Best stand mixers for baking: tested and reviewed

The best stand mixers take all the hard work out of mixing cake batter, kneading dough and whisking egg whites. We've tested popular stand mixers from Bosch, Kenwood, KitchenAid, Smeg and more, to find out which are worth adding to your kitchen. 

Our independent tests revealed that all stand mixers make a good sponge cake and bread loaf – and can whisk egg whites to stiff peaks. The key differences were in how long they took to mix, how easy they were to use, and which have attachments that don't reach everything in the bowl so you have to stop, stir it and start again.

Our results below include two stand mixers that impressed enough to be named Which? Best Buys and our top pick proves you don't have to pay out top dollar to get 'batter'.

The best stand mixers

Only logged-in Which? members can view the stand mixer test results below. 

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The stand mixers we tested

All the stand mixers we tested are listed in alphabetical order below. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best stand mixers from our tests.

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

Bosch CreationLine Serie 4 MUM5XW10GB

Available from Argos (£399)

Size and weight 27.5 x 27 x 25cm (HxWxD); 4.7kg 

Bowl capacity 3.9 litres 

Accessories Beater, dough hook, whisk, splash guard, fine grating disc, two reversible shredding discs, accessory bag

Dishwasher safe No

Need to know Seven speeds, pulse function, 107cm cable, cable storage, includes storage bag for attachments, recipes available by scanning QR code in manual 

Cuisinart Precision Stand Mixer

Size and weight 35 x 37 x 21.5cm (HxWxD); 7.3kg 

Bowl capacity 5.2 litres 

Accessories Beater, dough hook, whisk, splash guard

Dishwasher safe Yes, but not the whisk attachment

Need to know 12 speeds, 101cm cable, cable storage, recipes included

Kenwood kMix KMX750 Kitchen Machine

Size and weight 32.5 x 35 x 21.5cm (HxWxD); 8.5kg 

Bowl capacity 5 litres 

Accessories Beater, dough hook, whisk, splash guard, spatula

Dishwasher safe Yes

Need to know Variable speeds, 104cm cable, cable storage

Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker KVC65.001WH

Size and weight 30.5 x 37 x 25.5cm (HxWxD); 7.9kg 

Bowl capacity 5 litres 

Accessories Beater, dough hook, whisk, splash guard

Dishwasher safe Yes, but not the bowl

Need to know Variable speeds, pulse function, 146cm cable, cable storage, integrated scales

KitchenAid Artisan 5KSM175PSBER

Size and weight 33.5 x 30.5 x 22cm (HxWxD); 9.8kg 

Bowl capacity 3 litres and 4.8 litres 

Accessories Two beaters, dough hook, whisk, splash guard

Dishwasher safe Yes, but not the whisk attachment

Other colours available Black, cream, green

Need to know 10 speeds, 96.5cm cable, recipes available by scanning QR code in manual

Looking for a hand mixer? See our reviews of the best hand blenders that also have hand mixer attachments

KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixer

Size and weight 33.5 x 30 x 22cm (HxWxD); 9.4kg 

Bowl capacity 4.3 litres 

Accessories Beater, dough hook, whisk

Dishwasher safe Yes, but not the whisk attachment

Need to know 10 speeds, 97.5cm cable, recipes available by scanning QR code in manual

Lakeland Digital Stand Mixer

Size and weight 30.5 x 32 x 22.5cm (HxWxD); 6.5kg 

Bowl capacity 6.5 litres 

Accessories Beater, dough hook, whisk, splash guard

Dishwasher safe No

Need to know 10 speeds, six minutes maximum run time, 99cm cable, controlled via digital display

Morphy Richards MixStar Compact 400520

Size and weight 20 x 27 x 30.5cm (HxWxD); 3.4kg 

Bowl capacity 4 litres 

Accessories Beater, dough hook, whisk, splash guard, dual scraper, storage caddy for mixing bowl

Dishwasher safe Yes

Need to know Six speeds, six minutes maximum run time, 113.5cm cable, recipes included

Russell Hobbs Go Create Kitchen Stand Mixer

Available from Russell Hobbs (£132.99)

Size and weight 33 x 33 x 27cm (HxWxD); 5.6kg 

Bowl capacity 5 litres 

Accessories Beater, dough hook, whisk, splash guard

Dishwasher safe Yes, but it may affect the cosmetic appearance 

Need to know 10 speeds, pulse function, 10 minutes maximum run time, 119cm cable, recipes included

Smeg SMF03CRUK Stand Mixer

Size and weight 34 x 32.5 x 21cm (HxWxD); 8.5kg 

Bowl capacity 4.8 litres 

Accessories Two beaters, dough hook, whisk, splash guard

Dishwasher safe Yes, but not the whisk attachment

Other colours available Black, blue, green, grey, pink, red, white

Need to know 10 speeds, 98.5cm cable, recipes included

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How we test stand mixers

We choose bestselling stand mixers sold at UK retailers and test to see how well they mix, whisk and knead. We buy all the stand mixers we test.

We regularly revisit the stand mixers on sale to see if there are any more popular models that need testing and when we find them we do.

How well they mix

We use the following attachments on each stand mixer and time how long it takes for each mixture to come together:

• Beater We use this attachment to make a sponge cake. We also count how many times we have to stop the stand mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl, which can be frustrating and messy. The best stand mixers have a beater attachment that reaches around the whole bowl. 
• Whisk We use this attachment to whisk egg whites to stiff peaks. 
• Dough hook We use this attachment to make white bread dough from bread mix and water. 

We bake and taste the sponge cake and bread loaf made from each stand mixer. However we haven't found any big differences here – every stand mixer produces a golden, airy sponge cake and a well-risen bread loaf. The best stand mixers are those that mix quickly with minimal intervention and are easy to use. 

Ease of use

• We assess how easy it is to fix and remove the different attachments to the stand mixer. 
• The stand mixers we test vary in weight from 3kg up to 10kg, so we consider how easy it is to move the stand mixer. 
• We rate how easy it is to move the hinged arm up and down. 
• Most stand mixers come with a splash guard, so we assess how easy it is to attach and pour ingredients through. 

Cleaning

We rate how easy it is to clean the stand mixer bowl and attachments by hand after each use.  

Energy consumption

We measure how much electricity each stand mixer uses to mix cake batter, knead dough and whisk egg whites. 

We've found all the stand mixers are very energy efficient. They use less than 1p of electricity per mixing task, so we don't factor this into their scores. 

Find out more about how Which? is not influenced by product manufacturers or retailers and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent.

What's the difference between a stand mixer and a regular mixer?

If you're a regular baker, a stand mixer will do the mixing for you when it comes to cake batter, bread dough, egg whites and more. 

For a kitchen gadget that's more of an all-rounder, a food processor can also chop, slice, grate and purée. If you're short on a kitchen space, a mini chopper can do some of these tasks too. 

For liquid blends or tougher tasks such as crushing ice or grinding coffee beans, a blender is your best bet as the blades can cope with these heavy duty tasks. 

Kit out your kitchen with excellent small appliances, including the best food processors, best hand blenders, best blenders

Stand mixer attachments explained

Most stand mixers will come with these standard attachments:

• Flat beater or mixer blade The most common attachment used for combining any mixture that has a normal to heavy consistency. Used for cakes, biscuits, pastry, icing and even mashed potato.
• Dough hook Suitable for kneading all kinds of dough and heavier pastries.
• Balloon whisk A large metal balloon whisk. Best for whisking egg whites, whipping, creaming ingredients or for light cake mixtures and batters. The large whisk incorporates much more air into the mix, but shouldn't be used for heavy mixtures, as it could get damaged.
• Splash guard A plastic lid with a hole or hinged flap in it that fixes over the top of the mixing bowl to stop splashing when you're adding and mixing ingredients. 

Some additional accessories are available with certain models:

• Slicer/grater Like a mini food processor attachment to slice and grate food.
• Mini chopper For chopping nuts, herbs and spices.
• Slow juicer Some mixers have a slow juicing attachment, so you can juice harder veg and fruit.
• Pasta press Use this to knead pasta dough in a stand mixer.  
• Ice-cream maker This is usually a freezable bowl which you can use with the main mixing tool to make your own ice-cream. 
• Food grinder Grinds spices, pepper or dried fruit. Some mills can grind coffee, too, but check the instructions first.

We put the KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment to the test in our reviews of the best ice cream makers

Are stand mixer attachments universal?

No, stand mixer attachments are made to fit the machine they come with. 

Some attachments fit different stand mixer models from the same brand, such as KitchenAid, but you'll need to check with the manufacturer. 

What is a stand mixer good for?

The standard attachments on a stand mixer can help you with a variety of baking and cooking tasks:

• Cake The flat beater attachment will take you through all the stages of making a cake. Increase the speed to cream butter and sugar together and lower the speed to fold in flour. 
• Pastry The flat beater attachment can also be used to make pastry. Some of the stand mixers we tested, such as Kitchenaid can also be used with a specific pastry beater accessory said to make easy, flaky pastry. You'll have to buy this as an additional accessory (£35 upwards from Currys, juicers.co.uk, Lakeland and Kitchenaid). 
• Bread Use the dough hook on your stand mixer to take all the hard work out of kneading bread dough. The curved hook forms gluten strands in your bread dough that'll help it to rise. See our reviews of the best bread makers if even this sounds like too much hard work and the best pizza ovens if you want to try your hand at pizza dough too.
• Whipped cream or meringue Use the balloon whisk attachment on a high speed to whip air into double cream for whipped cream or into egg whites and sugar for meringue. 

Can I use a stand mixer for sourdough?

Yes, a stand mixer will take care of kneading your sourdough so you can get on with other tasks. You can use the paddle attachment to mix your starter, water, flour and salt. Once this comes together into a dough then switch to the dough hook. This will develop the gluten strands in your sourdough and help it to rise.

Keep checking the dough every few minutes, as an over-kneaded mixture can result in a dense, flat loaf. You'll know once it's ready as the dough will form into a ball in the middle of your mixing bowl and have an elastic texture.