Which toaster brand is the most reliable?

Our latest survey reveals how toasters from brands such as Breville, Dualit and Russell Hobbs really perform at breakfast time – and how reliable they are.

We surveyed 5,924 toaster owners about their experience with their toasters, and if they've found problems, so you can see which brands are worth the money.

We discovered big differences in reliability between the best and worst toaster brands.

Want the very best toaster for your budget? Head to our best toasters guide to find out which models impressed in our tests. 

Only logged-in Which? members can see which brands achieved the ratings and verdicts in the table below. If you're not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access.

Which toaster brands develop the fewest faults?

This table summarises what we found about how quickly toaster brands develop faults or break down, based on toasters bought in the past seven years.

Do you have dexterity or sight issues? See our guide to the best easy-to-use toasters for our top user-friendly models.

Which toaster brands do owners recommend?

 As well as faults, our survey also revealed which toaster brands owners feel happy with – and which they’d recommend to a friend.

These results are shown as each brand’s Customer score, and are based on toasters bought in the past seven years.

Head to our toaster reviews to check out all of our reviews on your chosen brand.

The three most common toaster faults

Most toaster faults , such as the heating element not working or inconsistent performance, are not DIY fixes.

1. Heating element stops working (37% of all faults)

The heating elements in a toaster are a grid of wires wrapped around an insulating board. The wires heat up to dry and char the bread – the closer the wires are to the bread, the quicker the bread will toast. 

Patchy browning sometimes happens when the wires on a toaster's heating element are unevenly wrapped, or have ends sticking out.

An issue with the toaster's heating element was the most reported fault in our survey. Usually, if a toaster's heating element has blown, your bread comes out partially or completely untoasted.

This isn't something you can repair at home unless you're a qualified electrician. It can also point to an issue with the thermostat but, again, we wouldn't recommend trying to replace this yourself.

2. Inconsistent performance (28%)

The second most common problem encountered by our survey respondents, inconsistent toaster performance accounted for 28% of reported issues. This can include problems such as uneven browning and differences in colour on each side of the bread. 

Sadly, there's no hard and fast fix to this. Often, fiddling with the settings will produce slightly better results, but be sure to keep a close eye on your toaster if you decide to do this to avoid accidentally burning your bread to a crisp.

It's always worth checking whether or not your toaster is still in its warranty period and contacting your manufacturer for a replacement if it is.

3. Faulty pop-up function (23%)

A faulty pop-up function covers a myriad of problems, such as the lever failing to move bread down into the toasting slot and toast not popping up when it's ready. Not only is this inconvenient, but it could become dangerous if you have to risk burning yourself to prise out items.

Pop-up issues accounted for almost a quarter of problems among our survey respondents and some brands were affected much more than others.

Your best bet to try to fix this issue is by giving your toaster a thorough clean. Often, crumbs can sneak into the mechanism and stop things working as they should. If this doesn't work, the spring that operates the lever might have slipped or broken, so it will need to be replaced.

How easy is it to repair a toaster?

There's a very limited list of toaster problems that you'll be able to successfully fix at home and, sadly, most of the other common issues we discovered in our survey would need to be looked at by a professional.

Faulty pop-up functions can often be easily rectified without needing to call an expert.

Dealing with a faulty appliance is frustrating but, depending on how long you've owned it, you may be able to get a refund if it was unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described.

Read our guide to the Consumer Rights Act to find out more about your right to a repair or replacement.

Which toaster brands offer the best guarantees?

Most toaster brands have a guarantee between one and two years, but there are a handful that offer longer cover, including:

• Dualit – offers a one-year parts-and-labour warranty, but New Gen toasters with patented ProHeat elements have an additional two-year warranty.
• Smeg – depending on the model, you can get up to a five-year guarantee.
  
• Tower – offers a three-year guarantee when you register your product after purchase.

Bought a faulty product? Here's how to get a refund, repair or replacement.

How we discover the most reliable toaster brands

Which? has a wealth of information on Britain’s favourite toaster brands. 

We regularly contact Which? Connect panel members and ask them to tell us about the kitchen appliances they own, including how long they remained problem-free once they got them home and whether or not they would recommend the brand.

This year, 10,718  Which? members and members of the public told us about more than 30,000 individual products, including 5,924 toasters .

Our survey, combined with our rigorous lab tests, means we can recommend the best toaster brands for you, as well as some you may want to avoid.

Head to how we test toasters to find out how we separate the best toasters from the rest.