Nespresso Vertuo Plus Coffee Maker Review
One-touch espresso and full-cup coffee with crema, no barista skills required.
Push a button, get a real cup of coffee with a layer of crema on top. The Vertuo Plus is for people who want good coffee without learning anything.
What the Nespresso Vertuo Plus Actually Is
This is a single-serve pod machine that reads a barcode on each capsule and adjusts brew settings automatically. Different pods make different sizes, from a 1.35-ounce espresso shot up to a 14-ounce mug of regular coffee. You don't choose the size. The pod decides for you, which is either delightfully simple or mildly annoying depending on your personality.
The trick that sets Vertuo apart from the older Nespresso Original line is Centrifusion. The machine spins the pod at high speed instead of forcing water through it, and that spin is what produces the thick, foamy crema people show off in photos. It's a genuinely nice-looking cup. The water tank swivels around the back so you can tuck the machine against a wall, which is the main thing the 'Plus' adds over the base Vertuo.
How It Performs Day to Day
Fast and idiot-proof. It heats up in about 20 to 30 seconds, brews in under a minute, and ejects the used pod into an internal bin so your hands stay clean. The one-touch operation is the whole point, and it delivers on that. Drop a pod in, close the lever, hit the button, walk away.
The coffee itself is good, not transcendent. It tastes consistent and the crema is real, but Vertuo runs hot and a little thin compared to a proper espresso machine. Coffee snobs will notice. Everyone else will be perfectly happy. The machine is also louder than you'd expect during the spin cycle, and it does a small mechanical shimmy mid-brew that startles first-timers.
The Pods Are the Catch
Here's the honest math nobody puts on the box. Vertuo pods are proprietary. You buy them from Nespresso or a handful of licensed third parties, and they typically run somewhere around a dollar each. That's cheaper than a coffee shop and far more expensive than ground coffee. Over a year of daily drinking, the pods cost more than the machine did.
You also can't use the cheap, widely available Original-line or Keurig pods in this thing. The barcode system locks you in. If you like roasting variety or refillable options, the closed ecosystem will frustrate you. The flip side is that the curated pods are reliably decent, so you rarely get a bad cup.
Who Should Buy It, and Who Shouldn't
Buy it if you want cafe-style coffee at home with zero skill and zero cleanup, and you mostly drink solo. It's a strong pick for busy mornings, small kitchens, and anyone who finds a manual espresso machine intimidating. The crema makes it feel fancier than the effort involved.
Skip it if you're cost-conscious about the long game, if you want to brew a full pot for a household, or if you're a tinkerer who wants to dial in grind and pressure. A drip machine or an AeroPress will save you money. A Breville espresso setup will make better espresso. And if you already own Original-line Nespresso gear, switching means rebuying all your pods.
The Verdict
At roughly $120 to $180, the Vertuo Plus is a fair deal for the convenience and the quality of cup it produces. It does exactly what it promises and nothing more. The recurring pod cost is the real price tag, so go in clear-eyed about that.
Our take: it's the right machine for a specific person who values speed and simplicity over savings and control. If that's you, it earns its counter space. If you flinched at the pod economics, that flinch is your answer.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you use any coffee pod in the Nespresso Vertuo Plus?
- No. The Vertuo Plus only works with Vertuo-line capsules, which carry a barcode the machine scans to set the brew size. Original Nespresso pods, Keurig K-Cups, and most generic pods won't work. A few licensed third-party brands make compatible Vertuo pods, but your options are limited.
- How much do Nespresso Vertuo pods cost per cup?
- Expect roughly a dollar per pod on average, sometimes a bit less in bulk and a bit more for specialty blends. That's cheaper than a coffee shop but well above brewing with ground coffee, so the ongoing pod cost usually outpaces the machine's price within the first year of daily use.
- Does the Vertuo Plus make real espresso?
- Sort of. It brews a 1.35-ounce espresso pod with a layer of crema, and it tastes good for a one-touch machine. But it uses spinning rather than the high-pressure extraction of a true espresso machine, so purists will find it slightly thin and hot. For casual espresso drinkers, it's more than enough.
Marcus has spent over a decade testing consumer tech and gadgets. He cares about whether a product earns its price in real life — not on a spec sheet.
