Reviewed and updated: November 10, 2026
We recommend De’Longhi Magnifica Start ECAM22022B if you want fresh-bean espresso and longer coffees without measuring grounds into a portafilter. It grinds, doses and brews the coffee for you, while keeping milk frothing manual. That is its main compromise: easier coffee preparation does not mean an automatic cappuccino or a maintenance-free machine. We’d choose Stilosa EC260BK instead if you want to prepare the coffee yourself and prefer a simpler manual setup without an integrated grinder.
These two machines make a useful starting point because they remove different amounts of work. Magnifica Start handles the coffee inside the machine; Stilosa puts the grounds, filter holder and shot stop in your hands. Both require you to steam milk manually. Start with the part of making espresso you want to do each morning, then choose the machine around that preference.
Choose Magnifica Start when the coffee preparation is the work you want removed
The ECAM22022B has an integrated conical burr grinder and direct selections for Espresso, Coffee and Americano. After choosing your drink, you do not fill, tamp and lock in a separate portafilter for each serving. That is useful if you want whole-bean coffee at home but do not want loose grounds and a separate grinder to be part of every preparation.
You can select the coffee intensity, and the built-in grinder has thirteen adjustment settings. Those controls give you room to adapt the drink without turning the purchase into a manual espresso station. Grind changes must follow the manual, including adjusting the dial only while the grinder is operating. The settings are useful adjustments, rather than proof that every bag will produce your preferred drink immediately.
There is also a separate pre-ground coffee option, which can be useful for an occasional different coffee such as decaf. It is not another bean hopper. Use the designated funnel and the manual’s single-dose directions rather than putting ground coffee into the bean container. We would value this for an occasional alternate cup, not expect two coffees to remain loaded and ready in separate integrated grinders.
The Espresso, Coffee and Americano selections describe different drinks, so consider what you actually fill your cup with. A one-touch longer coffee can be more useful than a menu of milk-drink names if you mostly drink black coffee. Conversely, someone who wants a finished latte without handling a milk jug needs a different milk system from this manual-frother version.
Stilosa is the more fitting choice when you want the portafilter process
We would choose Stilosa when you are comfortable measuring ground coffee, tamping it in the supplied filter and stopping the shot yourself. It has a pump and a stainless boiler, but its appeal is the straightforward manual format. You decide when to start and stop the extraction rather than choose a bean-to-cup recipe and let an internal brew unit manage the preparation.
There is no built-in grinder, which can be an advantage if you already own a suitable one or want to choose that part separately. It also means a machine-only purchase is not automatically a complete whole-bean setup. Leave room in your budget and on the counter for the coffee preparation equipment you actually need, rather than compare just the two machine bodies.
Stilosa’s included single and double filters give you a defined place for the ground coffee, with a spoon and tamper for preparation. The compatible paper-pod option uses the appropriate filter and is not the same system as a K-Cup or Nespresso capsule. If pods are important to you, match the exact type before buying a supply based only on the word espresso.
For a closer manual-machine comparison, our small steam brewer versus pump espresso guide explains why Stilosa is a different purchase from a sealed steam-carafe brewer. Its pump specification still should not be read as a guarantee of café results or a substitute for suitable coffee and preparation.
Milk remains hands-on with both choices
The Magnifica Start version here has a manual steam wand. You position a suitable jug, start steam when the machine is ready, texture the milk and stop the flow. Its automatic coffee preparation can make that division of tasks appealing: the machine handles the grounds while you retain control of the milk. It does not remove the need to handle a hot wand and jug carefully.
Stilosa also asks you to steam milk yourself, with a separate transition between brewing coffee and steaming. Follow its cooldown directions before brewing again after steam. If you expect several milk drinks in succession, think about those transitions as part of the purchase, rather than choose on the assumption that a manual machine will prepare coffee and steam simultaneously.
Both milk systems need cleaning after use. Magnifica Start’s instructions include purging and cleaning the steam spout, allowing it to cool before taking off the detachable parts. Stilosa’s wand also needs prompt care. We would choose either only if you are willing to do that work after milk drinks; a convenient coffee button cannot clean dried milk from the outside of a wand.
Automation changes the cleaning work rather than removing it
Magnifica Start collects used grounds internally, so you empty a grounds container and drip tray instead of knocking out a portafilter after every serving. Automatic rinses also send water through the coffee system, which needs somewhere to go. Keep a practical place for the tray and water tank to come out; convenience is reduced if the machine is boxed into a tight corner.
The removable brewing group is an important ownership difference. Switch the machine off as directed before removing it, and clean that group with water only: no detergent and no dishwasher. Some removable parts can go in the dishwasher, but that does not include the brewing group or the whole appliance. Follow the specific cleaning directions for each part rather than treating all removable pieces alike.
Stilosa gives you more direct access to the coffee filter and holder, but you wash and maintain those pieces yourself and still descale the brewing system. Magnifica Start also needs descaling, with the water-hardness setting helping govern its reminders. Neither purchase eliminates mineral care. We would compare which cleaning arrangement you find more manageable, rather than assume the automatic machine will require no attention between drinks.
Our recommendation
Choose Magnifica Start ECAM22022B when you want the grinder and coffee preparation handled internally and are happy to froth milk manually. Choose Stilosa EC260BK when preparing the grounds and controlling the shot are part of what you want. De’Longhi models have substantially different milk systems; choose the version that gives you the preparation you want.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.