Breville Barista Express vs. Barista Pro: Which Should You Buy?

Same Grinder Idea, Different Heater and Dashboard

The Barista Express (BES870) and Barista Pro (BES878) share the basic layout: a 250 g bean hopper on an integrated conical burr grinder, a 54 mm portafilter, a 2 L water tank, a steam wand and a hot water outlet. Breville's two instruction books show where they part ways.

The heater is a thermocoil on the Express and a ThermoJet on the Pro, which Breville says reaches extraction temperature in 3 seconds. Feedback comes from a pressure gauge on the Express and an LCD with a shot timer on the Pro. The Pro has no gauge.

The rest of the differences are about living with each machine: how it tells you to clean, how you start a descale, how long it waits before switching off, and what it says when something's wrong. This page sticks to what the two books print. No prices, and no reliability claims neither book makes.

---

The Differences at a Glance

---

What's the Same

• Grinder care. Both books describe the same burr cleaning, the same advanced cleaning for a blocked chute (a 10 mm socket, turned clockwise to loosen), and an adjustable upper burr to extend the grind range one step at a time.
• Grinder rows. No grounds = empty hopper, a blocked chamber or chute, or moisture after cleaning. Breville says to dry the burrs fully, and a hair dryer is allowed. Both models' rows are in our Breville grinder guide.
• Thermal cut-out. "Machine is on but ceases to operate" on either = switch off, unplug and let it cool 30-60 minutes.
• Shot timing. Flow should start after about 8-12 seconds on both extraction guides. "Espresso only drips" = grind too fine, too much coffee, tamped too hard, a blocked basket or scale.
• Support. Breville Consumer Support, 1-866-273-8455 in the US.

---

Barista Express (BES870): A Gauge and Buttons

The Express is a button-and-dial machine. Its gauge shows whether the shot is under, within or over the espresso range, so you read the extraction while it happens.

What the book shows:

• Pressure gauge. Within range = flow after 8-12 seconds and about 25-30 seconds in total.
• One light for two jobs. CLEAN / DESCALE flashing means a cleaning (back-flush) cycle is due. Solid means descale.
• Button-sequence maintenance. Cleaning: POWER off, then hold 1 CUP + 2 CUP + POWER for about 10 seconds. Descale: hold 2 CUP, then POWER, then work through the coffee, steam and hot water stages yourself (Barista Express descaling, step by step). In descale mode it switches itself off after 5 minutes without action.
• Temperature by sequence. Machine off, hold PROGRAM and press POWER, then choose a step within 5 seconds.
• A leak repair in the book. The Express book shows how to remove the shower screen with the supplied Allen key, because "the silicone seal surrounding the shower screen will need to be replaced" over time. Breville supplies the seal.
• Steam stops after 5 minutes of continuous steaming.

---

Barista Pro (BES878): A Screen and a Menu

The Pro moves the same jobs onto an LCD. You get a shot timer instead of a gauge, and named alerts instead of a shared light.

What the book shows:

• 3-second heat-up. The ThermoJet's headline feature. The first use runs a FLUSH cycle that "primes the heating system".
• Named alerts: FLUSH, DESCALE, FILL TANK, LOCK HOPPER, and Er for a fault Breville wants to hear about.
• Menu maintenance. Cleaning is MENU → FLUSH → 1 CUP with the disc and a tablet. Descale is MENU → DESCALE → 1 CUP: three stages (coffee, hot water, steam), turning the steam dial when the LCD tells you (Barista Pro descaling).
• 30-minute auto-off, and hot water stops by itself after 60 seconds.
• Water warning. "DO NOT use highly filtered, demineralized or distilled water in this machine."
• Leak row: the only one in the book is the water tank not fully inserted. There's no shower-screen seal procedure in the BES878 book.

---

Which Should You Buy?

• Choose the Express if you want a pressure gauge to read your shots, physical buttons for everything, and a machine that stays awake for an hour.
• Choose the Pro if a 3-second heat-up and a shot timer on screen matter more to you than a gauge, and you'd rather follow on-screen prompts for cleaning and descaling.
• Upgrading from one to the other? Relearn the alerts. The Express's flashing-versus-solid light becomes two separate words on the Pro, and the descale entry is completely different.

---

FAQ

Does the Barista Pro have a pressure gauge?

No. The BES878 component list has an LCD and no gauge. You judge the shot by the timer and the flow: Breville's extraction guide says flow should start after about 8-12 seconds. The Express (BES870) does have an espresso pressure gauge.

How fast does the Barista Express heat up?

The BES870 book doesn't give a time. It says the POWER light flashes while the machine heats and stops when it's ready, with all the button lights on. The Pro's book states 3 seconds for its ThermoJet.

Is the descale process the same on both?

No. On the Express you hold 2 CUP, then POWER, and run each stage with the buttons and the steam dial. It uses one Breville descaling sachet in 1 L of water, then a 2 L rinse. On the Pro you start it from MENU → DESCALE and follow the LCD through three stages, with the descaler added to the tank's DESCALE line.

Can I change the brew temperature on both?

Yes. The Express has Advanced Temperature Mode, which goes up or down 4 °F in 2 °F steps from the default. The Pro has SHOT TEMP in its menu. Neither book prints the default temperature in degrees.

What does "Er" mean on a Barista Pro?

The book's only instruction: "If your machine displays Er on the LCD, contact Breville Consumer Support." It doesn't list numbered errors. The Express has no display, so it never shows a code.

---

Related Breville Guides

• Breville Barista Pro descaling
• Breville Barista Express descaling
• Breville grinder not working
• Breville Barista Express vs Barista Express Impress

Sources: Breville the Barista Express BES870 Instruction Book (USCM V23); Breville the Barista Pro BES878 Instruction Book.