Ninja Fresh Brew 14-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker CE451

The Ninja Fresh Brew CE451 is the budget pick on our list of the best drip coffee makers. It suits a household that wants a full pot waiting in the morning, fills the machine at the sink, and does not want to pay for a specialty certification. It is the standard drip brewer SharkNinja sells now in the slot the older CE251 used to fill; that model no longer has a page on Ninja's US site.

Tom's Guide gave it a Recommended rating in February 2026 and called it a good everyday option for most households, while noting that it lacks SCA certification and is not the best-tasting drip brewer the site has reviewed. Consumer Reports includes it in its 2026 lists of the best drip coffee makers and the best coffee makers overall.

If you sip a pot slowly over a whole morning, or usually brew a single mug, another pick on our list will suit you better.

The feature set covers what most people want from a programmable brewer. There is a clock with a 24-hour delay brew, two brew styles, a small-batch setting for four cups of water or less, a mid-brew pause that lets you pour a cup before the cycle ends, and a drip stop. Ninja describes Classic as smooth and balanced and Rich as a stronger brew that holds up to milk and creamer. Tom's Guide found the delay brew simple to program and set it for every weekday morning; its reviewer had come from an OXO Brew 8-Cup, which has no timer, and named delay brew one of her favorite features.

The water reservoir lifts off and carries to the sink. It holds 70 ounces, the same as the 14-cup carafe, which Tom's Guide found enough for two people to have seconds. That capacity is the largest on our list.

Brewing is better than the price class suggests. Consumer Reports' brew-performance test measures how long the water stays between 195°F and 205°F and how much coffee ends up dissolved in the cup, and it rates the Fresh Brew excellent on that test. Ninja credits a system it calls Thermal Flavor Extraction, which combines heating the water to brewing temperature, a pre-infusion step and saturation of the grounds. Tom's Guide found the Classic setting smooth and balanced, and a small batch comparable in taste to a larger pot.

Cleanup is simple. Ninja says the glass carafe can go on the top rack of the dishwasher, Tom's Guide notes that the reusable filter can too and that the carafe lid comes off completely for rinsing, and Consumer Reports rates the machine very good for ease of cleaning. A clean button runs the descaling cycle. Ninja suggests running it once a full Classic pot takes longer than 25 minutes, and Tom's Guide found the cycle itself takes about 75 minutes.

It is not loud. Tom's Guide measured about 47 dB on average and 65 dB at the peak of the brew.

A reusable filter comes in the box, according to Tom's Guide. If you prefer paper, Ninja specifies #4 cone filters; flat-bottom basket filters will not fit.

It is slow. Consumer Reports puts a full pot at about 11 minutes, well behind the other picks on our list, and Tom's Guide found that even a four-cup small batch took just over five minutes. The delay timer hides this on weekday mornings, but not when you want a second pot.

The carafe is glass and sits on a warming plate. The plate holds coffee for two hours by default and up to four, with three heat settings according to Tom's Guide, but its reviewer found a two-hour-old cup tasted stale and lists stewed coffee after one to two hours as a drawback.

Consumer Reports found the carafe a little tricky to pour without drips and names carafe handling as the area where it trails other models on its list. Tom's Guide reported smooth pours, so this may depend on how you pour.

It is not SCA certified, and it cannot brew into a mug: Ninja says the 14-cup carafe that comes with the machine is the only vessel it supports. The warranty is one year.

The OXO Brew 8-Cup sits in a higher price class and does less on paper, with no timer and a fixed tank. In return it is SCA certified, TechGearLab timed it at 5 minutes 22 seconds a pot, and it pours into a thermal carafe with no hot plate, so coffee does not stew.

The Breville Luxe Brewer Thermal keeps the Ninja's delay start and removable tank and adds certification, custom brew settings and a thermal carafe, at a much higher price class. Tom's Guide notes that the Ninja holds more coffee than the Breville.

Whatever you buy, fresh beans ground at a medium setting on a burr grinder such as the Baratza Encore ESP will improve the pot more than any setting on the machine.

The Fresh Brew CE451 is the practical budget choice: programmable, easy to fill and easy to clean, with brewing that Consumer Reports rates excellent. Accept the slow cycle, the hot plate and the one-year warranty, and drink the pot within an hour or two of brewing.