Complete Beginner Espresso Setup Under £300

Updated 18 September 2026 · 6 min read

Buying a machine on its own and figuring out the rest later is how people end up disappointed with espresso they made on a "good" machine — because the grinder, tamper and scale matter just as much as the machine itself. Here are two complete setups, both comfortably under £300, built from the individual picks in our other guides.

Setup A: Grinder-first — ~£244–274 total

This is the setup we'd actually recommend for most first-time buyers. It spends less on the machine and more on grind quality, a calibrated tamper and a scale — the things that determine whether your espresso is consistent shot to shot. See the reasoning in our espresso machine guide and grinder guide.

Setup B: Machine-first — ~£237–276 total

A similar total spend, but weighted toward a slimmer machine with a stainless boiler and a steam wand that's a step up for milk drinks — paired with a more basic 13-setting grinder. A reasonable choice if you drink more lattes/cappuccinos than straight espresso, since the machine side benefits you more day-to-day.

Which one should you buy?

If in doubt, go grinder-first (Setup A). As we say in our machine guide: at this budget, the single biggest upgrade to your coffee's taste isn't a better machine, it's a proper burr grinder — a cheap grinder with an inconsistent grind will hold back even a good machine, but a good grinder makes a cheap machine punch well above its price. Setup B only makes sense if milk drinks are what you'll actually be making most days.

Either way, don't skip the tamper and scale to save money — see our tampers & scales guide for why they matter more than their price tags suggest, and our milk frother guide if you go with Setup B and want faster milk texturing than the stock wand.