6 Best Hand Mixers, Tested by Food Network Kitchen
We whipped cream, beat egg whites and made mass amounts of cookie dough to determine the top mixers on the market.
Our Top Hand Mixer Picks
- Best Overall: Braun MultiMix 5
- Most Powerful: Cuisinart Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Hand Mixer
- Best Value: Hamilton Beach Hand Mixer
- Best Cordless: KitchenAid Cordless Hand Mixer
- Best for Beginners: Dualit Professional Chrome
- Best KitchenAid: KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Mixer
When a task is too small to drag out the stand mixer and too arduous for a whisk, only an electric hand mixer will do. But what actually sets a great one apart from the pack?
Power and speed are obviously important — the whole point of using this machine is so you don’t develop wrist cramp while creaming butter. Special features are fun, as long as they’re functional! And there’s the aesthetics; anything that takes up space in your kitchen might as well look good doing it! But value is worth considering too.
We considered all of these factors during our testing, and no matter what your top requirements are in a mixer, we’re sure the following models are more than up to the job.
We updated this guide in March 2021 with three new picks, including a new favorite overall, most powerful and the addition of a portable hand mixer. We still love many picks from our original test. Read on for our list of current favorites.
How We Tested
After scouring through reputable consumer buying guides, we selected 10 mixers to put to the test. We determined the most-important factors to look for in a top-quality mixer, from how easy the machine was to put together and how clear the manual was to read to the ergonomics of each model (how comfortable it was to hold it our hand), how loud it was (especially on high speeds), and how seamless it was to care for and clean.
If the brand made any special claims — like being able to cream cold butter in seconds — we definitely checked that they actually bore out during testing. We also evaluated each mixer's ability to perform specific, basic cooking tasks, including how quickly and efficiently they were able to make whipped cream, beat egg whites into soft peaks, cream butter and sugar, and make batches of chocolate chip cookie dough.
This article has been reviewed since its original publish date for accuracy, pricing and availability. We stand by our list of top hand mixer picks.
If you’re looking for a hand mixer that gives you the most power for the least amount of effort, the Braun MultiMix 5 scores high. It boasts "MultiWhisk" beaters, a combination whisk and beater in one, dough hooks, and a storage bag. Our favorite feature — SmartMix technology — powered by the 350-watt motor means you can mix more with less effort. The 9 speeds are easy to turn through with its one-handed control system, and there’s a turbo setting for an extra boost of power for those hard-to-beat doughs. We were able to easily cream butter and sugar, whip cream in 1 1/2 minutes, and beat egg whites to a soft peak in a minute. This lightweight powerhouse weighs in at just over 2 lbs., which makes it easy to handle, especially with its ergonomic grip. All of this power doesn’t make it extra loud either — another reason this mixer is our top pick.
When you have a variety of baking tasks to get through, you need a mixer with power, speed and an assortment of attachments. The Cuisinart Power Advantage 9 Speed Hand Mixer checks all of those boxes and more. The beaters, a chef's whisk, dough hooks and a spatula store easily in a snap-on storage case so you won’t have to go searching for them when you need them. We love the SmoothStart feature with 3 low mixing speeds which eliminates splattering. The 220-watt motor and the 9 speeds powered the chef’s whisk to help us whip cream and create stiff egg whites in under 2 minutes. This mixer also has a feature called Automatic Feedback that provides extra power when you need it for heavy loads. The rotating swivel cord can be positioned for right-or left-handed use for maximum comfort.
There's a reason the Hamilton Beach is a best-seller on Amazon: It’s less than half the price of the average cost of a mixer! And you're not you’re sacrificing quality. In addition to rocking a totally respectable six speeds (as well as a QuickBurst button, for that extra hit of power), and a snap-on case for easy storage, it’s actually designed to rest against the curve of a bowl, which means you can set it down between tasks without getting flour and sugar all over your counter.
If you tend to get tangled up in your cord while mixing a batch of cookies a cordless mixer might be your dream come true. The multiple speeds of the KitchenAid 7 Speed Cordless Hand Mixer help you mix whatever you like, but you'll need to remember to fully charge this mixer for 2 hours before your first use. Once that’s done you can make up to 4 batches of cookies on a single charge, and the speed dial on top of the mixer’s handle will let you know your battery level and when it’s time to charge again. If you need to make a cake right afterwards a 10-minute quick charge will get you through. The cordless aspect doesn’t take anything away from its power, and we were still able to easily cream butter and sugar, whip egg whites in 1 1/2 minutes and whipped cream in a little over 2 minutes. That said, being free and easy without a cord does come at the price of slightly more heft (3lbs).
The truth is, kitchen tools with too many bells and whistles can be intimidating to the novice cook or baker. So, rest assured, the Dualit will do precisely what you need it to do, without any confusing or unnecessary attachments, buttons or features getting in the way. Though it has only four speeds, that in no way indicates a lack of power. The Dualit whipped egg whites to soft peaks in an impressive 30 seconds (without any splashing!) and was even able to fold chocolate chips into our stiff cookie batter. A flat base allows you to set it on end between tasks, and it scores high marks for safety (a retractable cord prevents tangles, and you can only eject the beaters after switching the machine off).
Hand mixers don’t tend to have lots of variety when it comes to design. Yet in addition to being sleek and lightweight, instead of bulky and clunky, the KitchenAid comes in a dazzling rainbow of colors: 13 to be exact! But its beauty isn't only in how this machine looks. This is actually a totally legit mixer, with clearly marked speeds that you can easily navigate between, a button you can use to single-handedly eject the beaters, and a reasonably powerful motor, whipping cream and beating egg whites in less than a minute.
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