The best Cuisinart coffee maker is the 14-Cup Programmable (DCC-3200), at $119.95. It brews a full pot, has a Bold setting and a 1-4 cup mode, and carries the same 3-year warranty as every Cuisinart on this list.
If your pot sits for hours, get the thermal DCC-3400 instead. If you want beans ground fresh on a timer, get the Grind & Brew DGB-400.
Full disclosure before we go further. I make my coffee on a Nespresso Vertuo, so I haven’t had these five Cuisinarts on my counter and I’m not going to pretend I have.
What follows comes from Cuisinart’s own spec sheets and list prices, checked this month. Where a claim is Cuisinart’s marketing and not a measured fact, I’ll say so.
One more thing. Four of the five machines this page used to recommend are now discontinued. If you landed here from an old link, the table two sections down tells you what replaced them.
The best Cuisinart coffee makers at a glance
- Best OverallCheck Price
Cuisinart 14-Cup Programmable DCC-3200
14 cups on a timer, with a Bold setting and a 1-4 cup mode, for about $120
- Best ThermalCheck Price
Cuisinart Programmable Thermal DCC-3400
12-cup thermal carafe keeps the pot hot without a warming plate
- Best with GrinderCheck Price
Cuisinart Automatic Grind & Brew DGB-400
Grinds whole beans on a timer, so the pot is fresh-ground when you wake up
- Best Pot + PodsCheck Price
Cuisinart Coffee Center 2-in-1 SS-16
A 12-cup pot on one side and a pod brewer on the other
- Best SmallCheck Price
Cuisinart 5-Cup Coffee Maker DCC-5570
Five cups, a stainless carafe and an on/off switch, for about $65
| Machine | List price | Capacity | Carafe | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14-Cup Programmable (DCC-3200) | $119.95 | 14 cups | Glass | Best overall |
| Programmable Thermal (DCC-3400) | $149.95 | 12 cups | Thermal | Best thermal carafe |
| Automatic Grind & Brew (DGB-400) | $119.95 | 12 cups | Glass | Best with a grinder |
| Coffee Center 2-in-1 (SS-16) | $199.95 | 12 cups + single cup | Glass | Best pot and pods in one |
| 5-Cup with Stainless Carafe (DCC-5570) | $64.95 | 5 cups | Stainless steel | Best small and cheap |
List prices come from Cuisinart’s US site, checked September 2026. Retailers often discount these, so hit the button on each pick for today’s number.
Five picks, and each one answers a different question: biggest pot, hottest pot, fresh-ground beans, pot plus pods, and smallest kitchen. The Cuisinarts I left off get their own short section further down.
Which Cuisinart coffee makers are discontinued
Cuisinart retires models quietly, and old ones hang around at retailers for years. Before you buy a replacement for the machine that just died, check it’s still made.
| Discontinued model | What it was | Closest current model | List price |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCC-450 | 4-cup, stainless carafe | DCC-5570, 5-cup, stainless carafe | $64.95 |
| DCC-1150 | 10-cup thermal | DCC-1170 10-Cup Thermal Classic | $129.95 |
| DCC-500 | 12-cup programmable | DCC-1200 Brew Central, 12-cup | $129.95 |
| SS-10 | Single-serve pod brewer | SS-10P1 Premium Single-Serve | $149.95 |
| DGB-900BC, DGB-800, DGB-850, DGB-700BC | Burr grind-and-brew, full pot | None. The pot-brewing DGB-400 and DGB-450 use a blade grinder | $119.95 to $149.95 |
| CPO-850 and CPO-800 PurePrecision | Pour-over style drip | None | n/a |
“Discontinued” means Cuisinart’s US site lists it that way, checked September 2026. The “closest current model” column is my match on capacity and carafe type, not Cuisinart’s.
The big loss is the burr grinder. Cuisinart has discontinued every grind-and-brew that used burrs and filled a pot, including the DGB-900BC Burr Grind & Brew Thermal. If you loved yours, the grinder section below has your options.
If your old machine still works but brews slow and the CLEAN light won’t go off, don’t toss it yet. Scale is the usual cause, and how to clean a Cuisinart coffee maker walks through the descale that often brings one back.
Cuisinart 14-Cup Programmable (DCC-3200): best overall
- 14-cup glass carafe, the most coffee of any Cuisinart drip pick
- Regular or Bold brew strength, plus a 1-4 cup setting
- 24-hour programmable, auto-off adjustable from 0 to 4 hours
Buy this if you want a big pot of hot coffee ready when you wake up, for about $120.
This is the machine Cuisinart sells under the PerfecTemp name, and it’s the one most people should buy. Cuisinart’s spec page for the DCC-3200 lists the parts that matter:
- 14 cups in a glass carafe, the most of any pick here
- Brew strength control, Regular or Bold
- 1-4 cup setting for small batches
- 24-hour programming, with auto-off you can set from 0 to 4 hours
- Brew Pause so you can pour a cup before it finishes
- Gold-tone filter and charcoal water filter in the box
- 7.75 x 9 x 14 inches, 8.7 pounds, limited 3-year warranty
Setting the clock and the auto-on takes a minute once you know the buttons. If you’re new to it, my guide to using a Cuisinart coffee maker covers it step by step.
It does everything the $149.95 thermal model does except keep coffee hot off a plate. That saves you $30 and gets you two more cups.
What’s annoying about it. The glass carafe sits on a warming plate, and a plate keeps cooking the coffee after it’s brewed. The second half of the pot tastes worse than the first.
The manual lets you set the plate to Low, Medium or High, and Low helps. It doesn’t fix it. If your pot lasts past an hour, buy the thermal.
Cuisinart also sells it on “hotter coffee” and doesn’t publish a brew temperature. That’s marketing without a number, so don’t buy it for that line.
Realistic spend: $120, plus a charcoal water filter every 60 days or 60 brews, which is the schedule in Cuisinart’s instruction booklet.
Cuisinart Programmable Thermal (DCC-3400): best thermal Cuisinart coffee maker
- 12-cup thermal carafe, no warming plate
- Regular or Bold brew strength, plus a 1-4 cup setting
- Decalcify light tells you when it needs descaling
Buy this if you drink the pot over two or three hours and hate the taste of coffee off a hot plate.
There’s no warming plate on this one. Coffee goes straight into an insulated carafe, so the last cup hasn’t been sitting on heat.
Cuisinart’s spec page for the DCC-3400 gives you the same controls as the DCC-3200: Regular or Bold, a 1-4 cup setting, 24-hour programming, Brew Pause and self-clean. It adds a backlit display and a decalcify light that tells you when it needs descaling.
It measures 9 x 7.75 x 14.25 inches and carries the same limited 3-year warranty.
One thing to watch if you’re reading older reviews. Cuisinart lists an older DCC-3400 as discontinued and sells the current one as the DCC-3400NAS. Check the model number on the box.
What’s annoying about it. It holds 12 cups, not 14. A thermal carafe also loses heat faster when it starts cold, so rinse it with hot water before you brew.
Want it cheaper? The 10-Cup Thermal Classic (DCC-1170) is $129.95. It’s programmable, with a thermal carafe and Brew Pause, and it holds two fewer cups.
Realistic spend: $150.
Cuisinart coffee maker with grinder: the Grind & Brew (DGB-400)
- Built-in blade grinder grinds beans right before brewing
- Grind-off option if you want to use pre-ground coffee
- 24-hour programmable, 12-cup glass carafe
Buy this if you want whole beans ground fresh on a timer, and you don’t want to grind by hand at 6am.
Load beans in the hopper and water in the tank the night before. At the time you set, it grinds and brews in one go.
Cuisinart’s spec page for the DGB-400 lists a 12-cup glass carafe, 24-hour programming, auto-off from 0 to 4 hours, a 1-4 cup setting, Brew Pause and self-clean. It’s $119.95 with a limited 3-year warranty.
There’s also a grind-off option, so you can brew pre-ground coffee when you run out of beans.
The grinder is a blade. Cuisinart says so on the spec page, and it’s the same on the thermal DGB-450. A blade chops beans into a mix of dust and chunks, where a burr grinder cuts them to an even size.
If you want the difference explained properly, my piece on burr vs blade grinders covers it. Here’s what it means for your money:
| Setup | Grinder | List price | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| DGB-400 Grind & Brew | Blade, built in | $119.95 | Beans in, coffee out, on a timer |
| DGB-450 Grind & Brew Thermal | Blade, built in | $149.95 | The same, with a 10-cup thermal carafe |
| DGB-30 Grind & Brew Single Serve | Conical burr, built in | $249.95 | Burr-ground beans, one cup of 8 to 24 oz at a time |
| DCC-3200 + Supreme Grind DBM-8 | Burr, separate, 18 settings | $194.90 | An even grind for a full pot, but you grind by hand each morning |
All four prices are Cuisinart’s own list prices, checked September 2026. The DBM-8 grinder carries an 18-month warranty, not three years.
A grind-and-brew is about the timer, not the grind. Beans ground at 6am still beat pre-ground coffee from a bag that’s been open a week. That’s the honest case for the DGB-400.
If the timer matters most, buy the DGB-400. If the cup matters most and you brew a pot, buy the DCC-3200 and a burr grinder. If you drink one mug at a time, the DGB-30 is the only current Cuisinart that grinds with burrs.
What’s annoying about it. Any blade grinder is loud, and this one runs at whatever time you set the alarm for. The grinder chamber also needs brushing out, or old grounds go stale in there.
Realistic spend: $120, and a bag of whole beans instead of ground.
Cuisinart Coffee Center 2-in-1 (SS-16): coffee maker and single serve
- 12-cup glass carafe plus a single-serve side
- Takes K-Cup pods or your own grounds in the included reusable cup
- Single cups from 4 to 10 oz, and 12 oz over ice
Buy this if one person in your house wants a pot and another wants one cup of something different.
It’s two brewers in one body. The left side is a 12-cup drip machine with a glass carafe. The right side brews single cups in 4, 6, 8 or 10 ounces, plus a 12-ounce setting for brewing over ice.
The single-serve side takes any brand of pod, K-Cups included. Cuisinart also puts its HomeBarista reusable filter cup in the box, so you can brew your own ground coffee there instead of buying pods.
The drip side gets the usual Cuisinart controls: 24-hour programming, brew strength, Brew Pause, adjustable carafe temperature and self-clean. Cuisinart claims its “Extreme Brew” feature brews up to 25% faster. That’s their figure, not a tested one.
It’s $199.95 with a 3-year limited warranty.
What’s annoying about it. Size. It’s 16.25 inches tall, takes up 10.88 x 10.13 inches of counter, and weighs 13 pounds. Measure the gap under your cabinets before you order.
Two brewers in one box also means two systems to descale, and pods cost more per cup than ground coffee from a bag.
Realistic spend: $200, plus pods if you use them.
Cuisinart 5-Cup (DCC-5570): best small Cuisinart coffee maker
- 5-cup stainless steel carafe with a dripless spout
- Brew Pause lets you pour a cup mid-brew
- Small footprint: 10.85 inches tall
Buy this if you’re one or two people, your counter is small, or you want a Cuisinart for under $70.
This replaces the 4-cup DCC-450 that used to be the budget pick here. It’s $64.95, makes 5 cups, and pours from a stainless steel carafe with a dripless spout.
It measures 5.67 x 10.14 x 10.85 inches. The water reservoir comes out for filling, and a 30-minute keep-warm shuts it down after brewing.
You still get Brew Pause, a charcoal water filter, a nylon coffee filter and the same 3-year limited warranty as the $200 machine.
What’s annoying about it. No timer. It has an on/off switch and that’s it, so you press the button every morning. Five cups also means about two big mugs, so it’s the wrong machine for a family.
Realistic spend: $65.
Cuisinarts I left off, and why
Cuisinart’s US site lists 21 products in its coffee maker section. These are the ones people ask about, and why they didn’t make the five:
- Premium Single-Serve (SS-10P1, $149.95). A good pod brewer with five cup sizes, a 72-ounce tank and a hot water button. The SS-16 does the same job and brews a pot too, for $50 more.
- Brew Central (DCC-1200, $129.95). A solid 12-cup programmable with adjustable keep-warm temperature. It costs $10 more than the DCC-3200 and holds two fewer cups.
- Coffee Center Barista Bar 4-in-1 (SS-4N1NAS, $349.95). A pot, pods and more drink options in one machine. Most people don’t need to pay $350 for drip coffee.
- Grind & Brew Single Serve (DGB-30, $249.95). The only current Cuisinart with a burr grinder. Great if you drink one cup at a time, which is why it’s in the grinder table above and not a pick.
How to choose a Cuisinart coffee maker
Three questions sort out most buyers. Answer them in order.
Glass or thermal carafe?
Glass is cheaper and holds more: 14 cups on the DCC-3200 against 12 on the thermal DCC-3400. Thermal keeps the coffee hot without a plate cooking it.
If the pot lasts you more than an hour, buy thermal. If you pour it all within the hour, glass is fine and saves you $30.
A pot, pods, or both?
If you brew for more than one person every morning, you want a pot. The DCC-3200, DCC-3400 and DGB-400 all do that.
If you drink one cup at a time, pods are the easy route, and the SS-16 handles both. Its reusable filter cup means you’re not stuck buying pods either.
Every drip pick here comes with a gold-tone permanent filter, so you don’t need paper at all. If you’d rather use paper, here’s what I found on whether bleached paper filters are safe to use.
How hot does a Cuisinart brew?
Cuisinart doesn’t publish a brew temperature for any of its current drip machines. Not even the DCC-3200, which it sells on “hotter coffee”.
What you can compare against is the standard. The Specialty Coffee Association’s certified home brewer rules ask for water at about 198°F to 205°F (92°C to 96°C) where it hits the grounds, with 4 to 8 minutes of contact time.
No Cuisinart on this list is sold as meeting that standard. Take any “hotter” claim as marketing until someone puts a thermometer in it.
FAQs
Is Cuisinart a good brand of coffee maker?
For drip coffee at this price, yes. Every pick on this list carries a limited 3-year warranty. Cuisinart also sells replacement carafes, filter baskets and water filters on its own site, so a broken part doesn’t mean a new machine.
The DCC-3200 had 4.6 stars from 17,385 reviews on Cuisinart’s own site in September 2026. Those are Cuisinart’s own numbers, so read them as a signal, not proof.
What are the common problems with Cuisinart coffee makers?
Most of them trace back to scale. Hard water leaves mineral buildup in the heating element, and that shows up in a few predictable ways:
| Symptom | Usual cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Brews slowly or sputters | Scale in the heating element | Run a descaling cycle, then two cycles of plain water |
| CLEAN light won’t go off | Scale left after one cycle, or hard water | Run the clean cycle again. Neglected machines often need two passes |
| Coffee tastes flat or of chlorine | Charcoal water filter used up | Replace it every 60 days or 60 brews |
| Coffee tastes burnt later in the morning | Pot sitting on the warming plate | Set the plate to Low, or move to a thermal carafe |
Cuisinart’s own booklet says to clean the machine whenever the CLEAN light comes on. The cleaning guide linked in the discontinued section above covers the descale model by model.
The charcoal filter is the cheap part people forget. A 12-pack covers two years at Cuisinart’s schedule.
- Fits the round charcoal filter holder used across the Cuisinart DCC and DGB lines
- Activated charcoal cuts chlorine taste before the water reaches the brew basket
- Cuisinart's own schedule is a new filter every 60 brews or every 2 months
- 12 in the pack, which is two years of replacements at that rate
Is a Cuisinart coffee maker better than a Keurig?
It depends on the format you want, not the brand. A Keurig makes pod coffee. Cuisinart makes drip machines and pod machines, and the SS-16 does both in one body.
If you want a pot, a Cuisinart drip machine is the better tool. If you’re not set on Cuisinart at all, my list of the best budget coffee makers covers other brands.
Who makes Cuisinart coffee makers?
Conair. Cuisinart is one of Conair’s brands, alongside Conair, Babyliss, Scunci and Waring, and Conair’s own about page lists it that way.
Will Cuisinart replace my coffee maker?
Every pick here has a limited 3-year warranty, per Cuisinart’s product pages. The DCC-3200’s instruction booklet says it covers “defects in materials and workmanship under normal home use.”
It excludes damage from accident, misuse or shipping, and anything other than ordinary household use. Keep your receipt.
Do Cuisinart coffee makers turn off automatically?
Yes. The DCC-3200 and DGB-400 have auto-off you can set from 0 to 4 hours after brewing. The DCC-5570 keeps warm for 30 minutes and then shuts off.
So which Cuisinart should you buy?
Buy the DCC-3200 if you want the best Cuisinart coffee maker for most kitchens. Buy the thermal DCC-3400 if your pot sits for hours. Buy the DGB-400 if you want beans ground on a timer, and the SS-16 if your house wants a pot and pods.
If it’s just you and a small counter, the $65 DCC-5570 does the job.
