Best kitchen scales

An accurate and easy-to-use pair of scales is a must-have for any gourmand or keen baker. Ideally, one with a 'tare' function as this allows you to reset your reading to zero and add more ingredients, as well as a long auto-shutoff time, so you don't have to keep turning it on. 

But we've found scales with deviations of up to 10g and 20ml in some cases, which could ruin whatever you're whipping up in the kitchen, and scales that turn off after just 35 seconds.

In July 2021, we tested out nine digital kitchen scales from Argos, John Lewis, Lakeland, Salter and more, ranging in price from £7 to £50. We wanted to find out which were the most accurate, the most consistent and the easiest to use. 

We also tried out a set of jug scales, mechanical scales and balance scales to see how they compare with standard digital kitchen scales.  

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Prices and availability last checked: 7 January 2022.

The best kitchen scales

Only logged-in Which? members can view the kitchen scales test results below. If you're not yet a member, you'll see an alphabetically ordered list of the kitchen scales we tested. 

Join Which? now to get instant access to our test scores and Best Buy recommendations below.

Argos Home Digital Kitchen Scale

Cheapest price: £9, available at Argos

Weight: 150g

Product dimensions: 17cm x 14cm (L X W)

Scale dimensions: 13cm x 13cm (L X W) 

Units of measurement: kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces 

Bowl included: no

Max weight: 5kg

Key features: one-year guarantee, tare function, lithium battery included

This Argos scale is the cheapest from our lineup and, unsurprisingly, it only offers the bare basics. 

We put it through a barrage of accuracy tests to see whether it's a good-value addition to your kitchen.

Log in or join Which? to find out if we recommend it. 

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Beurer Nutritional Analysis Kitchen Scale

Cheapest price: £33.01, available at Amazon

Weight: 550g

Product dimensions: 23cm x 16.5cm (L X W)

Scale dimensions: 19cm x 16.5 (L X W)

Units of measurement: kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces

Bowl included: no

Max weight: 5kg

Key features: five-year guarantee, tare function, can provide nutritional information on weighed foodstuffs, lithium battery included

You'll not only be able to weigh dry ingredients with these kitchen scales from Beurer, but you'll also be able to find out the nutritional value of whatever you're weighing, supposedly. 

Log in or join Which? to find out what we thought about this extra function, as well as just how accurate these scales are.

Heston Blumenthal Dual Platform Digital Scale

Cheapest price: £39.99, available at Robert Dyas, also available at Amazon, John Lewis (out of stock)

Weight: 850g

Product dimensions: 26cm x 17.5cm (L X W)

Scale dimensions: 16.5 x 14.5 (L X W)

Units of measurement: kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, litres/millilitres, fluid ounces

Bowl included: no

Max weight: 200g (precision scale) 10kg (large scale)

Key features: 15-year guarantee, tare function, 3 x AAA batteries included

Salter has paired up with Heston Blumenthal to create a dual scale that claims to detect weight from 0.1g to 10kg. 

But just how precise are these scales and can you rely on its measurements?

Log in or join Which? to unlock our results.

John Lewis & Partners Spot Print Digital Kitchen Scale

Cheapest price: £15, available at John Lewis (out of stock)

Weight: 550g

Product and scale dimensions: 20cm x 15cm (L X W)

Units of measurement: kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces

Bowl included: no

Max weight: 5kg

Key features: 10-year guarantee, tare function, 2 x AAA batteries not included

These kitchen scales from John Lewis are lightweight and small in size. They're also fairly inexpensive. 

To find out how this own-brand set of scales fared against the big kitchenware brands log in or join Which?.

Joseph Joseph Triscale Folding Digital Scale

Cheapest price: £28, available at Amazon, John Lewis

Weight: 150g

Product dimensions: 22cm x 22cm (L X W)

Scale dimensions: 4.5cm x 4.5cm (L X W)

Units of measurement: kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, litres/millilitres, fluid ounces

Bowl included: no

Max weight: 5kg

Key features: three-year guarantee if bought at Lakeland, tare function, lithium battery included 

You can fold up these kitchen scales from Joseph Joseph so small that they can be easily stashed in your cutlery drawer. 

But how easy are they to use and are there any issues with the design?

Log in or join Which? to find out. 

Lakeland Digital Kitchen Weighing Scale

Cheapest price: £29.99, available at Lakeland

Weight: 550g

Product dimensions: 20cm x 19cm (L X W)

Scale dimensions: 11.5cm x 11cm (L X W)

Units of measurement: kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces

Bowl included: yes

Max weight: 5kg

Key features: three-year guarantee, tare function, ambient temperature feature, timer, 2 x AAA batteries not included

You'll be able to set the time and even take ambient temperature readings with this set of kitchen scales from Lakeland. 

These extra functions would be desirable for the budding baker, but how do these scales do on the fundamentals?

Log in or join Which? to unlock our test results. 

Oxo Good Grips Kitchen Scale

Cheapest price: £45.20, available at Amazon, also available at John Lewis

Weight: 750g

Product dimensions: 23.5cm x 18cm (L X W)

Scale dimensions: 18cm x 18cm (L X W)

Units of measurement: kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces

Bowl included: no

Max weight: 5kg

Key features: Lifetime guarantee, tare function, pull-out display, 4 x AAA batteries included

This set of kitchen scales from Oxo has an interesting pull-out display. 

Is this a gimmick or did it actually improve the scale's ease of use?

Log in or join Which? to find out.

Salter Disc Digital Kitchen Scales

Cheapest price: £15, available at Amazon, Argos, Dunelm

Weight: 500g

Product and scale dimensions: 18cm x 16cm (L X W)

Units of measurement: kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, litres/millilitres, fluid ounces

Bowl included: no

Max weight: 5kg

Key features: 15-year guarantee, tare function, lithium battery included

This is one of two Salter kitchen scales in our lineup and it's less than half the price of the Heston Blumenthal set.

It's a more basic design, but it still measures both wet and dry ingredients. 

Log in or join Which? to unlock our results and see if you need to spend more to get a better kitchen scale. 

Terraillon Smart USB Kitchen Scales

Cheapest price: £20, available at Dunelm

Weight: 450g

Product and scale dimensions: 21cm x 16cm (L X W)

Units of measurement: kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, litres/millilitres, fluid ounces

Bowl included: no

Max weight: 5kg

Key features: 15-year guarantee, tare function, milk-conversion unit, USB charger cable included

This is the only set of kitchen scales in our lineup that is powered by a USB charger cable. 

But what makes this set of scales 'smart' and did this enhance its usefulness? 

To find out what we thought, log in or join Which?.

How does a measuring jug scale compare?

Weighing scales aren't the only option if you need to weigh out wet and dry ingredients. 

Jug scales are, as the name describes, a jug with a digital display that can show you the weight and volume of whatever you put inside them. 

This sounds like the perfect solution to kitchen clutter, right? Well, not quite. We tested the accuracy of one and, while they were the most accurate of any of the alternative scales we tested, there were still discrepancies of up to 25g in places. 

However, they are sensitive and managed to register from 2g and 2ml.

The size of your jug also limits what you can put in there. We'd recommend buying a very large one if you decide to go for this type of scale.

What you need to know about mechanical scales

If you don't need precise measurements, have great eyesight and don't mind zero-ing everything manually, then mechanical scales will work fine. 

But beware they require more effort to use than digital scales. 

We found them straightforward to use and though they registered the weights we put on, the accuracy of the reading is dependent on you judging where the hand is pointing, so you can never really know how accurate the reading is. 

How do you use balance scales?

Balance scales are incomparable to any other type of scale. 

They work by weighing an unknown amount against a known amount – once you find a balance, you’ll know what your ingredient weighs. 

We used our lab weights on both sides and, to our surprise, saw a definite registering of 1g. From then on it's a guessing game as to how accurate they really are. 

You'll also have to buy a set of weights to use them if they aren't included, adding to the already cumbersome design. You certainly won't be able to slip these into a drawer. 

Five things we learned about testing kitchen scales

1. Unless you're cooking up a minuscule amount or you're making a spice mix, a deviation of up to 5g/5ml probably isn't going to make much difference to a recipe. 
2. Two-step battery removal is only law for children's toys, so if you’ve got little ones about then we'd advise storing scales with a one-step battery removal safely out of reach. We were surprised to see that a lot of the scales we’ve tested have one step battery removal.
3. The inconsistencies in measurements were more apparent when measuring water. Even the scales that claimed to measure liquids had multiple discrepancies of 10ml or more. 
4. Having a bright, clear display with sensitive buttons is paramount for ease of use. Having to press down on buttons can make the scales unstable and is a recipe for spills.
5. Of the alternatives we’ve tested, jug scales are by far the most accurate, but you’d need a much bigger jug to match the amounts you could weigh with a regular scale. The jug scales we tested also seemed to falter on the larger amounts.

How we tested kitchen scales

Ease of use

A good set of scales should have an intuitive design that doesn't require a manual for every small function. During our testing, we assessed how easy they were to use and noted any useful features such as a clear display, easy navigation, sensitive buttons and rubber feet.

Ease of storage

Keeping your kitchen free of clutter is important when you're using it regularly. We penalised scales that were overly heavy or unnecessarily bulky.

Accuracy and consistency 

For our main test, we wanted to put the scales through their paces. 

We used a set of calibration weights, from 1g to 1kg, on each scale three times each in succession to see whether the correct reading came up and whether consecutive readings were the same each time.