7 Best Stand Mixers of 2026, Lab-Tested and Reviewed
We've tested dozens of models from brands including Cuisinart, Instant, and KitchenAid. These are the best for mixing, kneading, and whipping.
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If you bake a lot of cookies or frequently make bread or pizza dough, you’ll appreciate a stand mixer. It can power through all of your ingredients, sparing you the aching arms you might get if you use a hand mixer or mix your ingredients by hand.
But with so many stand mixer models available, shopping for one can be dizzying. Here, listed in alphabetical order, are the best stand mixers from our most recent tests. As in the past, KitchenAid, as a brand, makes an impressive showing among our highest-rated models. (In our most recent tests, it commands four of the top 10 slots.) But its dominance is challenged by high-performing—and less expensive—mixers from Hamilton Beach and Instant.
Need help deciding which mixer is for you? Read our mixer buying guide. And for details on how more than three dozen models perform in our tests, CR members can see our comprehensive mixer ratings, which include both stand and hand mixer models. There, you can filter according to price, brand, accessories, and other criteria that matter most to you.
If you’re not already a CR member, click below and become one to access all of our ratings and reviews on kitchen appliances, including fridges and dishwashers, as well as other big-ticket items, including smartphones, laptops, TVs, and cars. And read on for the best stand mixers we’ve tested, listed in alphabetical order.
The Beautiful by Drew Barrymore 19113 stand mixer handles whipping tasks in style, excelling in whipping egg whites into airy peaks and heavy cream into fluffy and light whipped cream. This mixer also does a very good job at emulsifying ingredients for mayonnaise. It performs less well in our pancake batter tests, where we evaluate how well a mixer produces a frothy batter that pours smoothly. It’s a bit on the noisy side when operating at its highest speed. It has 12 mixing speeds and weighs just 9 pounds (considerably less than other models on this list), and its attachments, bowl, and splash guard are dishwasher-safe.
The compact Hamilton Beach Professional All-Metal 63240 is equally good at whipping egg whites and kneading, earning excellent ratings that indicate it can handle both light and heavy tasks. And it’s almost as good at making frothy pancake batter and airy whipped cream. Our testers found this mixer very convenient to use and clean, but it earns just a mediocre score for noise. The head of this mixer tilts, and, like many mixers, it comes with a flat beater, a dough hook, and a wire whisk.
While the Instant Pro 140-1560-01 doesn’t come from an iconic brand, it mixes it up with the best of them in our tests. It earns top marks in our egg whites and whipped cream tests, and it earned very good marks in our mixing and kneading evaluations. Plus, our testers found it convenient and easy to use. This tilt-head mixer has a 7-quart stainless steel bowl, big enough to handle dough for two loaves of bread. Its bowl and attachments are dishwasher-safe.
The KitchenAid Artisan Mini KSM3316XWH may sound small, but its price is relatively big. Still, those drawn to the KitchenAid brand might also choose this model for its excellent results in quickly whipping egg whites into airy peaks, producing whipped cream with good volume and texture, and mixing cake batter to a smooth consistency. It did less well in our test for pancake batter, which is generally expected to be on the frothier side. This mixer also earns very good scores for convenience and noise.
The KitchenAid Bowl Lift KSM70 looks good on a counter, and its bowl-lift style fits nicely under upper cabinets. It also operates quietly, excelling in our noise test. Performance-wise, it’s excellent at mixing cake and pancake batter and whipping egg whites to airy peaks. Its kneading performance and results in our whipped cream tests were also very good. It weighs a hefty 26 pounds and is available in blue and 12 other colors.
Priced near $1,000, the KitchenAid Commercial Series KSM8990ER is the most expensive KitchenAid mixer in our tests. It has an 8-quart mixing bowl, so you can make really big batches of whatever you need to mix. It earns top scores for whipping cream and egg whites, and mixing cake batter. It does less well in our kneading tests, in which our experts evaluate how thoroughly and efficiently the machine can knead bread dough. This model is 17 inches tall and 27 pounds. It has a bowl lift, and the stainless steel bowl features a handle for a better grip. It also takes power attachments.
The CR Recommended Pioneer Woman PW3509956914017 is a top-rated stand mixer that outperforms many pricier ones in our ratings. It earns very good to excellent scores in all of our performance tests. It excels at whipping egg whites, quickly mixing cake and pancake batter to an even consistency, and emulsifying ingredients for mayonnaise. Our testers also found it very convenient to set up and operate.
How to Choose a Stand Mixer
First consider two factors: the type of mixing you plan to use it for and the space you have for it.
If you make a lot of thick dough, such as pizza dough, look for a stand mixer with a weight (or at least suction cups) to secure it to your countertop. That way, it’ll handle tough jobs while staying put. Flimsier models will walk across the counter when struggling with dense dough.
Also, most stand mixers have a tilt head that lifts up so you can insert the mixing bowl. If you’re using it near upper cabinets, make sure there’s enough clearance, or consider a bowl-lift model, where the head remains stationary.
If you plan to use your mixer for meals in addition to baking, choosing a model with a meat grinder or pasta maker attachment can expand your repertoire in the kitchen and help you get even more mileage out of your appliance. But remember, attachments take up space, too.
How CR Tests Stand Mixers
We test their mixing ability by using them to mix real cake and pancake batter, as you would at home. “Pancake batter primarily evaluates how efficiently the mixer incorporates dry ingredients into liquid ingredients with minimal mixing time,” says Ginny Lui, who oversees our mixer tests. “Cake batter evaluates aeration and creaming performance, which directly affects the final baked structure.”
We evaluate kneading performance by assessing how evenly the dough is mixed and how well it rises after kneading. In our whipping tests, we time how long it takes to whip egg whites to light, fluffy peaks, and conduct a similar test with whipped cream. We also emulsify ingredients for mayonnaise. Models that excel in this test blend the ingredients more quickly than others.
