups of ground coffee, and it’s a see-through bin, just like the one at the top. In front of the machine, you’ll find a button for switching on and switching off the machine and a dial for selecting the number of cups worth of ground coffee you want the machine to grind.
On the left side, you’ll find the grind size dial, which ranges from fine to coarse, making this suitable for producing grounds for all sorts of brewing methods. Grinding activity causes machines to move due to the vibration and noise induced by the motor, but this Secura grinder has non-slip tabs at its bottom to keep it in place. I know this isn’t a special feature but it was worth mentioning since I’m reviewing this product.
I like how accessible the burrs of this machine are. Yes, they are removable, and the cleaning brush included in the package eases the cleaning process. That’s pretty much all I have to say about this product.
If you’re looking for a nice, little, cheap grinder that produces uniform grounds, and that is easy to clean, you should seriously consider this one, or any of the other three I recommend in this article.
By the way, I don’t see any stainless-steel material on the exterior of this machine, so its build quality is a bit lower than the Mr. Coffee and Hamilton Beach grinders above. It also looks less attractive so if you’re someone that prefers to buy pretty kitchen appliances, you might be a little disappointed if you compare this product to the other two above. It’s functional nevertheless, and if that’s all you care about, go ahead and get it if you like it.
Pros: Cheap; burrs are removable; easy to use and clean; uniform grounds; not too loud.
Cons: A bit lower build quality compared to other great options in its price range; a bit messy.
Capresso Electric Burr Coffee Grinder
I’d rate this grinder the 3rd best-looking one among the four featured here, so don’t expect much from it in terms of aesthetics, but in terms of performance, it’s comparable to the others as it offers most of the features you’ll find in the rest and that are typically found in burr grinders. So, there isn’t much to say about this product.
It has a grind size setting dial located on the left side of the machine which ranges from fine to coarse, and a cup selector dial that gives you cup quantity options ranging from 2 to 12. Its 8-ounce bean hopper is perfect for grinding a decent amount of beans in one go, while its grounds container holds as much as 4 ounces of ground coffee.
Capresso cares about your safety, so this grinder automatically shuts off if the hopper or grounds container isn’t properly installed. Not sure how much safety this adds to the process of producing grounds with this machine, but it sure is a nice feature to have.
There’s an easy-to-identify power button on the top of the grinder that is used to power on and power it off, and you won’t have a hard time cleaning it after you’re done because its burrs are removable. The burrs are disk burrs and they do a good job of producing fine and coarse grounds for all brew methods, but the coarse setting is a bit lacking as you’ll find out in the cons section. So, let’s see what the pros and cons of buying this machine are.
Pros: Cheap; removable burrs make cleaning easier; easy to use; noise level is tolerable.
Cons: Coarse setting is a bit lacking, but can still work for brew methods that require coarse grounds; lots of retention and static; a bit messy to use.
Which Under $50 Burr Grinder Should You Buy?
It depends. All of these products are almost on par with each other in terms of performance, uniformity, and consistency, except the Capresso model which is a little bit inadequate to the task of producing coarse grounds. It also appears to be a lower quality grinder than the others according to consumer reviews.
If I was in the market for a budget grinder, I would first consider the Hamilton Beach grinder before any other product. You absolutely shouldn’t look further than the Hamilton Beach. I’d buy it over and over again if $50 was my budget’s limit. However, if for some reason you don’t like it, then consider getting the Secura or the Mr. Coffee models.
These two have most of the features you’d expect a burr grinder to have, and all the features you’d expect one to have in this price range, just like the other four. So, the biggest choice-determining factor should be quality of the product itself and quality of the grounds it produces. In this aspect, the Hamilton Beach wins, followed by the Secura and Mr. Coffee — and lastly, the Capresso.
I know I’ve almost discouraged you from buying the Capresso, however, it’s a great brand and they produce lots of high quality products like the Infinity Plus which sells for $100. So, if you really want a product from this brand, go ahead and get it. You probably won’t regret it as it offers good value for money despite the few cons, and a lot of people who use this grinder are satisfied with it. So, don’t get me wrong. If it was a bad product, it wouldn’t be featured here.
There you have them, the best burr coffee grinders under $50 to buy today. If you have any questions or need help choosing what product to buy, email me and I’ll help you out.
