Your average Nespresso capsule will cost around $0.75 for OriginalLine machines and around $1.00 for VertuoLine machines.

While it’s much less than an espresso or latte at your local coffee shop, those costs add up.

With capsule-based coffee machines taking off over the last decade, competitors have sprang up to meet the demand of the coffee-consuming public:

Quality pod alternatives at an affordable price.

Below are the 6 best Nespresso Compatible Capsules from third party roasters and distributors.

Best Nespresso Compatible Capsules

The table below gives a quick summary of the 6 best Nespresso compatible capsules.

See a lot of red Xs in the VertuoLine column? None of these companies make VertuoLine alternatives!

Related: Nespresso VertuoLine Pods: Honest Consumer’s Guide

The main reason Nespresso released their VertuoLine series was to introduce its capsule scanning technology, which prevents unlicensed capsules from being used.

The result? No alternatives at this time for VertuoLine machines.

Click each brand in the table below to jump to its section.

1. Tayst

While not certified organic, Tayst claims they adhere to the standards of the Sustainable Agriculture Network, which is a “worldwide movement to make farms productive without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.”

Tayst also sources their coffee from member farms of the Rainforest Alliance.

Tayst’s coffee is extremely highly rated, and justifiably so.

Even if you love your Nespresso brand pods, I’d give Tayst a try while also saving some scratch on the side.

Price Per Pod: Around $0.70

Varieties Available

• Espresso Moriondo: Medium roast with caramelized notes
• Espresso Bezzera: Dark roast with full body and earthy aroma
• Espresso Pavoni: Dark roast with creamy body and cocoa notes
• Espresso Achille: Super dark roast with smokiness and light fruit notes

2. HiLine

HiLine imports their coffees from high altitude, small lot farms in Latin America, Africa and South America. To keep overhead costs down, they’re an online-only business without any physical storefront locations.

• Whole bean coffee
• Ground coffee
• Nespresso-compatible capsules
• Keurig-compatible pods

As a result these capsules will run you about $0.45-$0.65 each.

Each capsule has 5.0-5.5 grams of coffee with approximately 60-70 mg of caffeine (except decaf of course, which has about 1 mg of caffeine).

You can read about HiLine’s pod compatibility on their website.

Price Per Pod: Around $0.50

Varieties Available (Standard)

• Wall Street: Dark roast from Sumatra with creamy, nutty profile
• Greenwich Village: Dark roast from Brazil with fudge, orange and vanilla
• Broadway: Dark roast from Sumatra with fruity, tart notes
• Liberty: Dark roast from Columbia with raspberry and caramel
• Times Square: Dark roast from Brazil with chocolate and sage
• Grand Central: Dark roast from Columbia with caramel and cherry
• Soho: Medium roast from Guatemala with chocolate and blackberry
• Brooklyn: Medium roast from Ethiopia with sweetness, walnut and blueberry
• Chelsea: Light roast from Guatemala with cinnamon, citrus and blackberry
• Central Park: Decaf from Brazil with cacao nib and nuttiness
• West Village: Dark roast from Guatemala with notes of cocoa and almond
• Kona Blend: Dark roast from Hawaii with real Kona coffee

(Can you tell this company is headquartered in New York, NY?)

Varieties Available (Decadent & Flavored)

• Vanilla Macaron: Dark roast from Ethiopia
• Creamy Coconut: Dark roast from Brazil
• Hazelnut Cupcake: Dark roast from Ethiopia
• Chocolate Donut: Dark roast from Ethiopia
• Peppermint Bark: Dark roast from Sumatra
• Pumpkin Spice: Dark roast from Brazil
• Sea Salt Caramel: Dark roast from Ethiopia

3. Lavica

An Italian company that specializes in Nespresso compatible capsules, Lavica has a narrow range of very good pods.

By flavor, these pods compare very well with Nespresso. I’d say at least 90% as good, which is great considering the savings.

The biggest complaint I’ve heard is that the capsules all look the same regardless of which variety you get. If you don’t keep the different roasts separate, you’ll never figure out which is which.

Price Per Pod: Around $0.50

Varieties Available

• Oro: Dark roast with 90% Robusta, 10% Arabica and complex, bittersweet chocolate and hazelnut
• Fortissimo: Dark roast with 90% Arabica, 10% Robusta and sharp, intense flavor
• Italiano: Medium-dark roast with 60% Robusta, 40% Arabica and smooth caramel and hazelnut
• Lungo: Medium roast with 60% Robusta, 40% Arabica with smooth richness
• Amabile: Medium roast with 50% Arabica, 50% Robusta and ideal balance of bitterness and sweetness
• Belgian Chocolate: Medium roast with 60% Robusta, 40% Arabica and smooth, chocolate flavor
• Decaffeinato: Medium roast with 70% Robusta, 30% Arabica and a rich flavor

4. Gourmesso

Headquartered in New York, NY Gourmesso sells a FairTrade Certified alternate to Nespresso brand capsules and make pods for both coffee and tea.

Note that not all of their offerings are FairTrade Certified (noted below by an asterisk*) and some are organic.

Price Per Pod: Around $0.50

(As of this writing Gourmesso makes a whopping 27 different Nespresso compatible capsules.)

Varieties Available (Espresso)

• Ristretto Blend Forte: Dark roast with Latin American, African, Asian blend and slight spice
• Etiopia Blend Forte: Dark roast with Ethiopian, South American, Central American blend and slight citrus
• Honduras Pura Forte: Dark roast from Honduras with chocolate notes
• Messico Blend Forte: Dark roast with Mexican, Indian, Asian blend and full body
• Tarrazu Forte: Dark roast from volcanic region of Costa Rica with bold and spicy profile
• SFCC House Blend Espresso*: Dark roast organic blend from the San Francisco Coffee Company
• Nicaragua Mezzo: Medium roast with South American, Asian blend and slight bitterness
• Columbia Arabica Mezzo*: Medium roast with Columbian, Indian blend and licorice notes
• Brasile Blend Dolce: Light roast with Brazilian, Peruvian, Asian blend and hint of citrus
• Decaf Peru Dolce:

Varieties Available (Lungo)

• Lungo Italico Forte*: Dark roast with Indian, African blend and woody/earthy notes
• Lungo Arabica Forte: Dark roast with Mexican, Peruvian blend and intense flavor
• SFCC House Blend Lungo Dark*: Dark roast organic blend from the San Francisco Coffee Company
• Lungo Latino Mezzo: Medium roast with South American, Central American, Asian blend and fruity aroma
• SFCC House Blend Lungo Medium: Medium roast organic blend from the San Francisco Coffee Company
• SFCC House Blend Decaf Lungo*: Medium roast organic blend from the San Francisco Coffee Company

Varieties Available (Specialty)

• Biscottino: Dark roast with South American, Asian blend and cookie flavor with no added sweeteners
• Soffio Caramello: Dark roast with South American, Asian blend and caramel hint
• Soffio Cioccolato: Dark roast with South American, Asian blend and chocolate hint
• Soffio Vaniglia: Dark roast with South American, Asian blend and vanilla hint
• Soffio Gianduia Caramello: Dark roast with Latin American, Asian blend and caramel nuttiness
• Soffio Nocciola: Dark roast with Brazilian and Indian blend and hazelnut
• Soffio Cannella: Dark roast with Latin American and Asian blend and cinnamon
• Soffio Noce Di Cocco: Dark roast with South American and Indian blend and coconut
• Soffio Mandorla: Dark roast with Brazilian and Indian blend and almond
• Soffio Ciliegia: Dark roast with Latin American and Asian blend and subtle cherry notes
• Decaf Vaniglia: Dark roast organic from Peru blended with vanilla flavors
• Decaf Cioccolato: Dark roast organic from Peru blended with chocolate flavors

* Denotes not FairTrade Certified

5. Jones Brothers

Based in Amsterdam, Jones Brothers does a good job combining cost and quality.

They don’t make the cheapest coffee.

They don’t make the best coffee.

But generally you’ll be happy with it for the price.

Price Per Pod: Around $0.45

Varieties Available

• Gigolo: Very dark and smooth with hints of cocoa
• Noir: Dark roast with strong chocolate flavor and hints of hazelnut
• Enigma: Dark roast with roasted nuts and rich cocoa finish
• Revive: Dark-medium roast with citrusy balance
• Elevate: Medium roast with soft, light profile, lemon zest and sweetness

6. Caffesso

A UK-based company, Caffesso launched in 2012. They tout the 3 C’s that define their company:

• Coffee
• Club
• Compatibility

Coffee — Caffesso capsules truly are no muss, no fuss and yield a high great coffee beverage with a barista-quality crema.

Club — If you purchase your capsules through Caffesso’s website, you’ll automatically be enrolled in their Club where you can earn points to redeem for Caffesso products.

Compatibility — Caffesso has gone the distance to ensure compatibility with a wide array of Nespresso machine models. You can read here to see all of the machines they support.

I’ll add a 4th C:

Cost — Caffesso is a touch less expensive than either HiLine or Tayst. While I advocate trying all brands to see what you like, there’s no doubt Caffesso pods are pretty easy on your wallet.

Price Per Pod: Around $0.35

Varieties Available

• Indiano: Very dark roast from India with Arabica and Robusta blend and caramel notes
• Columbian Single Origin: Dark roast from Columbia
• Sidamo Single Origin: Dark roast from Ethiopia with low acidity and floral notes
• Milano: Dark roast with Central American, South American and African blend with full body
• Forza Roma: Dark roast with Arabica and Robust blend from Brazil, Africa and India with wine and woody notes
• Intenso: Dark roast with Ethiopian, Central American and South American blend and citrus bite
• Lungo Forte: Dark roast with Columbian, African, Latin American blend and subtle smokiness
• Aromatico: Medum-dark roast with South and Central American blend and floral notes
• Italiano: Medium roast with South American and Asian blend and caramel notes
• Vanilla: Medium roast with South American and Indian blend
• Chocolate: Medium roast with South American and Indian blend
• Caramel: Medium roast with South American and Asian blend
• Decaffeinato: Medium roast with South American blend and low acidity

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