Keurig K150 vs K155

There is no doubt that a Keurig coffee maker is a great choice for a small office. Coffee, like the thermostat, can be a source of ongoing tension and debate in an office environment. When an office or a work team shares a traditional coffee maker (see Keurig K150 vs K155), there can be disputes about who is responsible for brewing coffee or cleaning up the coffee area, as well as disagreements about the flavor and strength of the shared coffee once it's made.

Having a Keurig in the office solves many of these little disagreements, as coffee is brewed on-demand, rapidly, and with an easy cleanup. And, with the variety of choices in K-Cup pods, everyone can have the flavor and brew that they prefer. A Keurig is a great way to keep everyone happy and focused on work.

While all the different Keurig models of have different features and capabilities, a couple clear distinctions always separate their home from their commercial models:

Commercial Keurigs are UL listed for commercial use, while home models are UL listed for residential use only. UL listing is the result of voluntary safety testing by Keurig, and indicates that the electrical components of the coffee maker meet commercial standards.

While these additional safety certifications are not required for home appliances, many commercial settings encourage, if not require, this kind of testing before installation in a professional environment, and Keurig commercial coffee makers meet these standards.

The Keurig K150+ series is designed for small offices of 20-30 people, and specifically made to brew up to 35 cups of coffee a day.

This commercial series of coffee makers is larger and more robust than Keurigs designed for home use, and that difference is reflected in the price tag: commercial Keurigs cost significantly more than home Keurigs.

So, for all that extra cost, what exactly is in the box? And is the K155 better than the K150? Let's take a closer look.

As we can already see, these brewers have most of the key features in common. With both the K150 and the K155, you will enjoy:

Both models are virtually identical in size, and extremely compact and efficient for a professional coffee maker.

A huge 90 ounce reservoir allows you to brew up to 18 cups of coffee on a single refill. With the speedy time (less than 1 minute of waiting) between back-to-back brews, that's enough to get the whole office going in the morning.

The range of cup sizes means that you can get strong, espresso-like coffee and large travel mugs filled with the same machine.

The Keurig brand refillable pod, My K-Cup, is not compatible with either machine. This is a severe drawback, because brewing with single-use, disposable K-Cup pods, particularly in a high-volume office setting, takes a severe toll on the environment.

Both of these Keurigs can be programmed to operate in English, Spanish, or French as you prefer.

The ability to choose from 5 different temperature settings allows people to brew coffee at the temperature that they prefer, or to brew coffee that will stay hotter for longer. This feature is very popular in Keurigs.

Quiet brew technology reduces noise while the machine is in operation, helping to reduce distractions and keep coworkers focused on their tasks.

The easy-to-read, easy-to-operate full-color LCD screens on these models help everyone brew the exact cup of coffee they prefer, by guiding you through the options for each cup. It also makes programming the device fast and easy.

Using the touch screen, you can customize many of the settings and features of the K150 or K155. You can set the clock, which enables the ability to program the machine to automatically turn itself on and off at set times of day.

You can also choose (or disable) your brew sizes, choose the language of operation, and adjust the brew temperature.

You can program your Keurig office coffee maker to turn itself off if it is idle for a period of time.

Energy saving mode recognizes when the Keurig is idle and reduces the amount of power it uses until it is needed again.

As you can see, both models are very similar in terms of operation and functionality, and have everything you might need to keep a small office happy and caffeinated.

Let's move on to take a closer look at the differences between these models.

There are two big differences between these machines, one that is apparent on the surface, and another that is only apparent after you buy it.

The K150 was initially made and marketed during the time that Keurig introduced their “Keurig 2.0 technology,” in which their coffee makers would only brew pods that were sold or licensed by Keurig.

There was an immediate consumer backlash, as consumers wanted to continue to brew third-party K-Cups, refillable K-Cups, and other pods that were not made by Keurig.

Keurig quickly walked back this technology and introduced model numbers ending in -5 (55, 25, 75, etc.) that were not DRM protected, and could be used with third party K-Cup pods. The K150 will still only brew 2.0-compatible K-Cups that are licensed by Keurig, while the K155 will brew all compatible third-party pods.

This third party compatibility is a huge advantage for the K155, for two reasons:

While Keurig sells the K155 directly to consumers, so that people can install a K155 in their home kitchen if they want to, the K150 is only sold through Keurig authorized distributors. This means that if you purchase a K150 through any other means (say, through Amazon), Keurig will not support the coffee maker, even though it has a 1-year manufacturer's warranty.

They will refer support requests and problems back to the seller.

While one could assume that the K150 is a robust machine and unlikely to experience problems and issues in the first year, it is also true that they do sometimes have problems and it is difficult to have issues responded to or resolved in a timely manner.

If you purchase a K150 for home or office use, without buying it from a Keurig-authorized distributor, you run the risk of not having the support you may need if the machine doesn't work properly or breaks down early.

Keurigs are not known as especially reliable appliances, although the commercial product line is more robust than the consumer models. It is more than likely that you will need service and support for an office Keurig, so support is an important consideration. 

While third-party pods and authorized support are incredibly important, there is yet another factor in comparing these two models: the Keurig K150P.

The Keurig K150P is identical to the K150, except that this model can be plumbed directly to a water line, which neither the K150 base model or the K155 are capable of. This plumbing capability means that you never have to fill the reservoir at all, and the Keurig can simply draw the water that it needs directly from your water lines.

This feature makes the Keurig K150P even more fast and convenient than the K150 or K155, because you no longer have to fill the reservoir and then wait two to three minutes for the machine to be prepared to brew. By drawing its own water on demand, the K150P is always ready when you are, based on your programming.

Note that the plumbing kit that would actually connect the Keurig K150P to a water line is sold as a separate, additional item, and not included with the coffee maker itself.

Like the K150 base model, the K150P is only available through Keurig-authorized distributors, but this feature may be an enormous advantage over the base model, and may make the difference between the two for your installation needs and capabilities.

In conclusion, these are both good choices of coffee maker for a small office, and there isn't a clearly decisive superior choice. We can safely eliminate the K150 base model, as not being a competitive choice either way, but ultimately the decision boils down to:

The K150P is more expensive than the K155, but that makes sense considering how convenient the plumbing feature is. In a high-volume office, the investment may be well worth the cost for the ease, convenience, time savings, and reduced fuss and bother of having your Keurig plumbed in.

But if you need to place your office Keurig in a spot that isn't close to an incoming water line, there is no reason for the additional expense.

Whether you should get a K150P or a K155 really depends on your needs and the use environment that works best for you. There are strong arguments to be made for either model, but now you have the essential information that will help you make the best choice for you and your office.