Cost of a capsule coffee machine vs cost of a bean machine for a small office
When people are looking at a coffee machine to service a small office the two machine types which people typically explore are capsule coffee machines and bean to cup coffee machines. Both options can work well in a small office environment. In this post we will explore the differences in between the cost of a capsule machine vs bean machine so you can decide which option is best for you.
Overall Monthly Costs:
When renting or buying any coffee machine there are two costs involved:
1) The cost of the actual machine (rental or once-off)
2) The ongoing monthly costs of the coffee.
We will explore both of these costs in more depth below:
Capsule Machine Costs:
There are a number of capsule machines on the market ranging from well-known brands to independent white-label machine options. The small office and domestic coffee markets exploded when capsule machines were first introduced as they presented a far lower machine cost offering than the coffee machine alternatives at the time. The reason why capsule machines are so much cheaper than their bean and vending counterparts is due to the simplicity of the design. All the technology (and cost) is in the capsule and the machines simply consist of a pump, thermoblock and a bit of electronics. That’s it!
Below are some of the most popular capsule machine brands on the market today:
1) Nespresso
3) Caffitaly
4) Keurig
5) Flavia
The above range in price from approximately R1000-R7500 depending on the model and brand selected. Most of the models within each of the above brands are closer to the R1000 mark with only a few models in each brand reaching the R7500 level.
Bean Coffee Machine (automatic) Costs:
Bean machines are far more complicated than capsule coffee machines and contain far more components such as grinders, tampers and brewing units. For this reason, bean machines are far more costly than capsule coffee machines.
Below are some of the most popular bean machine brands on the market today:
1) Jura
2) Seaco
3) Delonghi
4) Krups
5) WMF
For small office usage bean machines range in price from R7500-R15,000 depending on the brand and model selected.
Coffee Costs:
Although capsule coffee machines are for the most part considerably cheaper than bean machines, the cost of the coffee itself is usually much more expensive. The average capsule costs between R5.50-R8.00, whereas the average bean coffee costs between R1.50-R3.50 (you get approximately 100 cups out of 1kg of coffee beans in automatic coffee machines rather than the old industry accepted amount of 142 cups/kg)
Let’s now work out what the following offices would pay on a monthly basis for coffee assuming 2 cups per person per day and taking an average cost per cup with capsules being R6.00 and that of beans being R2.50 and using a 21 say month:
A 5 person office would pay the following amount for coffee:
- Monthly capsule coffee cost would be R1260.00
- Monthly bean coffee cost would be R525.00
A 10 person office would pay the following amount for coffee:
- Monthly capsule cost would be R2520.00
- Monthly bean cost would be R1050.00
A 15 person office would pay the following amount for coffee:
- Monthly capsule cost would be R3780.00
- Monthly bean cost would be R1575.00
A 20 person office would pay the following amount for coffee:
- Monthly capsule cost would be R5040.00
- Monthly bean cost would be R2100.00
Overall Costs Comparison:
To compare a capsule vs an automatic machine costs we use average rental costs of each as shown below:
Capsule machine rental cost – R100 per month
Small bean machine rental cost – R500 per month
The overall monthly costs for small offices ranging between 5-20 people would then be
5 person office:
Capsule coffee machine monthly rental and coffee cost combined – R1360.00
Automatic coffee machine monthly rental and coffee cost combined –R1025.00
10 person office:
Capsule coffee machine monthly rental and coffee cost combined -R2620.00
Automatic coffee machine monthly rental and coffee cost combined –R1550.00
15 person office:
Capsule coffee machine monthly rental and coffee cost combined – R3880.00
Automatic coffee machine monthly rental and coffee cost combined –R2075.00
20 person office:
Capsule coffee machine monthly rental and coffee cost combined -R5140.00
Automatic coffee machine monthly rental and coffee cost combined –R2600.00
Conclusion:
When buying or renting a coffee machine it is very important to look at both the cost of the machine AND the cost of the coffee. We always try our best to impress on our customers to consider the long term costs when buying or renting any coffee machine. As a rule of thumb we only suggest capsule machines for customers who are likely to do under 7 cups of coffee per day because as soon as usage exceeds this number, bean machines start to work out considerably cheaper.
You can view our pricing here (coffee machine pricing) or to try a machine out at your home,office or restaurant please complete your details below!
