Ninja 12-Cup review: the CE251 is still the budget drip machine to beat

Budget coffee makers mostly compete on price. The CE251 competes on features: two brew strengths, a delay timer, a warming plate you can adjust and a reservoir that lifts out. It's the cheapest machine on our list that behaves like a mid-range one.

For a while the catch was finding a new one. That's sorted: the button below goes to a new CE251 sold and shipped by Amazon.

Tasting Table named the Ninja CE251 the best overall machine in its 2023 affordable coffee maker awards. The write-up praised how hot the coffee came out, and it liked the adjustable plate and the easy controls.

That's a named source, but it's from 2023. Our ranking prefers 2026 evidence, and the CE251 has none we could verify from an independent publisher this year. It's also not on the SCA certified list, which is normal for machines at this price.

So why does it make the top ten? Because the budget slot needs a machine with some outside evidence, and the CE251 has more than any rival under $100. The listing details back up what Tasting Table described.

These are the Ninja 12-Cup specs from the new CE251 listing logged Oct. 28, 2026. You get Classic and Rich brews on a 24-hour delay timer. The warming plate adjusts and runs up to 4 hours, the 60 oz reservoir comes off for filling, and a small-batch setting for 1 to 4 cups keeps a short pot from tasting thin. It runs on 120 V and draws 1,100 watts.

The spec table finally gives a size: 14.6 in tall on a 10.5 by 9.9 in footprint. That clears most upper cabinets with room to swing the basket out. If the gap is tight, the reservoir lifts off so you can fill it at the sink without pulling the machine forward.

Warranty is one year, the shortest among the ten picks that state one. The box holds the carafe and Ninja's scoop, plus a permanent filter.

Who the CE251 suits, priced at the site's default bean cost:

• A family of five where three people drink coffee. Three 12 oz mugs is 36 oz, a little over half the pot. About $401 a year in beans.
• A shared house. Four people at one 10 oz mug each is 40 oz. Brew on the timer at 6:30 and nobody fights over who makes coffee.
• A small office. Twelve maker cups covers about six 10 oz mugs. Pair it with a thermos so the second half of the pot doesn't sit on the plate.

The Rich setting is worth trying if you add milk. Weak coffee is the most common complaint with budget machines, and a stronger brew fixes most of it.

Cleaning the Ninja 12-Cup after each pot is a rinse of the basket and carafe. The CE251 ships with a permanent filter, and that mesh holds on to coffee oil, so give it soap and a brush rather than a quick rinse.

How to descale the Ninja 12-Cup: there's a Clean button for it. Fill the reservoir with descaler and water as the manual says and press it. Afterward, run two full reservoirs of plain water. Monthly if you have hard water, every two or three months if you don't.

The reservoir lifts out, so scrub it occasionally too. A tank that stays damp between uses can grow a film.

We don't print the Ninja 12-Cup price because it moves too often to be useful here. What we can tell you is who sells it. On Oct. 27, 2026 the only CE251 in our listings was a renewed unit, and a CE201 from a third-party seller had a spec table showing 240 volts, which won't run on a US outlet. On Oct. 28 a new CE251 appeared, sold and shipped by Amazon, and that's the one every button on this site now opens.

Renewed CE251s are still out there. When you shop for Ninja 12-Cup deals, a suspiciously low number usually means renewed, so check the condition line before you add it to the cart.

The Ninja CE251 vs Mr. Coffee page compares the two budget finalists, and the best budget coffee maker guide adds a certified option.

Big households on a budget. Shared houses. Anyone replacing a dead coffee maker this week who doesn't want to think hard about it.

It's also a good first machine for someone who suspects they'll upgrade later. The CE251 does enough to teach you what you care about (strength, timing, carafe), and when it finally wears out you'll know whether the next machine should be thermal, certified or just another CE251 bought for roughly the price of two months of café drinks.

It's the wrong choice if your coffee regularly sits for hours. Thermal carafes fix that; this machine doesn't have one.

Twelve cups at 5 oz is 60 oz, matching the reservoir:

The small-batch mode keeps the solo row from tasting thin.