Jura E8 vs Jura S8 – Is the Upgrade Worth It in 2025?

Quick Answer: The Jura E8 is the better option if you’ll mainly drink plain espresso and Americano. Go for the Jura S8 if you’ll mainly drink milk drinks.

The Jura E8 and Jura S8 are both super-automatic espresso machines with automatic milk steaming. They both can make an espresso and a latte at the touch of a button.

Eighteen months ago, the Jura S8 was $800 more expensive than the Jura E8. 

The Jura S8 has gradually reduced in price, and at the time of writing (November 2023) the two machines cost nearly the same – typically between $2,400 and $2,600.

In this comparison of the Jura E8 vs S8, I’m going to look at whether the Jura S8’s recent price reduction makes it a bargain in comparison to the E8, or whether the Jura E8 still offers better value for money of the two coffee machines.

Let’s get started.

Should I Get the Jura E8 or Jura S8?

I recommend the Jura E8 over the S8 if you are mainly going to be making plain espresso and black coffee drinks (Americano, filter coffee) with your machine.

The Jura E8 makes marginally better black drinks than the Jura S8 because its Intelligent Pre Heating System gives it better brewing temperature stability.

This means that the Jura E8 will produce more consistent shots than the Jura S8 especially if you make more than one cup of coffee at a time.

The Jura S8 is the better option if you will mainly drink milk drinks like latte, cappuccino, and flat white.

The Jura S8 has a milk texture adjustment dial that lets you create different milk textures for every drink that you make. The Jura E8 does not have this feature, instead, its milk textures are hard-coded for each milk drink.

So the Jura S8 gives you far more control over how you texture each of your milk drinks than the E8.

You can find out more about the Jura S8 in my Jura S8 review.

What are the Differences Between the Jura E8 and S8?

The two Jura machines have four major differences that are each significant enough to potentially make you want one machine over the other. They are:

• The Jura S8 has a milk texture adjustment dial, the Jura E8 does not.
• The Jura E8 controls its brewing temperature better than the Jura S8.
• The Jura S8 is controlled by a touch screen, the Jura E8 is controlled by a button-operated digital display screen.
• The Jura S8 lets you make two versions of each of its menu items. The Jura E8 does not do this.

I’ll now run through how these differences affect the two coffee maker’s performance and usability.

The Jura S8 Has Better Variation in its Milk Drinks than the Jura E8

The Jura S8’s milk texture adjustment dial means that its different milk drinks vary much more in texture than the Jura E8’s equivalent drinks.

The Jura S8’s milk frother has a dial on it which can turn 90 degrees clockwise.

The closer to the three o’clock position you turn, the thinner milk foam it will produce. The closer to 12 o’clock, the thicker its milk foam will be.

The Jura E8’s milk frother doesn’t have this dial. Older versions of the E8 did have this, but Jura stopped manufacturing E8’s with this feature in 2019.

Although Jura claims that the E8 automatically gives you the “correct” milk texture for each of its milk drinks, I’ve found that it does not create anywhere near the variety of milk textures as the Jura S8.

So I recommend the Jura S8 over the Jura E8 if you want to make a lot of different types of milk drinks. 

The Jura S8 can make these drinks with noticeably different textures, whereas the E8 just makes these with different quantities of coffee and milk rather than a real textural variation.

The Jura E8 Makes Marginally Better Espresso Than the Jura S8

The Jura E8’s Intelligent Pre Heating System means it will pull marginally more consistent espresso shots than the Jura S8. 

The Jura E8 will always brew your espresso at the ideal brewing temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Jura S8 will brew at around this temperature, but its temperature control isn’t as precise as the Jura E8.

If you turn each machine on and pull your shot after it runs its initial rinse cycle, then the two machine’s espressos will be indistinguishable from each other. This initial rinse warms the machine up to the correct brewing temperature.

You’ll notice a difference in espresso quality between the two machines when:

• You pull a shot a while after the initial rinse cycle: The Jura S8’s espresso might be a bit sharp in this situation because the machine has fallen below temperature. The Jura E8 regulates its temperature automatically so you don’t have this problem.
• You pull several shots in a row: The Jura S8’s espresso might have harsh, woody notes in this situation because it’s brewing at too high a temperature. This is particularly likely if you pull a shot immediately after making a milk drink as the machine steams milk at a much higher temperature than it brews coffee. Again, the Jura E8 does not have this problem and can pull a perfect shot every time.

So if you think you’ll find yourself in these situations a lot with your machine then go for the Jura E8. Its temperature consistency makes it the best coffee machine for plain espresso.

I don’t think these slight differences in espresso quality will be noticeable if you mix milk with your coffee which is why I recommend the Jura S8 if you’ll mainly drink milk drinks.

The Two Machines Have a Similar Level of User Friendliness Despite Their Different Control Panels

The Jura S8 has a touch screen and the Jura E8 is controlled by a button-operated screen. I don’t think that one is significantly easier to use than the other.

As I spoke about in my Jura E8 review, the buttons that control the E8’s are made out of a very thin plastic that feels cheap under your finger. They have no give to them which makes them uncomfortable to press.

When I use my Jura E8 I often think that this button-controlled system could easily be upgraded (better-quality buttons would be a good place to start)…

However…

I’m not sure if Jura has really designed the S8’s touch screen to be any easier, or more enjoyable, to use than the Jura E8’s button-controlled system.

The touch screen sometimes requires you to tap an option (such as selecting a drink from the menu) and sometimes requires you to swipe an option (such as for customizing your drinks).

The touch screen is not super responsive when you swipe it, with a Redditor on this thread likening it to “an old Android 2.3.x phone.

I don’t think that any espresso machine warrants having a touch screen.

Touch screens are only useful when you have menus that require a lot of inputs and navigation. I think that for something like an espresso machine, where you only have to select a few options to make a drink, a button-operated control panel is sufficient.

So while the Jura S8’s most obvious upgrade compared to the Jura E8 is its touch screen, I don’t think that it actually makes the Jura S8 better than the Jura E8.

The Jura S8 is a More Convenient Machine if There is More than One of You Using It

The Jura S8 lets you save two versions of each drink to the menu which is useful if there are two of you using the machine and you each like a slightly different version of the same drink.

While both machines allow you to customize each of its menu items and save that customization, only the Jura S8 allows you to copy a specific drink, tweak it, and then add that to its menu alongside an existing version of that drink.

So if you both like latte macchiato, but one of you likes it with more milk than the other, then you can create two latte macchiatos, one with more milk and one with less milk. 

Both of these versions will be available at the press of a button.

You can see a video of how this works on the Jura S8 below (watch from 12:05 – 15:05):

As you can see from the above video, any new drink you make will have to replace an existing drink on the machine’s menu. You can also only have two versions of each drink (like the two latte macchiatos in the video).

You cannot just add endless new drinks to the S8’s menu. The menu tops out at 17 drinks.

The Jura E8 allows you to customize your coffee in much the same way as the Jura S8 except these will just become the new default drink on the machine’s menu rather than be added as a separate drink.

So if you and your partner both drink the same basic drink, but tweak it in a different way from each other, then you’d have to make these changes every time you brew with the Jura E8 but not with the Jura S8.

Minor Differences Between the Jura E8 and Jura S8

Here are the differences between the Jura E8 vs S8 that I don’t think are significant enough to warrant you buying one machine over the other.

Menu

The Jura E8 has 17 menu items to the Jura S8’s 15.

The specialty coffee drinks that the Jura E8 has but that the Jura S8 does not have are:

• Doppio (although I’m not sure what the difference between this and a 2 x espresso is)
• Cappuccino with an extra shot
• Latte macchiato with an extra shot
• Flat white with an extra shot

The specialty coffee drinks that the Jura S8 has but the Jura E8 does not have are:

• Ristretto
• Latte
• Portion of steamed milk
• Water for green tea (this is a real game changer)

The table below shows the two machines’ menus:

Personally, I slightly prefer the Jura E8’s menu because of its extra shot items.

I always have milk-based coffee drinks with two shots of espresso, and the Jura E8 makes it much easier to make these with the Jura S8.

The most notable addition to the Jura S8’s menu is a latte. 

This just adds to my conviction that the Jura S8 is the better machine if you are going to drink milk drinks.

Milk Cleaning Prompts

The Jura E8 can be set to prompt you to clean its milk frother after you make a milk drink. The Jura S8 does not do this.

Both machines have the same process for cleaning their milk system, which you need to do after making a milk drink. You can see how this works below:

Only the E8 will remind you to do this after making a milk drink. While this is nice to have, I don’t think it’s important enough to warrant buying the Jura E8 over the S8.

Active Bean Monitoring

The Jura S8 will warn you when you need to fill its bean hopper. The Jura E8 won’t.

I like how the Jura S8 warns you at the point where there aren’t enough coffee beans in your hopper to make a whole espresso with rather than at the point where its hopper is completely empty.

This stops you from brewing half an espresso because the machine runs out of beans halfway through grinding.

Although this is a small convenience that the Jura S8 has over the E8, I don’t think it’s important enough to warrant buying the S8 over the E8.

Available Colors

The Jura S8 comes in three colors, the E8 only comes in two colors.

The Jura S8’s additional color is chrome silver. If you’re wedded to this color then go for the S8 over the E8.

I personally wouldn’t go for a chrome finish as it shows up all your finger smudges too easily. I prefer black or white as it’s easier to keep clean.

What do the Jura E8 and Jura S8 Have in Common?

Here are the features that the Jura S8 and Jura E8 have in common.

Grinder

Both the Jura E8 and S8 use Jura’s Aroma G3 stainless steel conical burr grinder.

The Jura S8 has one more grind setting than the E8, but both machines give you lots of options within the espresso fineness range.

The S8’s grinder is also a bit quieter than the E8, not because of the grinder itself but because its lid has extra insulation. Both machines have bypass dosers for pre-ground coffee.

Both grinders are more than sufficient for espresso brewing. I do not think that there is a significant difference between them.

Drink Customizations

Both machines let you customize your drinks in the following ways:

• Ten settings for coffee strengths (5 grams – 16 grams of ground coffee per shot).
• You can adjust the volume of coffee by the nearest 0.15 oz (5 milliliters).
• You can change the volume of milk in your drink by the second dispensed.
• Three settings for brewing temperature (adjusted globally rather than per drink)

The Jura S8 lets you adjust your drink’s milk texture, the E8 does not have this feature.

Rinsing, Cleaning, and Maintenance

Both machines require the following maintenance:

• Their milk systems need to be cleaned after you use them.
• You need to empty their drip tray and used coffee ground container every few days.
• You need to deep clean your coffee machine using a Jura cleaning tablet after every 80 drinks.
• They need to be descaled every 3-6 months depending on your water hardness.

Although I’ve seen people claim that Jura machine’s use of CLARIS smart water filters means that they do not need to be descaled, I have not found this to be the case with my Juras.

Design and Durability

Both the Jura E8 and S8 have the same thick plastic exterior and are powered by a single thermoblock heating system. I expect them to last the same amount of time.

Generally, it’s a super-automatic espresso machine’s heating system that gives out first. It will just gradually stop heating your water to the required temperature for espresso brewing and milk frothing.

Since the Jura E8 and Jura S8 use the exact same heating system (their coffee brewer and milk steaming system are both powered by the same thermoblock heater) I expect them to last around the same amount of time.

Both machines also have a non-removable brew group. 

This is annoying as a lot of technical issues with these types of machines can be solved by removing and lubricating their brew group, but this issue affects both machines so is not a differentiator between them.

Jura provides you with a two-year warranty for both machines.

Both machines are nearly identical in shape and size. The Jura E8 espresso machine is half an inch wider than the Jura S8.

The table below shows each machine’s key specifications:

What if There is A Price Difference Between the Jura E8 and the Jura S8?

I’d be willing to pay up to $200 more for the Jura S8’s milk texture adjustment dial. I’d only be willing to pay this if I were to drink a wide variety of different milk drinks.

I wouldn’t be willing to pay more to have the Jura E8’s Intelligent Pre-Heating System – the difference it makes to your espresso’s taste is so marginal that it’s not worth paying extra for

If one machine is going to be more expensive than the other, then it will generally be the Jura S8 that’s pricier.

So if the Jura S8 is <$200 and you like the sound of the milk texture adjustment dial then go for the S8.

Otherwise, just go for whichever machine you can find for the lower cost. At the end of the day, their similarities far outweigh their differences.

Jura S8 vs Jura E8: Final Verdict

I recommend the Jura E8 if you are going to mainly be drinking plain espresso and the Jura S8 if you are mainly going to be drinking milk-based drinks.

The Jura E8 makes better-tasting espresso than the Jura S8 because of its superior brewing temperature control.

The Jura S8 makes better milk drinks than the Jura E8 because it gives you more control over your frothed milk texture.

If you’d like to find out more about Jura coffee makers then see my roundup of the best Jura coffee machines.