What to Buy Appliances Small Appliances The 6 Best Stand Mixers for 2023, Tested and Reviewed Attack any baking task, big or small, with our top picks. By Jennifer Zyman Updated on June 26, 2023 In This Article Expand Jump to a Section Our top picks Reviews Our Favorite The Tests Factors to Consider FAQ Other Stand Mixers We Tested Our Expertise We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Many professional bakers now have cookbooks sharing wisdom, like tricks for making the best cookies or common mistakes to avoid when baking with chocolate. While plenty of recipes do fine with a hand mixer and other essential kitchen tools, many cookbook recipes require a stand mixer. Most home kitchens have a stand mixer, and many professional chefs use them both in their bakeries and restaurants as well as at home. "We use a stand mixer in the bakery all the time for small projects, savory and sweet, whipping cream cheese, small batch cookie recipes, research and development," says Zak Stern of Zak the Baker in Miami, Florida. Sarah O'Brien, James Beard semifinalist baker and owner of Little Tart Bakeshop in Atlanta, Georgia, uses stand mixers for small-batch toppings in her bakeries and regularly for baking at home. When selecting a mixer, a buyer's top considerations should be which dishes are a priority, the batch capacity, design features, attachments, countertop footprint, and ease of cleaning. "I cream the butter for my cookies to the max, so I need one with a good motor," says O'Brien. Stern, a James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Baker in 2022, says he looks for solid materials and unfussy mechanics. "I want to buy tools built strong enough to pass down to my kids. I try to avoid all the bells and whistles. Those are typically the first things to break." Keeping all of these criteria in mind, we scoured the market for the best stand mixers for every kitchen and tested them with various challenges, such as making whipped cream, a batch of oatmeal cookies, and a loaf of whole wheat bread. Read on about the best stand mixers on our list and find which of your favorites made the cut. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Kenwood 5-Qt. Chef Kitchen Machine at Amazon Jump to Review Best Large Capacity: KitchenAid Pro Line Series 7-Quart Stand Mixer at Amazon Jump to Review Best Value: Breville Bakery Chef Stand Mixer at Breville.com Jump to Review Best Splurge: Wolf Gourmet High-Performance Stand Mixer at Amazon Jump to Review Best Compact: KitchenAid Artisan Mini Stand Mixer at Amazon Jump to Review KitchenAid 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer at Amazon Jump to Review Best Overall Kenwood 5-Qt. Chef Kitchen Machine View On Amazon View On Williams-Sonoma Pros It is a perfect size for the counter, and everything comes together quickly and on time according to the recipes. Cons Shutting it, particularly with the dough in the bowl, is difficult, and the bowl is not clear, making it difficult to see what is going on inside. The design of this space-age-looking mixer is especially appealing for modern kitchens, and it's ideal size for the average counter. Its silver body is effortless to clean with no nooks or crannies, and some parts can go in the dishwasher. The bowl is broad and deep enough for most jobs, although occasionally rattling at high speeds. We love the guard and find having the tools on the top of the machine handy. There are different hubs around the device for impressive attachments, including a food processor and blender. A dual ventilation system also ensures the motor does not overheat. Price at time of publish: $550 Accessories included: 5-quart stainless steel bowl, K-beater, flexi beater, whisk, dough hook, spatula, spanner, and splash guard.Capacity: 5 quartsPower: 750 wattsDimensions: 8.9"D x 15.7"W x 11.7"H Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Best Large Capacity KitchenAid Pro Line Series 7-Quart Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer View On Amazon View On Walmart View On Sur La Table Pros The lever to lift the bowl up and down makes it easy to disassemble for cleaning or switching projects. Cons We noticed the bowl is difficult to seat when trying to push the back end of the bowl in place. The KitchenAid 7-Quart Pro Line stand mixer easily handles all of our recipes, and it is our recommendation for bakers looking to make larger batches. O'Brien has had the same machine for 15 years. "I love my KitchenAid," O'Brien says, "I felt like a real grown-up when I got my first one." She has had the same machine at home for 15 years, and her favorite is "the biggest one I can get." While the 7-quart bowl allows the mixer to accommodate more significant jobs, it can also easily handle smaller batches. We love how easy the level is to lift the bowl up and down. The ease of the lever also makes it easy to disassemble for cleaning or to move on to the next project. The mixer comes with standard attachments, but more can be purchased separately for various tasks. Price at time of publish: $680 Accessories included: Powerknead spiral dough hook, flat beater, and stainless steel wire whip.Capacity: 7 quartsPower: 969.8 WattsDimensions: 14"D x 16.5"W x 11.5"H Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Best Value Breville Bakery Chef Stand Mixer View On Breville.com View On Sur La Table Pros The quiet yet powerful mixer does the job quickly, with efficient presets and automated timers. Cons It does not allow other attachments like some brands, but the performance makes up for some limits in versatility. When it comes to width and depth, this Breville stand mixer is the perfect size for any counter. The well-built machine completes every task powerfully with minimal noise and mess. It achieves stiff peaks in 18 seconds, a record time compared to others in our test pool. The performance is amazing, and we love the presets for whipped cream and dough. The built-in timer is a fantastic added feature, as it shuts off automatically once the time runs out. The mixer clears the bowl and handles every test with ease. The exterior is durable and easy to keep clean — fingerprints do not show. Our tests proved it's one of the best options across the board and an asset to any baker's kitchen, and it's also affordable for what you get compared to other brands with the same capacity. Price at time of publish: $400 Accessories included: Scraper beater, standard flat beater, dough hook, wire whisk, splash guard, pouring shield, 5-quart borosilicate glass bowl, 4-quart stainless steel bowl, and spatula.Capacity: 5 quartsPower: 550 WattsDimensions: 11.4"D x 14.8"W x 14.3"H Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Best Splurge Wolf Gourmet WGSM100S High-Performance Stand Mixer Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore View On Amazon View On Williams-Sonoma View On Wayfair Pros It is a good style for countertop display, and many attachments are available. Cons The mixer struggles with bread dough and sometimes gets warm and loud as the dough expands. The Wolf Gourmet High-Performance Stand Mixer is a total splurge and a solid workhorse. The sleek silver exterior is heavy-duty and easy to clean, making it a fancy addition to any countertop that need not hide under a decorative mixer cover. The bowl is deep, with a low and high setting. The mixer handles whipped cream and cookies, but it struggles slightly with whole-wheat bread. The Wolf is a handsome addition to any kitchen, with many additional attachments for sale, including a meat grinder. The magnetized attachment cover makes switching between functions a matter of seconds. Price at time of publish: $995 Accessories included: Flat beater, whisk, and dough hook.Capacity: 7 quartsPower: 500 WattsDimensions: 20"D x 19.5"H x 13.1"W Food and_Wine/Russell Kilgore Russell Kilgore Best Compact KitchenAid Artisan Mini 3.5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer View On Amazon View On Williams-Sonoma View On Wayfair Pros KitchenAid has plenty of extra attachments that can be purchased separately, and this compact version is useful for any avid baker with tight kitchen space. Cons Larger quantities can be an issue with this mixer, and it can get noisier as mixing tasks become more arduous. The KitchenAid Artisan Mini Plus 3.5-quart mixer is the best for small jobs, such as a batch of cookies or one loaf of bread. Larger batches are challenging for the Mini, but this is the best choice for compact kitchens. The paddle attachment has an excellent rubber edge for scraping the bull during cookies and is an overall well-constructed machine. Although the mixer is on the more compact side for smaller counters, it still has ten speeds, and its light weight makes it easier to handle when taking it in and out of storage. It also works with most of KitchenAid's handy attachments, from pasta makers to spiralizers. Price at time of publish: $380 Accessories included: 3.5-Quart Stainless Steel Bowl, Flex Edge Beater, Coated Dough Hook, and 6-Wire Whip.Capacity: 3.5 quartsPower: 250 wattsDimensions: 7.8"W x 12.3"H x 12.3"D Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer Amazon View On Amazon View On Target View On Williams-Sonoma Pros Not difficult to use, and the hinge feature is very convenient. Attractive and high-quality construction. Cons The top of the machine wobbles during use and is heavy to lift. The KitchenAid 5-Quart Artisan mixer is the classic we all know and love and a high-quality tool ideal for small-to-medium jobs. Larger quantities might be an issue, but this is the perfect tool for regular quintessential baking tasks and the long list of jobs that KitchenAid attachments can assist with. Stern says he loves KitchenAid because the mixers are "classic, strong, and easy to repair if necessary." We love how easily the bowl twists in and out for disassembly during cleaning. The stand is sturdy during tasks like making cookies and whipped cream but shakes while kneading the bread dough for an extended time. It did not, however, become too loud or warm during use. It is heavy (typical for this mixer) but attractive enough to take up counter real estate and versatile enough to warrant the price tag. Price at time of publish: $449 Accessories included: 5-quart stainless steel bowl, coated flat beater, coated dough hook, 6-wire whip, and pouring shield.Capacity: 5 quartsPower: 325 wattsDimensions: 14-1/10"D x 13-9/10 in"H x 8-7/10"W Our Favorite Our Best Overall mixer, Kenwood KMC011 5-Quart Chef Titanium Kitchen Machine outperformed the competition across all tests. The brand is known for its quality, and this model is a sure bet for any level of baker looking for a quality build with counter aesthetics in mind. Not to be missed, our Best Value pick, the Bakery Chef by Breville, has high scores for performance and looks. The Tests In order to test how the stand mixers would stand up to everyday use, we tried everyday recipes. We made batches of whipped cream using the whisk, a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in the stand mixer using the paddle attachment, and whole wheat bread dough using the dough hook. Because stand mixers are notoriously difficult to clean, we also considered ease of use with each. We evaluated each model based on our attributes, including design, performance, size, features, and value. Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore Factors to Consider Capacity Since every household is different in size and number of people, this list has various capacity options for smaller batch cooking or larger volume projects. Some models even come with two different bowl sizes making them even more versatile, which boosts them higher on our list. Attachments Given that mixers have various uses, we want to ensure that the models we recommend come with enough attachments to tackle everyday recipes. Therefore, they must include necessary attachments such as whisks, dough hooks, and some type of paddle. The more attachments offered, the better. Most manufacturers sell specialty ones for making ice cream, grinding meat, and making pasta. Size and weight Kitchen stand mixers are notorious for being counter hogs that are often heavy. We aim to give readers a mix of sizes depending on what kind of footprint they seek. Whether the need is for a smaller household or a large taskmaster to make Christmas cookies, the dimensions and weight of the mixer can be a strong factor in deciding the best choice. Weight can also be a deciding factor if stored elsewhere in the kitchen, like a pantry or cabinet, instead of just a countertop. The weight can also affect the stability of the mixer when it is at higher speeds, which is useful if it doesn't have suction power to help it adhere to the work surface. Frequently Asked Questions What are stand mixers typically used for? Why do I need one? Stand mixers are an essential kitchen appliance every household should own for sweet and savory recipes. People even use them for non-culinary purposes such as crafts projects like slime. For many essential recipes, a household that cooks an average amount will eventually require a stand mixer. How long do typical stand mixers last? Some manufacturers state that a mixer can last as long as 30 years with proper maintenance. However, regular use leads to a more reasonable 10 to 15-year maximum since the motors can burn out if not properly maintained. As a result, stand mixers can be pricier since they can often last so long. If you bake a lot, we recommend investing a bit more so it will last for years to come. What types of stand mixers are there? There are two main types of stand mixers: a tilt-head mixer with a hinged top for more bowl access and a bowl-lift mixer, which uses a level to bring the bowl up towards the attachments. Stand mixers also come in a variety of sizes from two to eight quarts. A medium-capacity mixer will be somewhere in the middle of that range, and the footprint is generally proportionate to the size. You can find mixers in every color under the rainbow, and some manufacturers even release limited-edition colors and collaborations with chefs and artists. Other Stand Mixers We Tested KitchenAid Professional Series 600 Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer ($500 at Amazon) Smeg Stand Mixer ($540 at Amazon) GE Tilt-Head Electric Stand Mixer ($290 at Amazon) Cuisinart 5.5-Quart Stand Mixer ($298 at Amazon) Costway Electric Stand Mixer ($90 at Walmart) Cooklee Stand Mixer ($146 at Amazon) Hamilton Beach Classic Stand and Hand Mixer ($60 at Amazon) Costway Electric Stand Mixer ($90 at Walmart) Frigidaire 4.5L Retro Stand Mixer ($68 at Amazon) Amazon Basics Multispeed Stand Mixer ($102 at Amazon) Ankarsrum 7-Liter Stand Mixer ($750 at Amazon) Aucma 6-Speed Tilt-Head Stand Mixer ($149 at Amazon) Our Expertise Jennifer Zyman is a Senior Commerce Writer for Food & Wine and a recovering restaurant critic with a culinary school degree and over 15 years of food writing experience. Her work has appeared in Atlanta Magazine, Bon Appetit, Eater Atlanta, The Kitchn, Local Palate, National Geographic, Southern Living, and Thrillist. To write this story, she used our testing insights and extensive data, her culinary expertise, and expert advice from Zak Stern of Zak the Baker and Sarah O'Brien, the lead baker and owner of Little Tart Bakeshop. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit