I'm ready to step up from blade grinders I've used for ever to a super budget minded steel burr grinder. What can you recommend under $100 USD that will give me improved coffee for espresso, single serving drip over cup, french press, and cold brew?

I'm on a really tight budget and wish I could afford those really nice ones but can not. Thank you for advising me.

You can get amazing results with a quality hand grinder. It's possible to find a used one for your budget although you might have to spend an extra $50 depending on what's available.

1Zpresso, Kingrinder, Timemore and Orphan Espresso will give you the bang for your buck.

Tons of reviews and comparison available on Youtube.

No electric grinder under $400-$500 (sometimes more) will match a solid hand grinder in performance and even workflow.

You could try a Capresso Infinity. Although for espresso you would probably need to use a pressurized basket in your portafilter. I can also recommend a Baratza Encore but it is a bit above your budget.

lightcapture wrote:<snip> steel burr grinder. What can you recommend under $100 USD that will give me improved coffee for espresso, single serving drip over cup, french press, and cold brew?<snip>

You're expecting too much from a single, ultra-low budget grinder. While you may be able to find repeatable settings on a cheap grinder for drip, press and cold brew, dialing in for espresso, after using the grinder for something else, will drive you nuts. You don't list your equipment. As noted already, if your espresso machine will accept pressurized baskets, you might just get by. Otherwise, you're doomed to fail making decent espresso That said, nearly any burr grinder would be better than a blade grinder. I agree with the comment that your best bet would be a hand grinder. But, if you want a cheap electric grinder, consider the Cuisinart Supreme DBM-8. I have a friend who has had one for years, and he swears by it. However, I think that if you could save another fifty bucks, or find a good used one, you'd be better off with a Baratza Encore, as already suggested.

Kingrinder K6 is on sale on Amazon at a buck below your budget. It's a manual grinder that uses the same burrs as the excellent 1Zpresso K-Plus (which I own and enjoy for all the new methods you mentioned).

Both grinders also include external grind level adjustment, but the K-Plus costs more than twice as much and has larger steps (22 vs 16 micron), so less ideal for espresso. I don't think there's any electrical grinder at even 3 times the price that would match the K6. This is without a doubt the grinder I would buy if the budget is limited to $100.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

The above link will be head and shoulders above any blade grinder. It's just barely adequate for espresso but does a very good job for pour over and drip. I've never used it for French press or cold brew.

Thanks for the suggestions. Maybe I can spend $140. I'll be looking preowned too.
The KIngrinder, 1Zpresso, Timemore sound, and capresso, oxo, Cuisinart Supreme, Yaemarine all look interesting.
I purchased a preowned Rancilio Silvia w/ PID for cheap so I want a grinder to do it justice. Can the hand grinders listed grind for espresso. Mind you I'm not a connoisseur but want a decent espresso as well as the other brewing styles.

All hand grinders mentioned can easily grind for espresso, except the Timemore (in this budget). It can grind fine enough, but the grind level steps are too big, so dialing in espresso will be difficult. Make sure to get a grinder where the grind steps are less than 20 micron.

At this budget I would get the Kingrinder K6 and the runner up would be the 1Zpresso X-Pro (which uses smaller burrs but otherwise looks great).

ira wrote:Though the Rocky in Buy/Sell for $85 might be a decent choice if you can plan to replace the burrs in the near future, around $35 if you shop carefully.

That is a very good price for a used Rocky if it is in good condition. I still keep my old Rocky around as a spare and as a loaner for friends/relatives that need a good grinder on occasion. The espresso grind it produces is very close to what I get with the Macap M4. Because it is stepped it is fast and easy to accurately move from espresso grind setting to pour overgrind setting and back. If I needed an all around versatile grinder and only had a hundred bucks to spend that one would be at the top of my list.
Ed