Keurig K200 Vs. Keurig K50: A Side-By-Side Comparison Of The Best And Worst Features

For coffee lovers who know their beans, Keurig is one of the best-known brands: around a third of all new single-serve coffee makers sold are Keurig models.

You already know which brand you want; you’ve even narrowed it down to a couple of models. But just how do you decide between the Keurig K200 and the Keurig K50? We’re here to help you make that choice.

Which Machine Is Better?

Our Winner: Keurig K200 

 

The Keurig K200

The Keurig K200 is one of the company’s signature machines and the leading model in its class. It’s a perfect entry model and one of the smallest in the Keurig range. It’s super-easy to keep clean, heats water quickly, looks great, and was introduced in part to help consumers see that Keurig takes sustainability seriously.

 

Keurig 2.0 K200 

Around three-quarters of Keurig K200 owners who’ve shared their thoughts really love this machine, which is especially good for one-person households. The machine has a very small footprint, so is ideal for small kitchen spaces, dorm rooms, RVs or boats. You can even take with you on vacation to ensure you’ll get your daily fresh caffeine fix.

 

The Keurig K200 – What’s Good And Bad About It?

 

The Keurig K50

This classic Keurig machine is one of the most straightforward models produced by the company. You control the K50 via buttons: there is no LCD screen or digital display.

It shares many features with the K200 and with some other Keurig coffee makers.

 

Keurig K50 Coffee Maker 

The K50 Keurig is perfect for brewing chocolate, coffee, hot cocoa, iced beverages (if you add ice to the drink, once brewed), specialty drinks, and tea from the Keurig range.   This machine typically ships with 12 pods of coffee to get you started on that quest for the downtown coffee taste.

Obtaining a stronger drink from this machine requires a little effort as there is no obvious option – either use one of the stronger blends of coffee or use the smaller serving size. It has a limited choice of drink serving sizes: 6 fluid ounces, 8 fluid ounces, and 10 fluid ounces. The display is very straightforward, and this machine uses buttons rather than a computerized screen to help you choose your perfect beverage.

 

The Keurig K50 – What’s Good And Bad About It?

 

Key Features Of The Keurig K200 Vs. The Keurig K50

Both coffee machines are great entry level coffee makers, ideal for single person households or couples. This isn’t to say they’re not suitable for larger groups, but as the reservoirs are relatively small on both, if you all drink a lot of coffee, you will probably spend a lot of time topping up the water.

With well over 500 drinks choices available, both machines mean you can savor that downtown coffee shop taste and you can be reassured your drink really will taste great – Keurig is the absolute market leader in the world of single-serve coffee (and other drinks).

 

What Is Similar?

Both machines heat the water to a pretty toasty 192 degrees Fahrenheit, although the type of cup or mug used can change the end temperature – using ceramic mugs cooled the drinks down considerably, and we also found that the temperature of a drink was lower when the machine hadn’t been used for a while.

To keep your drinks tasting as fresh as possible, you do need to descale the machines regularly, depending on whether you live in a hard water area or a soft water area.

The Keurig® K50 Coffee Maker water reservoir is 48 fluid ounces, and the indicator light tells you when it needs to be refilled. The machine has an auto-off feature, which can be programmed, and, like many Keurig models, the drip tray can be removed for easy cleaning.

The Kuerig K50 design is a little dated, but one advantage of this is that it’s a simple entry-level machine. Overall, it’s a relatively chunky machine considering it’s one of the smaller offerings in the company catalog.

 

The Main Differences Between The Keurig K50 vs. K200

Keurig is known for never standing still, and for constantly finding creative innovations when it comes to coffee machines and what we put in them.

The main differences between these two models lie in the technology, some of the brewing options, and the slight size difference: the Keurig 200 is 15 inches by 9 inches, and just under 14 inches high, weighing in at 7.5 pounds, and has a choice of 9 brew sizes. It has a very sleek design, choice of colors, and a digital interface.

The K50, on the other hand, is very simple in design, and it’s apparent that it uses older technology. It only has a choice of 3 brew sizes, and is slightly heavier, at 7.6 pounds. In terms of size, it’s 9.8 inches by 13 inches by 13.3 inches; and it only comes in black. It’s also a little bulkier than the Keurig K200 Plus so you need slightly more space on the counter.

The Keurig K 50 does, however, have an auto-off feature, while the K200 Keurig does not.

 

Keurig K200 – What’s In The Box?

Typically, the K200 comes with a charcoal filter to get rid of any impurities in the water and make your brew taste even fresher, but as with most Keurig machines, you will need to buy other accessories separately. These include the Keurig carafe – one of the major benefits of this machine is that you get a choice of 9 different servings, from 4 fluid ounces to 40 fluid ounces.

 

You will find you need to remove the drip tray if you want to whip up a travel mug sized serving, though. Unlike the K50, the K200 doesn’t usually ship with a selection of drinks for you to try, either, so you will need to make sure you have those all ready and waiting.

 

What’s Your Poison? What Drinks Do They Make?

The K200 heats up water really quickly, in less than a minute, and while it’s sold as a coffee maker, because there’s such a fantastic choice of drinks for this brand, it’s also ideal if you’d rather have a cup of tea, cocoa or chocolate; as is the K50.

There’s such a great range of drinks in the K-pod range that you’re bound to find one that will suit you and anyone else who loves single-serve beverages – coffee, decaf, tea, cocoa, chocolate, green tea, and specialist drinks from many major coffee chains.

If you’d rather fuel up with your favorite ground coffee, purchasing the reusable cup means this is also an option. And the fact that you can choose your strength of drink is a major selling feature of the K200 which, sadly, the K50 lacks.

 

Keep It Clean And Tidy

The K200 is super-easy to clean, and the fact that the reservoir is at the back makes it an extremely sleek and stylish piece of coffee kit. You also get a choice of half a dozen different colorways – so there’s sure to be one that will match your interior design shades.

This machine is especially good for one-person households; the reservoir is on the small size, and holds 40 fluid ounces of water, meaning it would be suitable for a two-person household or a very small workplace. We wouldn’t recommend it for a larger family unless you really enjoy filling the water reservoir every few cups.

The K50, on the other hand, has a slightly larger reservoir, at 48 fluid ounces, so you probably won’t need to refill the water quite as often as with the K200.

 

The Little Extras

The K200 heats water very quickly (less than a minute, on average) and is very attractively priced. The digital display is nice and clear, if a little on the small side; and you can change the language display to English, Spanish or French. It’s also really easy to set up – although to be fair, the same applies to the K50.

The K200 also communicates well (for a machine!) – it tells you when it needs more water, and it warns you if you’re trying to use a non-compatible Keurig K-cup pod.

Unfortunately, despite the fact the reusable pods are super-compatible with this model, there is no auto-off feature; the only way you can turn off this coffee maker is to unplug it. The Keurig Hot K50, in comparison, does have the auto-off feature built in to its design.

 

Which One Should I Choose?

On balance, the K200 has the edge on the Keurig K-classic K50, despite the smaller reservoir size and the slightly higher price.

In the first place, it’s a sleeker, more compact machine, so exceptionally suited to small kitchen counter spaces, dorm rooms, RVs, houseboats, and studio apartments.

Secondly, it comes in a wide range of colors – not just standard black and white, but turquoise, plum gray, sandy pearl, orange and red. The Keurig K 200, overall, has a more sustainable design ethic than the Keurig K50 Classic, which is a simple, classic machine. Keurig has been working on improving their overall sustainability and it shows in the design of the Keurig 2.0 200.

 

Keurig K50 vs. Keurig K200 – Our Final Verdict

Our Winner: Keurig K200 

Since coffee shops have enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years, we understand only too well that there’s nothing nicer than enjoying that downtown coffee shop taste in the comfort of your own home, RV or dorm accommodation.

Either machine would make a super graduation gift, birthday, Christmas, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day present; a great gift for granny (or grandpa, come to that!); an excellent housewarming offering for someone moving into their first home or off to college; or an ideal retirement or “new motor home owner” gift – but overall, our money’s on the Keurig K200.

 

Keurig K200 2.0 

  Last update on 2023-02-01 / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API.