The 5 Best Hand Mixers of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

Whether you're making a batch of cookies, whipping up meringue, or mixing frosting to top a cake, a hand mixer can make the process much simpler. The best stand mixers are powerful and can last for decades, but are expensive and take up a ton of space in your kitchen. With one of the best hand mixers, you can find the happy medium to improve your baking life without stretching your wallet

We tested 11 of the best hand mixers by creaming butter and sugar, mixing chocolate chips into cookie dough, whipping egg whites, and even kneading pizza dough. Our top pick is the Breville Hand Mix Scraper Hand Mixer. It has nine speed settings that can power through every dough and digital screen with a timer. If you're a more occasional baker, the Black+Decker Easy Storage Hand Mixer is the best budget mixer we tested and has a turbo boost setting.

Best overall: Breville Handy Mix Scraper Hand Mixer - See at Amazon

Best budget: Black+Decker Easy Storage Hand Mixer - See at Amazon

Best cordless: KitchenAid Cordless 7 Speed Hand Mixer - See at Amazon

Best for tough doughs: KitchenAid Professional 9 Speed - See at Amazon

Best lightweight: Hamilton Beach Professional 5 Speed Hand Mixer - See at Amazon

This hand mixer from Breville is incredibly quiet, yet powerful, with nine speed settings, a digital screen with a timer, and a snap-on storage case.

Specifics

Breville packed this hand mixer full of thoughtful features that make baking easier and earn it a spot as our best hand mixer. The mixer has a digital screen, a smooth dial to move between nine speeds, boost mode, a pause button, and a light that projects into your mixing bowl. The bright light makes it easier to see the texture of your ingredients in the bowl.

A built-in timer isn't essential, but having one on my mixer allowed me to clock how long it took to whip up frothy eggs and ensure I was not overmixing. Underneath the handle, you'll find printed suggested speed settings for creaming, whipping, and kneading.

The Breville beaters have rubber on the ends, which made quick and easy work of creaming butter and sugars while also working to scrape down the sides of the bowl for better incorporation. "Rubber-sided beater attachments are very handy, as they will be gentler and prevent breakage of things like whole pecans or walnuts," adds Palmer.

There was little resistance while mixing chocolate chips into cookie dough, and even at the highest speed, the mixer was steady. It whipped egg whites to stiff peaks quickly. While making pizza dough, there was a small amount of shaking, but overall, the dough hooks could move through the pizza dough.

For under $40, this mixer has a powerful motor with six speed settings to tackle a variety of tasks, as well as a convenient storage case.

Specifics

This mixer from Black and Decker is incredibly user-friendly and ideal for beginner bakers or those looking for a powerful economical option. The design is simple: just a thumb dial to move between six different speeds and a turbo boost.

While testing, I found that it was light and comfortable to hold — plus, you can easily rest the mixer on top of the bowl if you stop to add other ingredients. You can hear the motor working, but it's not overly loud. It made quick and easy work of creaming butter and sugar, along with whipping egg whites. While mixing chocolate chips into cookie dough, there was some resistance and the body of the mixer vibrated more in my hand, but it still completed the task.

I also made pizza dough using the dough hooks on this mixer. It required a firm grip because it wasn't easy to move through the dough. This was the least successful test for the Black and Decker mixer, but I did ultimately end up with a usable dough.

This cordless hand mixer makes it simple to move and control the mixer around a bowl. It’s lightweight, yet powerful enough to work through cookie dough.

Specifics

This cordless hand mixer from KitchenAid gives you full control over where your beaters are moving without the restriction of a wire. The sleek mixer comes with a small, separate charging cord that plugs into the wall and recharges the lithium battery in just 10 minutes. It features a simple push dial to turn on and go through the seven speed settings.

I was surprised by just how much power this mixer had. It can't replace a stand mixer for tasks such as making bread dough, but it offers more than enough power and ideal control to mix chocolate chips into tough cookie dough with ease.

Its flat base makes it simple to set it down on the counter when not in use, and the smooth design allows for simple cleaning of the exterior. The one downside is that this mixer doesn't come with a storage case or whisk attachments.

This hand mixer from KitchenAid packs plenty of power through nine gradual speed settings. It’s quiet and comfortable to hold but works through tasks with ease.

Specifics

KitchenAid is known for making some of the best stand mixers, but this hand mixer closely rivals the brand's star product. The base is moderately lightweight and simply designed, with an on/off toggle and arrows to go through the nine speed settings.

The swivel cord can be locked left or right to keep it out of your way while mixing, and the stainless steel attachments can be stored in the included cloth bag. The blending rod doesn't have the same power and function as an immersion blender, but it can be used to mix sauces and soups.

The speed increase is gradual, with the lowest setting being quite slow and reaching a powerfully fast top speed. Palmer notes the importance of a mixer having at least five varying speeds to choose from for good control, and this option certainly exceeds that requirement.

Throughout testing, I found that the mixer was easy to control while moving around the bowl. I also used the dough hooks to make a batch of pizza dough. It handled the task easily, with good control at a lower speed. The shape of the dough hooks glide through the dough for kneading and are easy to clean after mixing.

This lightweight mixer is comfortable and has great variation in speed. It can tackle tasks with good control and comes with a snap-on case for simple storage.

Specifics

Designed to be easy to hold and lightweight, this Hamilton Beach mixer still offers a powerful enough motor to accomplish mixing tasks. "An ergonomic design is easier to hold and less tiring for longer mixes," said Palmer. It's simple to turn it on and adjust between five speed settings using the clicking thumb dial. The button for burst mode also increases speed for tough mixing patches.

During my tests, I had to use a medium-high setting to achieve the speed I wanted while creaming butter and sugars. While mixing chocolate chips into cookie dough, there was a slight resistance, but I found the mixer still had good control to work the mix-ins into the dough. It was also fairly quiet during all tests, and the cord features a lockable swivel.

It comes with stainless steel beaters and one whisk, as well as a snap-on case to keep the attachments and mixer together for easy cabinet storage.

Power: Even the best hand mixer will never be as powerful as a stand mixer. Still, you want a hand mixer that can power through stiff doughs, so look for ones with variable speeds and turbo boost modes. This ensures you can adjust the power whether you need to start slow to break down butter chunks or have to ramp up the speed to whip egg whites.

Weight: Since you have to hold the mixer to use it, we prefer lightweight and balanced models. Some hand mixers have flat bases which means you can easily stand them on the counter if you need a break during mixing. Others are balanced enough to rest on the edge of the bowl. Keep your own endurance in mind — if a mixer is heavy enough to be annoying, you won't want to use it.

Storage: You're already saving a ton of space using a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer, but don't forget that even hand-held appliances need to be stored. We like hand mixers that come with storage cases to hold the mixer and its attachments.

As a professional baker, I have powered through recipes with everything from wooden spoons to top-of-the-line stand mixers. I based my testing on my baking experience, and I also spoke with Sandra Palmer, chef-instructor of Pastry and Baking Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education. I considered control, ease of handling, and more through several tests.

Creaming butter: Each hand mixer was tested by creaming 1 cup of softened butter with 1 cup of brown sugar and ½ cup of granulated sugar. I took note of how each mixer moved within the mixing bowl, as well as the speed needed to cream the butter and sugars until light, pale, and fluffy.

Cookie dough: We mixed chocolate chips into cookie dough to observe how well the mixer could power through the dough.

Egg whites: I whipped egg whites to stiff peaks and noted how quickly I got to a meringue, as well as how hard it was to hold and rotate the mixer.

Pizza dough: I kneaded pizza dough until smooth to evaluate the strength of a hand mixer and, when applicable, the usefulness of a dough hook.

Ease of use: Each hand mixer was assessed by how easy both the attachments and the mixer were to clean and its storage capabilities, from included containers to how much space it took up. We also noted how loud the mixer was while in use and how easy it was to hold.

Outside of kneading super dense bread doughs, you can use a hand mixer for anything you would do with your stand mixer. In fact, there are some benefits to using the handheld option: Chef Palmer said one of the best parts of using a hand mixer is that you have control over where the mixing happens.

You can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here.Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at [email protected].