Cheaper capsules for a Nespresso Original, and which ones fit

The best Nespresso compatible pods for most Original machine owners are by Amazon Colombian Coffee aluminium capsules, at a little over a third of the per-cup price of Nespresso's own Arpeggio when we last checked. For a longer cup buy L'OR Espresso Lungo Profondo, and if you want the empties to go on a compost heap rather than into a recycling bag buy Grind House Blend.

Which Nespresso compatible pods are best?

by Amazon Colombian Coffee aluminium capsules, for most people with a Nespresso Original machine. They cost 19p a cup when we last checked, against 52p for Nespresso's own Arpeggio, they come in aluminium like Nespresso's, and the listing says outright that they do not fit a Vertuo. L'OR Espresso Lungo Profondo is the pick for a longer drink, and Grind House Blend for anyone who composts.

Every capsule here clears one bar before anything else: its maker states, in its own words, that it fits Nespresso Original machines. Compatibility decides whether a box of capsules works at all, so it is never inferred from a photo or a retailer's category.

by Amazon Colombian Coffee aluminium: best value

Amazon's listing describes 100 aluminium capsules in ten packs of ten, filled with 100% arabica from Colombia that is roasted and packed in Belgium. It rates the coffee 7 on its own strength scale, 'medium-strong', with 'well-rounded acidity with balanced sweetness, and full body', and carries Rainforest Alliance certification. On compatibility it is unusually direct: 'Not compatible with Nespresso Vertuo Machines.'

At 19p a cup when we last checked, this is 33p a cup under Arpeggio, which at two capsules a day is about £238 a year. What you give up is a named roaster and any story about the farm. The listing does not mention Podback either, so check the brand on Podback's Recycle Checker before you assume the empties have a route.

Skip it if you want a dark, heavy espresso, or if recycling the capsule matters as much as the price.

What it saves over a year, and how it sits against the other capsules for the same machine, is in the full review. by Amazon Colombian pods review

L'OR Espresso Lungo Profondo: best for a longer cup

L'OR say their Classic capsules are 'compatible with L'OR BARISTA® machines and Nespresso® Original machines'. Their XXL capsules are not: L'OR design those for the L'OR Barista system only, so check the box says Classic before ordering. Lungo Profondo is rated 8 of 13 on L'OR's intensity scale and described as an 'intense lungo with dark chocolate depth and roasted almond notes', best drunk as a lungo or a lighter Americano.

It comes as 40 capsules at 21p a cup when we last checked, only 2p more than the by Amazon capsule. The difference is the recycling route. L'OR's owner, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, set up Podback with Nestlé, and L'OR say a white Podback bag holds up to 120 used L'OR pods, to drop at a participating shop or tip loose into the Podback container at a council recycling centre.

Skip it if you mostly drink short espressos; this blend is built for the longer cup.

The full review covers the blend and what L'OR publish about it. L'OR Espresso Lungo Profondo review

Grind House Blend: best compostable

Grind say their pods fit 'all original-style Nespresso® machines' and their own Grind Two machine, and then list the exclusions: Nespresso Vertuo, Dolce Gusto, Lavazza and Tassimo. Their Amazon listing also excludes L'OR machines. They advise against using the pods in built-in Nespresso machines, because the pods 'like to be kept in a cool, dry environment'.

The capsule is the reason to buy it. Grind describe it as 100% plastic-free, made from plants and certified home compostable, filled with speciality-grade coffee; House Blend is a medium roast with milk chocolate and almond notes that Grind say pairs perfectly with milk. It costs 32p a cup when we last checked: 13p more than the by Amazon capsule and still 20p under Arpeggio.

Skip it if your machine is built into a kitchen unit, or if you have no compost heap and would put the pods in general waste anyway.

Grind's exclusion list and the price of the premium are covered in the full review. Grind House Blend pods review

Will compatible pods work in my Nespresso machine?

Yes if it is a Nespresso Original machine and the capsule's maker says so; no if it is a Vertuo. Original and Vertuo are separate systems from the same company. Vertuo capsules are larger and carry a barcode around the rim, and no Original capsule, own-brand or compatible, fits a Vertuo machine.

Fit is not perfectly uniform even inside the Original system, and owners say so. On the MoneySavingExpert forum one poster wrote in August 2024 of third-party capsules 'not fitting quite right and leaking and even some where the capsule was too strong for my machine to punch holes through'. The same poster had earlier found one supermarket's own capsules 'a bit too densely packed so my machine struggles'. Buy a small box of a new brand before you commit to a hundred.

Aluminium, compostable or plastic: which capsule is better?

Aluminium, for most people: it seals the coffee well, and Podback recycles it for its member brands. Amazon's listing says aluminium makes its capsules 'perfectly hermetic', and Nespresso say their own capsules are made of at least 80% recycled aluminium. Podback, the not-for-profit recycling service launched in April 2021, shreds aluminium pods to remove the coffee and sends the metal to South Wales to be made into drink cans and car components.

Compostable capsules only make sense if you can compost them. Which? (September 2026) separates pods designed for industrial composting, which need extra heat, air or moisture, from home compostable pods that break down in a garden heap, and says compostable pods belong in a food waste bin only where the council accepts them. Grind's pods are home compostable, and Grind say general waste is still better than plastic or aluminium. Podback's own description of what it recovers covers aluminium, plastic and coffee grounds, and says nothing about compostable pods.

Plastic capsules have a Podback route too, where the brand is a member: the plastic is cleaned and turned into pellets. Podback has 28 member brands, together more than 80% of the UK pod market by its own figure, and 51% of UK households can recycle pods at a council recycling centre.

How much cheaper are compatible pods than Nespresso's own?

Between 20p and 33p a cup cheaper than Nespresso Arpeggio when we last checked, which at two capsules a day is between about £144 and £238 a year. A capsule is a fixed dose, so the cost per cup is simply the pack price divided by the number of capsules.

Arpeggio sits exactly on the 52p median of the 129 capsules we track, a figure that includes Vertuo, Dolce Gusto and Tassimo pods. All three compatible picks come in under it. Prices move, so the cards at the top of this page carry today's figure.

Who should skip compatible pods?

• Vertuo owners. None of these capsules fit, and the compatible market for Vertuo is very small.
• Owners of a built-in Nespresso who were looking at Grind; Grind advise against it.
• Anyone with a Nespresso blend they genuinely love. The saving is real, but swapping a coffee you like for one you tolerate is a poor trade.
• Anyone who wants the lowest cost per cup and does not mind the work. A refillable stainless capsule takes any ground coffee and beats every pod on price.

The verdict

Buy by Amazon Colombian Coffee aluminium capsules if you want the biggest saving on a Nespresso Original machine. Buy L'OR Espresso Lungo Profondo if you drink longer cups and want a Podback route for the empties. Buy Grind House Blend if you compost at home and will pay 13p a cup more to keep metal out of the bin.