Mixers Reviews

The latest mixer reviews center on hand-mixers, the faster-changing segment of the mixer market. Cooks Illustrated provides the best testing, giving power greater weight than design in its examination of eight hand mixers. Editors warn that hand-mixers are essentially "glorified whisks," far less powerful than stand mixers, but helpful for some tasks. Hand mixers are also criticized for causing more splattering. Good Housekeeping magazine reviews eight hand mixers but highlights only the three top-rated models (two of which are new designs that offer snap-on accessory storage).

While several years old, the best reviews for stand mixers are found at Cook's Illustrated magazine and Consumer Reports, because both publications perform the most extensive testing on the largest variety of stand mixers. Cook's Illustrated editors focus on bread dough and cookie dough, the true test of a machine's power; tellingly, six of the tested kitchen mixers failed entirely. Although its from 2005, Consumer Reports' last review on mixers covers 12 stand mixers and 11 hand mixers, evaluating models for their ability to whip cream, mix cookie dough, knead bread dough and mash potatoes. Along with ratings and a buyer's guide, editors list standout features. Noise is also factored into Consumer Reports' ratings chart -- helpful since noise complaints are frequent issues in owner-written reviews. We also found consumer-review sites like Epinions, Cooking.com and Amazon.com to be useful for reviews on kitchen mixers. Since most stand mixers have been on the market for some time, individual mixers have amassed a good number of owner-written reviews.

Among stand mixers, KitchenAid controls about half of the market, and this manufacturer also makes some of the most expensive countertop models. According to experts, KitchenAid not only sells the most kitchen mixers, but they also make the best performers. KitchenAid stand mixers are different from cheaper mixers in that the beaters are mounted on a rotating disc, which allows the beaters to reach the sides of the bowl. Editors at Cook's Illustrated call this "planetary action," and in testing, this proved the most effective way of blending ingredients, since the beater reaches the sides as well as the center of the bowl, gathering ingredients quickly. As a result, there is little need to stop the machine and scrape the sides of the bowl.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

KitchenAid stand mixers receive the most praise in reviews, a position reflected by the company’s dominant market share. The Hamilton Beach 63221 isn’t as expensive, and experts say it’s not ideal for heavy bread dough, but it’s the top-rated budget stand mixer. We found good reviews for several hand mixers and included the Cuisinart PowerSelect in Fast Answers because it’s less expensive than the comparable KitchenAid KHM7T. The Braun MultiMix is an alternative that’s also a good choice, but this mixer has limited availability.