15 Best French Press Coffee Makers For 2022: Rated, Reviewed & Which Made The Cut?
A French press has three moving parts and only two things that separate a good one from a bad one: how well the filter seals against the wall, and whether the coffee is still hot when you get to the second cup. Everything else is glass, steel and price. We checked every press this page used to recommend against the live Amazon catalogue on 12 August 2026; six of the sixteen are no longer buyable.
A double micro-filter that seals against the wall, in a double-walled stainless body, which removes both of the French press's weaknesses at once.
Best French press coffee makers overview
Six presses in stock on 12 August 2026, from a twenty-dollar borosilicate classic to a double-walled steel press at over a hundred. Availability confirmed against the Amazon catalogue the same day.
The 6 best French presses reviewed
ESPRO P7: the only press here that actually stops brewing when you plunge
Best overall · 9.4
The filter is the product. Two micro-filters nest together and seal against the wall of the press, so the grounds are enclosed rather than merely pushed down. Sediment stays out of the cup and the extraction effectively stops at the plunge, which means the last mug tastes like the first. The body is double-walled stainless, so it holds temperature as well. It costs more than four Bodums and it is the only press here that changes what the method can do.
What we like
- Double micro-filter seals against the wall
- Extraction effectively stops when you plunge
- Double-walled stainless holds heat
- Filters are replaceable and cleanable
What to know
- Several times the price of a classic press
- Filter assembly takes longer to clean
- 18 oz is small for two people
Bodum Chambord: the design everything else on this page is imitating
Best classic · 9.1
This is the shape people picture when they hear French press, and it has been made essentially unchanged since the 1970s. Borosilicate glass, a chromed steel frame, a three-part mesh filter. It loses heat quickly and it leaves sediment, which are the two things every other press on this page is trying to fix. It also costs under forty dollars, every part is replaceable, and it makes very good coffee if you pour the pot out at four minutes.
What we like
- The original design, still the best-looking
- Under forty dollars
- Every part including the beaker is replaceable
- One of the deepest owner records anywhere
What to know
- Glass loses heat fast
- Standard mesh leaves sediment
- Breakable, and it will eventually break
Frieling Double-Walled: still hot when you come back for the second cup
Best heat retention · 8.9
German-made and heavy, with a genuine vacuum wall rather than a nominal double skin. A full pot stays hot for roughly an hour, which changes how a press pot works if you drink it alone over a morning. The two-stage filter is better than a single mesh and not in the same class as the ESPRO seal. It is also effectively unbreakable, which for something that lives on a worktop is worth more than the specification suggests.
What we like
- Genuine vacuum insulation, about an hour hot
- 18/10 stainless, effectively unbreakable
- Two-stage filter
- Dishwasher safe throughout
What to know
- Expensive for a French press
- You cannot see the brew
- Heavy when full
Secura French Press: double-walled steel and three screens for twenty-five dollars
Best budget insulated · 8.7
Double-walled 304 stainless at twenty-five dollars should not be possible, and the compromise is that the insulation is good rather than vacuum-grade: expect a pot to stay hot for perhaps half an hour rather than an hour. The three stacked filter screens catch noticeably more sediment than a single mesh. It is the most popular press in this entire category by owner count, and for the money there is nothing sensible to complain about.
What we like
- Double-walled 304 stainless for twenty-five dollars
- Three-layer filter screen
- The deepest owner record on this page
- Unbreakable and dishwasher safe
What to know
- Insulation is good, not vacuum-grade
- Lid fit is looser than the premium presses
- You cannot see the brew
Barista Warrior Press: four layers of filtration for forty dollars
Best filtration under $50 · 8.5
Four screens instead of one, which catches a meaningful amount of what a standard mesh lets through. It is not the ESPRO's sealed basket, so fines still find the wall, but it is the cheapest real answer to sludge on this page. The double-walled body holds heat reasonably and the build is heavier than the price suggests. Cleaning four screens is slower than cleaning one, which is the honest cost of the design.
What we like
- Four filter screens, noticeably less sediment
- Double-walled stainless under fifty dollars
- Solid build for the price
- Includes spare screens
What to know
- Four screens take longer to clean
- Still no wall seal, so fines get through
- Insulation is modest
Bodum Travel Press: it brews, then it becomes the mug
Best for travel · 8.2
Brew in it, plunge it, close the lid and take it with you. The insulated body keeps the coffee hot for hours and the sealing lid stops the extraction better than an open press does, because the grounds are held below a closed system. Fifteen ounces is one large mug. It is the most practical single-serve brewing device for a commute or a desk, and it makes a heavier, more sediment-heavy cup than a proper press would.
What we like
- Brews and travels in one vessel
- Vacuum insulated, hot for hours
- Sealing lid limits over-extraction
- Twenty-five dollars
What to know
- One mug at a time
- More sediment than a full-size press
- Narrow body is awkward to clean
French presses compared
| Press | Material | Capacity | Filter | Best for | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESPRO P7 | Double-walled stainless | 18 oz | Double micro-filter | The cleanest press coffee | 9.4 |
| Bodum Chambord | Borosilicate glass | 34 oz | Three-part mesh | The classic, done properly | 9.1 |
| Frieling Double-Walled Press | Vacuum-walled stainless | 36 oz | Two-stage mesh | Drinking a pot slowly | 8.9 |
| Secura French Press | Double-walled stainless | 34 oz | Three-layer mesh | Insulated steel on a budget | 8.7 |
| Barista Warrior Press | Double-walled stainless | 34 oz | Four-layer mesh | Cutting sediment cheaply | 8.5 |
| Bodum Travel Press | Vacuum-walled stainless | 15 oz | Single mesh | Commutes and desks | 8.2 |
Which French press suits you?
You want the cleanest cup a press can make
ESPRO P7. A double micro-filter that seals against the wall and stops extraction when you plunge.
You want the coffee hot to the last cup
Frieling Double-Walled Press. Vacuum-insulated stainless, so a full pot is still hot half an hour later.
You want the classic and nothing more
Bodum Chambord. The design everyone else copies, in borosilicate glass, for under forty dollars.
You want insulated steel on a budget
Secura French Press. Double-walled 304 stainless with three filter screens for twenty-five dollars.
You are taking it camping or to a desk
Bodum Travel Press. It brews and becomes the travel mug, with a lid that stops the extraction.
You hate sediment
Barista Warrior Press. Four layers of filtration for forty dollars, which is the cheapest real answer to sludge.
What is the best-rated French press of 2026?
The Secura French Press and the Bodum Chambord carry the deepest owner records in this category by a wide margin, and both are cheap. That is not a coincidence: a press has almost nothing to go wrong, so ratings converge on whether the glass survived shipping. The differences that matter, filtration quality and heat retention, are not what most owners are rating. The ESPRO P7 is the best brewer here and has a fraction of the record.
Best French press brands
Six names, split between the classic glass design and the people trying to fix its two weaknesses.
How to choose a French press
Filtration is the only real design difference
A standard mesh screen leaves a gap at the wall, which is why sediment ends up in the cup and why the coffee keeps extracting after you plunge. ESPRO solves it with a double micro-filter that seals; Barista Warrior and Secura stack extra screens, which helps. Everything else here is a single mesh and a spring.
Glass or steel decides how the second cup tastes
Borosilicate glass looks better and loses heat fast, so a full pot is noticeably cooler within fifteen minutes. Double-walled stainless holds temperature for an hour. If you drink a press pot alone over half an hour, insulation is not a luxury; if two of you finish it in five minutes, glass is fine and cheaper.
Filter cost is zero, and that is the point
Look at the spec tables above: every press here uses a permanent metal filter with no consumable. It is the only brewing method on this site with no running cost at all. That is a real argument for a press over pour over or pods, and nobody selling one thinks to make it.
Grind coarse, or nothing else matters
A press needs a coarse, even grind. Fines slip through any mesh and keep extracting in the cup, which is where bitterness and sludge both come from. A blade grinder produces fines by design, so it defeats every filtration improvement on this page. Our burr grinder guide covers the fix.
Four minutes, then get the coffee out
Plunging does not stop extraction in a standard press, because the grounds stay in the water. After about four minutes, pour the whole pot out into a carafe or a mug. Leaving it sitting is the single most common reason people think they dislike French press coffee.
Capacity is measured optimistically
A thirty-four ounce press makes about three real mugs, not eight cups. Presses also brew badly below about half capacity, because the plunger cannot seal properly against a shallow bed of water. Buy for the amount you actually drink at once.
How we test and judge French presses
This guide is editorially researched. We recorded material, filter construction, capacity and consumable cost from manufacturer specifications and verified listings, weighted filtration and heat retention above everything else because those are the only meaningful differences in this category, weighed each press against independent owner evidence, and confirmed current availability through the Amazon catalogue on 12 August 2026. We have not personally brewed in every press here and we do not claim we have.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best French press?
Why is there sludge in my French press coffee?
How long should coffee steep in a French press?
Glass or stainless French press?
What grind size for a French press?
Do French presses need filters you have to buy?
Is French press coffee bad for cholesterol?
Buy the ESPRO P7
It is the only press on this page that solves the design’s actual flaw: the double micro-filter seals against the wall, so sediment stays out of the cup and the brew effectively stops when you plunge instead of getting stronger while you drink it. That is worth the price if French press is your daily method. If it is not, the Bodum Chambord is the original, costs a fifth as much and makes very good coffee provided you pour the pot out. For heat, the Frieling Double-Walled Press keeps a pot hot for an hour, and the Secura French Press does most of that for twenty-five dollars.
Our top 3, one more time
The three we would actually buy, with their award and a direct link.