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☕ Buying Guides · 2026Original, Clear, Go, Go Plus, XL, Clear XL, Premium and Steel compared on the maker's own specs: capacity, materials, filter size, dishwasher, weight and price.
Written and reviewed by the CoffeeLabAdvisor editorial team · Published 13 September 2026
Eight current models, one brew method. Every AeroPress uses the same 3-in-1 method and the same official recipe; what changes is capacity (8 oz on the Go, 10 oz on the Original, Clear, Go Plus and Premium, 12 oz on the Steel, 20 oz on the two XLs), material (polypropylene, see-through Tritan, borosilicate glass or vacuum-insulated stainless steel), whether it packs into its own cup, and one fork that governs accessories: the XL models take their own larger filters and flow control cap, and nothing standard fits them. Prices from the maker run $39.95 for the Original to $199.95 for the Premium. Every figure on this page is AeroPress's own stated specification, read 2026-09-13, and nothing here is scored or ranked.
Capacity per press is the specification that sorts the range. The dashed line is the fork: above it, filters and the flow control cap are a different size.
Every entry is AeroPress's own stated specification for that model, from its compare page and product pages, read 2026-09-13. The price column is the maker's list price on that date; the product cards further down show the live Amazon price instead of a number typed here.
| Original | Clear & Colors | Go | Go Plus | Original XL | Clear XL | Premium | Steel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maker's list price | $39.95 | $49.95 | $49.95 | $89.95 | $79.95 | $89.95 | $199.95 | $169.95 |
| Capacity | 10 oz | 10 oz | 8 oz | 10 oz | 20 oz | 20 oz | 10 oz | 12 oz |
| Cups per press | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| Chamber material | Polypropylene | Tritan | Polypropylene | Tritan | Polypropylene, Tritan carafe | Tritan, Tritan carafe | Double-wall borosilicate glass, aluminum, stainless steel | Double-wall vacuum-insulated 304 stainless steel |
| See the brew? | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Filter size | Standard | Standard | Standard | Standard | XL | XL | Standard | Standard |
| Flow control cap | Standard | Standard | Standard | Standard | XL | XL | Standard | Standard |
| Dishwasher | Top rack | Yes | Top rack | Yes | Top rack | Top or bottom rack | Hand-wash only | Yes |
| Dimensions | 5.25″ H × 4.2″ W | 5.25″ H × 4.2″ W | 4.5″ H × 3.6″ W | 7.3″ × 4.2″ | 7.6″ H × 4.6″ W | 7.6″ H × 4.6″ W | 7 1/8″ × 4 9/16″ | 6 3/4″ × 4 3/8″ |
| Weight (as the maker states it) | 7.75 oz | Not stated | 11.4 oz packed | 1 lb 4 oz packed | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Colors | 1 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| In the box | Filters, stirrer, scoop | Filters, stirrer, scoop | Filters, stirrer, scoop, cup, lid, filter holder | Steel tumbler with filter holder, lid, stirrer, scoop, filters | 20 oz carafe, XL filters, XL stirrer, scoop | 20 oz carafe, XL filters, XL stirrer, scoop | Filters, steel stirrer, steel scoop | Filters, steel stirrer, steel scoop |
| Made in | USA | USA | USA | USA brewer, China tumbler | USA | USA | China | China |
| Warranty | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year | 1 year |
| Our score | None | None | None | None | None | None | None | None |
Two things the table cannot show. First, the brew method is identical on every model: the same official recipe, the same 3-in-1 pitch (immersion, paper micro-filtration, air pressure), the same “espresso style” claim we take apart on our AeroPress espresso page. Second, none of the eight carries a CoffeeLabAdvisor score — we publish scores for award winners only, and choosing between siblings from one maker is a specification question, which is exactly what can be checked and set side by side.
Before colours, materials or travel mugs, there is a fork in the range that AeroPress itself is unusually candid about. Six of the eight models — Original, Clear, Go, Go Plus, Premium and Steel — are standard size: they share one paper filter, one metal filter and one Flow Control Filter Cap. The two XL models take their own, larger filters and their own XL flow control cap, and nothing standard fits them.
The maker explains why on the XL page: it “had hoped to maintain the diameter of the XL so that it could use the same exact filter paper as the Original, Go, Go Plus, Premium, and Clear”, and could not. It also warns that the XL paper filters “come at a higher cost per filter” because the unique size is produced in lower volumes. So an XL is not just a bigger AeroPress; it is a second accessory ecosystem, and if you already own a standard model and a drawer of its filters, that is a real cost of moving up.
The 20 oz capacity is the reason to pay it. AeroPress rates both XLs at 2–4 cups per press, against 1–2 for the other standard models and one for the Go, and the Clear XL page puts it plainly: it “can brew 20 oz (600 ml), or 2-4 cups of coffee, at one time”. If two people drink coffee at the same time, that is the whole decision. If one person does, a standard-size model does the same job for half the price with cheaper consumables.
The XL-size counterpart of the standard flow control cap - the standard cap does not fit the XL.
The Original ($39.95) and the Clear ($49.95) are the same 10 oz brewer with the same dimensions, 5.25″ high by 4.2″ wide, the same 1–2 cup rating and the same standard filters. The ten dollars buys the material: the Original is opaque polypropylene; the Clear is Tritan, which the maker describes as “crystal-clear, shatterproof”, and it comes in seven colours — clear, pink, purple, red, blue, black and green — against the Original's one.
Does seeing the brew matter? For the official recipe, not much: 16–18 g, water to the No. 4 mark, a stir, a short steep. It matters if you experiment with steep times and want to watch the bed, or if you simply prefer a transparent object on the counter. Both are dishwasher-safe per the maker; the Original's page specifies top rack. Both are made in the USA. The Original is the only model whose weight AeroPress publishes for the brewer alone: 7.75 oz including chamber, plunger, filter cap, scoop and stirrer, which is the number to remember if you are choosing a standard model for a backpack.
Buy the Original if you want the cheapest entry to the range and do not care what it looks like. Buy the Clear if you will watch the brew, want a colour, or want the Tritan chamber; you give up nothing else.
These are the models that pack into their own cup, and they are further apart than the shared name suggests.
The Go ($49.95 from the maker) is the smaller of the two in every dimension: an 8 oz chamber rated for one cup, 4.5″ high by 3.6″ wide, polypropylene, packed into a lightweight, microwaveable plastic mug with a red silicone lid. AeroPress gives its packed weight as 11.4 oz (323 g) with the accessories and 20 filters in the built-in holder. Dishwasher-safe, top rack. Made in the USA. Its page, like the Original's, says it makes up to three espresso-style shots per press.
The Go Plus ($89.95) keeps the standard-size, 10 oz capacity of the Original, in a Tritan chamber, and swaps the plastic mug for a 16 oz double-wall, vacuum-insulated 18/8 stainless steel tumbler with a magnetic, splash-resistant lid that the maker says fits car cup holders. The tumbler holds more than one press makes; AeroPress's own FAQ says to do two pressings if you want it full. Packed weight is 1 lb 4 oz (0.56 kg), nearly double the Go. The brewer, filters, scoop and stirrer are made in the USA and the tumbler in China, and the whole kit is dishwasher-safe.
So the Go is the backpacking and carry-on choice: smallest, lightest, cheapest, one cup. The Go Plus is the commuting and car choice: an insulated steel cup you will actually drink from, a full-size brewer, and twice the weight. Neither is a compromise on the coffee; both take the standard filters and the standard flow control cap.
Same decision as Original vs Clear, ten dollars apart, at double the capacity. The Original XL ($79.95) has an opaque polypropylene chamber and a Tritan carafe; the Clear XL ($89.95) is Tritan throughout, chamber and carafe. Both are 20 oz, 2–4 cups, 7.6″ high by 4.6″ wide, both ship with the 20 oz carafe, XL paper filters, an XL stirrer and a scoop, and both are made in the USA. One difference in the maker's care advice: the Original XL is listed top rack only, the Clear XL “top or bottom rack”.
If the XL is for the kitchen counter and two drinkers, the Clear XL's visibility is worth more here than on the small model, because a 20 oz press with a coarser grind is where people most often adjust their steep — and the Clear XL page itself suggests the XL flow control cap for exactly that. If it is going in a bag, the polypropylene Original XL is the one with less to scratch.
These are the models that turn the AeroPress from a $40 plastic tool into a $170–$200 object, and they take opposite approaches.
The Premium ($199.95) is glass. Its chamber is a hand-made double-wall borosilicate glass tube with an anodized aluminum flange; the plunger is anodized aluminum with an LFGB-grade silicone seal; the filter cap is stainless steel. Capacity is the standard 10 oz, and the maker's FAQ says the double wall means the chamber “does not get hot”. The costs are stated on the same page and they are not small: it is “hand-wash only”, it is not microwave-safe, and AeroPress says “we do not recommend it for travel”. It is made in China, comes in silver, black and white, and because it is hand-made the maker warns that “minor imperfections in the glass may occur”.
The Steel ($169.95) is the newest model and the opposite bet: 304 stainless steel throughout except the silicone seal, with a double-wall vacuum-insulated chamber. It has the largest standard-size capacity in the range at 12 oz (360 ml), which AeroPress calls “20% more capacity than AeroPress Original, Clear, Premium and Go Plus”, and it is dishwasher-safe and travel-ready by the maker's own description. Its Amazon listing adds “no preheating required”, and the product page argues the vacuum wall loses less heat during the steep than any other AeroPress. You cannot see the brew, and like any steel vessel it can dent. Made in China; stainless or black stainless; standard filters and the standard flow control cap fit it.
The honest summary: the Premium is the one to look at, the Steel is the one to use. If the AeroPress lives on a kitchen shelf and is washed by hand anyway, the Premium is the glass object that shows the brew. If it goes in a dishwasher, a bag or a car, the Steel does everything the Premium cannot, holds two more ounces, and costs thirty dollars less.
It is worth being clear about how much does not change, because it is most of what you are buying. Every model uses the same patented 3-in-1 method — a short full immersion, a paper micro-filter, and air pressure from the plunger — and brews in about two minutes by the maker's claim. Every model is BPA-free and carries a one-year warranty. The Original, Clear and Go pages each say the brewer makes “up to three shots of espresso style coffee” per press, or one full serving of coffee or cold brew; the espresso-style wording is the maker's, and our honest reading of it applies to all eight identically. The official recipe — 16–18 g medium-fine, 185°F water to the No. 4 mark, stir, wait, press — is written for the standard chamber and simply scales on the XL.
The consumable is the same too, within each size. Standard paper micro-filters fit the Original, Clear, Go, Go Plus, Premium and Steel; the maker also sells a reusable 316 stainless steel filter for the same six, which passes more oils and is the usual choice for travel. The XL takes XL paper filters and its own XL metal filter.
The consumable every standard-size model needs; the XL takes its own larger filter.
The maker's own reusable metal filter for the standard-size models.
Buy the Original ($39.95) if you want the cheapest way into the method and it will live on a counter. It is the reference model, the only one whose brewer-alone weight the maker publishes (7.75 oz), and everything on our recipe page assumes it.
Buy the Clear ($49.95) if you want to watch the brew, want a colour, or prefer Tritan — same brewer, ten dollars.
Buy the Go ($49.95) for a backpack or carry-on: smallest, 11.4 oz packed, one 8 oz cup. Buy the Go Plus ($89.95) for the car or the office: a full 10 oz brewer inside an insulated steel tumbler, at twice the weight.
Buy an XL ($79.95 or $89.95 clear) only if two people drink at once; you are buying 20 oz and a carafe, and taking on a second, dearer filter size. Choose the Clear XL for the counter, the Original XL for a bag.
Buy the Steel ($169.95) if you want the metal model you can put in a dishwasher and a bag, with the largest standard chamber. Buy the Premium ($199.95) if you want the glass one and will hand-wash it and keep it at home — the maker says both of those things itself.
And buy none of the more expensive ones expecting a different cup. AeroPress's own pages sell the Premium and Steel on materials, heat retention and durability, not on a different brew; the recipe, the filter and the pressure are the same on every model, which is the most useful fact on this page.
The eight brewers this page compares, plus the standard-size Flow Control Filter Cap six of them share. Each product fact is its listing's own statement, read on the date shown on the card, and live prices come from the Amazon API rather than being typed here; the maker's list prices in the table above were read on aeropress.com on 2026-09-13 and can differ from Amazon's.
The standard AeroPress every recipe on this page is written for. Listing states an all-in-one manual coffee maker - French press, pour-over and espresso style - with a 2-minute brew.
Check price on Amazon →
Identical brewer, transparent chamber - useful for watching the steep. Listing states the same AeroPress brewer in clear Tritan - French press, pour-over and espresso style.
Check price on Amazon →
The packable version - the brew method is the same. Listing states an extra-small portable coffee maker kit for travel, hiking and camping.
Check price on Amazon →
The travel model with the insulated steel tumbler - a 10 oz brewer, standard-size filters. Listing states a compact 3-in-1 coffee maker made of shatterproof Tritan packed inside a 16 oz double-wall, vacuum-insulated 18/8 stainless steel tumbler with a magnetic lid and built-in filter holder.
Check price on Amazon →
The double-capacity model - it takes XL filters and the XL flow control cap, not the standard ones. Listing states the 3-in-1 brewer in an extra-large format that brews up to 20 oz (600 ml), double the standard size, with a shatterproof Tritan carafe for brewing, serving and travel.
Check price on Amazon →
The XL in transparent Tritan - same 20 oz capacity, same XL-size filters. Listing states the extra-large 3-in-1 brewer and its carafe both built from crystal clear Tritan, brewing double the standard size.
Check price on Amazon →
The glass-and-metal model. Hand-wash only and not recommended for travel, per the maker's own FAQ. Listing states a double-wall borosilicate glass chamber with stainless steel and aluminum components - the 3-in-1 brewer reimagined in glass and metal.
Check price on Amazon →
The all-stainless model with the largest standard-size chamber, 12 oz. Listing states a double-wall vacuum-insulated 304 stainless steel chamber with superior heat retention and no preheating required, with 304 stainless steel components throughout.
Check price on Amazon →
The maker's own answer to why people invert - drip-through control without turning the brewer upside down. Listing states it prevents drip-through for full control over grind size and time, fits the standard-size AeroPress Original, Clear, Go, Go Plus and Premium - and states it is not recommended for Originals made before 2014 due to a material change that may affect fit.
Check price on Amazon →There is no single best model, because they differ by use rather than quality: the Original ($39.95) is the reference brewer, the Clear adds a see-through Tritan chamber and colours, the Go and Go Plus pack into their own cup for travel, the XL and Clear XL double the capacity to 20 oz, and the Premium and Steel remake the same brewer in glass or stainless steel. Every model uses the same 3-in-1 method and the same official recipe. CoffeeLabAdvisor does not score any of them; scores are published for award winners only.
They are the same 10 oz brewer with the same dimensions and filters. The Original is opaque polypropylene in one colour at $39.95; the Clear is shatterproof Tritan you can see through, in seven colours, at $49.95. Both are dishwasher-safe per the maker and made in the USA.
The Go is an 8 oz one-cup brewer that packs into a lightweight microwaveable plastic mug, 11.4 oz packed, $49.95 from the maker. The Go Plus is a full 10 oz Tritan brewer that packs into a 16 oz vacuum-insulated stainless steel tumbler with a magnetic lid, 1 lb 4 oz packed, $89.95. Both take the standard filters and standard flow control cap.
No. The Original XL and Clear XL take their own XL-size paper and metal filters and their own XL flow control cap; the standard filters used by the Original, Clear, Go, Go Plus, Premium and Steel do not fit. AeroPress states on the XL page that it tried to keep the standard diameter and could not, and that the XL filters cost more per filter because of lower production volumes.
No. AeroPress states the Premium is hand-wash only because of its hand-made double-wall borosilicate glass chamber, and it also advises against microwaving it and does not recommend it for travel. Every other current model is listed as dishwasher-safe; the Original, Go and Original XL specify the top rack.
Per press, the Go makes 8 oz (1 cup); the Original, Clear, Go Plus and Premium make 10 oz (1-2 cups); the Steel makes 12 oz (1-2 cups); and the Original XL and Clear XL make 20 oz (2-4 cups). AeroPress also states that the Original, Clear and Go each brew up to three espresso-style shots in one press.
The AeroPress Steel, an all-304-stainless-steel model with a double-wall vacuum-insulated 12 oz chamber, listed by the maker at $169.95 and made in China. It is dishwasher-safe, takes standard-size filters and the standard flow control cap, and is the only model whose chamber is both metal and insulated.
Sources for this page: Capacity, cups, material, dimensions, colours and box contents for all eight models: AeroPress's own compare page, aeropress.com/pages/compare-aeropress, read 2026-09-13 · Maker's list prices, dishwasher and care statements, weights (Original 7.75 oz; Go 11.4 oz packed; Go Plus 1 lb 4 oz packed), country of manufacture, filter compatibility and the quoted FAQ wording: the eight aeropress.com product pages (aeropress-coffee-maker, aeropress-clear, aeropress-go-travel-coffee-press, aeropress-go-plus, aeropress-coffee-maker-xl, aeropress-coffee-maker-clear-xl, aeropress-coffee-maker-premium, aeropress-coffee-maker-steel), read 2026-09-13 · The XL filter-diameter explanation and the higher cost per XL filter: AeroPress's own XL product page FAQ, read 2026-09-13 · Listing statements on every product card, including the Steel's no-preheating claim and the Go Plus tumbler specification: each product's own Amazon listing copy (title and feature bullets), read on 2026-09-13; every card links to the listing it was read from We have not lab-tested brewers; where a figure is a manufacturer's, the page names the manufacturer, and machine capabilities come from our own published review records.