As a home cook I’ve used my stand mixer for a lot of purposes. Anything from kneading a dough to mixing a batter, it does to perfection with little to no effort from my side. It’s as simple as turning it on, and it will do the hard work for you.
One thing I do love about my stand mixer, is how nice and fluffy all kinds of bread rolls, baguettes, hamburger buns, and literally anything in between turns out.
With the experience I have in baking and cooking, I would never live without a proper stand mixer.
For the sake of getting THE best stand mixer, I’ve spent hours of tirelessly researching the market, and reviewed the best options.
Below are the results.
The top picks
Editor’s choice: KitchenAid Artisan Series
A beautiful classic, the KitchenAid Artisan Series stand mixer won our hearts because of an excellent performance on any task. And what’s even better, is the fact that it’s assembled in Ohio and comes in a wide range of colors.
Baker’s choice: KitchenAid Professional 600 Series
This is an even fancier stand mixer for those seeking a professional kitchen companion, that’ll be of great help when making bread, mixing a batter, and basically anything in between.
Best design: Ankarsrum Original 6230
This special mixer is completely different from other models, but that’s why we love it. The design remains unchanged since 1940, and till this day it’s still assembled by hand in Sweden.
Best value: Hamilton Beach Eclectrics 63227
Great stand mixers don’t have to be expensive. The Hamilton Beach Eclectrics 63227 is a solid choice for those just dipping their toes into the world of baking and home cooking. It does a bit of everything, but doesn’t cost a fortune.
Also great: Cuisinart SM-50BC
Cuisinart is a well known brand, and this stand mixer has a nice range of useful features. It’s also affordable, but comes with a selection of durable metal attachments.
Questions? Ask our experts:
The breakdown
How did we find the best stand mixers?
At ConsumerJar we independently select the products we consider the best in each category. Besides reviewing the products ourselves, here’s a breakdown of the entire process:
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Products reviewed
This is the total amount of products we’ve reviewed, before carefully selecting the ones featured in this guide. You can look into these products by scrolling to the “Honorable Mentions”-section further down.
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Factors considered
During the review of each stand mixer, we looked at these criteria: Performance, ease of use, build quality, noise level, and attachments. These factors are all important, when choosing the right stand mixer.
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Expert reviews analyzed
As part of our extensive research process, we go through reviews from reputable experts such as Consumer Reports, T3, Good Housekeeping, BBC Goodfood, Wirecutter, and The Spruce.
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User ratings analyzed
When assessing the overall quality of a stand mixer, we spend days reading through user ratings. We believe user ratings indicate the short-term satisfaction level of a given product, and they provide valuable insights into the things real users like and dislike about a product.
In-depth reviews of the best stand mixers
We’ve reviewed the best stand mixers, and conducted a ton of research to understand what most users love about them. Below are the in-depth reviews of our top picks .
KitchenAid Artisan Series
- Classic design
- Includes power hub for additional attachments
- Assembled in Ohio
What we like: One of the reasons why so many people rely on KitchenAid as their preferred partner-in-baking, is the overall build quality of their product. Take this Artisan stand mixer as an example; It’s robust, powerful, and efficient enough to bring miracles to your kitchen in no time.
Assembled in Greenville, Ohio, adds an extra layer of quality to the build, which is loved by thousands of buyers across the country. We also like its ability to connect additional attachments to the power hub, so you can turn it into a meat grinder, a pasta maker, and much more. All in all, this is our favorite pick and earns itself an Editor’s Choice-award.
All you need to know: The KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer is meant for home use, and it comes with a choice of many different colors. That way you’ll always be able to find a color that suits your personal style, which is definitely an important selling point for a machine that most people want to remain visible and at the ready on their kitchen countertop.
This stand mixer comes with a 5-Qt. stainless steel bowl for mixing, which according to KitchenAid gives you the ability to make up to 9 dozens of cookies or 4 loaves of bread in just one single batch.
Getting your ingredients in and out of this mixer takes no effort at all, just tilt the head up and remove the bowl, add in the ingredients you need, and tilt the head back down. You don’t even have to remove the attachment before doing so, because the bowl is big enough to allow the attachments to be tiled up anyway.
With this stand mixer you’ll get a coated flat beater, a coated dough hook, a 6-wire whip, and a 1-piece pouring shield. You can wash the flat beater and dough hook in the dishwasher.
Specifications:
- Materials: Stainless steel
- Bowl size: 5 quarts
- Speeds: 10
- Cord length: 36 inches
KitchenAid Professional 600 Series
- 6-Qt high capacity steel bowl
- Convenient bowl-lift mechanism
- Sturdy and robust
What we like: Now this is one large stand mixer, with a high-capacity 6-Qt steel bowl for those extra large batches of dough and cake mix. The attachements are of course heavy duty like the rest of this mixer is, and you’ll have no issues kneading any type of dough.
We like how functional this piece of machinery is, and with the power hub you can buy additional attachments if you want to grind meat, make pasta, and much more. If you’re serious about cooking and baking, this should definitely be your number one choice.
All you need to know: The KitchenAid Professional 600 Series is a large stand mixer with higher capacity than most models for home use. It features a 6-Qt stainless steel bowl attached to a lifting mechanism, which will make you able to easily work with the machine on a frequent basis.
You can get this stand mixer in a large number of different colors, some are fresh and some are neutral, but they are all built around the same core: A durable piece of metal machinery, assembled in USA.
The stand mixer has a 575 Watts motor with 10 speeds, which enable you to make all sorts of things spanding from breadrolls to cakes and whip cream. It does it all.
Specifications:
- Materials: Stainless steel
- Bowl size: 6 quarts
- Speeds: 10
- Cord length: 46 inches
Ankarsrum Original 6230
- #1 choice for bread making
- Unparalleled performance
- Lots of attachments available for purchase
What we like: This is truly a unique stand mixer, that’s for sure. In contrast to other mixers, the motor is at the bottom below the bowl, so you’ll have a completely open top during mixing and kneading, enabling you to add any ingredients without stopping the machine. It is also super quiet and powerful at the same time, so this little workhorse will have you sorted out for the decades to come.
The Ankarsrum has formerly been known as Verona, Magic Mill, Electrolux Assistent, and DLX, but now it’s gone back to the roots and is called Ankarsrum Original.
This stand mixer has been a stable in Swedish kitchens since 1940, and holds multiple awards from tests all across Europe.
All you need to know: Originating in Sweden, the Ankarsrum Original has been known by many names already: Verona, Magic Mill, Electrolux Assistant, and DLX. However, one name was always there, even when it wasn’t mentioned on the packaging: Ankarsrum.
Ankarsrum is actually a small town in Småland, Sweden’s most southern region, where the stand mixer is still manufactured and assembled by hand till this day. Every machine goes through human hands, just like they did back in 1940.
If you’re wondering how this stand mixer works, you can check out this video on YouTube. It gives you a great idea of how to use it, and how it works.
It’s important to notice that this machine doesn’t mix ingredients at high speeds, but it does actually offer an option to buy a double beater attachment set for whip cream, cake batter, and egg whites.
Specifications:
- Materials: Stainless steel housing
- Bowl size: 7.4 quarts
- Speeds: 12
What we like: If you’re in the market for an affordable stand mixer, and don’t have a lot of space to spare, this Hamilton Beach mixer is a great choice. We love how well designed it is, and it’s basically as useful as more expensive alternatives.
With a 4.5 quarts mixing bowl, this is definitely not too small to be useful, yet doesn’t take up as much space as other mixers. And that’s a good thing for those with smaller kitchens. Great choice for beginners!
All you need to know: The Hamilton Beach Eclectrics mixer is an affordable stand mixer, that doesn’t pack a lot of features, but it does have the most used features.
Among its features you’ll find a flat beater, a dough hook, a whisk and a pouring shield to protect you from splashes when mixing liquids together. Those are really all you need to get you started with kneading dough and mixing a cake, and according to more than thousand buyers it actually works.
The stand mixer from Hamilton Beach features a 400 Watt motor with 12 speed settings, and the bown included is made from stainless steel.
Specifications:
- Materials: Stainless steel
- Bowl size: 4.5 quarts
- Speeds: 12
- Cord length: 36 inches
Cuisinart SM-50BC
- Comes with a nice range of functions
- Affordable choice
- Easy to handle
What we like: Cuisinart is a trusted brand among most consumers, and this stand mixer is no exception. It performs very well and its price tag is quite reasonable too. If you’re interested in kneading or mixing, this is definitely the right choice for you. It does everything the more expensive mixers do, and it even coes with a power outlet for additional attachments (available at an extra cost)! So if you’re into baking and cooking in general, this little helper might just be the right choice for you. Especially if you don’t want to break your wallet at the same time.
All you need to know: This all-in-one stand mixer has plenty of features, and is therefore quite useful for a various amount of tasks. It comes with a 5.5 Qt mixing bowl made of stainless steel, and it has a speed-adjustment button on its side for easy access to its main function.
The head tilts up and down whenever you need to access the contents of the bowl, or whenever you need to take off the bowl. It works just like other mixers, so there’s no big difference here.
With this mixer you’ll get a chef’s whisk, a dough hook, a flat mixing paddle, and a splash guard with a pouring spout.
Specifications:
- Materials: Stainless steel
- Bowl size: 5.5 quarts
- Speeds: 12
Honorable mentions
Below are all the most popular stand mixers we’ve reviewed during our initial research phase. These are all great, and recommended along with the other stand mixers mentioned above.
- KitchenAid Classic Series
- Hamilton Beach 7 Speed Stand Mixer 63391
- Hamilton Beach 6 Speed Stand Mixer 63325
- COSTWAY Stand Mixer
- Bosch Universal Mixer MUM6N10UC
Are stand mixers worth it?
You’re probably seeking the best stand mixer, since you landed on this article. Now that you’ve looked into the different options, you probably realize that most stand mixers carry a hefty price tag, and start wondering if a stand mixer is actually worth it.
In comparison with hand mixers and food processors, stand mixers are more expensive, heavier and require more space. So, why should you still opt for a stand mixer, then?
Mixing, kneading, and anything else
When it comes to features, stand mixers are far superior to food processors and hand mixers.
Ever tried mixing a bowl of dry ingredients with a hand mixer, and having to clean up the entire kitchen afterwards because of the mess it’s made?
Ever tried kneading a dough with the tiny dough hooks that are often included with the hand mixer?
Ever tried mixing a large portion of cake or waffle batter in a food processor?
Or what about grinding meat and making pasta?
Stand mixers are simply your best option for most purposes. The best models can help you with almost any task, that would otherwise require you to invest a solid amount of energy and effort.
They do of course have some disadvantages, with the biggest one being the size and weight, but if you can live with that, you’ll get a great helper for years.
Is KitchenAid the one and only?
KitchenAid stand mixers are popular for multiple reasons, but most likely because the brand is American and many products are still made in the US (and Canada).
We previously did a comparison between KitchenAid vs. Kenwood, and it seems like KitchenAid is both more popular and rich on features than most counterparts.
In Europe KitchenAid is very popular as well, mostly because of the stylish retro design, but also because it’s simply to use and very durable.
There are other brands present across Europe though, such as Smeg, Electrolux, and more, so it definitely faces a good amount of competition there.
However, we do consider KitchenAid one of the best and most reliable manufacturers on the market, and perhaps in particular when it comes to stand mixers.
This is how we found the best stand mixers on the market
Stand mixers are great helpers in any kitchen, and they do a lot of different tasks to perfection.
However, there are a few things worth considering before getting one yourself.
Below are the factors worth considering, based on our experience:
Functionality: Lift-head vs. tilt-head vs. alternatives
Tilt-head stand mixers are the most common type, because it’s affordable and doesn’t take up much space. However, lift-head stand mixers are more practical for those using their stand mixer regularly, so this is important.
There are also alternative stand mixers for those seeking a machine that is superior at specific purposes, such as the Ankarsrum Original, where the bowl rotates instead of the attachment. Its design makes it perfect for bread making, because it kneads any type of dough in an even pattern, without causing a big mess.
Power
This is where good stand mixers are separated from weak stand mixers. The cheapest models have a nasty habit of breaking down if they’re exposed to strenuous tasks, causing the motor to overheat.
If you want to use your stand mixer for bread making, you have to get one with a powerful motor. Don’t go for the cheapest option, because you may end up disappointed with a mixer that isn’t fit for the job.
Attachments and spare parts
Stand mixers like the ones from KitchenAid have a ton of attachments and spare parts, enabling you to upgrade your machine at any time. This is important, because a stand mixer is basically a powerful motor suitable for almost any task that requires a bit of muscle.
Having access to additional attachments as well as spare parts, enables you to upgrade your machine and use it for even more purposes around the kitchen.
You can get a ton of useful attachments for most stand mixer brands, so make sure you check out the range of attachments and their uses before getting a new stand mixer.
Noise level
One thing most people don’t seem to consider, is the noise level of a stand mixer. Stand mixers are probably going to run for more than 10 minutes at a time, so you want one that’s at least bearable to listen to.
The cheapest stand mixers have a nasty habit of making loud noises, whereas more expensive/powerful mixers are usually quieter.