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Which Toaster Brand Wins?
A head-to-head test of 15 toaster options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Budget pick
GE
Price shown in test: $39
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Made_in | Rated_watts | Weight_g | Toast_time | Toast_evenness | Moisture_loss_pct | Defrost_time_added_sec | Pop_tart_lift | Single_slice_test | Bagel_test | Crumb_test | Measured_watts | Claim | Feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1SMEG$220 | designed in Italy, made in China | 980, measured 990 | 2,390, heaviest of the 15 toasters tested | under 2 minutes (exact time not stated), the third fastest toaster after SEDEEM and KitchenAid | best of all 15 brands, rated 1 (the best possible score) for toasting both sides evenly and for the most even golden color top to bottom and side to side | 17.1 | 14, described as a good target time, toast came out looking very good; tied with the KitchenAid for the best defrost rating of 1 | plenty of spring strength but could use more range, only 1/4 in above the slot unassisted, 7/16 in above with assistance | both sides over toasted, one side noticeably more than the other | best of all 15 brands, rated 1.5; instructions call for facing the cut side outward; plenty of strength to lift the bagel and performed better than most other brands | performed about the same as the KitchenAid | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2GE$39 | China | 850, measured 880 | 1,334 | 2 minutes 3 seconds, tied with the Cuisinart | tied for second-best rating (1.5) alongside Hommater, KitchenAid, and Revolution | 18.1 | 65, described as way too ambitious for a defrost cycle; the toast was burned pretty badly | struggled as badly as the Hamilton Beach, 3/4 in below the slot unassisted, 3/4 in above with assistance | mostly golden on one side and burned on the other | not enough strength to lift the bagels unassisted, but a little better and more consistent than the Elite Gourmet and Hamilton Beach | lost quite a few crumbs, but not as bad as the Mueller | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3KitchenAid$100 | China | transcript states '12200 WTS', almost certainly a garbled rendering of 1,200 W given the measured figure of 1,225 W is described as '25 watts above its rating'; preserved as reported rather than corrected | transcript states '244 G', which is inconsistent with the toaster being described as the heaviest yet at that point in the video (before the heavier SMEG and Revolution were introduced); likely a garbled rendering of a larger figure such as 2,244 g, preserved as reported rather than corrected | 88 seconds, almost as fast as the SEDEEM | tied for second-best rating (1.5) alongside Hommater, GE, and Revolution; both sides darkened about the same, though the bottom area was a little underdone | 12.8, second lowest of all 15 brands | 10, described as just about the perfect amount of time; tied with the SMEG for the best defrost rating of 1 | poptart remained buried about 7/16 in below the slot unassisted, 7/16 in above with assistance | done the best so far at that point in the video: one side just a little over toasted, the other unevenly toasted but much better than prior brands | needed assistance lifting the bagels; bagel came out over toasted on top and under toasted on the bottom | performed quite a bit better than average, but not quite as well as the SEDEEM | 1,225, almost as powerful as the SEDEEM | not tested | not tested |
| 4Revolution$330, most expensive brand tested | China | 1,440, measured 1,380 (about 70 watts less than its rating, unlike most other brands which exceeded their rating) | 2,572, heaviest of all 15 toasters | just over a minute and a half | tied for second-best rating (1.5) alongside Hommater, GE, and KitchenAid, though the transcript separately notes it 'didn't toast the bread as evenly as the SMEG' | 13.8 | 10, but the toast came out underfinished compared to the golden target; a retest at a darker setting improved it slightly but still not to golden | well designed for smaller items: started at 7/8 in above the slot and finished at 7/8 in above without any assistance | by far the best job of all 15 brands at toasting both sides evenly | more than enough strength to lift the bagel; one side looked fairly nice but the other was under toasted in some areas | tied for the best crumb rating (2) alongside Proctor Silex, Cuisinart, and SEDEEM | not tested | claims six preset bread-type algorithms for fast, consistent toasting; claims it sears bread without drying it out; patented instant glow technology; includes a panini press | not tested |
| 5SEDEEM$50 | China | 1,350, measured approximately 1,315 (came up a little short of its rating) | transcript states '1,46 G', likely missing a digit; preserved as reported rather than corrected | 1 minute 15 seconds, by far the fastest of all 15 brands; a repeat test showed 1:15 on the left slot and 1:25 on the right slot, demonstrating inconsistency | over toasted badly in some areas while under toasted in others, described as very inconsistent side to side despite its speed | 10.6, the lowest (least moisture loss) of all 15 brands | 30, described as having 'just about lit the bread on fire' | worst of all 15 brands: 1 and 1/4 in below the slot unassisted, and only just about even with the slot with the lever raised | mostly over toasted on one side, mostly under toasted in areas on the other | unlike other brands, instructions call for facing the cut side outward; not enough strength to lift the bagel; bagel came out way under toasted in most areas | tied for the best crumb rating (2) alongside Proctor Silex, Cuisinart, and Revolution | not tested | claims 50 percent faster heating speed | not tested |
| 6Keenstone$40 | China | 800, measured 845 | 1,276 | just over 3 minutes, the slowest of all 15 brands | both sides received about the same heat exposure overall, but some areas were over toasted and others under toasted | 21 | 23, described as a little too long but better than the GE; toast came out way too dark in most areas | 3/4 in below the slot unassisted, 5/8 in above with assistance | over toasted on one side, the other side received far less heat | third-best bagel rating (2.5); not enough strength to lift the bagels unassisted but delivered a more consistent finish than the GE | tossed crumbs everywhere, one of the worst performers in this test | not tested | claims to be made from '188 stainless steel' (likely intended as 18/8 stainless steel) | not tested |
| 7Hamilton Beach$36 | China | 750, measured 770 | 1,122 | 2 minutes 41 seconds, the slowest toast time up to that point in the video | both sides looked pretty much the same, but the top was over toasted and the bottom under toasted | 20.2 | 30, described as overkill; continued to struggle with a consistent finish, way over toasted on top | 3/4 in below the slot unassisted, only 1/4 in above with assistance | burned one side, the other side received far less heat | plenty of strength to lift the bagels, but some areas over toasted and others barely toasted at all | really struggled, described as having no easy way to remove crumbs without making a mess | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Elite Gourmet | China | not tested | 1,922 | 2 minutes 29 seconds, the slowest toast time up to that point in the video | both sides toasted to the same overall level, but the left and right sides were over toasted while the center was under toasted, a pattern that persisted across several repositioning attempts | 21.7 | 16, described as about the right amount, but the bread was still over toasted on the left and right sides | plenty of strength, Pop-Tart about 1 in above the slot | continued to burn the left and right sides while under toasting the center | did not perform quite as well as the Hommater, with some areas over toasted and others barely toasted at all | did not perform quite as well as the Hommater despite a size advantage | 1,335 | designed for four slices at once (wider than the other two-slice toasters); rated up to 1,300 watts | not tested |
| 9Hommater$30 | China | 900, transcript states measured wattage as 'around 96 Watts... very close to its 900 W rating', almost certainly a garbled rendering of approximately 960 W; preserved as reported rather than corrected | transcript states '138 G', inconsistent with a toaster this size and likely missing a leading digit (plausibly around 1,380 g); preserved as reported rather than corrected | 2 minutes 6 seconds | best of the lineup up to that point in the video: both sides toasted to the same level of darkness, described as the best job yet at darkening each side evenly; finished in the second-best overall tier (1.5) once GE, KitchenAid, and Revolution were also tested | 19.7 | 29, described as way too much time; toast came out quite a bit darker than the unfrozen version | really struggled, about 1 in below the slot unassisted, only 1/2 in above with assistance | mostly over toasted on one side and slightly over toasted on the other | was not able to lift the bagels without extra assistance; bagels came out a little dark in some areas and light in others | performed quite a bit better than the Mueller but not quite as well as the Proctor Silex | not tested | described as a 'best rated Prime display smart toaster' with an LCD digital countdown timer | not tested |
| 10Cuisinart$30 | China | 900, measured approximately 940, more powerful than the Amazon Basics | 1,146 | 2 minutes 3 seconds, the fastest toaster tested up to that point in the video (tied with the GE, confirmed later in the transcript) | over toasted one side quite a bit more than the other, described as not a very consistent job | 19.1 | 8, toast came out a little darker this time but the center stayed warm | the best lift up to that point in the video, breaking even with the top of the slot unassisted, about 1 in above with the lever raised | one side quite a bit darker than the other | plenty of strength to lift the bagels, however over toasted some areas while under toasting others | tied for the best crumb rating (2) alongside Proctor Silex, SEDEEM, and Revolution; described as imperfect but quite a bit better than the Black and Decker and Amazon Basics | not tested | not tested | designed for toasting bagels and toast, preheat/defrost/cancel options, 1.5 in wide slots, seven shade settings |
| 11Proctor Silex$24 | China | 700, measured 732 | 1,040 | 2 minutes 16 seconds, very close to the Bella | a little darker on top, light in the middle and at the very bottom, one side clearly more toasted than the other | 17.8 | 15, toast came out a little more inconsistent, over toasted in some areas and under toasted in others | a little better than the Bella, 3/8 in below the slot unassisted, 3/8 in above with assistance | burned the bread badly on one side, other side mostly golden | second-best bagel rating (2); plenty of strength to lift the bagel and did a much better job of toasting evenly than the Bella | tied for the best crumb rating (2) alongside Cuisinart, SEDEEM, and Revolution; performed quite a bit better than the Bella | not tested | not tested | popular toaster with about 5,000 in sales every 30 days, cool touch walls, shade selector |
| 12Black+Decker$25 | China | 850, measured 890, the most power of any brand tested up to that point in the video | 1,240 | 2 minutes 14 seconds, 2 seconds faster than the Proctor Silex | one side darker than the other, parts of the bread under toasted on the sides and bottom | 18.4, the most (driest) up to that point in the video | 16, described as the right amount, though the finish was a little less consistent this time | the best of the lineup up to that point in the video: 1/4 in below the slot unassisted, 1/4 in above with the lever raised | by far the best up to that point in the video: both sides a little over toasted, one side a little less dark than the other | lifted the bagel just high enough, but did not perform quite as well as the Proctor Silex | really struggled; reviewer joked it 'seems well designed for feeding those cockroaches' | not tested | claims 850 watts for fast toasting with precise results, automatic frozen/bagel adjustment buttons | not tested |
| 13Amazon Basics$29 | China | 900, transcript states measured wattage as 'the most powerful toaster yet at 95', almost certainly a garbled rendering of approximately 950 W; preserved as reported rather than corrected | approximately 1,000 | 2 minutes 27 seconds | near perfect on one side, but the other side was over toasted in some areas | 21.5, the most (driest) up to that point in the video | 30, described as way too much time; still inconsistent, this time over toasted | did not have quite the strength to lift the Pop-Tart above the slot unassisted (about 7/16 in too low), but offered the most lift yet with assistance at about 1 full in above | struggled just as badly as the Bella and Proctor Silex | great job lifting the bagels above the slots, though a little over toasted in some areas and under toasted in others | left a lot of crumbs behind, with quite a few opportunities for crumbs to fall through the top | not tested | not tested | extra lift lever for removing smaller pieces, six shade settings |
| 14Mueller$30 | not stated in the transcript for this brand, unlike most other brands tested | 700, measured 720, the least powerful toaster tested up to that point in the video | 982 | 2 minutes 19 seconds | really struggled: one side really dark, the other not dark enough, very inconsistent, with the top quite a bit darker than the sides and bottom | 18.3 | 6 (defrost button present but does not illuminate); frozen toast looked about the same as unfrozen, finish pretty inconsistent both times | the best of the lineup up to that point in the video, lifting the toast about 1 in above the slot without any assistance | mostly golden on one side and burned on the other | was not able to lift the bagels without help; performed about the same as the Amazon Basics with some areas over toasted and others under toasted | described as losing about half the breadcrumbs, 'quite the mess maker' | not tested | not tested | retro style toaster, toasts one or two slices at a time, cancel/defrost/reheat functions, narrower slots than most other brands |
| 15Bella$23, least expensive brand tested | China | 750, measured 766 | 922 | 2 minutes 10 seconds | darkened the top area more than the bottom, and one side of the toast was darker than the other; results were consistent for both pieces of toast | 17.4 | no defrost function; timer manually adjusted from 3 to 3.5, adding about 8 seconds; came out a little under toasted on the bottom and a little over toasted in some areas on the other side | weak spring for lifting bread; toast sits about 7/16 in below the top unassisted, about 1/4 in above with the lever raised | way over toasted on one side and inconsistent on the other | varied quite a bit in color but did a great job warming the center of the bagel | left quite a few crumbs despite the crumb tray being in place | not tested | not tested | extremely popular toaster with about 10,000 units sold in the last 30 days, extra wide slots, removable crumb tray, six browning options, auto shut off, reheat function |
How it was tested
- toasting speed and evenness on two pieces of white bread, with before/after weight comparison for moisture loss
- measured wattage draw versus the manufacturer's rated wattage
- weight of each toaster
- defrosting and toasting previously frozen bread, comparing added cycle time and resulting consistency
- lifting a Pop-Tart to the top of the toaster slot, unassisted and with the lever raised
- toasting a single slice of bread (one side of the toaster empty)
- toasting bagels (lift strength and evenness)
- catching 5 g of dropped breadcrumbs
- toaster slot width and depth measurements versus advertised specifications