Head to head · both under $300
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Our verdict: start with the Bambino for café-style milk drinks. Choose the Dedica Duo if you want cold brew and one-touch espresso presets.
Compared from maker specs · Page updated · How we compare
Start here
Pick the Bambino if you want to steam milk yourself and work toward latte art.
Cold brew and presets
Pick the Dedica Duo if you want espresso and cold brew from preset buttons, or a cool-touch steam wand.
Width: 15 cm (about 5.9 in), per De'Longhi
Stretch pick · often over $300
Want the milk done for you? The Maestro Plus adds De'Longhi's Auto LatteArt automatic steam wand.
| Spec | Bambino | Dedica Duo |
|---|---|---|
| Steam wand | Manual steam wand | My LatteArt manual steam wand, cool-touch |
| Heat-up | Ready in 3 seconds | Not stated |
| Pressure | 15 bar pump; 9 bar extraction after low-pressure pre-infusion, per Breville | 15 bar pump; 9 bar extraction after low-pressure pre-infusion, per De'Longhi |
| Baskets | Single-wall and dual-wall, 1 and 2 cup | Single wall, 1 and 2 cup, per De'Longhi's product data; each has a removable insert |
| Brew temperature | PID temperature control | Three settings (low, medium, high), per De'Longhi's manual |
| Portafilter | 54 mm | Not stated |
| Water tank | 47 fl oz | 37.1 fl oz (1.1 l), per De'Longhi's manual |
| Coffee | Ground coffee | Ground coffee, or E.S.E. pods with a pod filter sold separately |
| Preset drinks | Preset 1-cup and 2-cup shot volumes | Espresso, double espresso, cold brew |
| Auto off | Standby after 10 idle minutes | Adjustable: 5 minutes, 90 minutes or 3 hours |
| Grinder | No | No |
| Price band | Under $300 | Under $300 |
| Buy | Check price on Amazon | Check price on Amazon |
What the makers' instructions have you do, from the first rinse to the first milk drink.
Source: Breville BES450 instruction book.
Source: De'Longhi EC890M instruction manual.
The Bambino's manual steam wand puts you in control of depth, whirlpool and temperature. Breville designed it for the microfoam latte art needs.
The Dedica Duo's My LatteArt steam wand is also manual and, per De'Longhi, cool-touch. Its manual recommends 3.4 to 5 fl oz of milk per cappuccino, and making all the coffees before you steam milk for several cups.
Want it fully automatic? See the Maestro Plus above, or the Bambino Plus, which Breville suggests for an automatic steam wand. Under $300, the Bambino's manual wand is our pick for latte art.
A dual-wall (pressurized) basket builds pressure in the basket itself. Breville says its dual-wall baskets help the shot "regardless of the grind, dose, tamp pressure or freshness", which makes pre-ground coffee work. A single-wall (non-pressurized) basket relies on your grind and tamp, so it needs fresh, fine, even grounds.
The Bambino ships with both types. De'Longhi lists the Dedica Duo's 1-cup and 2-cup filters as single wall, each with a removable insert. Tom's Coffee Corner and Coffeeness describe them as pressurized. Its pod filter is sold separately.
Neither comes with a grinder, and our $300 limit covers the machine only. If you want café-level shots, budget for a burr grinder. A top reply in a 2024 r/espresso thread puts the grinder about on par with the machine.
Summaries of published reviews and owner threads, linked so you can read them in full. No review we found compares these two directly. The Bambino points come from Craft Coffee Spot and Home Coffee Expert, which compared it with the Dedica Arte, and from r/espresso owners. The Dedica Duo points come from Tom's Coffee Corner and Coffeeness reviews of the EC890. These are their experiences, not ours; we haven't tested either machine.
Praised for
Common complaints, with the fix
Praised for
Common complaints, with the fix
For most people who want café-style drinks, yes, and it's our default pick. Its 3-second heat-up, 54 mm portafilter, single-wall baskets and manual steam wand give you more room to grow. Pick the Dedica Duo if you want cold brew and one-touch presets.
Both have manual steam wands. Breville built the Bambino's wand to make the microfoam latte art needs. De'Longhi calls the Dedica Duo's My LatteArt wand commercial-style and cool-touch. If pouring latte art is the goal, start with the Bambino.
De'Longhi's product data lists single wall 1-cup and 2-cup filters, and its manual says each has a perforated insert you pull out by a tab to rinse. The manual lists one 1-cup and one 2-cup filter, plus a pod filter sold separately. De'Longhi doesn't state the portafilter size. Tom's Coffee Corner and Coffeeness, reviewing the EC890, describe its baskets as 51 mm and pressurized.
Breville's Bambino materials only describe ground coffee. The Dedica Duo takes ground coffee, or E.S.E. (Easy Serving Espresso) pods in a pod filter that De'Longhi sells separately.
Both use a 15 bar pump. That's the pump's rating, not the pressure your coffee brews at. Both makers say the shot starts with low-pressure pre-infusion and then extracts at 9 bar: Breville for the Bambino, De'Longhi for the Dedica Duo.
Breville says the Bambino is ready to start in 3 seconds. De'Longhi's US page and manual for the EC890M don't give a heat-up time, so we don't rank them on it.
Neither machine includes one. Pre-ground coffee in a dual-wall basket is a fine way to start. When you want more from your shots, a burr grinder and fresh beans are the upgrade r/espresso owners point to first.
Both machines tell you. The Bambino's 2 Cup button flashes continuously when it needs a clean and descale. The Dedica Duo's descale light comes on based on your water hardness setting, and De'Longhi says its cycle takes about 30 minutes with De'Longhi descaler.
It's the Dedica with De'Longhi's Auto LatteArt automatic steam wand. It's often over $300, so it's our stretch pick, not a rival here.
We compared these from Breville's and De'Longhi's product pages and instruction manuals, on specs and features, so we don't rank the shots. Reviewer and owner points are summarized and linked above. Sources: