Lelit Anna PID vs Lelit Victoria

Lelit Anna PID

• ✓PID included at this price point
• ✓Compact and lightweight
• ✓Large water tank for its size
• ✓Good stepping stone machine

• ✗57mm portafilter (non-standard)
• ✗Single boiler workflow
• ✗Basic steam wand
• ✗Less modding community than Gaggia

Lelit Victoria

• ✓Ready to brew in about 6 minutes - far faster than E61 machines
• ✓58mm portafilter opens up the full range of standard accessories
• ✓Programmable pre-infusion and auto-backflush are rare under $1,000
• ✓Slim 9-inch width fits apartment counters

• ✗Single boiler means waiting between brewing and steaming
• ✗Small 0.3L boiler limits steam power for back-to-back milk drinks
• ✗Only 1 year warranty
• ✗No shot timer built into the display

Lelit Anna PID

The Anna's appeal is that it arrives already doing what its most obvious rival needs modifying to achieve. It is a compact single boiler with PID temperature control you can actually set, a 58mm commercial portafilter, and Italian build at $700 — and the comparison owners make constantly is against a Gaggia Classic. The Gaggia is a fine machine and a beautiful one, but without a controller board fitted it leaves you temperature surfing and fighting for consistent shots. The Anna gives you adjustable, stable temperature out of the box with nothing to install. As one owner weighing the two put it, the Anna is a good choice as it comes; the Gaggia becomes the more capable machine only once you have modded it, at which point you can exceed a dual boiler with profiling and pressure control, but that is a project rather than a purchase. Full owner insights →

Lelit Victoria

The Victoria is Lelit's argument that a single boiler done properly still belongs in a serious kitchen. It is a compact machine built around a 300cc brass boiler sitting directly on the group head — not a thermoblock, a point owners correct newcomers on regularly — with to-the-degree PID control, a full 58mm commercial portafilter, programmable pre-infusion, a three-way solenoid for dry pucks and an automated backflush routine. That combination at $1,000 is why it keeps landing on shortlists next to the Profitec GO: you get the features people normally mod a cheaper machine to obtain, from the factory, in a footprint that suits a small counter. Owners who get it dialled in are genuinely enthusiastic, with more than one reporting it makes better espresso than the commercial machine at their workplace, and latte art comes easily enough that people are pouring competently within days. Full owner insights →