Buying GuidesThe Best Coffee Maker for College: Buyer's Guide
Small, affordable and dorm-friendly. Here are the best coffee makers for college students.
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Limited space doesn't mean bad coffee on the road. Here are our favorite compact coffee makers for RVs.
When you’re traveling in an RV, the whole point is to be able to enjoy the conveniences of home while vacationing on the road. Freshly brewed coffee should be no exception.
When searching for the best coffee maker for your RV, it is important to find one that is compact, but still delivers a delicious tasting brew. My recommendation is to purchase a machine that is quick and easy to use with minimal required clean up.
“On the road, the best coffee maker is the one that fits your counter and your power supply.”
This article will compare my top 3 favorite coffee makers for RVs that are both affordable and designed to have a low profile on small countertop spaces.
The Final Shot: The Keurig K-Select gets the top spot in this range. The K-Select provides the most convenience with easy-to-find and affordable pods, a slim profile and a larger water reservoir for less frequent re-filling than the Inissia and HB.
Your RV coffee maker isn’t likely to be your primary machine, unless you live your whole life on the road, so more than likely, you don’t want to break the bank with this purchase. When researching these machines I selected top options in a range of affordable price points for this exact reason.
My favorite, the compact Keurig K250, can fit on the smallest counter spaces and offers the simplicity of using K-Cup pods. If you prefer espresso beverages while you’re on the go, the Nespresso Inissia is another great choice for space-saving convenience.
2026 update: The Keurig K-Select and Nespresso Inissia have been discontinued; the Keurig K-Mini and Nespresso Essenza Mini are compact current alternatives. The Hamilton Beach Scoop is still sold.

The Keurig K-Select is a slim and technologically sophisticated coffee maker that allows you to personalize the strength of your daily coffee and enjoy in single servings. Having the single serving option is ideal for RV coffee makers as you don’t always want a large pot of hot liquid sloshing around.
With high-quality flavor comparable to the large Keurig machines, the Keurig K-Select is a great pick for tight quarters and a smaller budget. The K-Select measures at 11.6 x 9.2 x 12.5 inches and weighs only 7.35 pounds.
Whether you want 1 cup or the whole family needs their coffee fix, this machine brews multiple K-Cup pod sizes and even brews a full Carafe up to 30 oz of coffee.
The easy to use touchscreen offers step by step simplicity to start brewing your coffee with a few clicks. It really requires no reading of instructions or advanced knowledge. The pods are also intuitive to insert and are great for maintaining a clean kitchen, free of wet coffee grounds.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the large 52 ounce water reservoir on this machine. Even some full size espresso machines don’t have water tanks this big, which is a nice size if you hate frequent refilling. The tank is also easy to remove and the machine as a whole is easy to clean. The Keurig K-Select also includes water filters and descaling solution help to reduce build up in the coffee maker.
If you are looking for a no fuss, compact coffeemaker, this is the best choice for your RV.
If you haven’t used a Keurig before, you’re going to feel like you’re entering a whole new world, just make sure you purchase the Keurig brand cups to use in this machine as it is a hassle to use other brands of coffee pods. They’re available pretty much anywhere, including Target and Amazon, so getting what you need while traveling isn’t tough.
Keurig K250 Hot Features:

For fresh espresso drinks on the road, the Nespresso Inissia is a solid choice. The machine is so compact, easy to use and hassle free it’s almost as if Nespresso designed it for this specific purpose. While I know that’s not necessarily true, it does fit in really well in an RV kitchen. Weighing only 5.29 pounds, it is easy to transport and leaves a teeny tiny environmental footprint.
Don’t let the small size fool you, the Inissia dispenses premium quality Nespresso Grand Cru coffees that taste better than the work of even some of the most skilled baristas at Starbucks or your local coffee shop.
The Nespresso Inissia is nothing if not quick and convenient. It heats up with one quick touch and 25 seconds. You can also make up to 9 coffee beverages before having to refill the 23.8 ounce water reservoir.
Nespresso also includes a welcome set of 16 capsules of unique coffee blends so you can sample a full selection before selecting your favorite. One-touch operation makes it super simple to use and the 19 bars of pressure it packs delivers perfect, high-quality espresso.
The prestigious Nespresso Club offers personalized advice and technical support for your machine. While traveling in your RV, the availability of customer service is really convenient.
I also really like how the machine automatically shuts off after 9 minutes to save energy in your RV. I can never remember to unplug appliances and even forget to turn them off, especially in the morning, so this is a nice feature on a smaller machine.
The Nespresso Inissia is also really quick to clean and has a folding drip tray that drops down automatically when you remove your mug. This model by far is the least expensive Nespresso machine, so espresso lovers can enjoy the quality of the brand without breaking the bank for a secondary coffee maker.
The Inissia only takes Nespresso brand pods so make sure you order in advance for your trip as they aren’t quite as readily available on the road as the Keurig K-cups. My family typically orders on Amazon to keep it simple.
Nespresso Inissia Hot Features:

The Hamilton Beach 49981A Single Serve Coffee Maker is a simple machine that I added to this list for its affordability and serious following on Amazon.
The HB is also one of the speedier options for coffee, you can brew an 8 ounce cup in less than 90 seconds and 14 ounces in under two and a half minutes.
This is the only machine on my list that doesn’t use pre-packaged coffee pods, but it is a contender for its overall ease of use, despite the need for fresh grounds. I also get that not everyone is into pod culture and this is a great machine if you prefer a more old school approach.
The slim, compact design of the 49981A makes it a really convenient space-saving choice for RV travels. It measures in at 7.6 x 9.8 x 13.5 inches and only weighs 5.5 pounds. I really love that it also has enough clearance to brew directly into a 14 ounce travel mug. This is a great way to keep the driver happy and the show on the road.
I also like the customization option on this particular coffee maker. If you are like me and prefer a bold, robust coffee you can select the setting for Bold or if you want something a bit more mild, select Regular for a standard coffee. The scooper is labeled with measuring lines for each serving size which make it easy to brew just the right amount of coffee.
My pro tip is to make sure you run the coffee cycle a few times to calibrate the machine and avoid coffee grinds getting through the filter on set-up.
HB backs this product with a one-year warranty and the stainless steel design has been praised for its durability. Priced under $50, you really can’t find better value for your money.
Hamilton Beach 49981A Hot Features: