Breville Barista Pro vs De'Longhi La Specialista Arte EC9155
These two machines are direct competitors at the same $699-$899 price band. The Specialista Arte has a better-regarded steam wand for manual milk texturing. The Barista Pro has faster heat-up, more grind settings (30 vs 8), and a shot timer that helps with dialing in. For milk-focused drinks, the Arte is a strong choice. For espresso-focused technique and feedback, the Barista Pro is better.
Spec face-off
Bars scaled to the higher value. Coloured = wins that spec.
Full specifications
Strengths & weaknesses
Full comparison
The De'Longhi La Specialista Arte costs $699; the Barista Pro costs $899. Both include built-in conical burr grinders and semi-automatic brewing with non-pressurized baskets. The $200 difference is real but not enormous — this comparison is genuinely about which feature set fits your priorities.
The Arte's LatteArt steam wand is consistently praised for manual milk texturing. It produces the kind of steam pressure and control that lets you practice latte art properly. The Barista Pro's manual steam wand is capable but less celebrated at this price point. If steaming technique matters to you, the Arte punches above its price on milk.
On the espresso side, the Barista Pro has more flexibility. Thirty grind settings versus eight on the Arte means finer adjustment when dialing in a new bag of beans. The LCD shot timer provides extraction time feedback that the Arte lacks — you can see exactly how long your shot ran and adjust grind or dose accordingly. The ThermoJet also heats up in 3 seconds versus a longer warm-up on the Arte's single boiler.
Both machines share a 51mm portafilter — smaller than the 58mm commercial standard, which limits basket options somewhat. The Arte ships with a plastic portafilter insert that should be removed for better shots, which is a minor but telling detail about its out-of-box setup.
Choose the Arte if manual milk texturing is central to your routine and you want to develop steaming skills. Choose the Barista Pro if grind precision, shot timing feedback, and faster workflow matter more. Both are solid machines at this tier.