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Best Toaster: 15 Tested for Even Browning, Speed & Bagels
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Fifteen toasters, from a $23 Bella to a $330 Revolution, were put through the
same six tests. Two slices of white bread with each toaster dialed to its own
golden-toast setting; the same bread frozen and run through the defrost cycle;
a single slice with the shade setting left alone; bagels; Pop-Tarts to test how
far the carriage lifts a small item; and five grams of loose crumbs to see how
much each toaster keeps off the counter. Power draw at the wall, cycle time and
the weight lost from the bread were measured on every run.
The money buys heat. The four toasters that finished a cycle in under two
minutes are the four most expensive of the group, and they are also the four
that dried the bread out least — a fast, hot cycle browns the surface before
the center has time to give up its moisture. Even browning is a separate
problem, though, and several of the most powerful toasters never solved it.
Rated 1 for even browning. The only toaster to take the best possible rating for browning both sides of a slice equally, tied best on frozen bread, and best on bagels at 1.5.
$39, 2:03 cycle, 18.1% moisture loss. Rated 1.5 for even browning, matching toasters several times the price. The carriage spring needs a hand with bagels and Pop-Tarts.
The least expensive toaster in the group. Two slices, six shade settings, extra-wide slots, a removable crumb tray and a reheat function, but no defrost mode. Rated 750 W and measured 766 W; 922 g. Toasted the top of the slice darker than the bottom and one side darker than the other, and burned a single slice badly at the two-slice setting.
Cool-touch walls and a shade selector, with no defrost mode. Rated 700 W and measured 732 W; 1,040 g. Left the middle and bottom of the slice light and one side clearly darker than the other, but it was one of the best of the group on bagels at a rating of 2 and one of the four best at keeping crumbs off the counter at a rating of 2.
Claims 850 W for fast toasting, with dedicated frozen and bagel buttons. Measured 890 W, about 40 W above its rating; 2:14 for two slices. Its 16-second defrost cycle is a sensible length, and it handled a single slice better than the other budget units, but it let crumbs through freely.
Six shade settings and an extra-lift lever for smaller items. Rated 900 W; 1,000 g; 2:27 for two slices and 21.5% moisture loss, near the bottom of the group. One side of the slice came out close to perfect and the other over-toasted in places, and the 30-second defrost cycle is far more time than frozen bread needs here.
Compact two-slice unit with a seven-setting shade dial, 1.5-inch slots and defrost and cancel buttons. Measured 940 W; 1,146 g; 2:03 for two slices, tied for the quickest of the sub-$50 toasters. Uneven side to side on white bread, but it took a rating of 2 on frozen bread and was one of the four best at crumb collection at a rating of 2.
Digital two-slice toaster with an LCD countdown timer and reheat, cancel, defrost and bagel functions. Rated 900 W; 2:06 for two slices. Earned 1.5 for browning both sides of a slice to the same shade — the best of the budget toasters — but its 29-second defrost cycle came out considerably darker than golden, and the carriage left a Pop-Tart an inch below the top of the slot.
Retro-styled toaster that will run one or two slices, with cancel, defrost and reheat. The narrowest slots of the group. Rated 700 W and measured 720 W, the least powerful here; 982 g; 2:19 for two slices. One side came out really dark and the other not dark enough, and it lost roughly half the test crumbs. Its carriage spring is one of the stronger ones, lifting a Pop-Tart clear of the slot unaided.
The only four-slice toaster in the group, with a retractable warming rack and slots almost 10 inches long. Rated 1,300 W and measured 1,335 W; 1,922 g; 21.7% moisture loss, the highest here. The long slots scorch the left and right ends of a standard slice while leaving the center pale, and repeat attempts at different positions produced the same pattern. Best in the group at lifting a Pop-Tart, at about an inch of clearance.
Extra-wide slots with a bagel mode that toasts the cut side and warms the outside. Rated 750 W and measured 770 W; 1,122 g; 2:41 for two slices, the slowest of the sub-$50 toasters. Over-toasted the top of the slice and under-toasted the bottom, ran a 30-second defrost cycle that came out very dark, and was among the worst at retaining crumbs.
Value pick. Seven shade settings and 1.5-inch slots. Rated 850 W and measured 880 W; 1,334 g; 2:03 for two slices and 18.1% moisture loss. Earned 1.5 for even browning, matching toasters costing several times as much. Its weaknesses are mechanical: a weak carriage spring that cannot lift a bagel unaided, poor crumb retention, and a 65-second defrost cycle that burned frozen bread badly.
Retro stainless toaster with six shade settings, a metal cool-touch housing and bagel, defrost and cancel functions. Rated 800 W and measured 845 W; 1,276 g. Following its own setup chart for golden toast it took just over three minutes, the longest cycle in the group, and lost 21% of the bread's weight. Placed third on bagels at 2.5, but scattered crumbs freely.
Stainless toaster with an LCD display and touch buttons, six bread selections and seven shade settings. Rated 1,350 W and measured 1,315 W. The fastest in the group at 1:15 for two slices, with the lowest moisture loss at 10.6%. The shade steps are coarse — the next setting up added about 10 seconds and came out well past golden — and browning was very inconsistent across the slice. One of the four best at crumb collection at a rating of 2.
Step-up pick. Two-slot toaster with a high-lift lever, seven shade settings, 1.5-inch slots nearly 6 inches deep and 5.7-inch-long slots, plus bagel, defrost, reheat and keep-warm modes. Rated 1,200 W and measured 1,225 W; 1:28 for two slices and 12.8% moisture loss, second-lowest here. Tied for the best frozen-bread result at a rating of 1 on a 10-second defrost cycle, and earned 1.5 for even browning. The carriage needs help with bagels.
Performance pick. Designed in Italy, with two large 5.8-inch slots, six browning levels, self-centering racks and a removable stainless crumb tray. Rated 980 W and measured 990 W; 2,390 g; finished in under two minutes with 17.1% moisture loss. The only toaster to earn the best possible rating of 1 for browning both sides of a slice equally, and the most even from top to bottom and side to side. Also tied best on frozen bread at 1 and best on bagels at 1.5.
The most expensive toaster here. Touchscreen with three toasting modes, seven shade levels, preset bread-type programs, a panini press and patented instant-glow heating. Rated 1,440 W and measured 1,380 W, the most powerful in the group; 2,572 g; about 1:30 for two slices and 13.8% moisture loss. Best in the group on a single slice and rated 1.5 for even browning, one of the four best at crumb collection at 2, and the only toaster that lifted a Pop-Tart 7/8 of an inch clear with no help at all.
Price
Lower is better
Approximate purchase prices at the time of testing.
Toasting Time, Two Slices of White Bread (Seconds)
Each toaster set to its own shade setting for a golden finish, two slices per run.
Power tracks almost directly with speed. The 1,315-watt SEEDEEM finished in 1:15 and the 1,225-watt KitchenAid in 1:28, while the 845-watt Keenstone needed just over three minutes on the setup its own instructions specify for golden toast. Among the toasters under $50 the Cuisinart and the GE were quickest at 2:03 and the Hamilton Beach slowest at 2:41.
Full results table
Rank
Product
Result
1
SEEDEEM
75
2
KitchenAid
88
3
Revolution
90
4
Cuisinart
123
5
GE
123
6
Hommater
126
7
Bella
130
8
Black+Decker
134
9
Proctor Silex
136
10
Mueller
139
11
Amazon Basics
147
12
Elite Gourmet
149
13
Hamilton Beach
161
14
Keenstone
180
Moisture Loss After Toasting (% of Starting Weight)
Two slices weighed before and after toasting; a lower figure means a moister center.
Shade setting has a large effect on this figure, so it reads best alongside cycle time rather than on its own. The pattern is consistent all the same: the four toasters that finished in under two minutes — SEEDEEM, KitchenAid, Revolution and SMEG — gave up the least weight, and the slowest units dried the bread out the most.
Full results table
Rank
Product
Result
1
SEEDEEM
10.60
2
KitchenAid
12.80
3
Revolution
13.80
4
SMEG
17.10
5
Bella
17.40
6
Proctor Silex
17.80
7
GE
18.10
8
Mueller
18.30
9
Black+Decker
18.40
10
Cuisinart
19.10
11
Hommater
19.70
12
Hamilton Beach
20.20
13
Keenstone
21
14
Amazon Basics
21.50
15
Elite Gourmet
21.70
Measured Power Draw (Watts)
Actual draw at the wall during a toasting cycle, not the advertised rating.
Most units drew at or slightly above their published rating; the SEEDEEM and the Revolution were the two that came in under theirs. The two biggest draws sit at opposite ends of the browning results — the Revolution at 1,380 W was one of the most even and the Elite Gourmet at 1,335 W one of the least. Watts buy speed, not consistency.
Full results table
Rank
Product
Result
1
Revolution
1380
2
Elite Gourmet
1335
3
SEEDEEM
1315
4
KitchenAid
1225
5
SMEG
990
6
Cuisinart
940
7
Black+Decker
890
8
GE
880
9
Keenstone
845
10
Hamilton Beach
770
11
Bella
766
12
Proctor Silex
732
13
Mueller
720
Defrost Mode: Extra Time Added (Seconds)
Seconds the defrost setting adds to the cycle for frozen bread; roughly 10 to 16 seconds proved about right.
This is the one test where neither extreme is good. The KitchenAid at 10 seconds and the SMEG at 14 both landed on a golden finish, while the 29 and 30-second cycles came out considerably darker and the GE's 65-second cycle burned the slice outright. The Bella and the Proctor Silex have no defrost function, so frozen bread there means turning the shade dial up by half a step instead.
Full results table
Rank
Product
Result
1
Mueller
6
2
Cuisinart
8
3
KitchenAid
10
4
Revolution
10
5
SMEG
14
6
Black+Decker
16
7
Elite Gourmet
16
8
Keenstone
23
9
Hommater
29
10
Amazon Basics
30
11
Hamilton Beach
30
12
SEEDEEM
30
13
GE
65
The Verdict
On raw performance the SMEG is the pick. It was the only toaster to earn the
best possible rating of 1 for browning both sides of a slice to the same shade,
and it was also the most even from top to bottom and side to side. It tied the
KitchenAid for the best frozen-bread result at 1, its 14-second defrost cycle
landed on a golden finish, and it took the bagel test at 1.5. At 990 W it is
far from the most powerful toaster here, yet it still finished a cycle in under
two minutes and gave up only 17.1% of the bread's weight. It is also $220.
At around $39 the GE is the sensible buy. It matched the Cuisinart as the
quickest of the sub-$50 toasters at 2:03, lost 18.1% of the bread's weight, and
earned 1.5 for even browning — the same rating as toasters costing several
times as much. Its weaknesses are mechanical rather than thermal: the carriage
spring leaves a Pop-Tart three-quarters of an inch down the slot, it cannot
lift a bagel unaided, and its 65-second defrost cycle is far too long, burning
frozen bread badly. Stepping up to the $100 KitchenAid buys a 1:28 cycle, the
second-lowest moisture loss in the group at 12.8%, and a 10-second defrost that
is close to ideal — though it shares the GE's weak carriage. The $330
Revolution performs very well almost everywhere, taking the single-slice test
outright and lifting a Pop-Tart 7/8 of an inch clear with no help, but that is
a great deal of money for a toaster.
Nothing in the $23 to $30 range earns a recommendation. The Bella, the Proctor
Silex, the Black+Decker, the Amazon Basics, the Cuisinart, the Hommater and the
Mueller all browned one side of a slice noticeably darker than the other, and
several burned a single slice outright at the setting that had worked for two.
The Elite Gourmet's near-ten-inch slots scorch the ends of a standard slice
while leaving the middle pale, and the Keenstone took the longest cycle in the
group at just over three minutes while still losing 21% of the bread's weight.
Crumb control was weak almost everywhere: the Proctor Silex, Cuisinart, SEEDEEM
and Revolution were the best of the field at a rating of 2, and none of the
fifteen was clean. Check the carriage before buying, too — only about half of
these toasters could raise a bagel out of the slot without a hand, and the
Elite Gourmet, at about an inch of clearance on a Pop-Tart, gave the most lift
of any of them.