De'Longhi Magnifica Start Review: The 2024 Entry-Level Bean-to-Cup, Tested

The De'Longhi Magnifica Start is the best sub-£400 bean-to-cup machine in the UK right now. It arrived in our test kitchen as a replacement unit while our regular office machine was in for a service - and over fourteen days of daily use, twelve to eighteen cups per day, we ran it through every drink on its menu with three different bean profiles. This is the full account.

It replaced the Magnifica S at the entry point of De'Longhi's range in 2024, carries the same 1450W boiler and 13-step steel conical burr grinder, and adds a colour icon panel and a revised panarello frother. Here is what changed, what it brews well, and where De'Longhi made trade-offs.

The De'Longhi Magnifica Start (model code ECAM220) is a fully automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine. Launched in 2024 as the entry-level model in De'Longhi's Magnifica range, it replaced the Magnifica S (ECAM22.110) and sits below the Magnifica Evo in the current lineup.

A bean-to-cup machine grinds whole beans fresh for each drink and extracts espresso at up to 15 bar. You load beans, fill the water tank, press a button, and the machine does everything else. The Magnifica Start handles espresso, lungo, americano, and hot water, with a panarello steam wand for manual milk frothing. It does not include the LatteCrema automatic milk carafe found on upper Magnifica Evo trims.

Three variants exist in the UK market: ECAM220.21.B (black), ECAM220.22.GB (silver), and ECAM220.31.SB (stainless steel, slight premium). All share identical internals. Full manufacturer specifications are published on the De'Longhi UK product page.

The box is heavier than it looks. At 8.4kg, the Magnifica Start needs two hands out of the packaging. Inside: the machine, the 1.8-litre water tank (removable from the top), the used-puck container, the drip tray, a measuring scoop, a cleaning brush, and a quick-start guide.

De'Longhi's first-setup process takes under ten minutes. Fill the water tank, load beans into the 250g hopper, run the priming cycle, and pull a pre-infusion rinse. The machine prompts you at each step via the icon panel. I ran the priming cycle twice on the first day because the panel icons are not immediately intuitive - the difference between the 'rinse' icon and the 'empty grounds' icon took a moment. After day two, it is second nature.

The grind dial is on the side of the bean hopper and offers 13 settings from fine to coarse. De'Longhi recommends starting at 5 for espresso. I dialled to 4 after the first session with the Aurora Reserve and found better extraction.

One honest note on setup: if you want a plain-language guide, search De'Longhi's YouTube channel - the two-minute setup video is more useful than the 52-page booklet for first-time bean-to-cup owners.

Plastic dominates the exterior. The bean hopper lid, water tank handle, and front fascia are all plastic, and they feel it. At £349, every machine in this category makes the same trade-offs - the Philips Series 2200 LatteGo at a comparable price is similarly constructed.

What De'Longhi does well at this price is the internal build. The brewing unit is removable and dishwasher-safe. The drip tray is wider than the Magnifica S version. The bean hopper lid has an aroma lock mechanism that seals the beans between uses.

Dimensions: 237mm wide x 430mm deep x 350mm tall. The depth is the thing to check. Most standard under-counter appliance spaces run to 400mm, so the Magnifica Start's 430mm depth means it sits 30mm proud of a standard counter alcove. Worth measuring before you buy.

The colour icon panel is the visible upgrade over the Magnifica S. Rather than plain text buttons, the Start uses backlit icons for each drink type, water level, and maintenance alerts. The panel is physical buttons with icon labels - not a touchscreen. The interface works without reading the manual once you have run through it once.

The Magnifica Start brews through a single-boiler extraction system. Water heats in the 1450W thermoblock, the coffee bed forms in the ceramic brewing unit, and the pump drives water through at up to 15 bar.

Grinder: 13-step steel conical burr grinder. Steel rather than ceramic means the burrs will wear over time - in commercial bean-to-cup machines the equivalent component typically runs to 20,000+ cups before meaningful degradation. For home use, that is several years.

Pre-infusion: Certain higher variants of the Magnifica Start (ECAM220.31.SB) include a soft pre-infusion step that gently wets the coffee bed before full pressure extraction begins. The standard ECAM220.22.GB does not include this feature.

Milk system: The Magnifica Start uses a panarello frother - a manual wand with an outer sleeve that draws air into the steam. You position the panarello in cold milk, activate steam via a dial, and the sleeve handles the texturing. It produces a coarser foam suitable for cappuccino-style drinks; you will not achieve the microfoam texture needed for latte art.

The brief comparison: the Magnifica Evo costs more but includes the LatteCrema auto-milk carafe on higher trims. If you want a one-touch cappuccino with automatic milk, you need LatteCrema - which is not on this machine.

For anyone wanting the authoritative reference on extraction standards, the Specialty Coffee Association's brewing standards cover 9-bar extraction and what it means for cup quality.

We brewed three bean profiles across fourteen days, logging a result per session.

Espresso: At grind setting 4 with the Aurora Reserve, the Magnifica Start produced a genuinely good shot. Milk chocolate on the nose, a rounded fig sweetness through the body, and a clean close. Extraction time was 26-28 seconds consistently.

The commercial medium-dark blend produced a denser shot - full body, caramel mid-palate, flat on the finish. Reliable rather than exciting. The washed Ethiopian was the most interesting test. At grind setting 3, the lighter roast extracted with a citrus brightness and stone fruit character. This machine performs better with varied beans than its price point implies.

Americano: The machine adds hot water after the espresso extraction - the correct method, preserving crema and producing a cleaner cup. With the Aurora Reserve, the americano was our preferred daily drink over the fortnight.

Cappuccino: The panarello produces a coarser, airier foam than a professional steam wand - closer to a dry cappuccino than the velvety microfoam you would get on a Sage Bambino Plus. For a morning cappuccino served casually, it works. For latte art, it does not.

The Magnifica Start's daily cleaning routine is three steps: empty the used-puck drawer (holds 14 pucks), rinse the drip tray, and wipe down the panarello after every milk session. Total time is under two minutes.

Descaling: The machine monitors water usage and prompts a descale cycle via a panel light. At standard water hardness, the descale prompt appeared after approximately 200 cycles during our test period. The descale cycle takes around 30 minutes using De'Longhi's EcoDecalk descaler. De'Longhi's descaling guidance page covers the full procedure and recommended products.

If your water is hard - common across much of London and the South East - the descale prompt will arrive more frequently. Installing a compatible BWT water filter cartridge in the tank significantly extends the interval.

One honest note: the descale reminder cannot be dismissed. When the light appears, you either run the cycle or the machine restricts function. Machines that are never descaled are the machines that fail early.

The Magnifica S (ECAM22.110.B) is still available at clearance pricing as of Q2 2026, typically £20-50 lower than the Start's current street price. The Magnifica Evo (ECAM290.21.B) sits above the Start in the current lineup.

The Magnifica S is the only meaningful argument against the Start. Internals are identical - same boiler, same grinder, same brewing unit. Find the Magnifica S at £50+ below the Start's street price and the coffee quality will be the same; the cleaner icon panel on the Start is a usability improvement, not a performance one.

The Evo's advantage is the LatteCrema auto-milk system on its higher trims. If you drink milk-based coffee daily and want one-touch drinks, the Evo earns the premium. If you drink mostly black coffee or are willing to work a panarello, the Start covers the use case.

For a side-by-side spec comparison with the De'Longhi Magnifica Evo, see our dedicated review. Our Magnifica S review covers the outgoing entry-level model in full.

Three genuine weaknesses to name clearly before you buy.

No app or remote control. The Magnifica Start has no Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. You cannot schedule it to brew before you get up. De'Longhi's Link app is available on higher-priced models only.

Plastic body construction. The exterior is predominantly plastic. The components that matter - brewing unit, boiler, burrs - are properly made. But if your kitchen has a premium finish, the Magnifica Start's body will not match.

Single boiler means sequential drinks. One boiler handles both brewing and steaming. Brew your espresso, then switch to steam mode and wait 30-60 seconds for the boiler to reheat before frothing milk. A mild inconvenience for households making multiple milk drinks back-to-back.

For independent test data on this machine category, the Which? coffee machines reviews cover several Magnifica models across their testing panel.

The Magnifica Start's 13-step grinder works best with medium to medium-light roast beans. Very dark, oily roasts coat the burrs and grinder chute. Very light roasts can leave chaff residue over time.

We run the Balance Coffee Aurora Reserve through our office Magnifica Start as our daily option. It is a Brazil single-origin with a chocolatey base, low acidity, and a natural sweetness that pairs well with this machine's extraction temperature. The low acidity means it is forgiving if you are still dialling in your grind setting.

For espresso-forward drinkers, the Balance Coffee Rotate Espresso is a Mexico single-origin blend designed for pressurised brewing - higher body, more intensity, suited to a short shot.

For more recommendations across whole bean profiles, our guide to the best beans for bean-to-cup machines covers a broader set of options and brewing settings.

As of June 2026, the Magnifica Start ECAM220.22.GB (silver) retails at £349.99, with the black ECAM220.21.B at the same price and the stainless ECAM220.31.SB typically around £399.99.

Street pricing on Amazon UK and Currys periodically drops to £299-329 during promotional periods. Also available at John Lewis (in-store and online, price-match guarantee) and Currys (online and in-store, occasional cashback promotions).

Yes, if you want a reliable bean-to-cup machine under £400 that produces genuinely good black coffee and decent manual milk drinks without complication.

Buy the Magnifica Start if: you drink mostly espresso, americano, or black coffee; you want easy daily maintenance; you are moving from a pod machine and want fresh-ground coffee without a manual setup.

Skip the Magnifica Start if: you want one-touch automated milk drinks (you need the Magnifica Evo with LatteCrema); you want app control; you regularly make multiple milk drinks back-to-back.

Consider the Sage Bambino Plus instead if: you want to develop barista technique and are happy to buy a separate grinder. The Bambino Plus is a semi-automatic with a genuine steam wand that produces proper microfoam - better machine for learning, the Magnifica Start is the better machine for daily convenience.

I spent two years at UCC Coffee calibrating Jura and Thermoplan bean-to-cup machines in London corporate accounts - that is where my familiarity with this category started. The Magnifica Start is not a commercial machine and does not pretend to be one. But at this price, with this grinder, and this level of daily-use reliability, it is comfortably the best entry point into the category.

Score: 8.2 / 10

We ran the De'Longhi Magnifica Start ECAM220.22.GB in the Balance Coffee test kitchen, London, for fourteen days of daily use from May to June 2026. Testing covered espresso, americano, long black, and cappuccino across three bean profiles logged per session. Comparison testing was conducted alongside the Magnifica S and Magnifica Evo using identical beans and settings. Tasting was conducted blind for comparative bean trials with notes written before any reference to brand marketing. All prices verified on De'Longhi.com and Amazon UK on the date of publication.