My stand mixer is one of my favorite kitchen appliances, but unless I’m doing some heavy-duty baking, my hand mixer gets more action. It's what I reach for when I'm whipping cream, mixing store-bought cake batters, or making quick mashed potatoes on a weeknight—all tasks where dragging out a 25-pound stand mixer feels like overkill. And my favorite part: I can lick the beaters clean when I'm done.
Although they vary widely in speed range, accessories, and controls, all good hand mixers will be comfortable, powerful, efficient, and easy to clean.
Our top picks
- Best hand mixer overall: Breville Handy Mix Scraper
- Best budget hand mixer: Beautiful by Drew 6-Speed Hand Mixer
To find the best one, I tested seven of the most popular models from major brands, putting each through two real-world tasks: mixing a thick, oat-based cookie dough and beating egg whites to bowl-flipping, firm peaks. I looked at power, noise, ease of use, how well each handled thick doughs without clumping, and how quickly I could get the beaters clean after. After all that, only two hand mixers from Breville and Beautiful by Drew couldn’t be beat.
Best hand mixer overall: Breville Handy Mix Scraper 9-Speed Hand Mixer
Pros and cons
Pros
- Powerful motor
- Quiet, rubber-coated beaters
- Easy to clean
- Built-in mixing light
- Compact storage
Cons
- Expensive
Specs
- Weight: 3.9 lbs.
- Speeds: 9, plus boost
- Power: 150 Watts
- Accessories: 2 scraper beaters, 2 dough hooks, 2 balloon whisks, storage case
- Colors: Silver, Black Truffle, Sea Salt, Damson Blue, Olive Tapenade
- Warranty: Limited 1-year warranty
What we love: The hand mixer has an ergonomic handle with a comfortable grip and a simple user interface: an on/off button, a pause button, a display window that shows the speed and mixing time, and a wheel that scrolls up or down to adjust the speed, or gives a boost when pressed. Unlike many other models we tested, the Breville hand mixer’s controls were easy to adjust while it was in use.
The first thing we noticed as we began creaming butter and sugar for our cookie dough was how quiet the rubber-coated beaters were. They didn’t make a clanking sound as they rotated around the mixing bowl and were virtually silent. The beaters also creamed the butter and sugar faster than any other mixer, producing a perfectly light and fluffy texture.
As we added ingredients, the Handy Mix Scraper’s built-in light let us monitor how well they were incorporated into the mixture. The resulting dough was very thick, but the powerful beaters moved through it as if it were butter. There was no struggling and no clumping of ingredients along the sides of the bowl. Only the tiniest bits of dough got stuck inside the beaters, and we readily plucked those out with our fingers. The fairly clean attachments popped off the mixer with the pull of a loop and took seconds to hand-wash.
The Breville hand mixer also did a superb job at beating egg whites to a stiff peak — they stayed put with the bowl held upside-down — and it did so in less time than other mixers. While the Handy Mix Scraper was heftier than many models we tested, it moved so smoothly during both tests that it felt much lighter. Mixing never felt like a chore because the beaters glided so easily around the bowl.
What we’d leave: The price. At this range, you can find a decent stand mixer with more versatility, and if counter space isn't a concern, that's worth considering. That said, the Handy Mix Scraper is a worthy splurge, and a great option for those with small kitchens or limited counter space.
Best budget hand mixer: Beautiful by Drew 6-Speed Hand Mixer
Pros and cons
Pros
- Powerful motor
- Easy to operate
- Comfortable handle
- Sturdy
- Nice assortment of attachments
- Chic color options
Cons
- Can feel heavier when mixing stiff doughs
- Some sticking in beaters
Specs
- Weight: 2.82 lbs.
- Speeds: 6, plus turbo boost
- Power: 350 Watts
- Accessories: 2 chrome beaters, 2 chrome dough hooks, 1 stainless steel whisk attachment, storage case
- Colors: Black Sesame, Cornflower Blue, Lavender, Rose, White Icing
- Warranty: Limited 2-year warranty
Besides making the best budget stand mixer, Beautiful by Drew also makes the best budget hand mixer, as far as we’re concerned. It has a rather basic design, with a comfortable handle, a sliding speed adjuster, and a turbo boost button, but it’s solidly built and powerful. In fact, the Beautiful hand mixer performed just as well as the KitchenAid Ultra Power in our tests. The major difference? Beautiful’s hand mixer costs less and includes additional mixing attachments and a storage case. It also comes in chic colors like Cornflower Blue, Lavender, and Rose. For $35, it doesn’t get more beautiful than this.
What we love: The Beautiful by Drew 6-Speed Hand Mixer is easy to work with. Its handle provides a good grip, and the old-school speed-adjustment switch makes operation a no-brainer. The 350-watt motor made quick work of beating egg whites to a stiff peak, and provided plenty of power to push the beaters through the dense cookie dough without becoming sluggish. Some dough did collect inside the beaters, which was the case with most of our hand mixers, but it was easy to remove with a spatula before washing.
The Beautiful mixer also deserves bonus points for remaining stable while resting on the counter between uses. Some models toppled over, resulting in spills and splatters that needed wiping up afterward.
What we’d leave: The Beautiful hand mixer felt a little heavy as it tackled the stiff cookie dough, but not enough to cause fatigue. It also only includes one large whisk attachment, but it would be nice to have two in the normal size.
How we tested hand mixers
To find the best hand mixers, we performed two separate tests. First, we made salted-butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. We wanted to see how well the beaters creamed butter and sugar together, incorporated the additional ingredients like eggs, flour, and oats, and handled the resulting thick dough. We looked at whether the beaters slowed down or powered through the dense mixture, and if the dough clumped up along the sides of the bowl or got completely stuck inside the beaters.
For the second test, we used whisk attachments (when included) to beat egg whites to the stiff peak stage. We considered how long it took each mixer to get them to that consistency.
What to look for in a hand mixer
After testing 11 models, these are the criteria that actually separated the good mixers from the frustrating ones.
Power and speeds
When choosing a hand mixer, consider what jobs you plan to use it for and how much power those jobs will require. “It doesn't take much power to mix whipped cream,” says The Forked Spoon’s Jessica Randhawa, “but a small batch of thicker cookie dough can require a bit more power if you don't plan on using a stand mixer.” The best hand mixers have between 200 to 250 watts of motor power. Mixers in the lower range are better suited for thin batters and sauces, while those in the higher range can handle denser mixtures. Stick with a stand mixer for kneading bread and pizza dough.
Ease of use
“When I am investing in new kitchen tools, I want them to be fun and easy to use, so there are no hesitations or excuses,” says Randhawa. The best hand mixers should be relatively quiet, stand upright when placed on the counter, have attachments that insert and remove easily, and have adjustable speed controls that are simple to navigate.
Comfortable grip
Hands, wrists, and arms can become tired and fatigued after spending several minutes mixing, so consider models that are lightweight and feature ergonomically designed handles for a comfortable grip. Steer clear of bulky hand mixers that can become cumbersome at high speeds.
Easy cleanup
Mixers can get messy, since stiff doughs and batters often stick to the beaters and the appliance itself. Choose one that is easy to wipe down and has attachments that can be hand washed, or better yet, cleaned in the dishwasher. Otherwise, Randhawa says, “You may end up avoiding [certain] hand mixer recipes because you do not want to pull out the bad hand mixer you regret purchasing.”
Other hand mixers we liked
Breville and Beautiful may have been chosen as our favorites, but that doesn’t mean the other hand mixers we tested were duds. In fact, a number of models were serious contenders for the top spots. Take a look at some of the stellar hand mixers that created a stir.
Cuisinart Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Hand Mixer
We liked Cuisinart’s Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Hand Mixer almost as much as our top pick from Breville, except for the fact that dough stuck in its beaters. Other than that, it’s a fantastic mixer: lightweight, comfortable to work with, and easy to operate. Just press the on/off button at the front of the handle and the extra-long beaters start moving slowly to prevent splattering. Then click the + and - keys to increase or decrease the speed gradually. The Cuisinart hand mixer’s 220-watt motor had no problem powering the beaters through our cookie dough and helping the whisk to create meringue-worthy stiff peaks in our egg whites. Both attachments were easy to hand wash when we were done. The Power Advantage Plus also comes with two dough hooks, a spatula, and a plastic case that snaps onto the mixer’s base for convenient storage.
KitchenAid 5-Speed Ultra Power Hand Mixer
KitchenAid makes some of the best stand mixers on the market, so it’s no surprise that this 5-speed hand mixer is a standout as well. It delivered a superior performance in each test, rapidly combining the ingredients of our dense cookie dough and quickly whipping egg whites until they formed stiff peaks. Very little dough stuck to the beaters, and it was easy to remove before handwashing. The 60-watt Ultra Power Hand Mixer doesn’t have any bells and whistles — just two beaters, a sliding speed adjuster at the top of the handle, and no storage case — but it doesn’t need them. It’s a mini powerhouse. The mixer is available in 10 colors — if only it came with more attachments and a storage case.
Hand mixers we don’t recommend
Mixers that were hard to switch speeds, couldn't power through batter, or felt bulky to use didn't make the cut.
Hamilton Beach is known for its affordable appliances, but the quality can vary. We had high hopes for this 6-speed hand mixer, which boasts a 250-watt motor and includes two beaters, a whisk attachment, and a storage case. We liked that it was relatively lightweight and had a classic switch at the top for changing speeds or powering off with your thumb. But the speeds seemed a little too fast, especially the first setting, which caused some splattering when creaming butter and sugar. As we added flour and oats, we upped the speed but the beaters began to slow down, trudging through the stiff dough as it balled up around the bowl and inside the beaters. We had to stop, scrape the dough back down, and restart several times to complete the task. Needless to say, we felt some cramping in our hand and arm when we were done.Our egg whites took less effort and achieved peaks that were just stiff enough.
The Hamilton Beach 6-Speed Hand Mixer isn’t a terrible appliance. It’s OK for lighter jobs like mixing cake and brownie batters, icings, and sauces. But if you’re looking for an excellent budget hand mixer, Beautiful by Drew is your best bet.
We’re big fans of Braun’s immersion blender and drip coffee maker, but its hand mixer? Not so much. The 9-speed Multimix 5, which comes with a whisk, a beater, two dough hooks, and an accessories bag, is the noisiest hand mixer we tested. Despite a powerful 350-watt motor, it took a surprisingly long time to cream together butter and sugar and whip egg whites to stiff peaks. The mixer is also heavy and gave our arms quite a workout as it struggled to combine oats into our cookie dough. We also didn’t love the speed-control dial, which makes it easy to increase the speed too quickly and send ingredients flying out of the bowl. It’s a sharp-looking hand mixer, for sure, but for $100, you can do much better.
The Smeg 50s Retro Line Mixer is gorgeous, with a sleek 1950s design and sweet pastel colors to match. But it seems to prioritize form over function. The mixer, which has a 220-watt motor, feels bulky in hand and adjusting its nine speeds is anything but intuitive. The on/off button and increase/decrease speed buttons are clustered together on the handle, just below a digital display window. We kept hitting the wrong buttons when trying to change speeds, sometimes turning off the mixer entirely instead of increasing the power or cranking it up too high instead of lowering it.
The hand mixer comes with two beaters, two wire whisks, and two dough hooks. The beaters are somewhat narrow and practically overlap at the base once inserted into the mixer. They did a decent job of creaming butter and sugar but had a tougher time as more ingredients were added. The thickened dough kept balling up along the sides of the bowl and inside the beaters, making them difficult to clean. Our egg whites fared better with the whisk attachments, but that didn’t make up for all of the other flaws with this mixer, including the fact that it toppled over whenever we rested it on the counter. It’s an expensive appliance, and we expected to be wowed.