Hario V60 Review: Sizes 01 vs 02 vs 03?— Plastic vs Ceramic vs Metal vs Glass
The brewer that defined modern pour over, and the twelve-dollar plastic one is the best version of it.
Buy it if
- You want maximum control over how the cup turns out
- You brew one or two cups at a time
- You already own a gooseneck kettle or will buy one
Skip it if
- You want consistency without technique
- You have no gooseneck kettle and do not plan to buy one
- You brew for a table
Every pour over brewer sold today is answering the V60. Sixty-degree cone, spiral ribs, one large hole at the bottom — a design that hands you complete control and no safety net. The surprise is that the cheapest version is the one to buy.
Plastic, ceramic or glass?
Hario sells the same cone in five materials at four times the price spread. The coffee does not change. What changes is how much heat the brewer steals from your water in the first thirty seconds.
Hario V60 Plastic Coffee Dripper, Size 02, Clear
$12.59, thermally the best performer from cold, and unbreakable.Check price
Hario V60 Ceramic Coffee Dripper, Size 02
Holds temperature better once preheated and looks considerably better doing it. Preheat it properly or it will pull more heat from your brew than the plastic ever does.Check price
Where the 8.8 comes from
Five criteria. The V60 scores highest on the thing that also produces its lowest score.
Specifications
What it does well, and what it does not
The sixty-degree cone and the single large hole are what separate the V60 from every brewer with a restricted opening. Flow rate is not set by the device — it is set by your grind size and how you pour. That means you can brew the same coffee light and floral one morning and heavy and sweet the next, deliberately. It also means you can ruin it, and the brewer will not stop you.
The material question is where most buyers overspend. Hario sells this cone in plastic, ceramic, glass, metal and copper across a four-fold price range, and the extraction is identical in all of them. What differs is thermal behaviour: plastic barely absorbs heat, ceramic absorbs a lot until preheated. If you preheat religiously, buy the ceramic because it looks better. If you are honest about not preheating, the twelve-dollar one is the better brewer.
What we like
- Holds heat better than ceramic or glass from cold
- Effectively unbreakable and weighs nothing
- Twelve dollars, and the cup is identical to the expensive versions
- 7,746 owner ratings at 4.8 stars
What to know
- Demands a gooseneck kettle and a steady pour
- Unforgiving — grind and technique show up immediately
- Plastic discolours over a couple of years
- Proprietary cone filters, not flat-bottom ones
What else to consider
Hario V60 ceramic 02
Better thermal mass once preheated, and it looks like something you want on display.Check price
Hario V60 02 paper filters
100 tabbed filters. Bleached ones taste cleaner; unbleached need a longer rinse.Check price
Best gooseneck kettles
A V60 without a gooseneck is a funnel. This is not optional equipment.Kettle guide
How we scored it
This review is editorially researched. We compared Hario’s published specifications across all five material versions, the owner record for each on Amazon, and price and availability confirmed on 12 August 2026. We have not run a comparative thermal test across the materials ourselves and do not claim to have.
Frequently asked questions
Which V60 material should I buy?
Do I need a gooseneck kettle for a V60?
V60 01, 02 or 03?
Why is my V60 coffee inconsistent?
Buy the cheap one
The V60 gives you more control over a cup of coffee than anything else at any price, and it gives you nothing to hide behind. Buy the twelve-dollar plastic version, spend the difference on a gooseneck kettle, and accept that the first twenty brews will teach you more than the brewer will.