Market leader Keurig never stops improving their technology. They’re one of the most popular brands of coffee machines bought in America, which is not really surprising when you look at their range of machines, the convenience, and the staggering choice of drinks you can make.
All that choice, though, can make coming to a decision a little tricky when you need to finally work out which machine is right for you, whether it’s a replacement, an upgrade, or your very first Keurig. When you’ve narrowed your “best fit” coffee machine down to the last two models, this Keurig K575 vs. Keurig K500 review will help you decide.
Which Machine Is Better?
Our Winner: Keurig K575
Keurig K575 – Overview
Part of the Keurig Plus series, the Keurig K575 is a single-serve coffee maker from the much-loved and very familiar Keurig family. Using the wide range of K-Cup Pods on the market, the machine works to bring you great-tasting drinks every time.
This practically designed coffee maker allows you to control the strength of your drink and is programmable, so you can wake up to the fragrance of your favorite beverage. It brews up to a generous 12oz cup as standard (other sizes are available).
Keurig 2.0 K575
- Large 80 ounce water reservoir: Allows you to brew 10 plus cups more before having to refill, saving you time and simplifying your morning routine; The water reservoir is removable, making it easy to...
- Multiple k cup pod brew sizes: (4, 6, 8, 10, 12 ounce); brews a carafe (22, 26, or 30 ounce) using k carafe pods, to give you more coffee when you need it. (carafe sold separately)
- Strength control: A strength control setting allows you to brew a bolder cup using any k cup pod brew size; Plus, five temperature settings allow you to enjoy your favorite beverage at your desired...
- Extra large color touch screen: A digital clock makes it easy to brew a fresh, great tasting cup in under a minute; Plus, program your brewer to turn on or off automatically at set times, so that it...
It has a very generous 80oz water reservoir to keep topping up to a minimum, and an extra-large color touch screen makes it super-easy to keep an eye on what’s going on. You also get the cute night light feature, to bring a homely glow to your kitchen in a range of colors. This machine also has hot water only selection on the menu and typical brewing time is less than a minute.
Pros & Cons Of The Keurig K575
✔ Excellent range of brew sizes, from 4oz to 12oz (cups) and up to 30oz (carafe)
✔ Brew time under a minute
✔ Choice of temperatures
✔ Choice of brew strengths
✔ The usual wide range of drink choices you’d expect from a Keurig
✔ Cute different color night light feature
✗ You have to buy the large carafe and most other accessories separately
✗ No specialty drink options
Keurig K500 – Overview
The Keurig K500 uses the Keurig 2.0 Brewing Technology and is another model from the great range of Keurig single-serve coffee machines. Just make sure there’s enough water in the reservoir, choose the K-Cup pod that’s your particular favorite from over 500 options, slot the pod in, and away you go.
The 80oz reservoir means you don’t need to worry about filling up until you’ve brewed around 7 to 10 cups depending on your preferred brew size, and the fact you can program it means it’s an ideal way to blend modern technology with classic coffee as it wakes you in the morning or reminds you to take a break from your computer screen once in a while.
Keurig 2.0 K500
- Revolutionary Keurig 2.0 Brewing Technology, Hundreds of varieties from the brands you love
- Key Product Features: 80 oz. Water Reservoir, Large Color Touch Display, Strength Control, Customizable Settings
- Programmable Clock, Auto Brew
- Customizable Night Light in Water Reservoir, Hot Water On Demand
This machine uses Keurig 2.0 technology. If you’d rather use it to dispense hot water for your tea bag, noodles, soup or porridge-oats based snack, that’s a quick and easy solution too although you may need to wait a little while for the water to heat up; for this option just don’t add a pod, and run the water through.
As standard, Keurig K500 Plus ships with the Keurig brewer, a starter carafe with a capacity of 4 cups, 2 pods for the K-Carafe, and 4 K-Cup pods to get you started.
Pros & Cons Of The Keurig K500
✔ Separate setting for cocoa and other café style drinks
✔ Ships with the filter kit
✔ Programmable auto-off feature
✗ No 12oz cup size
✗ So light it can seem a little flimsy, but still surprisingly bulky
✗ No temperature control
✗ It needs to be unclogged very regularly
✗ The “Oops!” message when you use a non-approved pod can get very irritating
The K575 Vs. The K500 – Key Features
Both of these machines are ultra-convenient, offering you the chance to make freshly brewed coffee, tea, cocoa and other drinks at the touch of a button. Typically your drink will be brewed in a very short time, from the wide range of drinks available in the K-Cup format.
Both have user-friendly interfaces and allow you to program them to wake you up in the morning, or have your drink ready for your morning break or afternoon pick-me-up. Both allow you to choose the strength of your drink.
The manufacturers recommend you use bottled water or filtered water to get the best results, no matter which machine you’re using. The reservoirs for both machines hold 80oz of water, so either would be suitable for a slightly larger household or even a small business or workplace. You do need to make sure you maintain and care for your Keurig machine regularly, particularly cleaning.
Sustainability
The drip trays are removable to allow you to fit in a travel mug or carafe underneath – if you’re using a carafe, you can only use the Keurig approved ones due to the interlocking system. You can also buy the Keurig 2.0 My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter now to cut down on the environmental impact of using the machine, as well as using your own favorite ground coffee. The Keurig company is also working on making our choices more sustainable.
Neither coffee machine makes iced drinks as such but you can either brew a hot drink over ice-cubes – remember this will water the strength down a lot, so a 6oz cup will be more like a weak 10oz cup; or cool it down in the fridge for a while before you drink it.
What’s The Difference?
The Keurig 2.0 500 is 13.45 inches high (remember to allow more clearance than this to slot the pods in there though), by 13.63 inches wide and 10.43 inches deep. The K575 Keurig is slightly shorter and narrower, but you will need more space from a depth point of view, since it comes in at 13.2 inches high by 10.5 inches wide and 13.3 inches deep. The Keurig K575 Plus weighs just under 14 pounds, while the K500 Keurig weighs just under 9 pounds.
The more modern technology of the Keurig 575, though, is apparent in the wider range of choice you get when it comes to controlling the temperature, amongst other features: so, if you like super-hot coffee that’s fine; if you prefer it just warm to the touch, as it were, that’s also an option. The K575 also lets you choose to dispense hot water on demand – ideal if you want a cup of tea, or to quickly rehydrate a dried noodle or soup snack.
Which One Would We Recommend?
Our Winner: Keurig K575
Well, both are pretty good machines, although the K500, as an early entry into the range, has had a reputation from its early days of being a little temperamental and needing a lot of tender loving care to keep it running smoothly. By the time the Keurig K575 Coffee Maker was released, the technology had been improved substantially. It’s also a rather sturdier machine than the K500.
So, if you want a touch of real luxury and sophistication in your kitchen, the later model K575 is the best choice. The technology has been upgraded from the K500, and while the changes might seem small, it does mean you are getting a lot more coffee machine for your money. So choose your K-cup, fire up the Keurig, wait around a minute, and enjoy.
Keurig® K575 Coffee Maker
- Large 80 ounce water reservoir: Allows you to brew 10 plus cups more before having to refill, saving you time and simplifying your morning routine; The water reservoir is removable, making it easy to...
- Multiple k cup pod brew sizes: (4, 6, 8, 10, 12 ounce); brews a carafe (22, 26, or 30 ounce) using k carafe pods, to give you more coffee when you need it. (carafe sold separately)
- Strength control: A strength control setting allows you to brew a bolder cup using any k cup pod brew size; Plus, five temperature settings allow you to enjoy your favorite beverage at your desired...
- Extra large color touch screen: A digital clock makes it easy to brew a fresh, great tasting cup in under a minute; Plus, program your brewer to turn on or off automatically at set times, so that it...
Hi my name is Larry, a coffee aficionado from the US. I have already visited Colombia, Sumatra, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ethiopia and Jamaica in my pursuit of finding the best-tasting coffee beans. I currently write from Bali and enjoy the relaxed life that you can only find in Canggu. Welcome to my coffee world!
Last update on 2023-03-30 / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API.