The short answer
Buy the Greater Goods if you want a simple, durable first scale with physical buttons. Buy the Maestri House S3 if you want ratio targets and a flow-rate display. Buy the KitchenTour for espresso and small brews, and check its resolution above 500 g first.
What a coffee scale actually needs
- 10.1 g resolution. An espresso dose is around 18 g; a gram either way changes the shot. Whole-gram scales are not enough.
- 2A timer. Brewing is weight against time, and a built-in timer puts both numbers in one place.
- 3Enough capacity. A dripper, a carafe and 500 g of water is well over 1 kg. Espresso needs far less.
- 4Tolerance of water. It will live next to pouring water, so buttons and covers matter more than looks.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Quick picks
The answer first. Tap any row to jump to the full reasoning for that pick.
1. Top pick
Greater Goods Coffee Scale with Timer
Budget tier · A 0.1 g coffee scale with a timer, physical buttons and a protective silicone cover.
0.1 g, a timer, physical buttons and a five-year warranty - nothing missing that matters.
The Greater Goods scale does the job completely: 0.1 g resolution with a 0.3 g minimum, 3000 g capacity, and a timer that counts up or down.
Its physical buttons are a more important detail than they look. Coffee scales live next to pouring water, and touch keys are unreliable with wet fingers. Buttons you press work every time.
A heat-resistant, dishwasher-safe silicone cover protects the platform from spills and from a hot kettle set down on it, which is how cheap scales usually die.
It measures in six units, switches itself off after two minutes idle, and comes with a five-year warranty - unusual at any price in this category.
Specification
- Capacity
- 3000 g
- Resolution
- 0.1 g; minimum 0.3 g
- Timer
- Count-up and count-down
- Units
- 6
- Cover
- Heat-resistant, dishwasher-safe silicone
- Auto-off
- After 2 minutes idle
- Warranty
- 5 years
What it does well
- Physical buttons work reliably with wet fingers
- The silicone cover protects the platform from spills and hot kettles
- A 5-year warranty is unusual at this price
Where it gives ground
- No ratio or flow-rate display, which the Maestri House S3 has
- Built for general kitchen use as much as coffee
- Larger than a dedicated espresso scale
Skip it if
Skip it if you want ratio targets or a flow-rate readout. It weighs and times; the Maestri House adds the rest.
2. Most features
Maestri House S3 Coffee Scale
Budget tier · A rechargeable coffee scale with brew modes, ratio targets and a flow-rate display.
Brew modes, ratio targets and a flow-rate display at a budget-scale price.
The S3 adds features that used to belong to far more expensive scales. There are three modes - an auto-starting timer for pour-over, another for espresso, and standard weighing - so the timer starts when the brew does.
Its ratio mode is the standout. You set a coffee-to-water ratio anywhere from 1:1 to 1:18, it calculates the target water weight from your dose, and it beeps when you reach it.
A real-time flow-rate display shows how fast you are pouring, and a 500 mAh rechargeable battery is rated for up to 90 days. It is rated IPX4, so splashes are fine.
More features means more menus. If you want to put a dripper on it and press one button, the Greater Goods is simpler.
Specification
- Capacity
- 3000 g
- Resolution
- 0.1 g
- Modes
- Auto timer for pour-over, auto timer for espresso, standard
- Ratio
- Adjustable 1:1 to 1:18, alerts at target
- Flow rate
- Real-time display
- Battery
- 500 mAh, up to 90 days
- Water resistance
- IPX4
What it does well
- Auto-start timers for pour-over and espresso
- Ratio mode calculates the target water weight from your dose
- Rechargeable, with a battery rated for about 90 days
Where it gives ground
- More modes means more menus than a basic scale
- IPX4 resists splashes, not immersion
- Flow-rate readouts only help if you know what to do with them
Skip it if
Skip it if you will never use a ratio or flow-rate display. You would be paying in complexity for features you ignore.
3. Check the fine print
KitchenTour Coffee Scale with Timer
Budget tier · A backlit coffee scale whose 0.1 g resolution applies only up to 500 g.
0.1 g covers espresso and a small pour-over, but not above 500 g.
The KitchenTour scale has a backlit display, a built-in timer, touch-sensitive keys and a waterproof non-slip silicone pad, with a 3000 g capacity.
Its resolution is the detail to read carefully. It weighs in 0.1 g steps from 0.3 g to 500 g, then in 0.5 g steps to 1000 g, then in 1 g steps to 3000 g.
For espresso that does not matter at all - an 18 g dose and a 36 g yield sit well inside the 0.1 g range. For a single pour-over it usually does not either. For a large Chemex batch with the carafe on the scale, you will cross 500 g and lose resolution.
Touch keys are the other compromise: they are harder to use reliably with wet fingers than physical buttons.
Specification
- Capacity
- 3000 g
- Resolution
- 0.1 g from 0.3-500 g; 0.5 g to 1000 g; 1 g to 3000 g
- Timer
- Built in
- Controls
- Touch-sensitive keys
- Display
- Backlit LCD
- Pad
- Waterproof non-slip silicone
What it does well
- 0.1 g covers every espresso dose and a typical single pour-over
- The backlit display is easy to read over a dripper
- The silicone pad keeps it from sliding on a wet counter
Where it gives ground
- Resolution drops to 0.5 g above 500 g, which matters for large batches
- Touch keys are less reliable with wet fingers than buttons
- No ratio or flow-rate features
Skip it if
Skip it if you brew large batches on the scale. Once the total passes 500 g it weighs in 0.5 g steps.
4. Skip this bracket - and stretch to here
Timemore Black Mirror Basic Plus
Mid tier · A rechargeable coffee scale with auto-timing and a flow-rate readout.
Above the price, and the scale many enthusiasts end up with.
The Black Mirror Basic Plus sits above this bracket and is here because it is the scale many people buy after outgrowing a cheaper one.
It weighs up to 2000 g at 0.1 g resolution with a 0.5 g minimum detectable weight, starts its timer automatically, and runs on a 1600 mAh USB-C battery rated for up to 10 hours. At 152 x 130 x 26 mm it is compact.
Against the scales above, it is smaller and its timer starts itself; the Maestri House S3 also offers auto-start timing, so the gap is narrower than it once was.
If a first scale is the goal, anything above on this page will do the job.
Specification
- Capacity
- 2000 g
- Resolution
- 0.1 g; minimum detectable 0.5 g
- Timer
- Automatic timing
- Battery
- 1600 mAh, up to 10 hours, USB-C
- Size
- 152 x 130 x 26 mm, about 380 g
What it does well
- Auto-timing and flow rate at a fraction of an Acaia
- USB-C rechargeable rather than a drawer full of coin cells
- Small enough for a drip tray, big enough for a dripper
Where it gives ground
- Not waterproof
- Response is quick but not espresso-instant
- The mirrored top shows every fingerprint
Skip it if
Skip the stretch if this is your first scale. The Greater Goods does everything a first scale needs - see coffee scales in full.
The resolution trap
Inexpensive scales often quote 0.1 g resolution and 3000 g capacity side by side, and some deliver 0.1 g across only part of that range. The KitchenTour states it plainly - 0.1 g only up to 500 g - which is why it is on this page rather than a scale that is vaguer about the same thing.
Check any budget scale's stepped resolution before buying. For espresso it rarely matters; for pour-over with the carafe on the scale it often does.
When to spend more
Above this bracket you mostly pay for responsiveness, a compact footprint that fits on an espresso drip tray, and finish. Those matter most to espresso brewers weighing shots in real time.
For pour-over, drip and a first espresso setup, nothing above $50 is necessary. See coffee scales for the full range, including the premium tier.