Short answer. With the example inputs below, a portable machine pays back against cafe espresso after about 40 cups. Against capsules you already brew at home it takes about 375. Those inputs are ours, for illustration. Replace them with the price on OutIn's page today and what you really pay for a cup.
This is for someone asking whether a portable espresso machine saves money. The honest answer depends on three numbers you know better than we do. We state no OutIn prices, because they change. We have not tested any machine.
The formula
- Your cost per cup = coffee (beans or capsule) + anything else you add per cup.
- Cups to pay back = machine price ÷ (price of the cup you would otherwise buy − your cost per cup), rounded up.
- Months to pay back = cups to pay back ÷ cups you make per month.
| Input | Our example | Why it is only an example |
|---|---|---|
| Machine price | $150 | Use the price on OutIn's page today. |
| Grinder price, if you add one | $180 | Use today's price, or $0 if you use capsules or already own one. |
| Cafe espresso | $4.50 | Your local cafe sets this. |
| Capsule you would otherwise brew | $1.10 | Depends on the brand and pack size you buy. |
| Your cost per shot with the machine | $0.70 | Beans per shot. Not counting electricity, which OutIn does not state. |
Payback, with those example inputs
| Compared with | Cups to pay back | Months at 4 cups a month | 12 a month | 30 a month | 60 a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs cafe, machine only | 40 | 10.0 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| vs cafe, machine plus grinder | 87 | 21.8 | 7.2 | 2.9 | 1.4 |
| vs capsules at home, machine only | 375 | 93.8 | 31.2 | 12.5 | 6.2 |
Read the table like this: at 4 cups a month the machine takes about 10 months to pay back against cafe espresso and years against capsules. The grinder matters. In this example it more than doubles the cups needed, so a capsule-only setup pays back sooner.
What the table leaves out
- Your time, and the cups you would not have bought at a cafe anyway.
- Battery wear. We found no cycle-life figure on OutIn's pages.
- Cases, stands, a charger, and a replacement basket if one is needed (the Nano 1 Basket Plus does not fit Nano 2).
- Shipping. OutIn lists free shipping on orders of $39 or more in many countries, and a 30-day return window from delivery for orders on outin.com.
When it will not pay back
If you already own an AeroPress or a pour-over setup and brew at home, a machine will almost never pay for itself. Buy it for one feature, hot espresso with no stove, not for savings. Our AeroPress guide covers the cheaper route.
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