Breville Barista Express or Barista Pro: what is the difference?

Q: Breville Barista Express or Barista Pro: what is the difference?

Per Breville's US pages, both have a 15 bar pump, a 54 mm portafilter, a 1/2 lb bean hopper and a 67 oz water tank. The Barista Pro adds a ThermoJet heater that Breville says reaches extraction temperature in 3 seconds, 30 grind settings instead of 16, an LCD screen instead of a pressure gauge, and a 2-year limited warranty instead of 1 year.

Breville Barista Express vs Barista Pro

Last checked 2026-10-11.

Per Breville's US pages, the Barista Express (BES870XL) and the Barista Pro (BES878) share a 15 bar pump, a 54 mm portafilter, a 1/2 lb bean hopper and a 67 oz water tank. The Pro has a ThermoJet heater that Breville says reaches extraction temperature in 3 seconds, 30 grind settings instead of 16, an LCD screen instead of a pressure gauge, and a 2-year limited warranty instead of 1 year.

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Side by side

	Breville Barista Express	Breville Barista Pro
Model	BES870XL	BES878 (Breville's page shows BES878BSS1BUS1 for brushed stainless steel)
Grinder	integrated steel conical burr grinder, 16 grind settings	integrated hardened steel conical burr grinder, 30 grind settings; Breville calls them Baratza European precision burrs
Heating system	Thermocoil with PID temperature control; Breville says it delivers water at 200 °F	ThermoJet with PID temperature control
Heat-up time	not stated in the sources read	3 seconds to the extraction temperature (Breville)
Pump and extraction	15 bar Italian pump; low-pressure pre-infusion, then 9 bar extraction	15 bar Italian pump; low-pressure pre-infusion, then 9 bar extraction
Portafilter	54 mm stainless steel; Breville names an 18 g dose	54 mm
Controls	simple button control, with an extraction pressure gauge	LCD screen and button control
Shot control	1 or 2 shot volumetric control, or manual	1 or 2 cup volumetric control, or manual
Milk	manual steam wand	manual steam wand; a 480 ml stainless steel milk jug is included
Bean hopper	1/2 lb	1/2 lb
Water tank	67 oz	67 oz
Power	1600 W	1680 W
Voltage	110–120 V	120 V
Size (W × D × H)	15.9 × 13.1 × 12.4 in	16.1 × 13.8 × 13.1 in
Weight	22.09 lb (10.018 kg)	20.92 lb (9.488 kg)
Warranty	1-year limited warranty	2-year limited warranty

Each value is as its source states it. No prices are shown.

What differs

Heating: the Pro uses a ThermoJet heater, and Breville says it reaches extraction temperature in 3 seconds. The Express uses a Thermocoil heater; the Express page read gives no heat-up time.
Grinder: both have a built-in conical burr grinder with dose control. The Express has 16 grind settings; the Pro has 30.
Controls: the Express has buttons and an analog extraction pressure gauge. The Pro has an LCD screen with buttons.
The same on both: 15 bar pump with low-pressure pre-infusion, 54 mm portafilter, manual steam wand, 1/2 lb bean hopper and 67 oz water tank.
Warranty: Breville lists a 1-year limited warranty for the Express and 2 years for the Pro.
Size and power: the Pro is slightly larger (16.1 × 13.8 × 13.1 in against 15.9 × 13.1 × 12.4 in) but lighter (20.92 lb against 22.09 lb), and is rated 1680 W against 1600 W.

Where to buy in the US

Breville Barista Express (BES870XL, Brushed Stainless Steel, ASIN B00CH9QWOU): shipper and seller Amazon.com in the US buy box. Breville Barista Express on Amazon ›
Breville Barista Pro (BES878BSS, Brushed Stainless Steel, ASIN B08133HX34): shipper and seller Amazon.com in the US buy box. Breville Barista Pro on Amazon ›

Sources

Breville Barista Express: Breville's US Barista Express page (feature text and Technical Specifications).
Breville Barista Pro: Breville's US Barista Pro page (feature text and Technical Specifications).

Kinds of claim on this page: Every figure is Breville's own statement on its US pages, a manufacturer claim. No independent measurement of shot temperature, heat-up time or grind range is used here. Sources read 2026-10-11; Amazon US offers read 2026-10-11 (14:16 to 14:25 UTC, US delivery address East Hanover NJ 07936; every buy box showed Shipper / Seller Amazon.com, In Stock and Add to cart, not a pre-order). Recall check: the CPSC recall database on 2026-10-11 (saferproducts.gov recall API: recall titles 'breville', 'kitchenaid', 'coway', 'levoit', 'ninja' and 'sharkninja', and product names 'creami', 'ice cream', 'stand mixer' and 'air purifier'); no recall of any of these eight models was returned; every result named other products, for example a 2025 SharkNinja pressure cooker, a 2015 Breville pressure cooker and KitchenAid kettles, coffee makers, toasters and food processors. That is not proof of safety.