Both are the same purchase: a small manual espresso machine with no grinder, bought as the first serious one. The Bambino Plus and the Gaggia Classic E24 split on two things, and only one is reversible. The milk wand is a habit you can change. The portafilter size is a drawer of baskets and tools you keep buying for years.
Where the two differ
| Bambino Plus (SES500) | Gaggia Classic E24 | |
|---|---|---|
| Portafilter | 54 mm | 58 mm |
| Milk system | hands-free automatic wand | manual steam wand |
| Heat-up time | 3 seconds | not published |
| PID | yes | not published |
| Width x depth x height | 194 x 362 x 304 mm | 200 x 270 x 355 mm |
| Counter area | 702 cm² | 540 cm² |
| Water tank | 1.9 L, removable | 2.1 L, taken out from the front |
| Weight | not published | 8.1 kg |
| Rated power | 1,600 W | 1,200 W |
| Water filter | Claro Swiss, 3 months or 40 L | none published |
| Descale interval | none published; flashing lights signal it | every 2 months, or when flow drops |
| UK warranty | 2 years | 3 years |
| UK price, checked 21 September 2026 | £349.95 to £399.95 | £549.00 |
They agree on little: a 15 bar pump, a steam wand, a removable tank, no grinder, no published cup clearance.
The basket size you are marrying
Gaggia is direct about its number. Its UK distributor writes on the page for why to buy a Gaggia Classic that the machine “features a 58mm portafilter – the same size used in commercial espresso machines”. Sage’s 54 mm runs across its own range, so the Barista Express, Pro and Touch take the same baskets as the Bambino Plus.
Each number keeps you in a family. Baskets, tampers and distribution tools are bought by diameter, so whichever you pick is the drawer you fill from here on.
The boxes differ as much as the number. The Bambino Plus brings a 54 mm tamper, single and dual wall baskets in one and two cup, the Razor dosing tool and a 480 ml jug. Gaggia’s UK distributor publishes no basket or tamper spec for the E24; Gaggia’s global Classic E24 page lists “Plastic tamper; 3 filters”, being “3: 1 pressurized filter for 1 or 2 cups; 1 traditional filter for one cup/pod” plus one for two. Budget for a metal tamper.
Gaggia Direct counts four ways to brew on the Classic range: ground coffee in the traditional 58 mm basket, ESE pods on the supplied single basket, and two capsule systems on a naked portafilter. Sage lists no pod or capsule route for the Bambino Plus.
The milk wand runs against the price
The dearer machine is the manual one. Gaggia describes a “PROFESSIONAL STEAM WAND”, Gaggia Direct’s Classic E24 listing a “Professional Stainless Steel Steam Wand”, and the same distributor credits temperature stability to a “professional three-way solenoid valve”. Sage’s product page for the Bambino Plus lists “Hands-free milk texturing”, with “Adjustable milk temperature and texture level” on a panel of three buttons.
So the £150 to £200 you save on the Sage also buys the wand that runs itself. On the Gaggia, milk is a skill you acquire. Neither maker says how the result tastes.
Footprint, height and the tank
The Gaggia takes 540 cm² of counter against the Sage’s 702 cm², because its 270 mm depth is 92 mm shallower. It buys that back upwards at 355 mm tall against 304 mm. Widths are near identical, and weight is published on one side only: 8.1 kg for the Gaggia, nothing for the Bambino Plus.
The tanks decide how you live with them under a wall unit. Gaggia lists its removable components as “Water tank (frontal); drip tray (frontal); steam wand ogive”, so the E24 is filled from the front and never needs pulling out. Sage does not say which face the Bambino’s 1.9 L tank comes off.
Upkeep, and what each maker will sell you
Gaggia publishes a calendar. Its Classic E24 page says to descale “every 2 months and/or whenever you notice a reduction in the water flow”, to “only use the Gaggia descaler”, and lists the descaling cycle as manual, a procedure you run by hand. No water filter is published for this model.
Sage runs the other way round. The Bambino Plus manual sets no descale interval, leaves the machine to signal with flashing lights, and names no descaler. It gives a filter instead: “Replacing the water filter after 3 months or 40L will reduce the need to descale the machine.” One maker sells a routine, the other a consumable.
Cover runs the Gaggia’s way. Gaggia’s Classic technical features page states three years on Classics against Sage’s two, so for £149.05 to £199.05 more it carries a year longer.
Choose the Bambino Plus if
You want the milk handled for you, you want to spend less, and 54 mm suits you because a Sage Barista machine is the likely next step. You get a published three second heat-up, PID, a named filter on a stated schedule, and a tamper and four baskets in the box.
Choose the Gaggia Classic E24 if
You want the 58 mm commercial size and the drawer behind it, a shallower 270 mm footprint, a front-filled 2.1 L tank, three years of cover and a published descale interval rather than a warning light. Expect to buy a tamper, to texture milk yourself, and to accept no published heat-up time or PID figure.
