Choose the Breville Bambino Plus BES500 when you want automatic milk heat and texture settings alongside a manual option. You still prepare the coffee and the jug. The Plus does not add an integrated grinder or remove the care routine. Start with the coffee you plan to use, then check the matching basket and every required tool.
Choose the Breville Bambino Plus for automatic milk settings with a manual option. You still prepare coffee and clean the wand. Whole beans need a separate grinder. Choose the standard Bambino if you prefer manual milk work and its kit meets your needs.
Breville Bambino Plus BES500
Breville Bambino Plus BES500 Breville Bambino Plus BES500
Our verdict:
For automatic milk settings
Choose the BES500 when its milk heat and texture settings address the work you want help with. Coffee preparation and cleaning remain part of the routine.
Keep in mind: It does not grind or prepare the coffee. Automatic milk settings still need a prepared jug and wand cleanup.
New US offer below $500 before tax and shipping; checked 31 October 2026.
View at BrevilleBreville Bambino Plus: what changes in the morning
The Bambino Plus BES500 suits a buyer who wants help with milk. You still fill the basket, tamp the coffee and fit the handle. Its automatic wand takes on part of the milk task. It does not make this a bean-to-cup machine.
Breville's US manual shows settings for milk heat and texture. Choose the settings, place the jug as directed and start the cycle. A manual wand asks you to move the jug as you steam. These are different routines. The settings do not promise the same foam from every type of milk.
The difference can help when several people want milk drinks. They may not all want to learn to steam by hand. It matters less if you mostly drink straight espresso. You may also prefer to control the jug yourself. The standard Bambino review covers that route.
Automation still needs a prepared jug
The automatic milk cycle still needs the right milk level. The jug and wand must be in the right place. Follow the manual for the jug and milk in use. A heat setting does not remove those setup steps.
Leave room to lift the jug off the tray and return the wand to its resting position. The manual describes an automatic purge when the wand is lowered. Keep clear of the discharge and ensure the tray is in place. This cycle does not replace wiping milk from the outside of the wand.
Read the manual's steps for steaming by hand too. They show which tasks the automatic cycle takes over. To practise a different texture, use the supported manual controls. Do not try to change the automatic cycle by guessing where to place the jug.
Choose those settings if you want help with the milk stage of a drink you make often. You still need to prepare the jug and follow the wand's care steps. Decide whether that help matters to your routine before choosing the Plus over the standard model's manual milk process.
Keep the basket and grinder decision separate
Milk automation does not grind beans. The US manual lists single-wall and dual-wall baskets. It gives a coffee route for each. A whole-bean single-wall setup needs a suitable espresso grinder. A supported pre-ground route has a different starting list.
Do not spend the entire setup budget on the machine and assume any old grinder will do. Check your grinder's intended use and adjustment controls. If a suitable grinder must be bought, the complete setup has an unresolved cost until that item is accounted for.
A dual-wall basket can let you begin with suitable pre-ground coffee. Follow the manual's steps. The basket does not promise the same result from every coffee. Match it to the coffee you plan to use.
The Bambino size guide records the 54 mm system for both models. The shared number does not prove that every handle or basket fits. Check the exact part and model before you buy.
The included kit and the kit you still need
The BES500 manual identifies a tamper, dose-trimming tool, milk jug, baskets and cleaning tools. Check the exact offer's included components before adding replacements to the order. Bundles can differ from the equipment shown on a general product page.
Keep required items apart from optional upgrades. A new handle, distribution tool or spring-loaded tamper may serve a preference, but it should not appear as an unavoidable starting expense. First decide which supplied part does not meet a clear need.
If you want to weigh doses and drink output, plan where a scale will sit with your cup. Check the combined height under the spouts. The ability to fit one small espresso cup does not establish room for a tall glass and a scale together.
For milk drinks, the jug needs a working route as well as a storage place. Allow space to pour, set it down and clean it. A machine's case dimensions do not include all the space a person needs to use it.
Heat-up, shot control and the complete drink
Breville's quick heating claim concerns the ThermoJet system. It does not include the time you spend preparing coffee, choosing milk settings or cleaning afterward. Include those tasks when planning more than one drink, especially if different users want different coffee or milk settings.
Preset shot buttons control water delivery. They do not weigh the dry coffee or check the grind. They also do not weigh the drink output. Keep recipe notes to compare changes from one attempt to the next.
The machine's first-use rinse is a separate setup task. Follow that procedure before treating the ready state as permission to make the first drink. The startup instructions and the daily brewing sequence answer different questions.
Which trade-off should decide the purchase?
Choose the Plus for its documented milk controls when they solve a task you would otherwise do by hand. Do not choose it merely because Plus sounds like an upgrade in every respect. A larger feature list is useful only if you will use those features.
For black coffee, a machine with manual milk controls may cover the same drink routine. For a household that wants help with milk temperature and texture, the automatic wand is a concrete difference worth considering. Keep that distinction visible alongside the need for a separate grinder.
Read the Bambino versus Bambino Plus comparison for that decision. The Gaggia comparison covers a manual boiler routine and its exact model version. Keep the coffee and milk steps together when deciding which controls you want to use each day.
Choose the milk mode before preparing the jug
Read the automatic and manual milk steps in the BES500 US instruction book before choosing a mode. Keep the matching basket and milk-jug setup clear for everyone using the machine. Automatic milk settings do not replace the care tasks that follow each drink or make an unsuitable grinder work with a traditional basket.
Frequently asked questions
Can I steam milk manually on the Bambino Plus?
Yes. The BES500 US book describes a manual texturing option as well as automatic milk settings. Compare the exact instructions for the mode you want. Automatic settings do not mean that manual work is unavailable. You still need to prepare the jug and clean the wand whichever supported route you use.
Does the Plus grind or tamp the coffee for me?
No. The documented BES500 is a portafilter machine without an integrated grinder. You prepare the coffee and load the basket. The milk controls address a later part of the drink routine. For whole beans, include a suitable separate grinder in the equipment plan rather than treating the Plus name as a complete bean-to-cup process.
Does the steam wand's automatic purge replace wiping?
No. The manual describes a purge when the wand is lowered after milk texturing. It also directs the user to wipe the wand. Those are separate care actions. Keep space around the tray and follow the book's sequence. An automatic purge is not evidence that milk cleanup happens without any work from you.
Can I use pre-ground coffee with the Plus?
The US manual describes dual-wall baskets for pre-ground coffee and single-wall baskets for freshly ground coffee. Follow the directions for the chosen basket. Using a supported pre-ground route is different from owning an espresso grinder. A later switch to whole beans needs its own equipment check and a fresh look at the required setup.
Is the Plus proven to make better coffee than the Bambino?
Automatic milk settings give the Plus a different role for a milk-drink buyer. Compare them with the manual mode and the coffee preparation you want to do. That control difference does not establish the taste of your drink. Choose the task you want help with and include all required equipment for that route.
Verdict
Choose the Breville Bambino Plus for automatic milk settings with a manual option. You still prepare coffee and clean the wand. Whole beans need a separate grinder. Choose the standard Bambino if you prefer manual milk work and its kit meets your needs.
