For more than 100 years, KitchenAid has been bringing culinary inspiration to the life of every passionate home cook. The company still delivers on its legacy today, with a wide range of products, including countertop appliances, cookware, and major appliances. The KitchenAid mixer is no exception, as it remains one of the most popular kitchen appliances, with a rate of 2.5 million sold a year.
For your convenience, we’ve tested 10 devices and compiled a list of the 8 best KitchenAid mixers, with the KitchenAid Artisan being on top. We’ve included stand options for mixing the dense dough as these models are much more powerful, as well as hand-held models that are perfect for whipping up a quick batch of whipped cream or meringue. All the products on the list are covered with at least 1-year warranty, so you can be confident about your purchase.
More features: 15 optional attachments available, polished stainless-steel bowl with a handle
The Artisan is one of KitchenAid’s best and highest-rated mixers. One of the most impressive things about it is its versatility. The 10-speed slide control gives you a lot of options, and with the included flat beater, dough hook, and wire whip, you need to mix up just about anything.
The 5-quart stainless steel bowl is large enough to make 9 dozen cookies in a single batch. It has a nice, easy to grip handle and can be placed in the dishwasher for cleaning.
The Power Hub and available attachments really make this mixer an indispensable part of any kitchen. There are more than 12 attachments available that allow you to do things like making pasta, shredding cheese, and even grinding and stuffing sausages. Please note that these attachments aren’t included.
There are more than 20 color options available, so you can choose one to match your decor. In addition to the three mixing attachments, you also get a 1-piece pouring shield which makes it easy to add ingredients into the bowl without getting them all over your countertop.
One of the best things about the Artisan is that it’s truly an investment that will pay off over time. They tend to last for a long time, decades in some cases. There are some downsides, though. Some users who are replacing an old KitchenAid with this one say that the quality isn’t quite what it was in the past.
More features: over optional 10 attachments available, polished stainless-steel bowl with a handle
The KitchenAid Pro Line is for people who are serious about baking. It comes with a Powerknead spiral dough hook, flat beater, and a stainless-steel wire whip. It’s their most powerful, longest lasting design.
The thing that stands out the most about this mixer is its capacity. The 7-quart bowl can hold up to 16 cups of flour or 14 dozen cookies or 8 pounds of bread dough in one batch. It has a powerful 1.3 horsepower motor that provides consistent power to any load without overheating, therefore extending the life of the mixer. The all-metal construction and steel gears were made to last.
This mixer features a professional bowl-lift design that provides stability and support when mixing heavy ingredients or large batches. Because the bowl is higher, it makes more efficient contact with the beater for better performance.
Another notable thing about this design is that it has a Power Hub for optional attachments that can really change the way you work in your kitchen. With the right attachments, you can use this mixer to grind food, spiralize vegetables, or even make sausage.
There are some negatives, the most important one being that this mixer is quite large and very heavy which makes it difficult to store. It can also be very loud and has been known to make grinding sounds occasionally. That said, it’s covered by KitchenAid’s 5-year total replacement warranty which will take care of these issues.
More features: 15 optional attachments, 67-point planetary mixing action, the bowl with a handle
Another great choice is the KitchenAid Professional 600 Series. The 6-quart stainless steel bowl holds enough dough to make 13 dozen cookies at once. There are some great attachments included so you can start baking right away, like a Powerknead spiral bread hook, burnished flat beater, and a wire whip, all made of stainless steel, so you can toss them right in the dishwasher for cleanup.
Believe it or not, this mixer has 67-point mixing action, which means that it hits 67 different touch points around the perimeter of the bowl while it’s mixing. This movement plus the bowl lift design work together to get the best performance possible from the beater. In other words, it works hard to mix thoroughly, and it can be loud at times.
Another great thing about this mixer is the Power Hub and the more than 15 different compatible attachments. This feature really expands how you can use the mixer as it lets you spiralize vegetable, grind meat, and even grate cheese though all the attachments are sold separately.
This is a large, heavy mixer that isn’t easy to store so keep that in mind if you have a small kitchen with limited counter space. With more than 10 colors available, you can choose one that fits your personality or matches your decor.
More features: more than 12 available attachments, PowerCore® technology, brushed stainless steel bowl with a handle
The KitchenAid Commercial delivers professional results with its powerful 1.3 horsepower engine and all-metal gearbox are built tough and made to last. It has 10 variable speeds from fast whip to very slow stir. An 8-quart bowl holds more than 8 pounds of dough. That’s a lot of cookies.
Because this mixer was designed by professionals for serious bakers, it has a lot of great features you might expect to see in a commercial kitchen. The bowl-lift design uses a simple lever to smoothly raise the bowl for more efficient beater-to-bowl contact which you need when making large batches of dough. There have been some reports that it’s loud and produces clicking sounds during use, but it’s covered with a 2-year warranty that should cover any of these issues.
Included are a Powerknead Spiral Dough Hook and flat beater, both of which are made of stainless steel and can be put in the dishwasher. The wire whip is also stainless steel but shouldn’t be put in the dishwasher. That’s not all, it also has the Power Hub where you can connect more than 12 different attachments for a variety of different kitchen tasks, though they need to be purchased separately.
The dark pewter finish and brushed stainless steel bowl really make this mixer look like it belongs in a professional kitchen. It was specifically designed to tackle the thickest batters and largest batches of dough and is a great choice for someone who takes baking seriously or does a lot of bulk baking.
More features: 59-point planetary mixing action, more than 15 attachments
If you’re looking for a smaller mixer that’s a little easier to store, check out the KitchenAid Classic Series. It features a 4.5-quart sterling silver mixing bowl that can mix dough for more than six dozen cookies or three loaves of bread at once. It’s a respectable size without being too much for someone who doesn’t bake that often and it’s dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.
The beater moves with 59-point mixing action that makes sure every area of the bowl is covered. There are 10 different mixing speeds, too, so you can whip up a meringue or slowly stir the wet ingredients of your favorite cookie batter. As for attachments, you get a wire whip and a coated dough hook and flat beater.
This mixer also has the Power Hub feature and can be used with over 15 optional attachments which will make it the most versatile tool in your kitchen. It’s called the “Classic” because it’s the same design that’s been around for decades and was designed to last a long time. That said, keep in mind that this is one of the least powerful KitchenAid mixers available. It’s ideal for someone who makes simple doughs and basic cookie recipes but if you make a lot of large batches of if you like to work with thick dough, this one may not deliver enough power.
More features: 20% smaller and 25%lighter than the Classic model
As you can tell from its name, the KitchenAid Artisan Mini is a really good choice if you want something that’s a little easier to store. It’s 25% lighter and has a 20% smaller footprint than the Classic mixer but it has the same 250W motor.
This mixer comes with a stainless steel 3.5-quart mixing bowl that can hold enough dough for up to 5 dozen cookies. It’s great for casual bakers who might look at some of the other options and think that a mixer large enough to make 14 dozen cookies in one batch is a bit much for their purposes.
It features a tilt-head design so you can lift it away from the bowl to easily scrape down the sides when necessary. When you’re done, the head locks back into place so you can continue mixing with minimal interruption. This mixer includes a coated flat beater, coated dough hook, and a wire whip so you’re set right out of the box to be able to mix everything from icing to bread dough.
Something great about this product is that it’s available in so many different colors, more than 14 in all. It’s stylish and would look great on your kitchen counter. As we said, this mixer is a little easier to store but it also has the Power Hub feature and is compatible with 10 different attachments. You might want to leave it out all the time, so you can use it to make pasta or spiralize zucchini.
More features: soft start, beater ejection button, lockable swivel cord
The only hand mixer we included in our reviews is the KitchenAid KHM926. with 9 different speeds, it’s safe to say that it’s not your average hand mixer. You can use it in a lot of ways: start with the slowest speed for folding chocolate chips into your dough, move up to 5 or 6 to cream butter, and turn it all the way up to 9 to make whipped cream or meringue. The soft start feature works up to the selected speed gradually to prevent any unwanted splashes or splatters.
Another cool feature of this mixer is that the cord locks in place, so you can approach your mixing bowl from any angle. The soft grip handle is comfortable and easy to control, and everything easily wipes clean. That said, some users have complained that the button placement on the handle is not ideal for small hands.
A simple push of a button removes the current accessory from the mixer, so you can swap out for another one quickly. It includes standard beaters, a whisk, dough hooks, and a blending rod as well as a storage bag to keep everything together. One downside is that some people complained that the beaters are balanced well and can wobble at high speeds. That said, it’s covered with a 1-year warranty that should cover any issues with parts.
More features: more than 15 optional attachments available, 67-point planetary mixing action, the bowl with a handle
The KitchenAid Professional 6000 HD is one of the more powerful mixers available. The 1 horsepower motor is impressive and a great choice if you think that the 1.4 horsepower of the Pro Line is a little too much.
The extra deep 6-quart bowl is contoured to make it easy to add ingredients while mixing. It can hold dough for 13 dozen cookies or up to 14 cups of flower and is perfect for heavy doughs and thick batters. The 67-point mixing action helps the beater reach every area of the bowl for thorough, even mixing. Plus, it uses bowl lifting action to make sure the beater gets as close to the bowl as possible.
Included with this mixer are a coated flat beater and dough hook as well as a wire wick. You’re all set to knead your favorite bread dough, mix up some cake batter, or whip up some royal icing right away. That’s not all, this mixer also has the Power Hub feature and is compatible with more than 15 different accessories.
This mixer is large and very heavy so it’s not really easy to store. It’s a good choice for someone who uses their mixer multiple times a week, so it can stay out on the counter all the time.
There are a lot of reasons why KitchenAid mixers are one of the best brands available. If you need help trying to pick which one it the right one for you. check out our in-depth buying for all the information you need.
KitchenAid mixers have been around for a long time. The first version of the KitchenAid home mixer was made back in 1919 when the company was called Hobart Manufacturing and has since become a symbol of fine craftsmanship and long-term durability.
There are some important things to think about when you’re trying to decide what type of mixer you want for your home. Let’s take a look at some of the specific features so you have a better idea of what to look for.
There are a few different design features to consider when looking for the best KitchenAid mixer for you.
While we did include the handheld KitchenAid KHM926 for those who prefer portability, all of our other selections are stand mixers. Stand mixers are much more powerful than hand mixers. They have a mounting base for the mixing bowl that locks it into place, so it doesn’t move around during mixing. Plus, other than turning the machine on and making some initial adjustments, stand mixers are practically hands-free.
Stand mixers meant for a home kitchen are designed to sit on a countertop. Bear in mind that most of them are pretty heavy and have a large footprint so they’re not always easy to store and can take up a lot of room on your kitchen counter.
Another thing to consider is a tilt head versus a bowl-lift mixer. Most professional and commercial stand mixers, like the KitchenAid Pro Line, are bowl-lift mixers. They usually have a very simple handle that is used to raise and lower the bowl relative to the beater. This helps the mixer reach every area of the bowl, so it can mix even thick batters and doughs quickly and effectively. This design does make it a little hard to add ingredients to the mixing bowl while the mixer is running.
A tilt head mixer lifts up at the top, so you can slide the bowl under the beater without making a mess. There’s a hinge that allows it to move that is then locked in place when the mixer is in use. Tilt heads give you easy access to the mixing bowl, but they don’t reach everywhere. There’s often space between the beater and the sides and bottom of the bowl that don’t get mixed as thoroughly.
Another thing to keep in mind is whether or not a mixer as planetary or stationary. Stationary means that the beater just spins in a circle while planetary mixers have a beater that spins in a circle and moves in an orbital pattern around the center of the bowl.
Planetary style mixers are much more effective because they cover a lot more area.
When it comes to capacity, you have a lot of options. For example, the KitchenAid Professional 6000 HD has a mixing bowl that can hold enough dough for 13 dozen cookies whereas the KitchenAid Artisan Mini makes up to 5 dozen in one batch. Quite a difference.
This is really something that you have to think about because the capacity you need in a mixer is directly determined by how much and how often you bake. If you only get the mixer out for holiday cookies or to make cakes for birthdays even year, you should ask yourself if you really need a mixer that can mix dough for 13 dozen cookies. The opposite is true, too. If you’re the go-to person that everyone asks for cookies or if you are constantly making things for bake sales, it might make sense to get a large mixer than can get all your dough mixed up in one go.
A good stand mixer should have at least 250 watts of power, like the KitchenAid Classic Series. Any less than that and you won’t be able to mix dough or anything thicker than cake batter, really.
Now, some of the larger models have motors that are as powerful as 1 to 1.4 horsepower. This comes in handy if you’re making large batches of dough because the mixer has enough power to keep it moving as you build the recipe.
A large amount of dough will quickly bog down an engine that doesn’t have enough power to handle it which could cause additional problems in the future.
The number of speeds is important because the more speeds there are, the more versatile the mixer is. For example, you would obviously use a slower speed to add macadamia nuts to cookie dough than you would to make whipped cream.
You should consider the power of the mixer along with the speeds. A 250W mixer turned up to the highest speed isn’t going to be as effective as a 1 hp engine on the highest speed. It’s all relative to the design but if you want something that can whip up a meringue quickly and easily, you should use something that’s powerful and fast.
Speed selection is standard on all KitchenAid mixers. There’s usually a lever on the side that easily adjusts between the various speeds the model offers.
Another reason that KitchenAid mixers are so popular is that they’re so easy to use. While there are some variations from model to model, they have a lot of the same simple and easy to use controls.
A small lever located on the side of the mixer slides from the off position and through the various settings. That’s the only way of controlling the power and speed. Pretty simple.
In tilt-head models, there’s another lever or pin on the opposite side that locks and unlocks the head, so you can move in up and down as needed.
For bowl lift designs, there are two arms that come out from the mixer and cradle the bowl. On the front of the arms are points that slide into brackets on the sides of the bowl to hold it in place. The bowl is moved up and down using a hand crank.
The only design that’s a little different is the handheld mixer which is just as simple. Button controls are situated at the top of the handle, designed to be operated quickly and easily with your thumbs.
The stand mixers all come with three standard beater attachments: a flat mixer, dough hook, and wire whip. In higher-end versions of these mixers, these accessories are all stainless steel. Other models have a stainless-steel whip, but the dough hook and flat beater are coated.
These beaters really give you everything you need. The hook is made for kneading dough, the whip is perfect for things like whipped butter or cream, and the flat beater is great for things like cookie dough and thinner batters.
The hand mixer has its own smaller version of these attachments along with a blending rod to mix drinks and smoothies.
Size is something to really consider. Most of the stand mixers are very heavy and take up a lot of room on your counter. Unless you use it a few times a week, leaving it out on your counter might take up too much valuable counter space. Storing it is another problem because it’s not easy to lift and carry from one place to another. In fact, the size is one reason why some people prefer handheld mixtures in the first place.
These mixers are certainly worth their size. After all, that’s part of what makes them so effective and why they last as long as they do.
We mentioned the Power Hub a lot in our reviews because it’s something that makes KitchenAid mixers special. Not all of the attachments are compatible with every model, which is why some of our reviews say that there are 15 while others only have 10.
Previously, we talked about size and how it might not be worth leaving your mixer out on the counter all the time because they take up so much room. The optional accessories for the Power Hub make these mixers so versatile, you might find a way to use it every day which would certainly justify making it a permanent fixture on your countertop.
Here are just some of the attachments available: a sifter and scale combo, a slicer/shredder for food prep, an all-metal grain mill, spiralizer, vegetable sheet cutter, meat grinder, food processor, and pasta cutter.
These accessories are easy to attach to the mixer. On the front of the mixer is a port. All you have to do is remove the cover and insert the attachment. That’s it.
Just remember, these attachments are sold separately so you can pick and choose the ones that you’ll get the most use out of.
Warranties vary from model to model. Some of the upscale models are covered for as much as 5 years while others are covered for 1 or 2 years. When you decide what model is right for you, take a good look at the warranty. It’s always important to know what’s covered and what isn’t so you’re prepared if something goes wrong.
Our top pick is the KitchenAid Artisan, the most popular KitchenAid mixer among users and experts alike. It has 10 different speed setting and a mixing bowl that’s just the right size. In addition to the hook, flat beater, and whip attachments, you also get a pouring shield that makes it easy to add ingredients to the mixing bowl while it’s in motion.
The KitchenAid Pro Line has a 1.3 horsepower motor that makes it powerful enough to mix 8 pounds of bread dough or batter for 14 dozen cookies. It has an all-metal construction and steel gears that help extend the life of this mixer. Plus, it’s covered by a 5-year warranty, the longest of any model we reviewed.
Another powerful model is the KitchenAid Professional 600 Series. The 6-quart stainless steel bowl holds enough dough to make 13 dozen cookies at once. It also has 67-point mixing action, which means that it hits 67 different touch points around the perimeter of the bowl while it’s mixing.
