17 best stand mixers 2026, tested and reviewed

Score: 96/100

KitchenAid's Artisan model excelled across all our tests and scored full marks for its stellar cake batter mixing. It captured all ingredients, so we didn’t have to scrape any down into the bowl.

It has a bigger motor than many models listed here but this didn’t make it less energy efficient – mixing the batter for a large cake cost us less than 1p’s worth of electricity (at the time of testing).

Like our winner above, it's heavy, making it better suited to living on a worktop than storing in a cupboard, but it looks too good to hide away anyway.

Score: 94/100

KitchenAid’s iconic stand mixer is just as good as you’d hope. It’s sturdy and impressed across all our tests with its consistency. All our cakes had plenty of air in them and it whipped cream into stiff peaks in a speedy two seconds.

It’s simple to use – the mixer is well labelled and the lever effective – and scraping down the bowl was only necessary when it was operating at top speed. Once your bake is in the oven, clean-up is a doddle as there are no pesky dirt traps. The only drawback is that it’s heavy to move.

There’s not much that sets this apart from our winning KitchenAid. Its motor is less powerful (which means it's marginally slower) and it’s available in fewer colours. But it costs slightly less and is still an outstanding mixer.

Score: 93/100

There’s a lot to love about this stand mixer, particularly if you’re not a natural with a whisk. It takes away all guesswork thanks to intelligent sensors that automatically stop the appliance when your cake mixture has reached the perfect consistency. When we tried it out, it mixed for eight minutes, proved for 15 minutes and then did a quick final stir, resulting in a soft, well-risen cake.

There are seven different speeds – for everything from gentle folding to high-speed mixing – leaving our whisked double cream voluminous and stable on test. Plus, rubber feet and a sturdy design keep it stable even at the highest speeds. It was generally easy to use too, although we sometimes had to remove the bowl to get the attachments off.

It’s expensive but with its great range of tools, built in scales and automatic programmes, you do get your money’s worth.

Score: 93/100

Smeg’s electric whisk was our runaway winner in our best hand mixers test, so we had high hopes for this eye-catching machine. Luckily, we’d happily invest. It scored full marks for its ease of use, thanks to an intuitive, ergonomic design that made mixing effortless and would suit both right- and left-handed chefs.

Its soft start function gradually builds speed, limiting flyaway flour. It mixed large quantities of cake batter well, but if we’re being picky, it could have aerated our mixture more.

Though heavy again, it was one of the quietest models on test. It also comes with a recipe book, should you need some extra inspiration.

Score: 92/100

With a modern look and 1800W of power, this is an impressive kitchen addition in more ways than one. It scored near-perfect marks in our dough, pudding, cake and whisking tests, and only dropped two marks in its least successful test, which was mixing cookie dough (our testers just had to incorporate flour remnants manually).

Despite the power, it didn’t judder too aggressively at high speeds or vibrate loudly. Even removing attachments was simple. It’s on the heavy side, but it’s a stellar sous chef overall at a great value price point.

Score: 91/100

While most stand mixers will set you back hundreds, this one comes in at under £70 and doesn't compromise on performance. Our tester praised its lightweight design, which features a safety mechanism to stop the motor from running when the mixing arm is lifted.

It mixed an outstanding cookie dough and wasn't fazed by our heavier bread mix either, scoring nearly full marks.

Its attachments felt a little loose and it struggled to incorporate all ingredients when whisking liquids, but those are our only qualms.

Score: 89/100

Despite being a fraction of the price of premium models, this affordable stand mixer excelled at a wide range of tasks, earning top marks for mixing bread dough, cookie dough, Christmas pudding, egg whites and cream. It didn’t aerate our cake batter as well as other models, but all the finished bakes were excellent, with ingredients thoroughly incorporated and a lovely texture and volume.

At just 3.6kg, it’s exceptionally lightweight for a stand mixer, which is great if you don’t want to keep it on the countertop. Despite this, it remained stable throughout most of our tests, with the top only vibrating when tackling large quantities. The wide array of attachments feels robust, too, and includes handy extras, such as
a scraper and egg white separator.

The main body is made of plastic, which may make it less durable long-term, and it doesn’t feel as premium as more high-end brands. But on a performance level, this budget buy goes toe-to-toe with models many times the price.

Score: 89/100

This stylish stand mixer backed up its premium looks with a strong, consistent performance in testing. It aced most of our baking challenges, turning out a springy loaf, evenly mixed cookie dough and beautifully whipped cream, while also producing airy cakes with a good rise. Egg whites could have been more stable – some liquid separated out – but on the whole, we were impressed with this model's mixing abilities.

We found the controls intuitive to use and the dishwasher-safe bowl makes cleaning straightforward. The attachments – which include a useful spatula and splash guard – feel sturdy, and they’re easy to swap over without much force needed.

At almost 9kg, it’s heavy to move and the strong suction feet make lifting it off the worktop a little difficult, so this is one you’ll want to keep on display. Handily, it looks good enough to show off. A sleek choice for keen bakers seeking a dependable all-rounder.

Score: 89/100

Available in butter yellow, sweet pink or this lovely pistachio green, this low-cost pick from Salter was incredibly consistent across our testing. It made light, well-risen cakes and excelled at whisking, producing voluminous egg whites and cream.

It also handled heavier mixes like bread dough, cookie dough and Christmas pudding easily, while the splash guard effectively prevented any ingredients from flying across the test kitchen.

It’s a lightweight model at just under four kilos, so it won’t be a chore to take in and out of the cupboard. We also liked the large 5-litre bowl and 10 speed settings, which give you plenty of control for different recipes.

Just note that the lighter build means it tends to vibrate a little at higher speeds, and it’s quite noisy. The bowl and attachments aren’t dishwasher safe, either, but overall, it’s a great value stand mixer.

Score: 89/100

You can store all accompanying accessories within this well-priced mixer, making it a great pick if you're tight on space. It’s also fairly lightweight, so you can move it from cupboard to worktop without too much exertion.

It excelled at kneading dough, mixing Christmas pudding and whipping double cream. It felt a bit rickety, and we had to scrape flour down from the sides of the bowl, but this didn’t impact its results, making it well worth that precious kitchen real estate.

Score: 88/100

This is a great value pick for the home baker. It combined dough with ease, leaving the base of the bowl free from excess flour, and our Christmas pudding turned out wonderfully. It was effective with quicker tasks too – both egg whites and double cream whisked nicely.

Our main bugbears were with the design and ease of use. There were a few dirt traps in the base and the non-slip feet were so strong, we struggled to move it off the counter. But, if you can get someone to help with moving, we’re big fans of this sleek model.

Score: 87/100

This sleek stand mixer is made with space-saving in mind. While it still houses a four-litre bowl, it’s lightweight and compact with an integrated measuring spoon and carry handle on top for easy transportation.

Looking past these features, it put in an impressive shift in the test kitchen, scoring full marks when mixing dry and wet ingredients for our Christmas pudding. Vibrations when mixing cookie dough meant testers had to knock a few marks off, as did some movement on the countertop when kneading dough.

But while the accessories weren't all dishwasher safe, our experts appreciated the way they easily clicked into place.

Score: 87/100

Baking with little ones is great fun, and this machine has an accessible design that makes involving them easy (under supervision, of course!). Its dials and latches are all intuitive, and everything is clearly labelled.

Our tester liked its pulse feature (though found just six speed settings somewhat limiting) and said it handled heavy mixes adeptly, moving and combining the bread dough with ease. It mixed cake batter well too, but some bowl scraping was called for.

Expect it to vibrate on max, but for family-friendly simplicity, this minimalist machine takes the crown.

Score: 87/100

What the classic Kenwood Chef above lacks in its pared back design, this premium model makes up for in abundance. It has a light for better visibility inside the bowl, integrated weighing scales, a clear touchscreen digital display and preset modes for different bakes, from proving dough to whipping up a meringue. It warms cold butter too.

Unsurprisingly given its functionality, it takes up a lot of space. Rest assured that the frills don’t detract from its performance though – it performed well across all our tests.

Having to select the speed setting on the touchscreen before using the dial to adjust it feels like a bit of a faff, but there’s not much this mixer can’t do, making it a splendid sous chef for real foodies.

Score: 86/100

Bread lovers look no further. This stand mixer – from the experts behind our favourite pizza ovens – is specially designed to make bakery-quality dough. With most stand mixers, the bowl stays still while the whisk mixes everything together, but this mixer has a rotating bowl and stationary whisk, which helps develop stronger gluten networks within the dough.

It really showed on test too, as it scored full marks on our dough and Christmas pudding mix – the ingredients were well combined with no flour left around the edges or the bottom of the mixing bowl. Plus, there’s a light in the top of the mixer that shines down into the bowl, which is a satisfying (and mesmerising) add-on.

Our whipped egg whites didn’t have as much air as we’d have liked and our sponge cake wasn’t the lightest we’ve tasted, but this is still an excellent machine. With 58 speed settings, a timer that stops the mixer after a set period, and robust, dishwasher-safe attachments, there’s a lot to love. Especially if you’re a pizza fan.

Score: 82/100

This value stand mixer is lightweight, compact and surprisingly capable. It excelled in our cookie dough mixing test and produced well-risen cakes and springy bread, while our heavy Christmas pudding mixture was thoroughly combined. It struggled with whisking small quantities, however, producing unstable egg whites and failing to whip cream – so you may need to hold onto your electric whisk for those tasks.

The digital display sets it apart from similarly-priced rivals – it clearly shows your selected speed and lets you quickly choose between three preset functions (whisking, mixing and kneading), making it very easy to use.

We also liked the effective splash guard, which kept ingredients contained in the bowl during mixing. At just four kilos, it’s easy to store away after use, although the suction feet make it trickier to lift than you'd expect. Another strong value pick.