The Differences Between Nespresso® & Dolce Gusto® Pods

What is the difference between Nespresso® & Dolce Gusto® pods? 

The Dolce Gusto VS and Nespresso® pods are quite different!

The sizes of coffee pods

Let’s start with the size of coffee pods. The Dolce Gusto® pods allowing you to make taller drinks (up to 200 cl) compared to a maximum of 60cl with Nespresso® pods. Nonetheless, Nespresso® recently released a new coffee machine that allows you to make larger coffees as well as a milk system that is compatible with your machine, you simply add in fresh milk and that’s it!

Can I use Nespresso® pods in a Dolce Gusto® machine? (Or vice versa!) 

It’s one of the most frequently asked questions. And although the answer may seem obvious to some, we can confirm that you cannot use Nespresso® pods or Nespresso®-compatible pods with a Dolce Gusto® machine. The same is true for the other way around, you cannot use Dolce Gusto® pods in a Nespresso® coffee machine.

Specific characteristics of Nespresso VS Dolce Gusto® pods

Nespresso® pods:

• Espresso, lungo, ristretto (tea with compatible pods) 2 levels or volumes
• Only hot drinks
• Buying pods in: Nespresso® shops/ Supermarket & online.
• Pods are automatically ejected 
• Capsule collection tray
• Fresh milk
• Smaller pods
• Plastic/aluminium/biodegradable
• Recycling Nespresso® pods

Dolce Gusto® pods:

• Espresso, lungo, ristretto, latte, macchiato, tea, cappuccino, hot chocolate ( 7 levels or volumes)
• Hot and cold drinks
• Buying pods in: Supermarket & online.
• Pods must be manually removed
• Ideal for gourmet drinks
• Milk pods (powdered) available
• Larger pods
• Available as biodegradable, compostable, aluminium and plastic
• Recycling Dolce Gusto® pods

Does Nespresso® or Dolce Gusto® have more flavours?

The most important thing to consider when making your purchase is what type of drink you have daily. Nespresso® only focuses on coffee. It offers you the best coffee with great blends, different intensities and flavours (caramel, vanilla, chocolate etc.). This is a purposeful choice by the brand as it only wants to offer the best coffee and beans. It’s also a top-of-the-line investment with unique coffees. Nonetheless, just offering coffee doesn’t mean offering a small range. Nespresso® offers up to 13 different intensities, great blends, as well as many limited editions every year. Coffee lovers will be pleased. The choice in terms of flavours and tastes will have a big influence when purchasing your new coffee machine. Dolce Gusto® offers a wider range of flavours and doesn’t just offer classic coffee. You’ll find a large range of drinks (cappuccino, espresso, macchiato etc.). But in order to please the most demanding of customers, there are gourmet drinks for both the young and the old! These include hot chocolate, tea and cold drinks. Something to vary life’s everyday pleasures!

What is the price difference between Nespresso® VS Dolce Gusto® pods?

If you’re still not sure and want to dig deeper into the differences between Nespresso vs Dolce Gusto pods, let’s talk pricing! It will vary depending on the type of machine that you choose and if you buy the brand’s capsules or pods, an espresso will cost you about: 28 Euro cents (Intense espresso by Dolce Gusto® or espresso by Tassimo) and up to 35-40 cents (Nespresso®/Nespresso® Vertuo). As for the more sweet drinks from Dolce Gusto you will pay between 50 to 60 cents per drink. Depending on how many drinks you have per day this can easily become expensive. For example, an espresso grinder uses 7-8 g per cup, making the coffee cheaper, even if you choose coffee beans from a local roaster (around 20-25 cents). Of course, you can always find compatible pods for cheaper!