The subject matter of the present invention is an improvement in the continuous production of methyl (meth)acrylate or of ethyl (meth)acrylate by direct esterification of (meth)acrylic acid with methanol or ethanol, under reaction conditions for which the acid is in excess relative to the alcohol, in particular with an acid/alcohol molar ratio of between 1.0 and 4, and under a pressure ranging from atmospheric pressure to 5 bar. The process of the invention makes it possible to minimize the formation of ethyl ethoxypropionate during the esterification reaction, and results in an improvement in the material balance, simplification of the purification train for the desired ester, and optimization of the energy balance.