The Criteria: What to Look for in a Stand Mixer
The best stand mixer is the KitchenAid 7-Quart Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer, which is ultra-powerful and can tackle almost any mixing, whipping, or kneading task. For a smaller option that will suit many home bakers, we recommend the KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer.
A vast majority of baking recipes call for a stand mixer. And we've long recommended bowl-lift models from KitchenAid: They're wicked powerful, often have a flat-bottomed bowl suitable for double-boiling or using on the stovetop, and can tackle nearly any recipe.
However, stand mixers are expensive—and take up a lot of countertop real estate. You want to be sure you’re getting the right one for money, needs, and space. So, we decided to (finally!) test 12 popular stand mixers to find the unequivocally best ones.
We recently tested a newer model from KitchenAid that, the brand told us, replaced our previous favorite (the Professional 600). It proved to be exceptional and we’ve added it as our top pick.
The Winners, at a Glance
This bowl-lift model shares many of the same qualities as our previous, now-discontinued top pick: Namely, it’s super stable and ultra-powerful. Its attachments nearly reach the sides of the bowl, allowing it to tackle large and small amounts of ingredients alike. It also has a 7-quart capacity and a bevy of durable stainless steel attachments (three paddles, one whisk, one dough hook, a pouring shield, and a bowl scraper).
The KitchenAid Artisan series mixer is a 325-watt tilt-head stand mixer that's smaller, lighter, and less powerful than our top pick. However, it's compact enough to store in a pantry or on the countertop without dominating the entire area. And it still had plenty of strength to cream butter, whip egg whites and heavy cream, and make pizza dough without struggling.
If you bake professionally or in large batches frequently, the Wolf Gourmet is a great option. This stand mixer is one of the heaviest and largest machines we tested, and its bowl securely locks into its base. The 500-watt motor easily creamed butter, whipped heavy cream, and kneaded dough. And the generous 7-quart bowl was large enough to handle double the amounts we tested.
With an extra-large capacity, this super-stable stand mixer kneaded dough exceptionally well (it also was surprisingly fast at aerating whipped cream). While it's expensive and has a learning curve, for serious bread bakers, it may be well worth it.
The Tests
Serious Eats / Irvin Lin
What We Learned
How Do Stand Mixers Work?
Serious Eats / Russell Kilgore
Stand mixers have a bowl attached to the base. Typically, they have one attachment that rotates in what’s called planetary action—meaning it moves in a circular motion while the bowl stays put. It’s sort of like how the Earth rotates around the sun. This rotating, circulating attachment ensures ingredients are evenly distributed and mixed (ideally).
Larger Attachments Were Generally Better
Serious Eats / Irvin Lin
To be an effective stand mixer, the attachments should fit the bowl's shape, keeping close to the bottom and sides of the bowl so that ingredients can smear, fluff, or stretch properly. The poorest-performing mixers had attachments set too far away. Whipped cream in the Instant 7.4-quart Stand Mixer had liquid at the sides and bottom, requiring us to stop the mixer to scrape and incorporate the cream. Pizza dough crept up the dough hook of the Smeg 50’s Retro Stand Mixer enough we had to stop the kneading multiple times to pull it off the top of the hook. And Breville’s The Bakery Chef Stand Mixer’s paddle attachment didn’t come close enough to the sides to adequately cream the butter or incorporate the sugar.
Our winners had attachments that perfectly fit their bowls, letting the machine do its job with minimal help from the user.
A Stand Mixer Shouldn't Be Tough to Use
KitchenAid stand mixers are exceedingly simple to turn on and off.
Serious Eats / Irvin Lin
Our winning stand mixers all had intuitive buttons, knobs, switches, and levers we could immediately figure out. The KitchenAid 7-Quart and the Artisan stand mixers featured control switches on the side you used to increase or decrease the speed of the mixer. Easy. The Wolf Gourmet had a large control knob dial that smoothly turned it on. It was equipped with 10 clearly printed settings and a “pulse” mode—a nice addition when you don’t want a continuously spinning paddle, like when adding dry ingredients or mix-ins like chocolate chips.
We'll admit that our final winner, the Ankarsrum, had more of a learning curve, You don't add ingredients in the typical way, which you can read about here, but once we got the hang of it, it was fine. What wasn't fine was mixers that featured touchscreens. With this interface, increasing or decreasing the speed became annoying, as you had to press the plus or minus buttons repeatedly.
We Preferred Bowls with Handles
Serious Eats / Irvin Lin
Though it seems like a small detail, having a handle on the bowl made a difference. Pouring batter or scraping out the dough was significantly easier when you could hold the bowl with one hand and tilt it. Mixers that had bowls with large, comfortable handles were also easier to lift off and place back on the stand mixer.
The KitchenAid Classic, in particular, jammed in the base when we kneaded pizza dough, and it was exceedingly difficult to remove the handleless bowl afterward.
Your Stand Mixer Shouldn’t Go for a Walk
See these stand mixers? They were all stable.
Serious Eats / Irvin Lin
Walking is great unless you’re a stand mixer. In this case, you want it to stand still when it’s working. Some mixers are prone to “walking” across the countertop as they knead dough or rapidly cream butter. Most stand mixers are heavy for a reason, as their weight helps keep the mixer stationary. For example, our favorite stand mixers from KitchenAid and Wolf weighed 31 and 25.8 pounds.
Some lighter mixers have suction cup feet to keep them steady. However, we found these annoying to use and move.
The Criteria: What to Look for in a Stand Mixer
Serious Eats / Irvin Lin
The best stand mixers can mix, cream, and knead ingredients thoroughly without issue. Attachments should properly fit in the bowl, with minimal clearance on both the bottom and sides, ensuring the stand mixer can handle large and small amounts of ingredients easily.
Look for a stand mixer that is also simple to operate. The mixer should have intuitive speed adjustment and adding and removing its bowl and attachments should be straightforward. Heavier stand mixers are more stable and less prone to walking and powerful motors ensure the mixer can knead doughs of all hydrations and stickiness without strain.
Our Favorite Stand Mixers
What we liked: This bowl-lift, 7-quart stand mixer delivered with power and ease of use. It whipped heavy cream, mixed batter, and kneaded pizza dough deftly. We liked the numerous paddles it came with—including a silicone-lined one meant for scraping—and that all of the attachments were stainless steel, so there’s no chance of them chipping. Its pouring shield had silicone bumpers that kept it in place on the bowl’s rim, its bowl had a large handle, and its extra-long cord featured a silicone piece for wrapping it up tidily. We also appreciate the mixer’s redesigned hub: Instead of a cap that flips upward, the hub comes off entirely. We’ve had issues with flipped-up hubs detaching completely (and never fitting properly again), so we prefer this newer version. Additionally, this mixer has a brushed stainless steel bowl that resists smudges and fingerprints and is fairly quiet when operating.
What we didn’t like: It can take some finagling to properly seat the bowl on the stand mixer’s pronged arms. The mixer has a raised bump at the base that can lead to unmixed ingredients accumulating around it. Of course, it's also heavy.
Key Specs
Serious Eats / Riddley Gemperlein-Schirm
What we liked: For folks who don’t bake as often but still want a top-of-the-line stand mixer, the KitchenAid Artisan series is a great option. With a 325-watt motor, it’s less powerful than its 7-quart sibling, but still does a great job creaming butter, whipping heavy cream, and making cake batter. The smaller size means it doesn’t take as much space on the countertop, but the 5-quart bowl is still big enough for most baking projects.
Because the Artisan series has less power and a tilt-head, it does struggle with stiffer bread and pizza dough. However, it got the job done, producing a smooth dough without heating up or becoming too loud. The Artisan series is solidly constructed and doesn’t move much when in use, as long as you knead dough at a lower speed. It also has a variety of attachments you can purchase for it, making it an exceptionally versatile kitchen appliance.
What we didn’t like: The motor is a little less powerful than other stand mixers, so it does struggle a bit with stiffer doughs.
Key Specs
Serious Eats / Irvin Lin
What we liked: If you’re a professional or frequently bake in large batches, the Wolf Gourmet High-Performance Stand Mixer might be the machine for you. It has a 7-quart bowl that twists and moves up and down as you lock it into place, which helps keep the machine ultra-stable—even during sticky, tough tasks.
The large bowl also mixes up smaller batches just fine. It made airy whipped cream, creamed butter, and easily kneaded the pizza dough without struggling. It had some nice features as well, like a pulse option and adjustable speed settings.
What we didn’t like: There’s no way to get around it: this is a huge machine. It takes up a lot of real estate on your countertop, and might not fit under some cabinets (measure first). It weighs a lot, so moving or storing it is difficult. It’s also expensive—nearly twice as much as our top pick from KitchenAid.
Key Specs
Serious Eats / Irvin Lin
What we liked: Unlike many stand mixers, which use planetary rotation (e.g. the mixing arm spins while the bowl remains stationary), the Ankarsrum spins the bowl—we know, mind blown. As we noted in our review, this setup allows it to have a large bowl capacity and means it can mix at higher speeds. It also features a unique kneading paddle, quite unlike the dough hook you might be used to. In our testing, we found it quickly and efficiently kneaded dough. The whisk attachment also excelled at aerating whipped cream, doing so in a mere 35 seconds.
What we didn't like: There's no getting around it: the Ankarsrum isn't exactly intuitive if you're used to a planetary stand mixer. It requires adding ingredients in a certain order (liquids and soft things, like butter, go before dry ingredients) and finagling the head, which can be adjusted to swing closer to the center of the bowl or the edge.
Key Specs
Serious Eats / Grace Kelly
The Competition
FAQs
What is a stand mixer?
A stand mixer has a bowl attached to a stand or base, and a motor that powers attachments that mix, whip, or knead ingredients inside the bowl. Stand mixers come in a variety of colors, styles, and shapes. They are used to make the dough and batter for baking projects like cookies, cakes, brownies, and bread, automating the otherwise tedious repetitive task of stirring, whisking, or kneading.
What’s the best KitchenAid stand mixer?
The 7-Quart bowl-lift model is the best KitchenAid stand mixer. It has a robust 500-watt motor that easily kneads stiff bread and pizza dough but also does a great job at smaller tasks.
Are any stand mixers as good as KitchenAid?
We love KitchenAid stand mixers, but also think the Wolf Gourmet stand mixer is a great option, especially if you’re a professional baker who wants a large-capacity stand mixer. It features a 7-quart bowl and has a more variable speed dial.
What’s the best tilt-head stand mixer?
In our testing, we found the KitchenAid Artisan series was the best tilt-head stand mixer. It creamed butter efficiently and kneaded pizza dough with minimal strain. It was also easy and intuitive to use.
Why We’re the Experts
With the help of these two bakers (and our in-house team of experts), we put 22 of the best stand mixers to the test. We tested both classic and new brands, making batch upon batch of whipped cream, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and whole wheat bread dough.
A stand mixer is also a must-have for Sarah O'Brien, owner of Little Tart Bakeshop in Atlanta and a 2022 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Baker. "I cream the butter for my cookies to the max, so I need one with a good motor," she says.
"We use a stand mixer in the bakery all the time for small projects both savory and sweet, whipping cream cheese, small-batch cookie recipes, research, and development," says Zak Stern of Zak the Baker in Miami, a James Beard Outstanding Baker Award semifinalist. He looks for mixers with heavy-duty construction: "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."
Baking is one of the toughest cooking methods to master. There are baking cookbooks with tips and tricks from professional chefs, but kneading bread and cutting butter into pastry can be finicky, especially if you're mixing by hand. The best stand mixers automate all of that, enabling you to get the perfect consistency in everything from cookies to sandwich bread .
In testing, the 5-quart Artisan worked somewhat slower than competitors, but it whipped, combined, and kneaded reliably, evenly, and thoroughly. It's easy to clean, with a dishwasher-safe bowl and attachments that have smooth surfaces and fewer corners to catch crumbs. The motor placement makes it top-heavy, however, which leads to wobbling and shaking when running at high speed. It's also on the loud side. The price is a little higher than average, though this is a machine that can last you for decades.
The KitchenAid stand mixer is an icon of the modern kitchen. This machine's streamlined look, twist-to-lock bowl, and simple controls haven't changed much since they were first introduced in 1937, and it's a testament to how well-designed the thing is that it's still a best-seller almost a century later. That applies to pros as much as home cooks, too: Stern says he loves KitchenAid because the mixers are "classic, strong, and easy to repair if necessary." Plus, you can get the mixers in dozens of attractive colors and patterns.
The Mini's beater blade has a flexible silicone edge to scrape the sides of the bowl, and we found that effective in thoroughly incorporating cookie dough quickly. It also had no trouble in our whipped cream test, turning in one of the faster times. Kneading dough, however, was not its strength. A one-loaf recipe was able to fit in the bowl (barely), but the low-power motor got very loud and the whole machine wobbled across the table.
This tiny version of the classic KitchenAid is ideal for cooks with big aspirations who have small kitchens. The Mini works just like the other two KitchenAid models on our list, only with a smaller capacity and less weight. It has 10 speeds and comes with the standard set of a beater, dough hook, and whisk. It's compatible with most of KitchenAid's handy attachments, from meat grinder to pasta maker to spiralizer .
This compact version of the classic KitchenAid is useful for any avid baker with tight kitchen space.
The biggest downside of the Wolf mixer is its price. This was the most expensive mixer we tested, at more than triple the average. But like all of the brand's appliances, it's built to last for years.
In testing, the Wolf easily handled whipped cream. It performed especially quickly with cookie dough. It struggled a bit kneading bread dough, as the hook didn't effectively reach everything stuck to the sides of the deep bowl. We had to stop and scrape it down a few times for best results. The mixing bowl isn't dishwasher-safe, though we did note that it didn't have any crevices and joints to hold onto bits of food while hand-washing.
A serious workhorse, the Wolf Gourmet is a heavy-duty machine equally at home on a home countertop as in a restaurant kitchen. Its 7-quart bowl can handle larger recipes, and the motor is designed to keep spinning at the same speed no matter how much strain it's under. Rather than a limited number of settings, the Wolf's dial rotates to raise and lower the speed smoothly through its full range.
It's very expensive, and struggled to fully scrape down the sides of the deep bowl.
The redesigned 7-quart KitchenAid comes with more attachments than most of its brand-mates, including a whisk, dough hook, and three separate beaters: the standard flat beater, a flat beater with silicone bowl-scraping edges, and a special pastry beater made to cut cold butter into flour for croissants and other types of pastry recipes . We were most impressed in testing by how well the large mixer handled small amounts; it was able to reach all parts of the bowl even when it was mostly empty. If you have the space (and the money), it's a good option whether you're feeding large or small groups.
"I love my KitchenAid," O'Brien says, "I felt like a real grown-up when I got my first one." She's had the same model at home for more than 15 years, and it's an older version of this 7-quart monster. (It's "the biggest one I can get!" she enthuses.) Rather than the head tilting down into the bowl like with smaller KitchenAid mixers, this one uses a crank to lift and lock the bowl in place under the stationary motor. It's more stable than the tilt-head design: This bowl-lift model was quieter and less wobbly than the other three KitchenAids we tested.
*Editor's note: We tested the KitchenAid Pro Line Series 7-Quart Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer, which is no longer available. This version is nearly identical, at a slightly lower price.
If you want to expand the abilities of your mixer, the Kenwood has four different attachment points for various accessories you can buy, from a slicer to a blender to an ice cream maker . Unfortunately, all of those cost extra money on top of this machine's already high price. Our other design quibble is that the tilt-head sits very low over the bowl, making it hard to see the contents during mixing, as well as to close and lock in place when the bowl is full of stiff dough.
This space-age-looking mixer is appealing for modern kitchens, and it's much more powerful than its compact form would make you guess. The bowl and attachments can all go in the dishwasher , and we found Kenwood's splash guard especially helpful at keeping the base (and our counters) clean. It was a little slow in whipping cream in our tests, but it mixed everything thoroughly and effectively, and it was quite quick at kneading bread dough.
It's expensive, and the tilt-head design makes it tough to see inside while mixing.
The Breville Bakery Chef comes with separate glass and steel bowls and all the standard blades and beaters, and it's only slightly above average in price. That's honestly a really solid deal. The only big reason we can think of that you might want to skip this mixer is if you're looking to expand its functions with additional attachments. Unlike KitchenAid and some other brands, there aren't compatible meat grinders, pasta rollers, or similar accessories.
We like that the 12 speed settings are helpfully named for their purpose — knead, beat, whip — and the built-in timer is fantastic. You can set a mixing session and move on to the rest of your recipe, knowing that the machine will shut off automatically. We also love the integrated light to illuminate the contents of the bowl.
On top of its high power and quality materials, this Breville stand mixer is a nice size for any counter. It completed every task in our testing quickly with minimal noise and mess. It whipped cream to stiff peaks in 18 seconds, far faster than any other model, and it mixed cookie dough and kneaded bread dough evenly, efficiently, and quietly.
Our Favorite Stand Mixer
Our best overall mixer, the Bakery Chef by Breville, 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 nice aesthetics. In second place, the Kenwood 5-Quart Chef Titanium Kitchen Machine is versatile and super-powerful, albeit more expensive.
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
How We Tested Stand Mixers
We chose a total of 22 stand mixers to try out side-by-side in our lab. We made notes on general design, size, and setup, and put them through a trio of real-world tests.
After completing the above observations, we revealed the retail prices of the mixers to consider value. At the time of testing, the models ranged from $40 to $1,000, with an average of $315. Following these tests, we continued to use the nine top-performing mixers for everyday kitchen tasks, checking in after 2 months and 6 months to note any long-term issues.
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
Factors to Consider
Capacity
The "standard" bowl size for stand mixers is about 5 quarts. That's plenty of room to knead a full loaf of bread or mix a double-recipe of most cookies. To save on space and cost, there are mini models as small as 3 quarts, but these can be overwhelmed by even a single large batch of dough. For the high-volume baker, you can size up to a 7- or 8-quart mixer. Of course, these cost more, and they may not be able to fully combine small batches. A few mixers include two bowls of different sizes, effectively giving them two different capacities at once.
Attachments
Essentially every stand mixer comes with three attachments: a whisk, a dough hook, and a paddle. These can cover pretty much every use, but some models offer additional specialty tools. One that we found especially helpful in testing was a paddle with flexible silicone or rubber edges. This scrapes the full interior of the bowl to make sure nothing sticks or fails to mix.
In addition to the included attachments, most mixers have a slot for connecting additional accessories. This can include anything from a meat grinder to an ice cream maker to a full-on blender. The attachments cost extra but add lots of versatility. Before you buy one, though, make sure it's compatible with your specific model of mixer.
Footprint
Stand mixers are notorious for being countertop hogs. Their motors are heavy, and their bowls and bases often occupy a lot of space. Weight is not a bad thing in this case. The lighter mixers we tested jumped all over the counter, while heftier ones remained stable even at high speed. The fact is that a stand mixer is most likely going to have to live on your countertop. Consider it a badge of honor marking your kitchen as home to an accomplished cook.
If you are looking for a more portable option that can be tucked away in a cabinet, consider a hand mixer. It's not quite as powerful as a stand mixer but can be used in any bowl you like.
Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore
Frequently Asked Questions
What can you use a stand mixer for?
A stand mixer is great for sweet and savory recipes, and not just baked goods. It automates every kind of mixing, from beating eggs to whipping cream to stirring together craft projects like slime. When it comes to kneading bread dough, the stand mixer saves tons of effort over hand-kneading, and its steady speed and power give you consistent results every time. It's a timeless kitchen item you'll find plenty of use for, the more you use it.
What types of stand mixers are there?
There are two main layout options for a stand mixer: A tilt-head mixer has its motor in a hinged top that lowers into a fixed bowl, and a bowl-lift mixer has a fixed motor with a bowl that raises and lowers beneath it. The bowl-lift style is more common in large-capacity mixers as it's less top-heavy and more stable.
You can also find mixers in every color under the rainbow. Some brands even release limited-edition colors and patterns in collaboration with chefs and artists.
How long will a stand mixer last?
A quality stand mixer is an investment, but with proper care, you can expect it to last for at least 10 years. The key to keeping your mixer going is to not overtax the motor. If you hear it straining or feel it getting hot, turn down the speed, cut your recipe in half, or just shut it off and let it cool down for a few minutes between mixing sessions.
The parts of a mixer that are more likely to wear out sooner are also the most replaceable. Many brands sell individual dough hooks, whisks, paddles, and bowls that are far cheaper than buying a whole new machine.
What is the difference between KitchenAid stand mixers?
KitchenAid is the most famous name in stand mixers, and we weren't surprised to find three of its models at the top of our results. The motors and controls of all KitchenAid mixers work in largely the same way, but there a multiple formats and sizes. The Artisan series are KitchenAid's tilt-head mixers, the classic design that you probably picture when you hear the brand name. The KitchenAid 5-Quart Artisan Series is the standard version, while the KitchenAid Artisan Mini is its 3.5-quart little brother. KitchenAid's larger-capacity mixers use a bowl-lift mechanism. These come in four different sizes: 5.5 quarts, 6 quarts, 7 quarts, and an 8-quart commercial model.
These models are all available in many colors, but different retailers have different sets of colors in stock. If you're looking for something beyond the easy-to-find black, white, and red, try checking multiple sites.
Other Stand Mixers We Tested
Strong Contenders
Smeg Stand Mixer (Amazon)
The stylish Smeg was able to handle all of our tests with few issues. It's a beautiful and effective machine. We took away points, though, for the high-pitched whine its motor made at every speed, and for its comparatively high price.
GE Tilt-Head Electric Stand Mixer (Amazon)
GE's take on the classic stand mixer is fairly inexpensive and powerful enough for most kinds of everyday baking. It's a basic machine at a basic price. We only ran into two minor issues in testing: It sprayed out some messy flour onto the base while making bread, and its 10-minute automatic shutoff doesn't allow enough time for full kneading in a single session.
Cuisinart 5.5-Quart Stand Mixer (Amazon)
Another value-priced no-frills mixer, the Cuisinart did quite well with whipped cream and cookie dough. But when it ran for a longer time while kneading bread dough, the motor became worryingly hot and loud.
What Didn't Make the List
The main problem with machines that finished toward the bottom of our tests was lack of power. Their motors struggled with tough doughs and made the unstable machines jump and jiggle all over the counter. We found that it's not worth cheaping out on a stand mixer: None of the models that retail for less than $200 wound up in the top half of the rankings.
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