When I started looking at the Jura E8 vs S8, I honestly thought the decision would be easy. They’re both Jura machines, both expensive, and both promise café-quality coffee at the push of a button. How different could they really be?
Turns out, pretty different.
I’ve spent real time with both machines, making my usual lineup of drinks, tweaking settings, and living with them day to day. Not just reading specs, but actually using them in my kitchen when I’m half awake in the morning or trying to impress guests on the weekend. And that’s where the differences really show up.
In this article, I’ll walk through my experience with the Jura E8 and the Jura S8. What I liked, what annoyed me, and which type of coffee drinker each one actually makes sense for. No marketing fluff, no spec sheet overload. Just how they perform in real life and which one I’d pick depending on how you drink your coffee.
What Is the Jura E8?
The Jura E8 is a premium super-automatic espresso machine built for people who want café-quality coffee at home without paying for flashy extras they may never use. From my experience, it really hits that sweet spot between performance, features, and price.
It offers a wide range of specialty drinks, intelligent pre-heating for consistent extraction, and a dedicated Americano nozzle, which I ended up using more than I expected. What stood out to me most is how easy it is to live with day to day. Cleaning is simple, the interface is straightforward, and it delivers consistently good coffee without much fuss.
What Is the Jura S8?
The Jura S8 sits higher in Jura’s lineup and leans hard into the luxury side of things. This is the machine that’s clearly designed to look impressive on your counter and feel premium every time you use it. From the first day I had it set up, it felt more like a high-end gadget than just a coffee machine.
It comes with a large touchscreen interface, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, and support for user profiles, which makes it easy to dial in drinks exactly how you like them and switch between preferences without redoing settings. One standout feature is the Sweet Foam function, which lets you flavor milk foam directly. If you’re into flavored lattes or cappuccinos, this is something you’ll actually notice and use.
Overall, the S8 feels less like a value pick and more like a lifestyle machine. You’re paying for design, customization, and convenience, not just the coffee itself.
Display
Jura E8:
The E8 uses a 3.5-inch color display with physical buttons and a rotary dial. In everyday use, it’s simple and reliable. I actually appreciated that it doesn’t attract fingerprints, and I never had to guess what to press. Everything is clearly labeled, and it works the same way every single time.
Jura S8:
The S8 steps things up with a 4.3-inch full-color touchscreen. You swipe through menus, tap drinks, and get animated guides that walk you through adjustments. It feels a lot like using a smartphone, and honestly, it’s fun to use. Guests almost always comment on it.
🏆 Winner: Jura S8
Why: The larger touchscreen, smoother navigation, and overall premium feel make the S8 more enjoyable to interact with, especially if you care about design and modern UI.
User Interface
Using the Jura E8 feels straightforward and no-nonsense. It relies on button-based controls with clear visual prompts, which I found reliable and easy to use even before my first coffee of the day. If you like tactile feedback and don’t want to dig through menus, this approach works really well.
The Jura S8, on the other hand, goes all in on a full touchscreen experience. You can rename drinks, copy recipes, and set up multiple user profiles, which is a big deal in a household with more than one coffee drinker. Everyone gets their own settings without messing with someone else’s perfect cup.
🏆 Winner: Jura S8
Why: The touchscreen customization and user profiles make the overall experience more flexible and personalized, especially for shared use.
Grinder Differences
This one’s simple because there really isn’t a difference in daily use. Both machines use the P.A.G. 2 (Professional Aroma Grinder 2), and in my experience, they behave exactly the same.
Grind consistency, noise level, speed, and adjustability all feel identical. I couldn’t taste a difference in extraction quality between the two, even when switching back and forth. They also both include a bypass doser for pre-ground coffee, which is handy when someone wants decaf without changing beans.
🏆 Winner: Tie
Why: The grinder technology is the same on both machines, so you get identical coffee quality regardless of which one you choose.
Features
When it comes to features, this is where I really started to see the personality difference between these two machines.
The Jura E8 focuses on practical, everyday convenience. Intelligent pre-heating helps keep extraction consistent, which matters more than it sounds when you’re pulling shots back to back. The dedicated Americano nozzle is great if you drink longer coffees, and the one-touch automatic milk system cleaning makes cleanup almost effortless. These are the kinds of features you notice because they quietly make life easier.
The Jura S8 leans into luxury and customization. The Sweet Foam function lets you flavor milk foam directly, which is fun and surprisingly useful if you like flavored drinks. Built-in Wi-Fi means it’s ready for the J.O.E. app, and the touchscreen-driven customization gives you more control over how each drink is set up and saved.
🏆 Winner: Depends on Use
Functionality & convenience: Jura E8
Luxury features & customization: Jura S8
Milk Frothing
In daily use, both machines deliver excellent milk foam thanks to Jura’s Professional Fine Foam Technology. Cappuccinos and lattes come out consistently smooth and well-textured on both, with no real learning curve.
Where things start to split is in how far you want to take milk-based drinks. The Jura S8 adds the Sweet Foam feature, which lets you infuse flavor directly into the milk foam. If you enjoy flavored lattes or like experimenting with different syrups, this opens up a lot more creativity than standard milk foam alone.
The Jura E8 keeps things simpler and more practical. Its fully automated milk cleaning system is extremely easy to run, and I found myself appreciating that convenience on busy days when I just wanted good coffee without extra steps.
🏆 Winner: Jura S8
Why: Sweet Foam adds more flexibility and creativity for milk drinks, going beyond basic frothing.
Drink Options
This is another area where the S8 pulls ahead on paper, even though the E8 still covers most daily needs really well.
The Jura E8 offers 17 specialties, and they’re the ones most people actually drink. I used the one-touch Americano regularly, and drinks like Caffè Barista and Cortado are ready without any extra steps. Everything feels designed for speed and convenience.
The Jura S8 expands the menu to 27 specialties when you include the Sweet Foam variations. If you like flavored drinks or enjoy experimenting, this bigger menu is genuinely fun to explore. The trade-off is that there’s no dedicated Americano spout, so making one requires swapping the nozzle, which feels slightly less convenient than the E8’s setup.
🏆 Winner: Jura S8
Why: The larger drink menu and Sweet Foam variations give you more options, especially if you enjoy flavored or specialty drinks.
Usability
Living with these machines day to day highlights what each one does best. The Jura E8 feels built for routine. Operation is straightforward, cleaning is largely automated, and the dedicated Americano spout means fewer steps when you just want coffee and nothing else. It’s the kind of machine that quietly does its job without asking for much attention.
The Jura S8 feels more tech-forward. The touchscreen makes navigation easy, user profiles are genuinely useful in shared households, and the taller cup clearance is nice if you use larger mugs. Built-in connectivity adds another layer of convenience if you like controlling or customizing drinks through an app.
🏆 Winner: Depends on Preference
Practical daily use: Jura E8
Tech-forward convenience: Jura S8
Build Quality & Materials
Both machines feel solid and well-made in everyday use. They use high-grade plastic housings paired with stainless steel internal components, and neither one feels cheap or flimsy. I never worried about durability with either machine.
The Jura S8 adds more premium touches. Details like the zinc bean hopper cover and the metal water tank handle give it a noticeably more upscale feel. These aren’t things that change how the coffee tastes, but they do change how the machine feels when you interact with it.
The Jura E8 keeps things cleaner and more understated. The design is durable, practical, and blends into a kitchen without trying to steal attention.
🏆 Winner: Jura S8
Why: The extra premium finishes and materials help justify its higher price point.
Price & Value
When it comes to price, this is where the gap between the two really matters.
The Jura E8 typically lands around $2,700–$2,800. For that money, you’re getting core Jura technology, excellent coffee quality, and features that actually improve daily use. In my opinion, it delivers a lot of what people want from a high-end machine without pushing into luxury-only pricing.
The Jura S8 usually sits higher, around $3,200–$3,300. That extra cost goes toward the touchscreen interface, Sweet Foam capability, built-in connectivity, and more premium design details. You’re paying for experience and aesthetics as much as performance.
🏆 Winner: Jura E8
Why: It offers near-flagship performance at a noticeably lower price, making it the better value for most buyers.
Overall Winner
After using both machines and living with them day to day, my overall pick is the Jura E8.
The E8 delivers the same core coffee quality as the S8, uses the same grinder, and handles everyday drinks with less effort. The dedicated Americano spout, simpler controls, easier maintenance, and lower price all add up to a machine that just makes more sense for most people. It’s the one I’d choose if I want great coffee every morning without overthinking it.
That said, the Jura S8 isn’t the wrong choice. If you care about touchscreen controls, user profiles, Sweet Foam drinks, and a more premium look and feel, the S8 earns its place. It’s a lifestyle upgrade.