Best Entry Espresso Grinders Under $300

A buyer’s comparison of electric grinders whose own pages describe espresso, and whose U.S. maker list price on October 2, 2026 was at or under $300.

The Encore ESP and the Ode Gen 2 are already compared, with the same check date, on Encore ESP vs Ode Gen 2. This page uses the ESP. It does not put the Ode on the pick list.

What had to be true

The product page, not a sitewide slogan, had to describe espresso. A filter description was not enough.
The price had to be a U.S. maker list price at or under $300. $300.00 would have counted. $299.95 counts. $399.95 does not.
If the maker’s page says the grinder is not for espresso, it is named as excluded. It is not a pick, even when a price was on the page.

Baratza Encore ESP

The product description says the Encore ESP offers the grind resolution for creamy, syrupy shots of espresso, with turn-of-the-hopper adjustments and an included dosing cup. That is the maker’s sentence. This site did not pull a shot.

Price: $199.95. Offer data lists a high of $199.95 and a low of $199.95, so that block is not a range. White, SKU ZCG495WHT1AUC1A, was marked in stock. Black, SKU ZCG495BLK1AUC1A, was marked sold out. Both offers were $199.95. Source: Baratza product structured data, checked October 2, 2026. baratza.com Encore ESP (ZCG495)
Burrs: 40 mm conical steel (M2). Burr mount: quick release. Dosing: manual. Bean hopper: 300 g (10.6 oz). Grounds bin: 120 g (4.2 oz). Burr speed: 550 RPM. Speed to grind: 1.3 g/sec at setting 10 to 2.2 g/sec at setting 30. Those two settings are the only step numbers in that line. The spec list does not state a total step count.
Power: 100–120 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 70 W, 0.8 A. Dimensions, labeled width × depth × height: 13 × 15 × 34 cm. Warranty line: 1 year manufacturer warranty. Design: Seattle, WA, USA. Manufacturing and assembly: Taiwan.

At $199.95 it is $100.00 under the Sette 30 price below, and $100.05 under a $300.00 cap. The black color was sold out that day. The white one was not. More of the ESP’s page, set next to the Ode, is on the existing comparison.

Fellow Opus 2

Fellow’s page says the 48 mm conical burrs and side dial are for fine-tuning, including dialing in espresso, and also pour-over. A later answer on the same page lists espresso, pour-over, drip, AeroPress, French press, and cold brew. The page does describe espresso. It is in this list.

Price depends on the colorway. Black, SKU 1222MB-NA, $199.95, marked available. White, SKU 1222MW-NA, $199.95, marked unavailable. Malted Chocolate + Maple, SKU 1222ML-NA, $249.95, marked unavailable. Cherry Red + Walnut (1222CH-NA), Sesame + Maple (1222SE-NA), Woodland + Walnut (1222WL-NA), Black + Walnut (1222BA-NA), and Marine Blue + Walnut (1222BN-NA) were each $249.95 and marked available. Each variant’s compare-at price matched its price ($199.95 or $249.95). That is not a second, lower sale price in the variant record. $249.95 is still $50.05 under $300.00, and $50.00 more than the $199.95 colorways. Source: Fellow product data, checked October 2, 2026. fellowproducts.com Opus 2
Details on that page: 48 mm conical burrs. Single-dose load bin: 100 g. Standard catch cup: 100 g. Espresso catch cup: 30 g. Dimensions (L × W × H): 206 × 130 × 267 mm (8.1 × 5.1 × 10.5 in). Weight: 2.3 kg (5.1 lb). Power: 300 W. Cord length: 0.9 m. The product description says a 2-year standard warranty with an option to extend. A separate line on the page says “2+ Year Warranty.” “2-year” and “2+” are not the same phrase. This article does not merge them.
Adjustment: one line says “Stepless adjustment dial.” Another says the Opus 2’s “48 adjustable settings cover the full grind range.” Stepless and 48 settings are not the same claim. Both are on the page. This article does not pick one.

The $199.95 black colorway matches the Encore ESP’s price. The wood-lid colorways that were available were $249.95. White at $199.95 was unavailable. A bundle price that appeared elsewhere on the page is a kit, not the grinder’s own list price, and it is not added here.

Baratza Sette 30

Baratza’s description says the Sette 30 is for the next level of espresso quality, with fast, low-retention grinding. That is the maker’s description. It is the pick that sits nearest the cap.

Price: $299.95. High and low in the offer data are both $299.95, one offer. SKU ZCG1130BLK1BUC1A was marked in stock. $299.95 is $0.05 under $300.00. It is $100.00 more than the Encore ESP at $199.95, and $50.00 more than an Opus 2 wood-lid colorway at $249.95. Source: Baratza product structured data, checked October 2, 2026. baratza.com Sette 30 (ZCG1130)
Burrs: 40 mm conical (S1). Burr mount: threaded. Dosing: timer, 0.1 second resolution. Bean hopper: 300 g (10.6 oz). Grounds bin: 120 g (4.2 oz). Burr speed: 650 RPM. Speed to grind: 2.9 g/sec at setting 8 to 4.0 g/sec at setting 28. Those two settings are the only step numbers in that line.
Power: 100–120 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 200 W, 2.6 A. Dimensions, labeled width × depth × height: 13 × 25 × 41 cm. Warranty line: 1 year manufacturer warranty. Design: Seattle, WA, USA. Manufacturing and assembly: Taiwan. Safety listings named: UL, CSA, CE, EK.

Same hopper and bin figures as the ESP (300 g and 120 g), a higher wattage on the spec line (200 W versus 70 W), and a timer instead of the ESP’s “manual” dosing line. This site did not weigh retention or run the timer.

Over the cap: Baratza Sette 270

Not a pick. Baratza’s description calls it espresso, with time-based dosing and a stepless micro adjustment ring. The offer data lists $399.95 high and low, one offer, SKU ZCG1270BLK1BUC1A, marked in stock. Source: Baratza, checked October 2, 2026. baratza.com Sette 270 (ZCG1270)

$399.95 is $99.95 over a $300.00 cap, and $100.00 more than the Sette 30 at $299.95. It stays off the pick list because of the price, not because the page failed to mention espresso.

Excluded: Fellow Ode Gen 2

Not a pick. Fellow’s details say Ode is for brewed coffee only, including AeroPress, pour-over, electric coffee makers, French press, and cold brew, and that Ode is not intended for espresso. That sentence is why it is excluded. Source: Fellow, checked October 2, 2026. fellowproducts.com Ode Gen 2

The same page’s prices, rechecked that day so this note does not invent one: Gen 2 brew burrs $399.95 (matte white, SKU D1211MW-US-SB, available; matte black, SKU D1211MB-US-SB, unavailable). SSP MP brew burrs $599.95 (matte black D1211MB-US-S2 and matte white D1211MW-US-S2, both available). Both of those prices are also over $300. The exclusion would stand even if a colorway had been under the cap, because the page says it is not for espresso. Specs and the warranty-line conflict are on Encore ESP vs Ode Gen 2.

Not on this list: Baratza Encore (not the ESP)

The regular Encore’s product description, on the page opened October 2, 2026, is a filter brew and pour-over description. It does not describe espresso. It is not an espresso pick on this page. The offer data still lists a price, so this note is not guessing one: high and low $149.95. White offer SKU ZCG484WHT1AUC1A, in stock. Black offer SKU ZCG485BLK1AUC1A, in stock. The product sku on that same block is ZCG485. The white offer’s SKU starts with ZCG484, not ZCG485. Those two codes are both on the page. This article does not decide which code the cart uses. Source: baratza.com Encore (ZCG485). Burrs on that spec list are 40 mm conical steel (M3), with a threaded mount, which is not the ESP’s M2 and quick-release line. The two models are not merged here.

How to choose without a test

Lowest espresso price in this set that was marked available: Encore ESP white at $199.95, or Opus 2 black at $199.95. The ESP’s black color was sold out. Opus 2 white at the same price was unavailable.
Opus 2 wood-lid colorways that were available: $249.95, still under $300. The page says both “stepless” and “48 adjustable settings,” and both “2-year standard” and “2+ Year Warranty.”
Nearest the cap, in stock that day: Sette 30 at $299.95, with a timer on the spec list. The Sette 270, also described as espresso, was $399.95 and is over the cap.

None of that is a taste ranking. Noise, retention, and how close a setting lands in a basket were not measured here.

What to check on the listing

The words on that model’s page. “Espresso” in a site menu is not the same as the product description. The regular Encore’s description did not say espresso. The Ode’s page said it is not for espresso.
Color before you treat $199.95 as available. ESP black was sold out. Opus 2 white and one wood-lid colorway were unavailable.
The cap. $299.95 is in. $399.95, on the Sette 270 and on the Ode, is not.
Opus 2’s two adjustment phrases and two warranty phrases. Do not collapse them into one number.