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In this guide
Settle this by walking through an ordinary weekday: where the kettle sits on the benchtop, which mug is clean, whether someone else needs the bench, and how much attention you have before you leave. Those details decide it. Which brewer is the more serious instrument does not.
For one person who wants a short, self-contained routine that ends with a press, the AeroPress Original, A$79.95 from AeroPress Australia. For someone who enjoys standing over the cone and adjusting the pour, the white plastic Hario V60 02, A$16.88 on Amazon.com.au. Both are calls about fit; no tasting was run, and neither wins on flavour here.
Our verdict
Choose the AeroPress for a contained one-mug routine with a press at the end; choose the plastic V60 when managing the pour is part of what you want from the morning.
- A good fit for
- Someone choosing between two genuinely different manual routines rather than collecting variations on the same hobby.
- We would skip it if
- You want coffee made without standing over it, or the household regularly needs several large mugs ready at the same moment.
Reasons to consider it
- Both have a short, learnable process that repeats the same way each morning
- The plastic V60 keeps the starting cost to A$16.88
The compromises
- The AeroPress has to be pressed into a sturdy mug within its stated size range
- The V60 puts more of the active work into controlling the pour
What we have not verified: Neither brewer has been put through a blind tasting, a timed clean-up or an extraction test here; the capacities and care rules come from the makers' own pages.
The things in this guide
A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.
Original Coffee Maker
Dose, add water, stir and press: the sequence suits someone making one deliberate mug and wanting the grounds out in a single push afterwards.
Before you buy: AeroPress wants a sturdy mug with a top inner diameter between 67 and 95 mm, never thin glass, and the press is part of every brew.
Price checked 31 October 2026. Retailer prices can change.
V60 Coffee Dripper · 02
At A$16.88 the plastic cone is a cheap way to find out whether controlled pouring is something you actually enjoy.
Before you buy: Papers are bought separately, and the cone only earns its keep if you have a kettle and a spot where pouring is comfortable.
Price checked 5 November 2026. Retailer prices can change.The two methods ask for attention at different moments
AeroPress describes immersion followed by a gentle press: water on the grounds, a short wait, then push it through. Hario describes a cone with spiral ridges and an unrestricted outlet, where pouring fast or slow changes the cup. You do not have to accept either maker's claim that its method makes a better coffee to use the difference.
If the pour itself is part of the pleasure, the V60 puts it at the centre. If you would rather measure, add water and finish with one press, the AeroPress is the closer match. Neither runs unattended, so be honest about how much of the morning you want to spend standing at the bench.
Count your own mugs, not the cups on the box
AeroPress Australia gives the Original a 300 mL chamber, rated at one to two cups, while Hario rates the 02 cone at one to four cups. The two makers count cups differently, and neither figure means a pair of large mugs comes out of one easy brew. Size the recipe to what you actually drink.
When two people leave at the same time, rehearse the handover, because two small manual brewers do not add up to a big one. Doing the whole routine twice is fine on a Sunday and annoying at 7:40. If several large mugs at once is the usual case, neither of these is the answer.
The cheap brewer is not the whole set-up
The AeroPress is A$79.95 direct from AeroPress Australia, with paper micro-filters, a scoop and a stirrer in the box and free shipping over $99. The V60 is A$16.88 on Amazon.com.au from the third-party seller AudioMaster, shipped by Amazon, and size-02 papers have to be bought on top. The gap is real, but it is not the whole bill.
Both still need coffee, a kettle and a vessel you are happy to use. Hold off on specialty accessories until something actually annoys you: brew one sensible recipe for a week and note the step you dislike. A purchase aimed at a named annoyance is easy to judge; a starter bundle is not.
Pick the clean-up you will actually do
AeroPress tells owners to eject the used coffee straight after brewing and to store the brewer with the seal pushed right through the chamber so it is not left compressed. It specifies a sturdy mug between 67 and 95 mm across at the top, warns against thin glass, and strongly discourages the inverted method. A product photo with a glass mug is not a guide to what you should press into.
For either brewer, include binning the filter, rinsing the parts and putting everything away in that imagined morning. The AeroPress carries a one-year warranty and goes on the top rack of the dishwasher. If you already make coffee you like with one of them, keeping it is a stronger default than switching for an untested promise.
How we put this together
Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.
- AeroPress Australia: AeroPress Coffee Maker - Original (opens in a new tab)
- Amazon.com.au: Hario V60 Plastic Coffee Dripper, Size 02, White (opens in a new tab)
- Hario USA: V60 Plastic Coffee Dripper 02 (opens in a new tab)
