Bread knives are one of those kitchen tools where the expensive models get all the glory—and sometimes they deserve it. Our favorite overall bread knife costs close to $100 and glides through crusty sourdough like it's nothing. But here's the thing about serrated knives: The teeth do a lot of the work, which means a well-made budget option can punch well above its price. The real question isn't whether you should splurge. It's whether you even need to.
Our top pick
- The best bread knife under $25: Mercer Culinary M23210 10" Bread Knife, $17
After testing eight budget bread knives, one was a clear winner. The Mercer Culinary bread knife produced the cleanest slices, handled tomatoes effortlessly, and had the best handle we tested—grippy, secure, and comfortable in a way that cheaper knives rarely manage. It costs under $20 and feels like it shouldn't.
How we tested
I tested eight budget knives from well-known kitchen brands, each priced between $13 and $25, on the tasks that actually matter: slicing thick sourdough, cutting sandwich bread, and tackling tomatoes—the classic stress test for serration sharpness.
Our top pick: Mercer Culinary M23210 10” Bread Knife, $17
The best budget knife we tested, and it isn't particularly close. From the first cut into a crusty sourdough loaf, the Mercer produced cleaner slices than anything else we tested. The 10-inch blade is long, sharp, and well-balanced—it glides through crust and crumb without tearing, and dispatches tomatoes into neat quarter-inch rounds with almost no pressure.
The handle is a standout, too: textured and rubbery in a way that feels genuinely grippy rather than just plastic-with-ridges. It's the only knife we tested that felt fully secure even with slightly damp hands. At under $20, it performs like it should cost twice as much—and it's the one we'd reach for every time.
What we love: Cleanest cuts of the group; effortless on tomatoes; long, balanced blade; superior grip.
What we'd leave: Purely utilitarian design.
Other cheap bread knives we liked
Dexter-Russell Basics 10" Bread Knife, $20
The Dexter-Russell has the longest blade we tested, and you feel it immediately on large loaves. Cutting through a sourdough boule required noticeably fewer strokes than with shorter knives, and the aggressive serrations bite through thick crusts without hesitation.
It also handled tomatoes well. The design is purely utilitarian—no aesthetic pretense—but if clean, efficient slicing is the goal, this knife is built for it.
What we love: Long blade excels on large loaves; aggressive, sharp serrations; solid on tomatoes.
What we'd leave: Strictly no-frills appearance.
HENCKELS Dynamic 8" Bread Knife, $17
Classic-looking and well-balanced, this Henckels feels like a proper knife from the moment you pick it up. The riveted handle is comfortable, the blade tracks cleanly, and it performed especially well on tomatoes—the serrations caught the skin immediately and sliced without crushing.
The trade-off is blade length: at eight inches, wider boules and tall sourdough loaves require more passes. For everyday kitchen tasks, though, it's a reliable performer.
What we love: Sharp on tomatoes; comfortable, balanced feel; professional appearance.
What we'd leave: Shorter blade struggles on larger loaves.
Winco Sof-Tek 9" Offset Bread Knife, $12
Light, grippy, and easy to control, the Sof-Tek feels like a workhorse knife—practical by design. The soft handle is notably secure even with damp hands, and the knife's low weight makes it easy to maneuver without feeling cheap.
On crusty sourdough, it gets the job done with a bit more effort than the top performers. There's some drag through the crust before the serrations fully bite, but once past it, the blade moves cleanly. The real surprise was tomatoes: it sliced through the skin immediately, with almost no pressure, and produced clean rounds without crushing the flesh.
What we love: Lightweight and maneuverable; grippy handle; excellent on tomatoes.
What we'd leave: Slight drag when cutting through crusty bread.
Kuhn Rikon 7.8" Bread Knife, $23
The sharpest-feeling knife we tested. The serrations grab immediately on both bread and tomatoes, and the overall cutting experience feels more precise than most knives we tested—including some that cost more.
It also has a pleasantly substantial weight and a sleek look that sets it apart from more utilitarian options.
The limitation is reach: at just under eight inches, wider loaves demand more back-and-forth. For everyday tasks, though, it's an impressive performer.
What we love: Exceptionally sharp; precise cuts on bread and tomatoes; refined feel.
What we'd leave: Short blade requires extra effort on large loaves.
IKEA 365+ 9" Bread Knife, $25
Exactly what you'd expect from IKEA: simple, functional, no surprises. It handled bread and tomatoes competently without excelling at either—the serrations aren't the sharpest we tested, but they cut cleanly enough for everyday use.
At this price for a fully metal knife, the value is hard to argue with. It's not going to wow anyone, but it will reliably do its job.
What we love: Great value; fully metal construction; simple and practical.
What we'd leave: Serrations aren't as sharp as the best performers.
Bread knives that were a cut below
Zulay Kitchen 13" Bread Knife, $15
The Zulay has the most polished look of any knife we tested—an all-stainless design that feels more expensive than $13, and if you're outfitting a kitchen where aesthetics matter, that's not nothing. Worth noting: although billed as a “13-inch” bread knife, that's the length of the entire knife—not the blade. The blade is only 8 inches.
In use, though, it was the hardest to control. The blade wandered during cuts, making it difficult to produce straight, clean slices. Both bread and tomatoes eventually yielded, but the process felt imprecise compared to most knives we tested. The shorter blade also struggled with thick, wide loaves. That said, if your needs are modest—slicing a soft sandwich loaf or cutting through a baguette—it'll do the job without complaint.
What we love: Sleek all-stainless appearance.
What we'd leave: Hard to keep cuts straight; short blade limits reach.
Cuisinart C77SS-8BD 8" Bread Knife, $17
Dependable and well-balanced, the Cuisinart is a solid mid-tier performer. It handled tomatoes cleanly and worked through crusty sourdough without any real trouble, even if it didn't glide quite as effortlessly as the Mercer or Dexter-Russell.
Its weight feels right—stable without being heavy—and it's easy to control through longer cuts. Nothing flashy, nothing frustrating.
What we love: Good balance and weight; reliable across tasks.
What we'd leave: Not quite as sharp or efficient as the top performers.
The final takeaway
Bread knives are one of the rare kitchen tools where spending less doesn't mean settling. Serrated blades do enough of the work on their own that a sharp, well-proportioned budget knife can hold its own against far pricier options.
While the Mercer Culinary 10" was our top pick, any knife on this list will serve you well; the Mercer just happens to be the one we'd grab first.