7 Best Stand Mixers of 2026, Lab-Tested and Reviewed
We've tested dozens of models from brands such as Hamilton Beach, KitchenAid, and Smeg. These are the best for mixing, kneading, and whipping.
When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. Learn more.
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 your ingredients without making your arms ache, which could happen if you use a hand mixer or mix ingredients by hand.
But with so many stand mixer models available, shopping for one can be dizzying. Below are the best stand mixers from our latest lab 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 five of the top 10 slots.) But its dominance is challenged by high-performing—and less expensive—mixers from Beautiful by Drew Barrymore, Martha Stewart, and Hamilton Beach.
Need help deciding which mixer is right for you? Read our mixer buying guide. And for details on how three dozen models perform in our tests, CR members can see our comprehensive mixer ratings, which include both stand and hand mixers. There, you can filter according to price and brand.
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 alphabetically.
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 of emulsifying ingredients for mayonnaise, kneading dough, and producing a crepe-like batter that’s frothy and pours smoothly. 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. This mixer is a bit noisy at its highest speed.
The compact Hamilton Beach Professional All-Metal 63240 is equally good at whipping egg whites and kneading dough, earning excellent ratings that indicate it can handle both light and heavy tasks. It also excels at making pancake batter and does a very good job at making airy whipped cream. Our testers found this mixer very convenient to use and clean. The head of this mixer tilts, and, like many mixers, it comes with a flat beater, a dough hook, and a wire whisk.
The KitchenAid Artisan Mini KSM3316XWH may sound small, but its price is relatively big and it weighs 17 pounds. Still, those drawn to the KitchenAid brand might 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 at mixing pancake batter. This mixer also earns very good scores for convenience and noise.
The KitchenAid Artisan Plus KSM50 stand mixer excels at whipping egg whites to airy peaks and mixing light, thin pancake batter. It emulsifies mayonnaise ingredients like a champ, too. It performs almost as well at whipping cream and kneading bread dough, based on our lab tests. Its stainless steel bowl has a handle, and it comes with a splash guard, dough hook, and whisk.
Priced at about $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 and pancake batter. Its performance in our bread dough kneading tests, however, was just so-so. This model is 17 inches tall and weighs 27 pounds. It has a bowl lift, and the stainless steel bowl features a handle for a better grip. It also takes power attachments.
Our engineers found the Martha Stewart CC010830-001 convenient overall, meaning it’s easy to use, clean, and store. It receives excellent scores in our egg white and whipped cream tests, as well as our power-hungry kneading tests. It does slightly less well mixing cake and pancake batters quickly and evenly, and making mayonnaise, but it still does a very good job. And it weighs just 10 pounds.
The top-scoring and retro-styled Smeg Forte SMF05 stand mixer excels at most light-duty tasks, including whipping egg whites, making whipped cream, and mixing cake batter. And it does a very good job at mixing pancake batter and mayo ingredients quickly and performing the more demanding task of kneading bread dough. It’s also among the quietest stand mixers.
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) that will secure it to your countertop. That way, it’ll handle tough jobs while staying put. Lighter-weight models might walk across the counter when struggling with dense dough.
Also, most stand mixers have a tilt head that lifts up so you can insert and remove 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 want to use your mixer for meals in addition to baking, choosing a model that allows you to attach 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 each stand mixer’s capabilities by mixing 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 Elias Arias, the Consumer Reports engineer 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.
