Best / Best single dose grinder

Best single dose grinder (2026)

Updated 2026-10-20

Single dose vs hopper: which do you need?

Single dose

You weigh the beans for one coffee, grind them and empty the grinder. No beans wait in a hopper.

Fits if you switch beans often or weigh every dose.

Hopper

You fill the hopper with beans and grind as many doses as you need.

Fits if you drink one coffee all week.

Retention is where the two designs differ in our data. It is the ground coffee that stays inside the grinder, in grams. The figures below are each grinder's headline figure, taken from the sources on each review page. A maker's own figure is left out.

Design	Grinders	Lowest	Median	Highest
Single-dose electric grinders	19	under 0.1 g Timemore Sculptor 078S	0.5 g	2.7 g Eureka Mignon Zero 55S
Hopper electric grinders	10	1.4 g De'Longhi Dedica KG521	2.25 g	about 8 g Graef CM 800

The honest limit: retention matters most when you switch beans often or weigh every dose. The figures come from different testers with different methods, so read gaps of a few tenths of a gram with care. Read the retention deep dive for all 38 grinders.

Hand grinders are single dose by design. See the best hand grinders and the best hand grinders for espresso.

Our picks

11 electric grinders with a single-dose design and a published retention figure have enough reviewer support. Our top pick is the DF54.

Best overall

DF54

Electric grinderVery loud

Coffee Chronicler measured 0.2 to 0.3 g retention without the bellows and 0.0 to 0.1 g with them, and 14 g of espresso grounds in 24 s.

Source: The Coffee Chronicler 2024-04-08

4 of 4 reviewers recommend it

Skip it if: You want lots of aftermarket burr options

Delivered to Lithuania€284.99

at Amazon.de, €284.99 with free shipping

€284.99 at Amazon.de →Read the DF54 review

Lowest retention

Timemore Whirly 01S

Electric grinderModerate

Tests put retention at about 0.1 g.

Sources: Quaffee 2025-06-25, CoffeeGeek 2026-01-25

3 of 3 reviewers recommend it

Skip it if: You grind espresso every morning

Delivered to Lithuania€99

at Kavos draugas / Coffee Friend, €99 with free shipping

€99 at Kavos draugas / Coffee Friend →Read the Timemore Whirly 01S review

Also recommended

Fellow Opus

Electric grinderQuiet

LifeStyle Lab puts retention at about 0.5 to 0.8 g.

Source: LifeStyle Lab 2023-09-06

3 of 3 reviewers recommend it

Skip it if: You switch between espresso and filter all day

Delivered to Lithuania€233.87

at Amazon.de, €233.87 with free shipping

€233.87 at Amazon.de →Read the Fellow Opus review

Also recommended

Fellow Opus 2New

Electric grinderLoud

Tests show retention around 0.2 g, falling to about 0.1 g when the lid is pumped like a bellows.

Source: The Coffee Chronicler 2026-09-29

3 of 3 reviewers recommend it

Skip it if: Light-roast pour-over is your priority

Delivered to Lithuania€249.95

at Kavos draugas / Coffee Friend, €249.95 with free shipping

€249.95 at Kavos draugas / Coffee Friend →Read the Fellow Opus 2 review

No delivered price right now

Niche Zero No shop has it in stock for our six countries right now.

Shop links may earn us a small commission. It never changes what we recommend. How we research

Retention

Retention of these picks, in grams

Less is better: it is the ground coffee that stays inside after you grind. Each figure is the source's own and links to it.

Hand grinder
Electric grinder
Figure
With an aid
Range

Sorted from the lowest to the highest figure. See all 38 grinders.

Data table: every figure, its condition and its source

Grinder	Figure	Role	Condition	Source	What the source says
Timemore Whirly 01S	about 0.1 g	Headline		Quaffee 2025-06-25; CoffeeGeek 2026-01-25	Tests put retention at about 0.1 g.
Fellow Opus 2	about 0.2 g	Headline		The Coffee Chronicler 2026-09-29	Tests show retention around 0.2 g, falling to about 0.1 g when the lid is pumped like a bellows.
Fellow Opus 2	about 0.1 g	With an aid	lid pumped like a bellows	The Coffee Chronicler 2026-09-29	Tests show retention around 0.2 g, falling to about 0.1 g when the lid is pumped like a bellows.
DF54	0.2 to 0.3 g	Headline	without bellows	The Coffee Chronicler 2024-04-08	Coffee Chronicler measured 0.2 to 0.3 g retention without the bellows and 0.0 to 0.1 g with them, and 14 g of espresso grounds in 24 s.
DF54	0 to 0.1 g	With an aid	with bellows	The Coffee Chronicler 2024-04-08	Coffee Chronicler measured 0.2 to 0.3 g retention without the bellows and 0.0 to 0.1 g with them, and 14 g of espresso grounds in 24 s.
DF54	0.1 to 0.3 g	Other figure		The Coffee Chronicler 2024-04-08; Nucleus Coffee 2024-05-03	Tests show very low retention, usually 0.1 to 0.3 g.
Fellow Opus	0.5 to 0.8 g	Headline		LifeStyle Lab 2023-09-06	LifeStyle Lab puts retention at about 0.5 to 0.8 g.

How we picked

Fit: we look at electric grinders with a single-dose design and a published retention figure.
Price: a shop has it in stock and delivers to at least one of our six countries. The price beside each pick is for the country you choose.
Reviewers: at least 2 reviewers recommend it, and at least three in four of the reviewers we list do. The reviewer list is on each review page.
Reason: the line under each name is quoted from that grinder's own review file, with the sources that review cites for it.
Ranking: the share of reviewers who recommend it, then how many do, then the owner rating from shop listings, then the lower delivered price.
Best overall is the first grinder in the ranking.
Lowest retention is the lowest published figure, in grams, among the grinders whose headline figure was taken without an aid such as a bellows.
If fewer than 4 grinders get a role, the next in the ranking are added as “Also recommended”.
We have not used these grinders ourselves. Everything here comes from published reviews, owner ratings and shop prices.

How we research

Questions

What is the best single dose grinder?

Our pick is the DF54 (best overall), €284.99 delivered to Lithuania. Reviewers: 4 of 4 reviewers recommend it.

Which grinders are on this list?

DF54 (best overall), Timemore Whirly 01S (lowest retention), Fellow Opus (also recommended) and Fellow Opus 2 (also recommended).

Which single dose grinder has the lowest retention?

Among our picks, the Timemore Whirly 01S has the lowest published figure, about 0.1 g. Every figure links to its source.

How did you choose these grinders?

Fit: we look at electric grinders with a single-dose design and a published retention figure. Price: a shop has it in stock and delivers to at least one of our six countries. The price beside each pick is for the country you choose. Reviewers: at least 2 reviewers recommend it, and at least three in four of the reviewers we list do. The reviewer list is on each review page. Reason: the line under each name is quoted from that grinder's own review file, with the sources that review cites for it. Ranking: the share of reviewers who recommend it, then how many do, then the owner rating from shop listings, then the lower delivered price.