The Best Stand Mixers, Judged by Our Expert Testers (2026)

Sure, you can mix up your bread dough with a hand mixer or whip cream by hand. But as a lifelong home baker, I feel qualified to say that if you frequently find yourself kneading loaves of bread, making big batches of whipped cream, or whisking egg whites into swirly meringue, a stand mixer will make your life infinitely easier.

The term stand mixer is practically synonymous with the brand name KitchenAid at this point, and the brand’s newest launch did not disappoint in my most recent round of testing. But I’ve got news for you: KitchenAid’s candy-colored appliances aren’t the only quality stand mixers anymore.

Our top picks

• Best stand mixer overall: KitchenAid Artisan Plus 5-Qt. Tilt-Head Stand Mixer
• Another great option: Breville Bakery Chef 5-Qt. Tilt-Head Stand Mixer
• Our budget pick: Beautiful by Drew Barrymore 5.3-Qt. Tilt-Head Stand Mixer
• Best for small spaces: KitchenAid Artisan Mini 3.5-Qt. Tilt-Head Stand Mixer

After putting 14 models through their paces, making batch after batch of cake batter, challah dough, and whipped cream, I’ve found the four best stand mixers for every kind of baker. Whether you’re looking for a budget-friendly option to get you started on your stand mixer journey or you’re a serious baker who delights in advanced features like a built-in timer, there’s a model here for you.

New in this update: I tested the new KitchenAid Artisan Plus, which seriously impressed me and earned the top spot. I also tested the new Smeg Forte mixer, which performed relatively well but has a few drawbacks that kept me from recommending it.

The best stand mixer overall: KitchenAid Artisan Plus 5-Qt. Tilt-Head Stand Mixer

“Like an Eames chair or a Noguchi paper lamp, the KitchenAid stand mixer is an instantly recognizable icon in its category,” says senior Test Kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic. After years of testing, I can confirm: These mixers are classics for a reason. And while there are several different mixer models in the brand’s lineup, I believe the best option for most home cooks is the brand-new 5-quart Artisan Plus.

What we love: I’ve been a fan of KitchenAid’s Artisan Series mixers for years, but this latest addition to the lineup marks a significant improvement over the original 5-quart tilt-head model. While the Breville mixer previously outperformed the KitchenAid by a hair, the Artisan Plus proved it was worthy of the top spot.

The Artisan Plus combines everything we’ve come to know and love about the 5-quart Artisan with key upgrades previously offered only by the Breville mixer.

The Artisan Plus has the same 5-quart capacity as the original, which hits the size sweet spot in that it’s large enough to accommodate all the cookie dough a home baker could want to make in one batch (nine dozen or so), but not so large that it’s inconvenient for smaller tasks.

The 350-watt motor is 25 watts stronger than the original and has more than enough oomph to whip, knead, and whisk to the right consistency. Where the original Artisan has 10 speed settings, the Artisan Plus has 11—plus a precision speed control mode that allows you to adjust the speed on a sliding scale. In testing, I was pleased that the mixer didn’t move across the countertop even when set to the highest speed (a common occurrence in cheaper stand mixers).

The streamlined shape and tilt-head design of the KitchenAid (that is, a design that opens at the top of the mixer) make it very easy to clean, and the addition of a light makes it easy to see what’s going on inside the bowl even if the lighting in your kitchen leaves something to be desired. I also like that the mixer has a relatively compact footprint that can conceivably fit in your cabinet (though if you’re splurging on a KitchenAid and choosing from their 14 color options, wouldn’t you want to display it proudly on your counter?)

The Artisan Plus also comes with a pouring shield and a revamped suite of stainless steel accessories that feel luxe and heavy-duty—including a double flex edge beater blade that does a great job of scraping down the bowl as it mixes.

Perhaps the number one reason why you might choose a KitchenAid over another brand is that its stand mixers can famously accommodate the whole menagerie of KitchenAid attachments. That means the same appliance that mixes your pizza dough can serve as a pasta maker, a meat grinder, an ice cream maker, a spiralizer, and even a food processor.

What we’d leave: My main gripe with this mixer is that it’s $150 more expensive than our other top pick at the time of writing, and doesn’t include an extra bowl like the Breville. It’s also worth noting that we’ve historically found the Breville to be sturdier when mixing dense doughs than most tilt-head KitchenAid models. The Artisan Plus was able to knead challah dough with no issue, but the head of the mixer did bob up and down ever so slightly as it did so.

Another great option: Breville Bakery Chef 5-Qt. Stand Mixer

The Breville Bakery Chef held the top spot in our testing for years, and I still think it’s an excellent option for home baking enthusiasts.

What we love: The Bakery Chef stands out for a few reasons: It has an extremely powerful, 550-watt motor that makes light work of kneading tough bread dough, creaming butter and sugar, and whipping cream to fluffy peaks in record time. It rings in at a lower price point than the 5-quart KitchenAid. And it comes with several highly useful accessories, like two different mixing bowls: a 4-quart stainless-steel bowl with two small helper handles, and a 5-quart clear-handled glass bowl with a pour spout, measurement markings, and a plastic lid.

Additionally, it comes with both a standard beater blade and a scraper beater blade, which allows the Breville Bakery Chef to cream a stick of butter and a cup of sugar in 2.5 minutes flat—faster and more effectively than any other mixer, including the KitchenAid Professional series.

What really sets this stand mixer apart, though, are some of its design features. It has a built-in timer that can be used to log how long it takes for your mixture to reach the perfect consistency, and it also allows you to set the mixer to automatically shut off after a given duration. It has load-sensing technology that detects when you’re mixing heavy doughs and batters, then auto-adjusts and maintains its power. One more fun feature? Like the KitchenAid Artisan Plus, it has a light that illuminates the bowl when the appliance is in use, so you can more easily monitor whatever it is you’re mixing up.

What we’d leave: Testers loved this machine and had few complaints about it. The only real drawback compared to our other top pick, the KitchenAid line, is that the Breville doesn’t have a port for attachments, so you can’t use it as an ice cream maker, spiralizer, meat grinder, or pasta maker. But if you’re mostly using it for baking, you probably don’t care much about that.

Users may also need to get used to the control knob, which adjusts speeds so smoothly that it’s easy to undershoot or overshoot your desired setting. Because of the mixer’s more powerful motor, you will also need to adjust the recommended speed settings for a given recipe. I had better results kneading bread dough at a lower setting than the “medium” often suggested by recipes, and took extra care to use the included pouring shield when first mixing dry ingredients.

Our budget pick: Beautiful by Drew Barrymore 5.3-Qt. Tilt-Head Stand Mixer

Celebrity kitchen gear lines don’t exactly have a reputation for being great, which is why I was shocked (in a good way!) by the performance of this mixer from Drew Barrymore’s Beautiful line.

What we love: This is a straightforward, easy-to-use mixer that can accomplish just about anything the KitchenAid can (save for all of those extra attachment-enabled functions). Its 12 speeds are controlled by a dial located on the base of the machine, where you’ll also find a button that activates the tilt-head function.

In testing, I found that I typically had to use a higher speed setting for a longer amount of time when compared with the KitchenAid to accomplish a given task, but that the Beautiful had no trouble getting the job done (eventually). It was even able to tackle hefty challah dough, though the small suction cups on the bottom of the machine weren’t strong enough to keep it from bouncing around the counter as it stirred. At its highest setting, the Beautiful even whipped cream a hair faster than the KitchenAid did.

The body of the Beautiful is made of plastic, but I quite like its design, and that each of the detachable parts is dishwasher-safe. Overall, I think this would be an excellent starter mixer for folks on a budget or in need of a more lightweight option that’s easy to stash away when not in use.

What we’d leave: The Beautiful’s affordable price tag comes with the requisite budget-quality trade-offs: namely, the plastic construction and tendency to jump around when mixing denser doughs.

The best for small spaces: KitchenAid Artisan Mini 3.5-Qt. Tilt-Head Stand Mixer

This miniature version of the iconic KitchenAid Artisan is cute as can be, but it’s also an absolute workhorse, just like its big sister. If you typically find yourself baking small-to-medium-size batches of cakes and doughs, or you live in a home with limited kitchen counter and storage space, this is the stand mixer for you.

What we love: This mixer is essentially a shrunken-down version of the classic KitchenAid we’ve long known and loved, with the performance to match. The Mini is sturdy on the counter despite its small size, even when kneading hefty doughs or whipping cream at a high speed, and is compatible with all of the same hub-powered attachments as the full-size model, which means you can roll pasta dough, spiralize zucchini, or grind meat with it to your heart’s content.

The Mini excelled at the small-batch cake batter test. Its small (3.5-quart) bowl and included flex edge beater ensured the butter and sugar were properly creamed until light and fluffy with virtually no manual bowl scraping needed.

Aside from its superior performance with small quantities of ingredients, the major draw of the KitchenAid Mini is its overall footprint. At around two inches shorter and shallower than the full-size Artisan, it’s ideal for small kitchens where every inch of counter space counts—and is five pounds lighter than the 5-quart model, which means it’s easier to lift off the counter and store.

What we’d leave: While the Mini was able to knead a two-loaf batch of challah dough without issue, it likely wouldn’t have been able to handle a larger quantity of dough than that. Because of its slightly less powerful motor, it took a bit longer to whip a cup of cream to stiff peaks than the full-size model. It’s also worth noting that the Mini is currently only $50 cheaper than the 5-quart Artisan, which means it’s only really worth opting for over the other if space is a real concern for you.

How I tested stand mixers

• Cake batter: I first put the mixers to work on a half batch of this cake recipe to see if they could handle small amounts of ingredients. I paid close attention to how well each mixer performed at creaming the butter and sugar, incorporating the eggs, and gently stirring in the dry ingredients.
• Challah bread: I made enough challah dough for two loaves of bread (a half batch of this recipe). Challah dough is quite dense and sticky, so I was looking to see how well the mixers were able to stir and knead a large volume of it.
• Whipped cream: I tested each mixer’s ability to whip cream to billowy peaks. I made sure to chill the bowls and whisk attachments before doing so and used the highest speed setting in each test.

What to consider when shopping for a stand mixer

Other stand mixers I like

Our top picks outshone the mixers below in terms of value and size for more home cooks. But if you’re an avid baker—or are emotionally attached to the idea of having a Smeg on your counter—these options could work for you.

KitchenAid Artisan 5-Qt. Tilt-Head Stand Mixer

The KitchenAid Artisan is a classic for a reason, and was a long-standing favorite until getting beaten out by the new Artisan Plus. It performed nearly as well as the new model in testing, is about $100 cheaper, and comes in a wider array of colors, making it another great option for home bakers. That lower price tag does come with its drawbacks—the original Artisan lacks features such as precision speed control and the handy bowl light, and doesn’t include a flex edge beater (though you can buy one separately). That said, this is a high-performing mixer that can accomplish any baking task—and double as a pasta maker, meat grinder, or ice cream machine thanks to KitchenAid’s line of attachments.

GE Profile Smart Mixer with Auto Sense

This mixer from GE has a hefty $800 price tag—but it’s got the advanced features to match. In addition to a built-in timer (one of our fave features on the Breville), it has a scale that allows you to add ingredients directly into the mixer bowl and see the weight as you go. Its namesake Auto Sense technology uses motor torque feedback to monitor changes in the texture and viscosity of whatever you’re mixing and triggers an automatic shut-off when the proper consistency has been reached. To access this feature, you’ll need to install a companion app, which also gives you access to step-by-step guided recipes.

This was the heaviest mixer we tested (at a whopping 44 lb.), but while that weight made it difficult to maneuver when we unboxed it, it also made it extra stable. It’s ultrapowerful, so we found we needed to exercise caution when selecting speeds.

Overall, we thought this mixer was innovative and performed incredibly well—it’s just a lot of mixer for the average home cook. But if you’re a frequent bread or large batch baker and like the idea of a voice-controlled, Wi-Fi-enabled mixer with all the techy features a person could dream of, you might think it’s worth the splurge.

KitchenAid 7-Qt. Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer

This KitchenAid mixer uses a bowl-lift function instead of the Artisan’s tilt-head mechanism to better handle its larger capacity. It’s a large, powerful, high-performing mixer that did just as well in our testing as the model we recommend above. Ultimately, it lost out on the top spot because we don’t think most home cooks need a mixer this large—it’s pricier, bulkier, and heavier than our top pick, and we found it difficult to mix small amounts of ingredients in such a large bowl.

Bosch Universal Plus Mixer

This appliance from Bosch isn’t your typical stand mixer. It’s “universal” because it’s essentially a motorized base to which you can attach a variety of kitchen appliances that are available to purchase separately (think blender, juicer, meat grinder, and the like). The only one of those modules that comes with it is a 6.5-quart plastic mixing bowl with a motor shaft that runs up the center, onto which you’ll attach whisk or dough-mixer arms.

It’s a confusing concept and a confusing machine to use, but once we got the hang of it, the Bosch performed well in our tests. It only has four speeds (and a pulse function) and is quite large, but it could work for someone looking to condense their appliance collection.

Smeg Forte Stand Mixer

I’m usually skeptical of Smeg products because, despite their aesthetically pleasing design, they don’t tend to work all that well. Not the case with their new Forte stand mixer! It’s well-constructed, has a powerful 750-watt motor that can handle any task you throw at it, and is quite the looker. That said, the Smeg’s mixer head bobbed around more than the Breville and KitchenAid did when faced with dense bread dough, and it doesn’t have as wide a range of attachment options as KitchenAid offers. I also found that despite its higher-wattage motor, the Smeg couldn’t outperform the KitchenAid or the Breville in any of the tests. It’s hard to justify spending the extra money on this model, even if you’re a fan of Smeg’s retro aesthetic.

Ankarsrum Original Mixer

The Swedish-made Ankarsrum Assistant Original Mixer also operates quite differently from a typical stand mixer. Like the Bosch, it has a motorized base—but unlike the Bosch (and most other mixers), the bowl itself spins while a vertical dough roller mixes, and a separate dough knife works to scrape ingredients from the side of the bowl.

In our testing, we didn’t find this model the most user-friendly, but if you’re big into breadmaking like Bon Appétit contributor Jesse Raub and are okay with a learning curve, you may love this machine. It’s helped Jesse kiss hand-kneading goodbye altogether when he makes sourdough (which he does often—every four days kind of often) and churned out beautiful sheets of fresh pasta for him too. If you’re a frequent bread baker who has upward of $700 to spend on an appliance, check out Jesse’s full review here.

Ooni Halo Pro Spiral Mixer

Ooni is known for its stellar pizza ovens, so we were intrigued by the brand’s first foray into other kitchen appliances. The idea behind this mixer is that it’s optimized for dough-making but is still usable for other home baking tasks. It’s similar to the Ankarsrum in that it features a rotating bowl, but different in that the attachments look somewhat like what you’d find in a traditional mixer: You’ve got your dough hook (and quite a hefty one at that), your whisk attachment, and your beater.

In testing, we found that while we can see how this would be a great mixer for making large batches of bread dough, it isn’t a practical option for home cooks looking for an all-purpose baking appliance. Due to the large capacity of its (only) bowl, which comes in at over 7 quarts, the Ooni struggled to fully incorporate some pockets of flour in our batch of challah without manual intervention. It struggled even more with tasks like creaming butter or whipping cream, unable to effectively beat air into the stick of butter and cup of sugar or the cup of cream we used in testing.

That said, we still think this could be a good option for anyone who’s seriously into baking bread or making pizza dough. After using it in the Test Kitchen for several months, senior Test Kitchen editor Jesse Szewczyk reported back: “It really shines when you are making a big batch of dough—like a bagel recipe—in which a larger capacity is key. And it can also knead doughs with lower hydration levels easier than a KitchenAid, which tends to overheat when challenged with tougher doughs.” He agrees that the Ooni is not suitable for most other tasks: “The issue with non-bready doughs—like cookies, cakes, etc.—is that the bottom is flat, so I have found that the gravity of the design does not force the ingredients to the bottom, thus mixing into everything evenly. Instead, they can get trapped on the sides and never mix in fully. If you tried to make, say, a meringue in this, I fear it would be rough,” he says.

Stand mixers I don’t recommend

Additional reporting by Tiffany Hopkins.

Read more shopping stories on Bon Appétit

• For Better Cakes, Follow These Tips From a Baking Expert
• The Best Bread Knife to Cut Your Homemade Sourdough, Sandwiches, and Juicy Tomatoes
• The Best Gifts for the Baker in Your Life