Coffee enthusiasts know that the exact ratio of coffee grounds to water, the temperature of that water and even the speed and location of where and how you add that water can make the difference between a fragrant, beautiful cup of joe and a steaming vat of bitter mud.
A digital coffee scale lets you accurately weigh both your ground coffee and the water you’re adding; it’s a key tool in extracting the best flavor from coffee, especially with precision methods like pour-over or espresso. So to find the best scale for your coffee bar, we ground pounds of coffee and brewed dozens of cups of pour-over to measure the accuracy and performance of six leading digital coffee scales.
The Greater Goods Digital Coffee Scale is not only a great coffee scale; it can be used for baking or any kitchen task. It only measures weight and offers a timer (no ratio calculators onboard), but it offers a great balance of price and solid performance.
The Fellow Tally Pro Precision Scale was the most responsive scale of anything we tested, quickly registering coffee grounds and water with a bright, digital display and menu options that will appeal to pour-over experts and newbies alike.
The best coffee scale overall: Greater Goods Digital Coffee Scale
From $27 at Amazon
The Greater Goods Digital Coffee Scale offers solid performance at a budget price. Add on that it measures in grams, ounces, fluid ounces, pounds or milliliters, and this won’t only serve as your coffee scale — it’s your new kitchen scale too.
If you’re looking for automation, this isn’t the scale for you. There are four buttons and you’ll be using them a lot. Still, the menu is easy to understand and this feels like a scale designed by someone that makes coffee daily. A clear display shows the measured weight and elapsed time, while to one side you’ll find the ‘U’ button lets you change the unit of measurement and the VCR-esque play button below lets you start and stop the timer. The power button and the ‘T’ button (‘T’ is short for tare, the function that zeros out the measurement so you can add your next ingredient) are on the other side of the digital display.
One notable feature is that the timer can count up or down, which is nice if you want to track the bloom time or have a specific brew time in mind because you’re using a French press.
The silicone cover kept drips off the scale, and was quick to slip on and off. The ridged design of the cover is attractive, but a flatter surface would be easier to clean. The display is clear and while the weight refresh rate (how quickly the weight total adjusts to grounds or water being added) is slower than the fastest scales we tested, it’s still up to the task if you’re trying to watch how much water you’re adding to coffee grounds. You’ll just want to take things a little slower than you might with a high-end scale like the Fellow Tally Pro Precision.
These are slight compromises, nothing that feels like a big ask on the part of a coffee drinker. Your first set of AAA batteries is included. The scale has a five-year warranty. So, you’re only on the hook for a new set of batteries over the next few years, which means more money you could be spending on coffee.
The best coffee scale for coffee enthusiasts: Fellow Tally Pro Precision Scale
$185 at Amazon, Williams Sonoma and Fellow
The Fellow Tally Pro Precision Scale has the glossy finish of an iPhone and a pleasing interface reminiscent of a robot buddy in a kid’s film. There’s no denying this scale is expensive, at nearly nine times the price of our overall pick, but the intuitive features and whip-quick measurements make it clear the Tally Pro is in a different league.
The Fellow Tally Pro has three modes — weight, timer and Brew Assist — that give you plenty of information via a bright OLED display that is clearly readable in any light, so you’re set for rainy and sunny mornings. The weight is displayed in grams, millileters, pounds or ounces, so the Fellow can also double as a kitchen scale. Timer mode displays the weight and time in the center of the display. Either way, the scale responds very quickly to small changes as you add grounds — it’s much faster and more precise than the other scales we tested, so you can be certainly you’re adding exactly what you need.
Brew Assist mode lets you set the desired ratio of coffee to water via the metal dial; once done, the scale will tell you exactly how much water to add based on the amount of ground coffee you’re using. The feature works well, and not having to do complex math in the morning is always a bonus, especially if you have a partner who likes coffee at a different strength and you’re making multiple cups.
It’s important to note that the scale is water-resistant, not waterproof, so you should clean up any spills once you’re done pouring. The weigh pan (the circle where you rest your carafe), did show some smudges after use, but was easy to remove and wipe clean with a dish cloth.
The Fellow scale has a two-year warranty and also comes with a USB-C charging cord and rechargeable battery. When the battery dipped under 10%, the scale displayed the remaining battery level on the screen. It took a bit under two hours to fully charge. This scale is a significant investment in your at-home coffee experience, but accurate weights and the Brew Assist feature that automatically calculates the amount of water you need should result in a better cup of coffee. If you’re looking to literally dial in your pour-over coffee, the Fellow Tally Pro Precision Scale will do exactly that with the turn of a dial and the push of a few buttons.
How to pick a coffee scale
You’re going to have to weigh how much you care about your morning cup of coffee before you buy a digital coffee scale.
Your search for a coffee scale should start with the type(s) of coffee you prepare, and how precise you want or need to be to get the results you want. A kitchen scale will work just fine if you’re only looking to weigh coffee for a full carafe, whether you’re making it in a drip coffee machine or French press. (Even your French press coffee can benefit from the use of a timer, however, and that is included on all of the specialized digital coffee scales we tested — it removes the guesswork, or at least saves you setting a stopwatch on your smartphone.)
Where you do want to use a scale is for any method that involves making a cup at a time, whether that’s pour-over, espresso or single-serving French press coffee. If you’re working with high-quality coffee beans and you’ve already invested in a good grinder, getting a scale is a good next step. When you’re dealing with a shot or cup at a time, the difference between 16 and 18 grams of ground coffee can make a real difference, as can getting the ratio of ground coffee to water just right (higher-end scales like the Fellow Tally Pro can calculate the proper ratio for you).
The best scales we tested have a distinct advantage over standard kitchen scales in that they can make more precise measurements more quickly, registering changes of a gram as you slowly add coffee or water. (We tested against standard kitchen scales, and found that these could not reliably track small changes in weight quickly and accurately enough by comparison.) This responsiveness can help you dial in the perfect ratio if you’re a serious coffee enthusiast, and provides guide rails that can flatten out the learning curve if you’re aiming to become a serious coffee enthusiast.
Do you want a scale that will help calculate your coffee-to-water ratio and automatically tare (deduct the weight of your container, or each ingredient so you’re ready to weigh the next one independently)? Or are you comfortable pushing a few buttons to start a timer or zero out the weight in each step (placing the carafe on the scale, adding grounds, adding water)? The more a scale does for you, the more you can expect to pay. If you’re using your scale daily, you may find the automation features save you a bit of time. But, more importantly, they may enable you to be more precise if you’re chasing that perfect cup.
Every scale we tested measures in grams — which means they’re great for giving you the precise measurements you’ll need for coffee — but some scales like the Hario V60 drip scale only measure in grams. If you’re a baker and plan to use your coffee scale to measure things other than coffee, you might want to consider whether it measures in ounces for dry ingredients or milliliters for wet ingredients.
Scales don’t use a lot of energy, which is why most can run on AAA batteries. Still, if you don’t want to worry about replacing batteries, look for a rechargeable model. Those typically cost a bit more, although the Escali Versa was one of the least expensive scales we tested.
How to care for a coffee scale
Always use your coffee scale on a flat surface to get the most accurate measurements. While the Oxo Brew Precision Scale will give you a specific alert to let you know that it is on a flat surface, other scales we tested will register a number other than zero when you turn them on if they’re placed on an uneven counter.
While many scales will automatically turn off when not in use — the Fellow Tally Pro Precision Scale shuts down automatically after 10 minutes of inactivity — you can save the batteries by manually hitting the on/off button. Store your scale flat, ideally without anything on top of it, to protect the sensors inside. And avoid exceeding the maximum recommended weight — 6 pounds was the limit for the models we tested — for your digital coffee scale. Overloading it can damage the mechanism.
If you’re cleaning your scale, don’t immerse it in water as that could damage the electronic components — these scales are typically water-resistant and not waterproof. Instead opt for a damp soft cloth (cloth napkins or a dish towel) and dish soap before wiping it dry.
How we tested
We took out each scale and pulled a tab to activate the batteries or charged the scale via the included USB or USB-C cable, if it was low on power. Then, we spent several weeks checking each scale’s accuracy and performance as we ground pounds of beans and prepared cup after cup of pour-over coffee.
Calibration
We placed a 50-gram calibration weight and 18 grams of coffee beans on each digital scale to assess accuracy. All six of the digital coffee scales were within 0.1 grams of the calibration weight and coffee bean weight.
We ran the same tests on the Ozeri Pronto, a digital kitchen scale. And while there wasn’t a meaningful difference in accuracy, the kitchen scale’s readings bounced around too much once we started adding water for our pour-over coffee, making it difficult to track the added weight.
Pour-over test
We brewed multiple cups of pour-over coffee on each scale to test the tare functions, assess how quickly the scale was able to register changes in weight, evaluate the clarity of the display and see if it could keep pace with water being added from an electric kettle.
We followed this guide to brew our coffee, using 18 grams of ground coffee (medium) and 300 grams of water that had been heated to 205 degrees Fahrenheit in a Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Pour-Over Kettle. Our pour-over set-up was a Hario V60 ceramic coffee dripper atop a glass carafe.???
Usability
We assessed the brightness of each screen and how easy it was to read. We looked at whether a menu was intuitive or overly complicated. We weighed (pun intended) the placement of buttons on the control panel and whether or not they were responsive to our touch. And we also tracked how quickly a scale registered changes in weight.
We cleaned each of the scales before and after using them, considering how easy it was to remove and reattach the silicone pad or weigh pan. We used a dish cloth and dish soap and looked for scratches or smudges after drying. We also looked at the quality of materials, as well as the warranties offered on each model.
Other digital coffee scales we tested
Acaia Pearl Digital Coffee Scale
$234 at Amazon
The Acaia Pearl Digital Coffee Scale forces you to ask yourself one question: How deeply do I want to geek out about pour-over coffee?
The shiny black scale is incredibly responsive. Its performance was equal to the Fellow scale in tests, but it’s the customization possibilities and companion app that will set the Acaia apart for smart appliance fans. You can track your results as you tweak the coffee to water ratio on your smartphone via Bluetooth.
Acaia has also gamified the pouring of water with a flow rate indicator that shows how fast you’re pouring according to a line of dots that appear or disappear. While it was satisfying to attempt to hit a given mark, we’re not sure how useful it is, as it was difficult to have our eyes in two places watching the water atop the grounds and the digital display.
With five different modes, the scale can automatically tare your portafilter or start the timer once you begin pouring water from the kettle into a carafe on the scale. Navigating the menu was slightly cumbersome, however, as it wasn’t always clear how much pressure to apply to the buttons — the Fellow gets the edge in usability, even if it doesn’t offer as much customizability.
The scale is rechargeable. It includes a USB-C charging cable and was fully charged in under two hours. The Acaia Pearl offers more opportunities than any other scale we tested to create your own custom coffee program at home; it will take some time, however, to figure out exactly which options are helpful. Acaia also only has a one-year limited warranty, something to consider based on the high price tag — and it’s the most expensive scale we looked at for this story.
Hario V60 Drip Scale
$58 $50 at Amazon
The Hario V60 Drip Scale is a charming little scale with a pair of buttons and a pleasing color palette (you can choose from options ranging from matte pink to bright white).
We opted for matte turquoise and appreciated the understated color amidst a sea of models that typically only come in black or white. The slim, unibody machine is built around a piece of hard plastic that encloses the scale and the pair of control buttons: start/stop and on/off/tare. The timer has a pause feature, but that’s the extent of the options on this digital scale.
The scale was a bit slower than other models to register added weight, yet it was still fast enough to roughly match poured water. If you’re hoping to use it for something other than coffee, bear in mind it only measures in grams.
The Hario V60 Drip Scale runs on two AAA batteries. Your first pair is included. The manufacturer suggests that you’ll get a year out of your first batteries, which is also the length of the warranty.
Escali Versi Coffee Scale
$55 $37 at Amazon
The Escali Versi is a shiny black digital coffee scale designed to be hands-free once you start the pour-over process.
The Versi comes with a micro-USB cable and a rechargeable battery. It needed to be charged out of the box, but was fully powered in slightly under 4 hours (it took twice as long to charge as the Acaia and Fellow). We noticed that the power button required us to push a bit harder on some occasions than others.
You have access to four different programming modes. One is a completely manual setting. Otherwise, you can set the timer or tare function to begin automatically after different steps: placing the carafe on the scale, adding coffee or adding water. The auto-start feature for the time was helpful and the scale was responsive when we added ground coffee and water.
The automatic settings worked well — once we set up the scale and our process to take advantage of them. When we first stepped away to grab the kettle, the auto shut-off engaged, and we had to switch to a manual mode to finish the pour-over process. We found that the auto-off function is set by default to just 30 seconds (you can switch the auto-off function to be as long as 10 minutes or disable it entirely). We adjusted this to give us enough time to move around the kitchen (though we set up closer to the stove for the next round) and this solved the issue.
The Versi is wrapped in a sturdy silicone sleeve with a cutout for the bright, clear LED display. The scale — which can weigh in grams, milliliters or ounces — measured accurately. A lifetime limited warranty is an added bonus.
Oxo Brew Precision Coffee Scale
$56 $52 at Amazon
The Oxo Brew Precision Coffee Scale offers an alert that lets you know it’s on a stable surface and ready to weigh. The design is boxy, but the overall look is modern in keeping with Oxo products like the Oxo Brew 9-Cup Coffee Maker.
This scale was responsive, nearly as quick as more expensive models like the Acaia and Fellow. But it is priced higher than models with the same functionality. It displays the time and weight (in grams, ounces or pounds) via a large, bright LED display.
The lit markings in the center of the scale, which reminded us of a landing pad for a helicopter, are nice so you know exactly where to place your bowl or carafe. The scale is protected by a silicone mat that can be removed and cleaned separately. It comes with four AAA batteries.
