I love my Moccamaster, but $370 is a lot for drip coffee — this Ninja brewer is the best alternative (and it's under $90!)

(Image credit: Future) The Coffee Lab (Image credit: Tom's Guide)I'm Erin, and welcome to the seventh episode of The Coffee Lab, the series where we forget coffee snobbery. The Coffee Lab is all about making coffee fun. Join me as I help you kickstart your coffee journey!The Moccamaster is revered in the coffee world, and for good reason. It's one of the few SCA-certified (Specialty Coffee Association) drip brewers, it has a lifetime repair promise, and is so good that it's remained mostly unchanged since the '60s. But it's also $369... yes, $369. This price is simply unattainable for most of us.If you're looking for a drip brewer for less, let me introduce the Ninja 12-Cup Coffee Brewer. This little workhorse is just $89 — but often discounted to $69 — and is a fantastic budget option. We've got this in our New York office and it's a crowd pleaser (and then some).So, no, you don't have to spend $400 to get one of the best coffee makers. Let me tell you exactly what the Ninja 12-Cup Coffee Maker is capable of. Spoiler alert: it's an absolute steal if you can snag it for $70.Choose your brew (Image credit: Tom's Guide)Just like the Technivorm Moccamaster KGBV Select, the Ninja 12-Cup puts you in the driver's seat. You can choose to brew either a full batch or a small batch (1-4 cups vs 12 cups), so you never waste coffee. And when you have guests around, everyone gets a cup of hot coffee at the same time.If that's not enough, there are also two brewing modes: Classic and Rich. Classic makes that smooth and full-bodied cup, whereas Rich is more intense. Of course, you can still adjust this flavor based on how much coffee you put in the filter basket — you're in control, after all.Wake up to a fresh pot every day (Image credit: Tom's Guide)Now, this is something my Moccamaster actually can't do. With the Ninja 12-Cup, like the Smeg Retro Coffee Maker, you can program a delayed brew start. Essentially, you can set your coffee maker up before bed, then it will come on before you wake up so you get a fresh pot of coffee as your alarm clock.Honestly, how cool is that? I want to wake up every day to the smell of coffee. Maybe it'd make that early-morning alarm more palatable.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.But there are some sacrifices for the $90 price tag (Image credit: Tom's Guide)Of course, you're not going to get the same performance in a $90 coffee maker as you would in a $370 coffee maker. The Ninja doesn't have SCA certification, and it doesn't have a 5-year warranty or lifetime repairs.Ninja only offers a 1-year warranty, which obviously pales in comparison to Technivorm's. If you want an SCA-approved machine, you'll unfortunately have to fork out a bit more for something like the Moccamaster, the super-speedy Breville Luxe Brewer, or the gorgeous Fellow Aiden.One of the cheapest SCA-certified models I've seen is the $149 Bonavita 5-Cup. Of course, though, this is only a 5-cup brewer — the Ninja does double that!You're always going to have to weigh up pros and cons when choosing a new coffee maker — but the Ninja excels in the price department. You get a surprising range of features for your $90, which is why the Ninja 12-Cup is my go-to for a great drip machine that won't break the bank.Have you tried the Ninja 12-Cup, or would you try it? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to check back next Friday for more from The Coffee Lab. I post new videos on Tom's Guide's TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube every single week. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok. Finally, you can visit our dedicated Tom's Guide Savings Squad hub for expert help on getting the best products for less. More from Tom's GuideAeroPress is so much easier to use than you think — here's why it's my favorite manual coffee makerYou don't have to spend $1k on espresso — my pro setup is under $650 (trust me, I'm an ex-barista)Nespresso gets a bad rap in the coffee world — but here's why I think it's perfect for some people (from a coffee snob) Erin Bashford is a senior writer at Tom's Guide, focusing on reviews. She has a Masters in Broadcast and Digital Journalism from the University of East Anglia. As an ex-barista, she knows her way around a coffee machine, and as a music lover, she's constantly chipping away at her dream of having a multi-room home sound system. In her spare time you can find her reading, practising yoga, writing, or stressing over today’s NYT Games.