The 9 Best Stand Mixers for Every Kind of Baker, All Stress-Tested to The Max
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Stand mixers are kind of like tissues or soda: When people think of them, they likely think of one brand and one brand only. KitchenAid has cornered the market, but they're not the only ones out there that allow you to whip up everything from cookies and braided Danish loaves to pizza dough and tornado fries. (Because yes, while a stand mixer primarily mixes, whips and beats doughs and batters, some feature attachments let you get truly creative, by doing things like spiralizing veggies and making pasta.)
So, should you go with the brand that appears on every wedding registry, simply because it’s the best-known (and available in every color you could ever want)? And is it worth the investment, all things considered? We needed to put the KitchenAid—and every KitchenAid alternative we could get our hands on—to the test, to find out which stand mixers are worth the dough.
The Best Stand Mixers at a Glance
How We Chose the Best Stand Mixers
To find out, we researched the top appliances on the market and talked to diehard fans of all types of mixers, from pastry school grads to cookbook authors (hi, that’s me). We originally tested ten mixers two years ago, so we put those head-to-head against several new models on the market. PureWow editors and our testers across the country tried them out for at least one month of regular use, sharing their honest assessments of their:
Each was rated on a zero to 20 scale, and the results were tabulated to create our PureWow100 scores. Anything that scored less than 80 didn't make the cut as one of our best stand mixers.
The Best Stand Mixers of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
The PureWow100 is a scale our editors use to vet new products and services, so you know what’s worth the spend and what’s total hype. Learn more about our process here.
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1. Breville Bakery Chef Stand Mixer
TOTAL: 95/100
You know when a recipe calls for you to beat the ingredients for three minutes, and you kinda forget halfway through to pay attention to the timing? That won’t happen with the Breville Bakery Chef. It has a built-in timer for that very purpose—and it can count up, so if you’re developing your own recipe, you can time just how long each step takes, delivering consistent results every time. Even better, though, is the machine’s 12-speed dial, with clear labels to show you what power setting you’ll need to hit to knead, cream, beat or even aerate ingredients. It's these smart features that gave it the edge, ultimately, over KitchenAid's models, especially after retesting them two years later—we found we missed the timer, how smoothly the mixer shifts speeds and the light that illuminates the bowl, so you can see exactly how things are progressing, even in a dimly lit kitchen.
As if that weren't enough, this sturdy lil’ number comes with two bowls and a special beater that essentially scrapes down the sides of the bowl for you.
2. Kenwood KMM021 Chef Major
TOTAL: 94/100
At 800 watts, this stand mixer is an absolute beast. Its dual ventilation keeps the motor from overheating, so it can stand up to just about anything you dream of making in the kitchen. “I rarely have to go in and scrape down the bowl as the power whisk goes low and wide enough to mix everything,” raved our reviewer, who’s used it at least once a week for the past four years. You can buy all sorts of attachments for this mixer, too, using it as a blender, food processor, ice cream machine or pasta maker. It’s not the prettiest option out there, but it sure is powerful—and versatile.
3. KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Stand Mixer
TOTAL: 94/100
Consider this our runner-up for best overall stand mixer. While the KitchenAid Artisan series doesn't have the timer and light features of the Breville Bakery Chef—and it's a little less smooth transitioning between speeds—it's a kitchen workhorse. The design is undeniably iconic and it’s available in dozens of colors, but what makes the Artisan stand out from KitchenAid's similarly sized models is its customization options. It's compatible with the brand's ceramic bowls, as well as several attachments that allow you to make everything from lasagna noodles to your own freshly ground burger blends.
Finally, it’s reliable. After ten years of regular use, not a single part has needed to be replaced on our tester’s ice blue model. Oh, and in the 5-quart size, you can bake up to nine dozen cookies (!) at once.
4. KitchenAid 7-Quart Professional Series Stand Mixer
TOTAL: 91/100
So, you’re the type who makes her own sugar flowers and volunteers to bake cupcakes, not just for your kid’s class, but the entire third grade. If you’re thinking about turning your baking projects into a side hustle—or simply want a machine that can keep up with the large-scale projects you tackle—check out the KitchenAid Professional Series. You’ll have to get used to popping the bowl onto its base and using a lever to lift it into place (a different process than KitchenAid’s other models, where you press a button to tilt the head back), but it’s easy to adjust to. We've been impressed by how the 500-watt motor can tackle a range of tasks, from aerating meringues to kneading food coloring into fondant (something so arduous it nearly killed other machines we tried).
This is the style most professional chefs use, and for good reason: It can handle just about anything you throw at it. Plus, you can connect 12+ attachments to the power hub, using the machine to do everything from grind meat to make fresh pasta.
5. Cuisinart 5.5-Quart Stand Mixer
TOTAL: 92/100
Cuisinart will see KitchenAid's 10 speeds and raise it to 12. Oh, and the Artisan mixer bowl can hold 5 quarts? Well, this one can manage 5.5. It also weighs considerably less than its similarly sized KitchenAid counterpart—15 pounds versus 23ish—which makes it sturdy enough to mix at high speeds without dancing across your table and easy enough to haul out of your cupboard, should you stow it between baking projects.
The mixer is powerful, switching between speeds seamlessly, and it mixes consistently and evenly, making it an excellent value for the price. However, the one downside is that its chrome-looking plastic dial and attachment cover feel a bit cheap and flimsy (some sacrifices must be made, we guess, to keep costs down). Overall, though, it excelled at mixing, whipping and beating, handling doughs and batters with ease in our tests.
6. KitchenAid Artisan Mini 3.5-Quart Stand Mixer
TOTAL: 86/100
If you want the power of a KitchenAid but don’t exactly have the space for one (or you do most of your baking for five or less people), go with the Artisan Mini. It doesn't have quite as high of a wattage (250 compared to the Artisan's 325), but you can still bake up to five dozen cookies at once in this beast, it weighs 5 pounds less than the standard Artisan (making it easier to move around) and it’s about an inch shorter and narrower.
Our only complaints are that the paddle attachment tends to be a little harder to remove on this model than the other ones, and if you're mixing a smaller-batch recipe, you'll need to scrape down the bowl more often to ensure things are evenly mixed.
7. Beautiful 5.3-Quart Stand Mixer
TOTAL: 87/100
There's a certain retro charm to this shockingly affordable stand mixer, which is available in nine muted yet of-the-moment shades (like sage, cornflower, rose and taupe). It's arguably the most elegant-looking stand mixer of the bunch, and it's great for tackling cakes, cookies, frostings and other everyday baking projects.
The dial makes it easy to glide through its 12 speeds, but in testing, we found the machine started to really hum and vibrate once it got past the seventh-highest setting. Thankfully, suction cups on the bottom of this lightweight device kept it from moving around on the table (an issue we've found with other value models).
This isn't the device you use if you're trying to grind your own meat for burger night or make fresh linguine, because it doesn't have the option for those attachments, but when it comes to the core functionality—mixing and whipping—it gets the job done nicely. And looks damn good while it's at it.
8. Bosch Universal Plus Mixer
TOTAL: 88/100
Simply getting your hands on this mixer can be a challenge—it’s often sold out, and for good reason: It can take a beating and keep right on, well, beating (eggs, bread dough and even that notorious mixer-killer, fondant). Bosch’s Universal Plus Mixer looks unlike most stand mixers, since the beaters are on the bottom of the machine, which offers you an unobstructed view of how a dough or batter comes together. Our reviewer, who’s used the machine for over three years, says that the dual whisks ensure more evenly mixed ingredients and that they’re ideal for heavy-duty baking, like bread making.
9. Hamilton Beach 3.5-Quart Stand Mixer
TOTAL: 86/100
Admittedly, Hamilton Beach's design is a little boxy, but this baby is practically foolproof. Our reviewer has owned hers for over four years and still uses it for any and every baking project (though she says it’s particularly useful for making your own pizza dough). Suction cups on the bottom of the machine keep it from dancing around your countertops, even on the most powerful settings, though it’s worth noting that it can be a bit noisy. “Make sure you’re rocking out to music with earbuds,” she notes.
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What to Consider Before Buying a Stand Mixer
Beyond budget and your favorite colors, choosing the best stand mixer for your needs comes down to answering a few questions:
Why You Should Trust Us
PureWow's editors and writers have spent more than a decade shopping online, digging through sales and putting our home goods, beauty finds, wellness picks and more through the wringer—all to help you determine which are actually worth your hard-earned cash. From our PureWow100 series (where we rank items on a 100-point scale) to our painstakingly curated lists of fashion, beauty, cooking, home and family picks, you can trust that our recommendations have been thoroughly vetted for function, aesthetics and innovation. Whether you're looking for travel-size hair dryers you can take on-the-go or women’s walking shoes that won’t hurt your feet, we’ve got you covered.
