Jura E8 vs S8 – Which Is The Better One For You?

Here is our detailed comparison of two of the most premium super-automatic coffee machines – the Jura E8 vs S8.

While researching, I’ve personally asked more than ten users of both machines and gone through hundreds of customer reviews on several websites. 

The essential features of both machines are similar, but there are a lot of functional differences that can be a make-or-break factor for the Jura E8 or Jura S8.

So, let’s get started with an in-depth look at what sets these machines apart.

Jura E8 Vs S8 – Which One to Consider?

If I have to tell you in short, the Jura E8 is the machine you should go for.

The reason is simple, apart from the additional features, both the machines make excellent coffee, so why not choose a worthy option?

However, if budget is not the issue and you want a family machine with a touchscreen and more programmability options, you can choose S8.

But this is a quick answer; I’ve actually written things in more detail so that you know every aspect before considering one.

Jura E8 Vs S8 – Detailed Comparison

In this section, we’ve taken highly marketed and day-to-day use features of both machines and compared them against each other, like how efficiently they work and which one justifies your bucks. So let’s start with…

Display and Controls

Both the Jura E8 and S8 come with a color display.

The Jura E8 has a 2.8-inch TFT display with six buttons to navigate through the controls. And the Jura S8 has a 4.3-inch fully touchscreen display. 

The E8’s smaller display size only shows four menus on the screen and also buttons are pretty decent in quality, so when you press them, it doesn’t feel cheap.

On the other side, the S8 shows eight menus on the screen, but some users and I sometimes find that the touchscreen feels laggy, especially when you are customizing your drink.

Look, both models offer several drink options, and if you want to choose apart from 4 drinks in E8 and eight drinks in S8, then both the navigation is different. 

In E8, you can see an arrow in the bottom right; to select this, you must press the bottom right button.

And in S8, you’ll see a three-drinks icon on the upper right, so select it and swipe across for more options.

But at the end of the day, both machines can get their job done, and you’ll get used to it in a few days.

However, the S8 looks more premium with a touchscreen, and with that, you can save a lot of clicks.

Programming

Both the machines let you program the same, whether it is coffee strength, brewing temperature, volume, or milk.

But the S8 has the edge over E8 in terms of customization because you can customize your drink according to your preferences and replace it with the main menu (the first eight menus). 

You can also rename it like Robert’s Cappuccino or Lara Cappuccino or after your name. 

So in this way, you have two cappuccino preferences set in the machine; for example, one is for the husband and another for the wife.

This is ideally good for a big family where different members love the same drink but in their own way. 

That doesn’t mean E8 doesn’t let you customize; you can save your preferences but one setting at a time.

For customization in E8, you have to long press the drink button and then select product settings.

In S8, you have two options; first, touch and hold the screen and second, go to the program option and choose Volume – Coffee Strength.

The E8 has Jura’s Intelligent Preheating system; according to the company, it guarantees you to extract the coffee at the best optimum required temperature, which gives a much better taste and aroma. 

But in real life, it doesn’t show a significant difference in coffee taste. The machine first heats up before brewing, and then it starts extraction. Overall, it’s a good feature but not a huge one.

Also, the E8 has an extra shot function where you can choose to have an extra shot of coffee for milk-based beverages to make your drink stronger, like for cappuccino or flat white. 

To choose this, long press the bottom left button and then press the middle left button, and you’ll see a bean icon on the milk-based beverages, which means if you choose, it’ll pour an extra shot.

Winner: S8 

Drink Options

With the new Jura E8, you can brew 17 drinks, that is as follows:

1. Espresso
2. 2 × Espresso
3. Coffee
4. 2 × Coffee
5. Caffè Barista
6. Americano
7. Espresso Doppio
8. Cortado
9. Espresso Macchiato
10. Cappuccino
11. Cappuccino Extra Shot
12. Flat White
13. Flat White Extra Shot
14. Latte Macchiato
15. Latte Macchiato Extra Shot
16. Milk Froth
17. Hot Water

After long research, we have also found that the Americano option is only available in the Jura USA models, and for the rest of the world, Jura added Lungo Barista.

The S8 has 15 drink options, which are as follows:

1. Ristretto
2. 2 × Ristretto
3. Espresso
4. 2 × Espressos
5. Coffee
6. 2 × Coffee
7. Espresso Macchiato
8. Caffè Latte
9. Cappuccino
10. Flat White
11. Latte macchiato
12. Milk froth
13. Steamed Milk
14. Hot Water
15. Hot Water for Green Tea

The main beverage difference between these two machines is the S8 has Ristretto and Caffè Latte.

While E8 has Americano, Caffè Barista, and an extra shot for milk-based coffee.

Winner: Tie

Milk Frothing

For milk-based beverages, both machines pour it from the right spout.

A tube system takes the milk into the frother, which comes in the box and is very easy to install. 

Here Jura S8 has an advantage over the E8 because the S8 has a dial in the spout where you can choose between foam and only steamed milk, while the E8 has only a froth option.

If the dial is vertical, it is set to froth; if it is horizontal, it is set to steamed milk.

You can also customize the froth’s thickness; the more you go from vertical to horizontal, the thinner the foam will be.

If you are a true cappuccino lover, you must know that the drink is divided into three parts, i.e., espresso shot, steamed milk, and milk foam.

For this, the E8 cannot give you the real cappuccino taste; the same goes with flat white and caffè latte where steamed milk is required.

But when we just talk about the milk foam, both of the machines never compromise on this and give you a really solid froth. So full marks on that.

Winner: S8

Cleaning and Maintenance

In Jura machines, you can’t remove the brewing unit.

So for cleaning, the company has provided tablets which are called 2-phase cleaning tablets, 3-phase cleaning tablets, 2-phase descaling tablets, and mini tablets for the milk system.

Cleaning the machine is very easy; you don’t need to mark dates on the calendar. The machine itself will show you on the display when she requires cleaning.

And if you are using the Claris water filter by Jura, then you don’t need to descale the machine, the filter is a bit expensive, but it will last around two months or 50-60 litres of water, depending on the water’s hardness.

Also, every day you have to remove and clean the tray for hygiene because the coffee puck is dumped there and water too.

The only difference where the E8 leads is a feature called One Touch Milk Cleaning System – which lets you clean the area where the milk passes.

If you are brewing any milk-based coffee, then at the end of the day, you need to clean the milk system; if not done, then the milk will go stale, and the next drink will be compromised.

This feature is only in E8 because the main dispensing unit has three spouts, 2 for coffee and 1 for water.

On the other hand, S8 has only two main dispensing units that are only for coffee. 

If you want water from S8, then it comes with an interchangeable spout for the side dispensing unit – you need to remove the existing one and then place the water one, which also comes in the box. 

For cleaning, it requires a 2-part container, provided in the box and one press of Jura’s mini tablets.

And the rest of the process is the same – the machine will guide you through everything.

I think this feature is quite helpful because the milk system is cleaned the maximum number of times, and there is an extra hassle in S8 to change the spout every time.

And I feel the S8 must need to have a water spout in the main dispensing unit.

Winner: E8

Grinder

Like other super-automatic coffee machines, these two also have an in-built grinder but with slight differences.

The E8 has a professional aroma grinder where Jura guarantees 12.2%* more aroma and consistently high grind quality.

On the other side, the S8 comes with a multi-level aroma G3 grinder, which Jura claims to be gentle on the aroma, and grinds twice as fast with more precision.

But in real-life operations, It hardly shows any significant difference in the grinding speed, but the S8 is comparatively more silent while grinding than the E8.

You can also change the grind settings from coarser to finer and vice-versa in both machines.

The E8 has six grind settings, and the S8 has seven grind settings – again, more towards customization, but it is advisable from the company to only change it while grinding.

Also, both machines have a separate space for ground coffee which Jura named the bypass chute, where you are bypassing the grinder and directly brew with ground coffee. 

It is a good feature; if someday you want decaf coffee or some other kind of pre-ground one, you don’t need to brew in other coffee makers.

Also, when you add ground coffee to your machine, the S8 senses it and automatically uses the ground coffee when brewing.

But in E8, you have to instruct the machine – just long press the settings option and press the right middle button.

The S8 also has a feature called Active Bean Monitoring System, where the machine prompts you to refill when the beans are empty.

But this is not a great feature that E8 lacks; you can check it out manually.

Winner: S8

Value for Money

Look, which is more value for money is totally depends on your use case. 

If you are a person who doesn’t want to brew coffee by a manual process and just wants a good super-automatic coffee maker, then to be honest, E8 is more than enough for you. 

In terms of coffee basics like quality, crema, taste, etc., none of them compromised in this; they both make excellent coffee.

Now, you should only go for S8 if you want a touchscreen display with more options on programmability and milk frothing. 

But at the end of the day, the S8 is around US $300 – $400 more expensive than the E8.

However, these days S8 pricing is very close to E8 on Amazon; if the price difference is $100 – $150, then I think it’s a good deal to go with S8.

Jura E8 Vs S8 – Common Similarities

Apart from differences, these machines have a lot in common. We haven’t discussed this in detail because you’ll get these features in both E8 & S8, but I have discussed the critical aspects below.

Design and Build

The design and build quality of both machines are pretty similar as they are built on the same platform.

But the chrome model of both machines comes with a metal finish and it feels more premium than the other ones.

The only major design change is in the main dispensing spout which I’ve already discussed in the cleaning and maintenance section.

Feature	Jura E8	Jura S8
Dimensions (W × H × D)	11 in × 13.8 in × 17.6 in	11 in × 13.4 in × 17.3 in
Voltage/power	120v/1450w	120v/1450w
Water tank capacity	64 oz / 1.9 l	64 oz / 1.9 l
Bean container	10 oz. / 280 g	10 oz. / 280 g
Coffee grounds container	16 servings	16 servings
Colors	Piano White, Piano Black, Chrome	Piano Black, Moonlight Silver and Chrome

Special Features

Apart from the basic ones these features take the Jura E8 and S8 to the next level and brew great coffee for you.

Feature	Jura E8	Jura S8
Compatible with J.O.E.®	YES	YES
Energy Save Mode (E.S.M.©)	YES	YES
Programmable switch-off time	YES	YES
Intelligent Water System (I.W.S.)	YES	YES
Monitored drip tray	YES	YES
Water tank capacity	64 oz / 1.9 l	64 oz / 1.9 l
Thermoblock heating system	YES	YES
Pulse Extraction Process (P.E.P.®)	YES	YES
Aroma Protection Lid	YES	YES
Powder Chute for Ground Coffee	YES	YES

Jura E8 – Quick Rundown

Jura S8 – Quick Rundown

Final Thoughts

Jura E8 super-automatic coffee machine is the overall winner of our Jura E8 vs S8 comparison.

The E8 is a more value-for-money product with convenient cleaning & maintenance features and lets you brew 17 drinks with an extra shot feature for milk-based beverages. 

And if you need a machine that saves multiple options for the same drink with froth thickness customization and also pours steamed milk, then you can go with the Jura S8.

But I must tell you one thing: both machines are capable, and no matter which one you choose, you will not regret it at the end of the day.