Home › Compare › KitchenAid KF7 vs KitchenAid KF8
⚖️ Head-to-Head · 2026Two machines from one owner's manual. This page sets the two review records side by side and isolates what the step up to the flagship actually changes, so you can decide whether you would use it every day. Both machines were evaluated on the same published rubric, from documented evidence, and this page is those two records side by side. We have not physically tested either.
Written and reviewed by the CoffeeLabAdvisor editorial team · Published 23 October 2026
The KitchenAid KF7 and KitchenAid KF8 share a body, a steel conical burr grinder with seven positions, a brew unit, a 2.2 litre tank, a milk container and dual outlets for two milk drinks at once. What the KitchenAid KF8 adds is software and screen: a 5 inch touchscreen instead of 3.5, six named profiles instead of four, five strength levels instead of three, a plant-milk setting, green-tea water and a longer menu.
Every row below is resolved from the two catalog records, not from a preference of ours; where the records tie, the row says so.
| If what matters most to you is… | Then | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Plant milk every day | KitchenAid KF8 | it is the only KitchenAid with a dedicated plant-milk setting |
| More than four people with saved drinks | KitchenAid KF8 | it stores six named profiles against four, per KitchenAid's manual |
| The same espresso without paying for extras | KitchenAid KF7 | both use the same grinder and brew unit; the KF7 is the lower model in KitchenAid's range |
| Two milk drinks in one cycle | Either — the records tie | both have dual coffee and dual milk outlets |
| Counter space | Either — the records tie | they share the same body and footprint |
| Long-term evidence | KitchenAid KF8 | Techlicious made more than 1,400 drinks on it over six months with no drop in extraction |
We publish a score only for award winners, on the award page that justifies it, so this comparison is decided on what the two machines do rather than on a number. In the words of the two review records: the KitchenAid KF7 is The KF6's espresso with a touchscreen, an included milk container, two milk drinks at once and named profiles; the reviewer who bought one rated it highly. The step up buys convenience, not a better shot. The KitchenAid KF8 is KitchenAid's flagship, with the range's best plant-milk results, six profiles, a 5-inch touchscreen and the only six-month test, which found no drop in extraction. It brews the same shot as the KF6 and KF7 for considerably more.
| KitchenAid KF7 | KitchenAid KF8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Machine type | Bean-to-Cup | Bean-to-Cup |
| Model number | KES8557SX | KES8558JP |
| Heating system | Single thermocoil | Single thermocoil |
| Heat-up (manufacturer) | Not stated | Not stated |
| PID temperature control | Not listed | Not listed |
| Manufacturer pressure figure | Not published (sources disagree) | Not published (sources disagree) |
| Portafilter | None (integrated brew unit) | None (integrated brew unit) |
| Built-in grinder | Yes | Yes |
| Steam wand | Automatic | Automatic |
| Plant-milk rating (ours) | 3 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Water tank | 2.2 L | 2.2 L |
| Dimensions (W×D×H) | 26.0 x 47.3 x 36.3 cm | 26.0 x 47.3 x 36.3 cm |
| Weight | 12.7 kg | 12.7 kg |
| Warranty | 2 years | 2 years |
* Pressure figures are manufacturer-published pump ratings. A pump rating is the pump's maximum, not the pressure at the coffee during a shot, and we have not measured brew pressure on either machine, so the two numbers are shown because the manufacturers publish them, not as comparable measures of extraction. † Marked figures are not confirmed on a manufacturer source for the exact model number listed above; we have left our tracked value in place rather than substitute an unverified one. Plant-milk ratings are our own documented 1–5 scoring, published on each review page.
Portafilter sizes for every machine we cover, with sources, are on our portafilter size chart; footprints are on the dimensions chart.
We publish a price only when we can read it live, and right now at least one of these machines has no live listing to read. Rather than print a tracked figure that may have moved, the arithmetic is left out: the current prices are on the cards above, and the gap between them is whatever the two retailers say today. What does not move with the price is what the premium buys, which the sections below take row by row from the two records.
KitchenAid documents the KitchenAid KF7 and KitchenAid KF8 in one owner's manual. The grinder is the same steel conical burr unit with seven positions behind the side panel, the brew unit is the same removable assembly, and both use a single heater for coffee and milk, so drinks are made one after the other. Both have a removable 270 gram hopper you can lift out with beans inside and swap for decaf after a purge, the same 2.2 litre side-loading tank, and the same metal-clad body.
Testers of the KitchenAid KF8 praised its espresso, and the reviewer who bought a KitchenAid KF7 enjoyed sweet, complex shots once the grinder was dialled in. Nothing in either record suggests one brews better coffee than the other.
The KitchenAid KF8's screen grows from 3.5 to 5 inches, its profiles from four to six, and its strength levels from three to five, although one UK tester's machine showed three. It adds a plant-milk cycle that steams barista-style plant milks at a lower temperature, green-tea hot water, and a menu KitchenAid counts as more than forty recipes against more than twenty.
The plant-milk setting is the addition with the clearest effect: TechRadar found almond milk foamed even more silkily than dairy on the KitchenAid KF8, and Techlicious made latte-art foam with plant milks. One tester found the KitchenAid KF8's regular setting foamed oat milk just as well, though, so if you use oat milk occasionally the KitchenAid KF7 will cope.
Several KitchenAid KF8 testers doubted it. Home Coffee Expert thought the KitchenAid KF8 probably not worth the extra over the KitchenAid KF7, and Expert Reviews noted cheaper machines make coffee just as well. Techlicious, after six months, thought it well worth the investment. Our reading: buy the KitchenAid KF8 for a household of five or six coffee drinkers, or for daily plant milk. Otherwise the KitchenAid KF7 makes the same drinks for less; compare the live prices on the cards, because Amazon does not always show a price for every finish.
Both carry KitchenAid's two-year US warranty with five years of part-only cover on the burr grinder.
| KitchenAid KF7 | KitchenAid KF8 |
|---|---|
| Touchscreen and named user profiles | The only six-month hands-on record in the range |
| Milk container and dual milk outlet for two milk drinks at once | Plant-milk setting; testers made silky foam with almond and oat |
| Adds flat white, cortado and lungo to the KF6's menu | 5-inch touchscreen and six named profiles |
| Testers found nothing clearly better at its price | Removable, swappable bean hopper |
And where each loses — from the same review records:
| KitchenAid KF7 | KitchenAid KF8 |
|---|---|
| Same espresso hardware as the cheaper KF6 | Same espresso hardware as the much cheaper KF6 |
| Milk temperature cannot be set; foam is adequate, not dense | No foam-density setting |
| Factory settings need adjusting before the espresso is good | Uses a lot of water for its rinse cycles |
| Rinses at every power on and off, which uses water | Stainless finish scuffs, one tester found |
Bean-to-Cup · integrated brew unit · Built-in grinder · Automatic steam
The KF6's espresso with a touchscreen, an included milk container, two milk drinks at once and named profiles; the reviewer who bought one rated it highly. The step up buys convenience, not a better shot.
Check price on Amazon →
Bean-to-Cup · integrated brew unit · Built-in grinder · Automatic steam
KitchenAid's flagship, with the range's best plant-milk results, six profiles, a 5-inch touchscreen and the only six-month test, which found no drop in extraction. It brews the same shot as the KF6 and KF7 for considerably more.
Check price on Amazon →Yes, as far as the hardware goes. KitchenAid's one manual for both describes the same grinder, brew unit and heater. Differences in the cup come from settings: the KF8 offers five strength levels where the KF7 offers three.
No. The plant-milk setting is a KF8 feature. Testers of the siblings without it still frothed oat and almond milk well, but the KF8's setting steams barista-style plant milks at a lower temperature and produced the silkiest results.
No. They share one body, about 26 centimetres wide and 47 deep, with the same 2.2 litre tank and 270 gram hopper. Only the screen is bigger.
Sources for this page: every score, spec, pro and con is rendered from the same two records that produce the KitchenAid KF7 review and the KitchenAid KF8 review; manufacturer figures carry the spec source recorded on each catalog entry (KitchenAid KF7: KitchenAid KF6/KF7/KF8 owner's manual W11616369 and kitchenaid.com KF7 page, read 2026-10-23: 20+ drink types, 4 named profiles, 3.5 in touchscreen, milk container with hose (790 ml per AJ Madison), dual milk outlet, 7 grind positions, removable 270 g hopper, 2.2 L tank, 1450 W, same body as the KF6. Heater and 12.7 kg net weight as for the KF6. Hands-on: Coffeeness (bought the machine), Home Coffee Expert. Amazon showed no visible new price for any KF7 finish on 2026-10-23.) (KitchenAid KF8: KitchenAid KF6/KF7/KF8 owner's manual W11616369 and kitchenaid.com KF8 page, read 2026-10-23: 40+ drink types, 6 named profiles, 5 in touchscreen, alternative-milk cycle, milk container, dual milk outlet, 7 grind positions, removable 270 g hopper, 2.2 L tank, 1450 W; 26.0 W x 47.3 D x 36.3 H cm (AJ Madison inches; Expert Reviews 260 x 473 x 363 mm). Single heater per AJ Madison and Expert Reviews ('thermoblock'). Net weight 12.7 kg per AJ Madison; UK reviews give 18.1 kg. Hands-on: Techlicious (six months, 1,400+ drinks), TechRadar, Tom's Guide, Expert Reviews, T3, Ideal Home (loaned unit), Woman & Home, Home Coffee Expert.). We have not physically tested either machine.
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