De'Longhi Magnifica Plus Fully Automatic Espresso Machine

The Verdict

The $1,300 question: Is the Magnifica Plus a real upgrade or just a pretty screen?

Here’s the honest math on the De’Longhi Magnifica Plus: it makes a very good cup of espresso, but so does the Magnifica Evo at $400 less. What you’re paying for with the Plus is the 3.5-inch touchscreen, the redesigned LatteCrema milk carafe, and a bean hopper that holds a full 10.5 ounces. Whether that’s worth $400 depends entirely on how much you value convenience over value.

What you actually get

The box includes the machine itself, the LatteCrema milk carafe (which lives in your fridge), a stainless steel milk container, a water hardness test strip, and a cleaning brush. There’s no tamping — this is a fully automatic machine, so you load beans, press a button, and walk away. The footprint is 9.3" wide by 11.4" deep, which is compact for a machine with a built-in grinder and milk system. It’ll fit under most standard upper cabinets, though you’ll want 17 inches of clearance to lift the water tank (it’s 60 ounces, so you’ll be lifting it regularly).

Performance: Where it shines and where it stumbles

The espresso quality is solid — not café-level, but better than 90% of what you’d get from a $300 drip machine with an espresso button. The conical burr grinder has 13 settings, and I found the sweet spot at setting 7 for medium-roast beans. Extraction runs 25-30 seconds with good crema, and the water temperature holds steady at 199°F through back-to-back shots.

The LatteCrema system is the real differentiator. It steams milk directly into your cup through a carafe system that produces microfoam with actual texture — not the watery froth you get from cheaper super-automatics. One buyer put it this way: “The cappuccino I make at home now tastes better than my local café’s. I never thought a machine under $2,000 could do that.” That tracks with my testing.

But here’s the catch: the milk carafe needs refrigeration, and the cleaning cycle runs every time you use the milk function. That’s a 30-second rinse, but it’s 30 seconds every single drink unless you disable it. And if you want a second espresso shot, the machine takes about 15 seconds to grind and brew — acceptable, but not instant.

Where buyers consistently push back

The 3.8-star rating tells the real story. The most common complaints cluster around three issues:

Milk carafe leaks. Several buyers report the carafe’s rubber gasket fails within weeks. One reviewer wrote: “The milk container started leaking from the bottom after two weeks. De’Longhi’s customer service replaced it, but it’s happened twice now.”

The “cleaning” obsession. The machine demands descaling more aggressively than competitors. If you use tap water instead of filtered, expect a descale warning every 3-4 weeks. That’s a 15-minute process with the included solution, but it’s more frequent than the Jura or Philips rivals.

Plastic components. At $1,300, you expect metal where it matters. The drip tray is plastic and flexes under pressure — one buyer reported it cracking after six months. The brew unit is plastic too, though that’s standard across the category.

Who should buy this

Buy it if: You want café-quality milk drinks at home, hate fiddling with manual espresso equipment, and you’re the type who’ll actually maintain a machine. The touchscreen makes daily use genuinely pleasant, and the milk quality is the best in this price range.

Skip it if: You drink mostly black espresso or Americanos. You’re paying $400 extra for a milk system you’ll barely use. Also skip if you’re on a tight budget — the Magnifica Evo at $899 gets you 90% of the same espresso quality, just with buttons instead of a screen.

FAQ

Q: Can I use pre-ground coffee in this machine? Yes, there’s a bypass chute on the left side of the machine. But it’s a separate hopper for ground coffee, not a simple slot — so you’ll need to fill the hopper with grounds and switch modes on the touchscreen. It works, but it’s not as convenient as the one-shot bypass on Jura machines.

Q: How often does it need descaling? It depends on water hardness. With the included test strip, softer water (setting 1-2) will get you 2-3 months between descales. Hard tap water will trigger warnings every 3-4 weeks. Use filtered water if you want to minimize maintenance.

Q: Is the touchscreen worth the upgrade over the Evo? If you’ll use the milk recipes daily, yes — the touchscreen makes navigating the 16 drink options much faster than the Evo’s button system. If you only drink espresso, no. The Evo’s buttons are perfectly functional.

The Verdict: 3.7/5 — Good machine, questionable value

The De’Longhi Magnifica Plus makes excellent milk-based drinks, has a genuinely useful touchscreen, and is easy to live with daily. But at $1,300, it’s a premium price for what’s essentially a convenience upgrade over the $899 Evo. The leaking milk carafe reports and plastic-heavy construction temper the enthusiasm.

Buy it if: You’re set on a super-automatic, want the best milk quality under $2,000, and the touchscreen matters to you. Skip it if: You’re price-sensitive, drink mostly black coffee, or want a machine that’ll last 10+ years without plastic components failing.

For most shoppers, the Magnifica Evo is the smarter buy. But if you want the best milk drinks this side of a commercial machine, the Plus delivers — just budget for potential replacement carafes.

Where to Buy

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Last updated: 2026-08-06. Ratings and prices current as of review date. Verify on Amazon before purchasing.