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A stand mixer is every home baker’s dream kitchen appliance—and no one does affordable mixers better than KitchenAid. But what is the best KitchenAid stand mixer? You can't really go wrong with any of the brand’s stand and hand mixers. Still, the numerous models, styles, and accessories available can make it difficult to choose which one to bring home and put to work on your favorite cookie recipe.
Sure, they each have the same basic function: They hold a mixing bowl steady while a beater or whisk spins, providing efficient hands-free baking assistance. But the slight differences in models can be important to consider when choosing an appliance that you’ll have for a very long time.
This guide will help you find the best KitchenAid stand mixer for you based on your baking needs, countertop space, price range, and personal preference. Once you’ve found the mixer of your dreams, check out our guide to mixer attachments to maximize your new machine’s cooking and baking potential.
What are the basic model types?
What other choices to you need to make? Bowls, colors, and sizes
What are the basic model types?
KitchenAid mixers fall into one of two categories, which the company calls “bowl actions”: a tilt-head design or bowl-lift design.
Tilt-head models allow the head of the mixer to hinge back on the neck while the bowl stays fastened to the base. They are on the smaller end of the spectrum capacity-wise, with 3.5-, 4.5-, and 5-quart options.
Bowl-lift styles feature a lever that cranks the bowl up to or away from the head of the mixer, which stays fixed in the downward position. These are larger, and come in a wider range of sizes, from 5- to 8-quart capacities.
The two most common KitchenAid stand mixers are the Classic (4.5-quart capacity) and the Artisan (5-quart)—both are tilt-head models. The company claims that this size range can make eight to nine dozen cookies or about five loaves of bread at once.
What other choices do you need to make?
In selecting a capacity and bowl action for your ideal KitchenAid mixer, there are a few other variables to keep in mind. Bowl material, color preferences, and the height of the space where you plan to store and use your mixer all factor into which model is best for you.
Almost every KitchenAid mixer comes with a stainless-steel bowl; only certain Artisan models come with a glass bowl. Bowls are available for sale individually if you’d rather substitute one material for another or if you plan on doing a lot of multitasking—having an extra bowl on hand is an avid baker’s secret weapon. Clear glass bowls with measurement markings on the side are available for tilt-head and select bowl-lift models, while frosted glass, hammered glass, and ceramic are only available for tilt-head.
Choosing your mixer color is perhaps the most fun part of the KitchenAid buying process. There are a variety of options, including dusty Matte Rose, deep purple Boysenberry, or the classic Candy Apple Red—though not every color is available in every size or bowl action combination. The Classic 4.5-quart tilt-head offers the fewest color options (white, black, or silver). If you want an array of color choices, the 5-quart Artisan tilt-head has the most, with over 20. The mini and the bowl-lift models fall somewhere in between.
Bowl-lift mixers are around 16 to 17 inches in height, tilt-head models are around 14 inches, and minis about 12 inches. If you have low-hanging cabinets and plan to use your mixer on the counter, it’s best to stay away from the taller bowl-lift models. However, if you regularly double and triple your baking batches or want to start churning out multiple loaves of bread, the bowl-lift, with its larger capacity, is the way to go—you just might have to pull it over to a different counter when you use it.
What comes with your mixer?
Every KitchenAid stand mixer comes with a fitted mixing bowl, six-wire whisk attachment, paddle attachment (flex-edge, coated white, or silver plated, depending on the model), and a dough hook (coated white or silver plated). Some models—like the Artisan and Pro 600—also come with a pouring shield, which keeps added ingredients from spilling out of the bowl while you work. While every mixer has 10 speeds, only a few models (the Artisan Mini, Classic, and Pro 600) have “Soft Start,” which eases into the top speeds to limit sudden flying flour.
Do you need more attachments?
KitchenAid attachments can turn your mixer into any number of culinary appliances. If you want a mixer that's also a juicing, sausage-stuffing, pasta-making, grain-milling, and ice-cream-making machine, you need only amass a collection of certified attachments. KitchenAid products have a universal power hub, so your new attachments will fit any KitchenAid model.
For a full breakdown of each attachment and how it works, check out our separate buying guide for KitchenAid attachments. Depending on your interests, the pasta attachments, ice cream maker, food grinder, citrus juicer, spiralizer, and fresh prep slicer and shredder (which makes for a great alternative to your food processor) are all worthwhile accessories to take your KitchenAid to the next level. We found the citrus juicer, slicer and shredder, and the pasta maker to be especially versatile.
KitchenAid model breakdown
Small But Mighty: The Artisan Mini Series
Here’s a stand mixer that retains all the beauty and horsepower of a classic model at a fraction of the size. The Artisan Mini is, predictably, the smallest of the line. It’s got the same 10 speed settings, plus the Soft-Start feature to help prevent any of your cake batter from spilling when you begin mixing. The stainless-steel bowl is 3.5 quarts and comes with a handle for easy attachment and removal. You can make enough chocolate chip cookie dough for about five dozen cookies, but the machine is the most compact and lighter (by 10 to 15 pounds). Otherwise, you get all of the same features you’d get with the original model but in a wide variety of color choices and at a size perfect for a small kitchen.
Quintessential: The Classic Series
This model lives up to its name: It’s the standard KitchenAid stand mixer, a workhorse, with no extra bells or whistles. With a tilt-head body and 4.5-quart capacity, it can tackle nearly any task or recipe, whether you’re making buttercream, kneading bread dough, or whipping egg whites for meringue. There are only three color choices with the Classic Series—white, black, and silver—so it’s great for an indecisive shopper (or lover of neutrals). It’s great if you’re in the market for a standard stand mixer to make bread, batches of cookies, and cheesecake. KitchenAid also offers a Classic Plus model; it’s the same as the straightforward Classic, but with a slightly more powerful motor at 275 watts versus 250.
Upgrade: The Artisan Series
This model is similar to the Classic, with a few exceptions. It is available with either a stainless-steel or glass bowl (each with a handle), comes in over 20 colors or patterns, and has a slightly larger capacity with a 5-quart bowl. The tilt-head body of this mixer is slightly taller than the Classic if you choose the glass bowl (which offers handy measurements on the outside), but the stainless-steel bowl version comes with a handy pouring shield to keep messy ingredients from spilling over the sides.
The Looker: Design Series
Released in 2022, the Design Series Blossom mixer is the most recent addition to the KitchenAid family. In terms of capabilities, it’s the same as the Artisan or Classic series: tilt-head body, 10 speeds, 5-quart bowl. The difference, of course, comes in the packaging of it all. The Blossom is only available in one trademark color combo—a peaceful green-hued body paired with a luxurious hammered-copper bowl. If you’re on the hunt for an in-one stand mixer and statement piece for your kitchen, this is the KitchenAid for you.
Heavyweight: Professional Series
These bowl-lift mixers utilize most of the elements of the Artisan series, but bump it up a notch. The larger 7-quart capacity bowls can mix dough for 13 dozen cookies, eight loaves of bread, or eight pounds of mashed potatoes in a single batch. Unlike the standard C-shaped dough hook, this KitchenAid Professional model comes with a spiral-shaped one in burnished aluminum. Plus, you get the standard flat beater and elliptical whisk. If you’re baking pretty large batches of baked goods and need a heavy-duty stand mixer that will help with that, the Professional Series might be for you.
