If you enjoy baking, you'll need one of the best stand mixers to produce consistent and tasty results. But stand mixers are expensive, so you'll want to buy one that has all the functionality you need, gives good value, and provides some eye candy if it's to be displayed on your kitchen countertop.
The best stand mixers are versatile and can offer much more than tasty cakes and bakes. They'll be powerful enough to stir bread or whisk egg whites with ease. But with so many different types of stand mixer available, it can be challenging to choose the best one for your needs. You’ll need to consider bowl capacity depending on whether you mix up small or large batches and whether you need a compact appliance if you lack countertop or cupboard space. And if you’ve got a keen design eye you might want a stand mixer that adds a pop of color to your kitchen countertop.
In addition, how many speeds, features, or various attachments does it come with? Typically, stand mixers come with a flat beater, wire whip and dough hook, while others will have a splash guard or pouring shield. There are also specific attachments for making pasta or mincing, but this depends on the model.
Discover some of the best stand mixers to suit all homes, needs and budgets.
The best stand mixers you can buy today
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Best overall
With its iconic design, available in 46 stunning colors — including Orange Sorbet, Green Apple and Dried Rose — the KitchenAid Artisan 5-quart stand mixer is eye candy for your countertop. But it's also a real workhorse that tops almost everyone's list of best stand mixers, due to its fast, efficient mixing and quiet operation. It’s one reason why the KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer is my best kitchen purchase ever, although I ducked on the wonderful color choice and opted for the Almond Cream colorway.
It has the bowl capacity and oomph to mix up nine dozen cookies, four loaves of bread or 7 pounds of mashed potatoes. It has a Slow Start feature to avoid spattering your counter with a flurry of flour or a splash of milk when it first ramps up. Like all KitchenAid stand mixers, it has 10 speeds and a hub for attaching optional accessories, including a pasta roller and a spiralizer. It also has a useful pouring guard, which also prevents light ingredients, such as flour, covering your countertop.
If you love the color options from this brand, KitchenAid’s new Blossom stand mixer color is a show-stopper.
Best budget
We won't lie. This stand mixer won't dress up your countertop the way a KitchenAid will, but it won't make as big a dent in your budget, either. And you won't sacrifice much in mixing results. This mixer turns out clouds of whipped cream, tender lemon chiffon cake and two tall loaves of whole wheat bread. The Hamilton Beach may take a little longer to mix than a KitchenAid does, but hey, you're not mixing the batter by hand. And when it comes to ease of use, the Hamilton Beach bests them all.
Not only is the speed dial easy to turn, but it also has big numbers, no reading glasses necessary. If you're never quite sure what speed to use, check out the guide matching tasks to speeds right on top of the mixer head. Handles on either side of the bowl make maneuvering the mixer easy, and all of the parts, including the whisk, can be popped in the dishwasher. As the mixer is relatively lightweight and has a handle on top, it's convenient to reposition or carry to a closet for storage.
Best capacity
While the Cuisinart Precision Master Stand Mixer is solidly built of die cast metal, it’s not overly heavy, which makes it very convenient to store in a closet or cabinet when you’re not using it. It has a large 5.5 quart mixing bowl and the oomph to mix batter for 5 dozen cookies. However, it can only knead dough for about 2 loaves of bread so if you’re a heavy duty bread baker, this might not be the model for you. For its capacity, however, it is a very affordable and handsome choice.
The Cuisinart is easy to use and all the parts except the whisk are dishwasher safe. It is available in a selection of colors including ruby red, white, black, periwinkle blue, robin's egg blue, and silver. You can purchase a variety of attachments from a pasta roller to a spiralizer.
Best professional style
If you have a professional-style kitchen and want a mixer that fits right in, you’ll love the Wolf Gourmet Stand Mixer. It has the same impressive stainless steel design, complete with a red knob, as the Wolf range. And as you would expect, it also costs top dollar. This is one big heavy countertop appliance designed for people who bake often and in large quantities. In fact, the bowl can handle enough batter for 14 dozen cookies or dough for 8 loaves of sourdough bread.
While on most bowl lift mixers, you turn a crank to lower and raise the bowl, on the Wolf you rotate the bowl itself to adjust its height. There are a dozen settings on the speed dial but you can stop anywhere in between for lots of fine tuning. There’s a pulse setting for cutting butter into flour for pie dough or just not overbeating a cake batter when you add in the dry ingredients. When you turn the Wolf on, it starts off slowly so never get a big splatter. There’s a hub up front for optional attachments but to date, none are available. If you’re not a fan of the signature red knobs, black and stainless steel ones are included with the mixer.
Best budget large capacity
With this mixer in your kitchen, you can go ahead and double up on recipes — it has the power to handle the dough for six loaves of bread or 72 cookies. At Thanksgiving, it can mash 7 pounds of spuds, leaving you free to carve the turkey and whisk up the gravy. This mixer is big and heavy and is definitely for bakers who bake a lot and often and want to give a stand mixer pride of place on the countertop. And although it doesn’t have the capacity of Kitchenaid’s Pro Line Series 7-quart bowl-lift stand mixer, it still provides a generous bowl capacity for mixing.
Of course, you can boost the functionality of the stand mixer by using over 10 optional hub powered attachments, from the meat grinder to juicer and the spiralizer. As a multi-functional kitchen appliance it can save space in your kitchen and look good on your countertop at the same time, while ridding your cupboards of other small appliances.
Best KitchenAid capacity
If your kitchen is practically a factory for bake-sale cookies, this is the mixer model for you. The most powerful stand mixer for home use, it has the horsepower to mix up the dough for 14 dozen oatmeal cookies at once. Its Slow Start feature keeps flour from being spewed around the kitchen at the beginning of mixing.
Like all KitchenAid stand mixers, the Pro Line was built to last — it’s durability is undeniable when you use it. So, if your regularly bake is a small batches of fairy cakes, you might not need its impressive power. With 10 speeds from a gently knead, through to a thorough mix and a brisk whip, it will fulfill the needs of a serious baker.
As you may expect, it will set you back more than any of our other picks, and it will occupy a major chunk of countertop space, so be sure you need this appliance before you click Add to Cart as this KitchenAid really means business.
Most innovative
While it’s not the cheapest stand mixer at $399, we love the innovative, heavy-duty design of Breville’s Bakery Chef. It comes with an assortment of accessories including a 5 quart glass bowl and a 4 quart stainless steel bowl, so you have the option to make smaller quantities, which makes mixing different quantities easier. It also features a lamp which illuminates the bowl so you can better see how your recipe is coming along. Plus, the integrated timer allows you to walk away and leave the mixer to get on with it’s job — a particular plus when kneading bread that takes 10 minutes or so.
There are 12 speeds to choose from and with load sensing technology, the mixer will adjust its power based on the resistance of the ingredients – that’s a pretty impressive feature. And although it’s not available in as wide a range of color-popping colors as KitchenAid models, it does come in a choice of 7 finishes — from brushed aluminium, to damson blue, olive tapenade and royal champagne.
Three things to consider before buying a stand mixer
Will it fit?
Stand mixers can be bulky in size, so be sure you have enough room for it on your countertop. To do this, measure out where you plan to place it, taking into account the added height clearance if you’re looking at a tilt-head model.
How much can it mix?
Some manufacturers will mention how many batches their stand mixer can make at once, such as how many cookies or cakes. These are important stats to pay attention to, more so than the bowl size or wattage, because they represent the efficiency of the motor. If you love to bake bread for instance, some stand mixers can only handle one loaf at a time, whereas others can make two.
If you're not sure if you need a full-size stand mixer, be sure to check out our guide on hand mixer vs stand mixer.
Tilt-head or bowl lift?
With a tilt-head design, you tilt the head back so you can look into the bowl and add ingredients. This also allows you to remove the bowl and change the attachments when necessary. On a bowl lift model, you raise or lower the bowl using a crank. Tilt-lift designs tend to be shorter and smaller in size than bowl lift models, but you will need additional height for when you tilt it back. Bowl lift designs wont need the extra height clearance, but are slower and less convenient in terms of checking the bowl and scraping it down.
Tilt-lift models tend to be less expensive and more lightweight, but bowl lift mixers offer more power and larger capacities. If you’re not sure which to buy, consider what you will be making in it. If you want a stand mixer for everyday baking, such as beating cake mix and whipping cream, opt for a tilt-head design. If you love to bake bread or need a mixer which can dish out countless cookies, then a bowl lift model is the way to go because of its power and size.
Which attachments do I use?
Stand mixers now come with a host of attachments and accessories for different purposes, so many that it can be a little intimidating to a new baker. Here’s a breakdown of what the main tools do so you know which to use:
Flat beater: This attachment should come with every stand mixer. It’s used for everyday beating and mixing — great for creaming butter and sugar together for cakes as well as batters and frosting. Some flat beaters also come with a rubber or silicone edge so they can better scrape the ingredients from the edges of the bowl.
Wire whip: Used for whisking, this attachment whips air into ingredients. It’s commonly used to make whipped cream or meringue.
Dough hook: As the name suggests, this attachment helps mix and knead doughs, so it’s what you need to use if you plan to bake fresh bread or pizza. Dough hooks can appear in a ‘C’ shape or can also look like a spiral.
Other useful tools include a splash guard or pouring shield. These sit on top of the bowl while the mixer is running and prevent ingredients from splashing out. Some brands also sell glass bowls in addition to stainless steel. With a glass bowl, you can better see the ingredients being mixed, but they are naturally more fragile.
How to use and care for a stand mixer
- Check the beater-to-bowl clearance. The bottom of the beater shouldn't touch the bottom of the bowl, but it shouldn't be too far away from it either. Getting this just right means better mixing and less stopping to scrape with a spatula. The manual will give you instructions on how to make an adjustment.
- Before deciding to double (or even triple) up on a recipe, look in your mixer's user manual to find out how many pounds of flour your device can handle at once.
- Unless your mixer specifically has a soft-start feature, always start mixing on low, then ramp up to a higher speed, to avoid spattering.
- Don't be tempted to use a spatula while the mixer's running, even if a recipe says to scrape constantly as you beat. If you don't stop the mixer first, the spatula can get caught in the attachment and you'll wind up with a beater or whisk that's twisted out of shape.
- For the loftiest, fluffiest whipped cream, chill the bowl and the whisk before whipping.
- After you're finished mixing, raise the beater or whisk slightly above the surface of the food and run the mixer starting on low, then high, to spin off any excess mixture.
- Check the manual to find out which parts can go in the dishwasher. If you disregard its advice, you could wind up with discolored or damaged parts.
When to replace your stand mixer
You can expect a stand mixer to land six to 10 years, although most will come with a one to five-year warranty. However, if you own a KitchenAid stand mixer, you’re in luck, as this brand claims its mixers will last for at least 15 years. Some KitchenAid owners have reported their stand mixers lasting even longer than this — and mine is certainly on the way to exceeding the expected timeframe too! Although, if you’re a KitchenAid owner, you’re more likely to change your stand mixer as you fancy a different colorway, rather than it’s stopped working.
Some manufacturers give you the option to buy and extended warranty, but this is not something that we recommend. Over the long term you could pay out more than you spend on repairs.
What if your stand mixer won’t start?
If you find your stand mixer won’t start, the head might need a simple adjustment, and this can be completed by following the manual’s instructions.
What if your stand mixer makes a strange noise?
This could be a sign that the parts need lubricating or a worn gear might need to be replaced. All of these repairs are fairly easy to make and inexpensive, making them worthwhile. However, if your stand mixer stops altogether, it could be that the motor has failed. As a guide, if a repair costs more than half the price of a new stand mixer, we recommend replacing it instead.
How much should you spend on a stand mixer?
Domestic stand mixers can range in price from $50 to over $800, so how do you know how much to spend? It will partly depend on your budget but also on how you plan to use it. If you only bake the occasional cake and don’t need a powerful motor to knead dough, a stand mixer at the budget end will be adequate for your needs.
However, if you are a regular baker and want added functionality that makes baking a breeze, such as a large capacity bowl and the option to add attachments, such as a mincer, pasta maker or spiralizer, then you’re better off investing in a pricier model.
How we tested
Our guide for the best stand mixers were based on extensive, consumer report research and online reviews. We rated things like power and how well each performed at various tasks and speeds. This includes whisking, mixing batter and kneading bread. In addition, we looked at how user-friendly and practical it was to use, design, capacity, noise levels and selection of attachments.
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