The 6 best hand mixers of 2026, tested by a professional baker

A hand mixer is one of the most helpful tools in my kitchen. It use one to easily cream butter and sugar for cookies, prep banana bread batter, beat frosting for a cake, and even make fluffy mashed potatoes with excellent control. A hand mixer is super versatile, yet it's compact enough to stow away in the pantry or cabinet and pull out when you need it. They may not offer as much power as astand mixer, but they're an excellent alternative if you needsomething more compact or economical.

Combining my experience as a former professional baker, I tested 16 hand mixers ranging in size, power, attachments, and price by making everything from light meringues to dense pizza dough. The top performers deliver versatile speeds, reliable power, easy-to-clean parts, and intuitive controls. Below are our top picks for every kitchen and budget

Our top picks for hand mixers

Best overall hand mixer: Breville Handy Mixer Hand Mixer - See at Amazon

Best budget hand mixer: Hamilton Beach 6-Speed Electric Hand Mixer - See at Amazon

Best mid-range hand mixer: KitchenAid 9-Speed Hand Mixer- See at Amazon

Best cordless hand mixer: KitchenAid Cordless Hand Mixer- See at Amazon

Best hand mixer for tough dough: Beautiful by Drew Barrymore 6-Speed Hand Mixer - See at Walmart

Best overall

Breville packed the Handy mixer with thoughtful features that make baking easier, and I've continued to use it weekly for years. It has a digital screen, a smooth dial to switch along nine speeds, boost mode, a pause button, and a nifty light that projects into your mixing bowl. The bright light is a standout feature that makes it easier to see the texture of your ingredients in the bowl, and I find it especially helpful when creaming butter and sugar.

A built-in timer isn't essential, but I love having one in my workflow. This allows me to clock how long it takes to whip up frothy eggs and ensure I'm not overmixing. It's also helpful to gauge how long I'm creaming butter and sugar for, which is essential for developing the perfect tender cookie texture. Underneath the handle, you'll find printed suggested speed settings for creaming, whipping, and kneading to help guide your baking.

Breville's silicone-edged beaters help to scrape down the sides of the bowl for better ingredient incorporation. Coupled with its lightweight body, moving around a bowl is comfortable and seamless.

The motor delivers smooth, stable power across a wide range of light and heavy mixing tasks. There isn't resistance while mixing chocolate chips into cookie dough, and even at the highest speed, the mixer is steady for control. I can whip egg whites to stiff peaks quickly with the two included whisks. While making pizza dough, there is a small amount of shaking and resistance, but overall, the dough hooks can move through the dough for smooth kneading, which is a task many other hand mixers can't handle.

Best budget

I've tested several budget hand mixers under $35, and the Hamilton Beach 6-Speed Electric Hand Mixer can't be beat. It's comfortable to hold, with a well-placed thumb guide to power on and off and move through each of the mixer's six gradual speed settings. It also has a QuickBurst mode for extra speed and power, which made it that much quicker to whip and thicken egg whites within minutes with the small whisk attachment. The motor packs a serious punch, but I did find it's almost too powerful while mixing cookie dough. I needed to pair it with a deeper mixing bowl to ensure the ingredients wouldn't fly out.

A lightweight design that is comparable in size to other hand mixers. The hand mixer weighs under 3 pounds and is full-size. However, with its shape and powerful motor, it may not be the best fit for smaller hands, especially for longer mixing tasks.

Dishwasher-safe parts and a snap-on case make storage effortless. The beaters and whisk easily released when I pressed the speed dial to remove them, and each attachment is dishwasher-safe. The included base case made it easy to place each attachment inside and tuck the cord away.

Best mid-range

This KitchenAid 9-speed hand mixer closely rivals KitchenAid's recognizable stand mixers, but with the benefits of a smaller footprint. The base is moderately lightweight and has an on/off toggle and arrows to navigate the nine speed settings.

Slow-start speeds prevent messy splatters at startup. The speed increase is gradual, with the lowest setting being quite slow and the top speed being very fast. I found that the slow-start feature helps eliminate the sudden jolt of power at startup, which normally causes a puff of dry ingredients or a splattering of wet ingredients. With its range of speed settings offering greater versatility, it outbeat KitchenAid's 6-speed hand mixer.

Steady control glides effortlessly through even heavy pizza dough. Throughout testing, I found that the mixer was comfortable to control while moving around the bowl. The swivel cord can also be locked to either side to keep it out of the way while mixing. Thick cookie dough was no match for the mixer's power, with smooth beating throughout the mixing process. I also used the dough hooks to make a batch of pizza dough. It handled with excellent control at a lower speed; the shape of the dough hooks glides through the dough for kneading. That power and control when making bread or pizza dough earned it a top spot, unlike hand mixers that can't handle the same task. The blending rod doesn't have the same power or functionality as an immersion blender, but it can still be used to mix sauces and soups.

Flexible storage and dishwasher-safe parts make cleanup effortless. The stainless steel attachments can be stored in the included cloth bag, but it does not have a snap-on storage basket. Each component is dishwasher-safe or can be hand-washed with ease thanks to its groove-free design.

Best cordless

This KitchenAid cordless hand mixer offers ultimate control without restrictions or the worry of a cord getting in the way. The removable 12-volt battery charges in about 1.5 hours and slides neatly into the back of the mixer. During testing, it held its charge through 30 minutes of whipping egg whites and mixing heavy cookie dough with power to spare, though overall battery life depends on job intensity

Six speed settings offer precision, but minimal attachments limit versatility. I move through six speed settings with the slider at the top of the mixer, and gauge how much battery power is left while mixing using green, yellow, and red indicator lights. The biggest drawback to the machine is it only comes with two beaters, so it wasn't possible to use a whisk for egg whites. I could still whip the whites, but it took longer because of the beater's shape, and they didn't incorporate as much air.

Comfortable weight glides through dough, while the lack of a cord offers better control. The hand mixer weighs just over 2.5 pounds, so I found it very comfortable to hold. It could also move through cookie dough and added chocolate chips without any resistance. The cord-free design was especially helpful while moving around the bowl to cream butter and sugar, and I didn't have to worry about getting twisted up in a cord or working near an outlet.

Cleanup is simple, but storage is missing. The beaters are smooth, making it easy to hand-wash and remove leftover dough, or you can put them in the dishwasher. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with a case or storage bag, so it's important to find a spot to keep the mixer and its charging cord.

Best for tough dough

I was impressed by how much power was packed into this lightweight hand mixer, and it costs $40. The Beautiful mixer has six speed settings, and the motor can tackle tough tasks, though it is pretty loud while in use.

The lightweight build offers easy, comfortable control. During testing, I was able to whip egg whites in minutes with the whisk attachment, and I used the turbo speed setting to deliver extra speed and power. It offered great control while moving through the cookie dough, and the hand mixer's body rested easily on my mixing bowl when I stopped to add ingredients.

The included dough hooks moved through heavy pizza dough with ease. I kneaded a batch of pizza dough as smoothly as I could with a stand mixer, and it didn't take much more time. Keep in mind that it's a bit awkward to handle after long periods for those of us with smaller hands.

Dishwasher-safe parts pack away neatly in the included case. There's a small amount of resistance when releasing the beaters with the button, but once they're off, each is dishwasher-safe. Then, all components can get tucked away in the included case for storage.

What else we tested

Hamilton Beach Professional 5 Speed Hand Mixer: This lightweight mixer is comfortable and offers a wide range of speeds, though it has only five, compared to our top budget pick, which has six. It can tackle tasks with good control and comes with a snap-on case for storage, but overall it doesn't beat our budget pick in terms of cost and performance.

KitchenAid 6-SpeedHand Mixer with Flex Edge Beater: This hand mixer offers a comfortable grip, moves through cookie dough smoothly, and makes quick work of whipping egg whites. The Flex Edge silicone beaters help to scrape the bowl while mixing. However, without dough hooks, it didn't beat our more versatile top picks.

How to choose the best hand mixer

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. The ones we tested had between five and nine speeds. This ensures you can adjust the power whether you need to start slowly to break down butter chunks or 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, so you can easily set them on the counter if you need a break while mixing. Others are balanced enough to rest on the bowl's edge. Keep your own endurance in mind — if a mixer is too heavy, you won't want to use it.

Storage: You're already saving a ton of space by using a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer, but don't forget that even handheldappliancesneed storage space. We like hand mixers that come with storage cases that nest the mixer and its attachments together.

How we test the best hand mixers

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

Creaming butter: I creamed 1 cup of softened butter with 1 cup of brown sugar and ½ cup of granulated sugar. I noted 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: I mixed chocolate chips into cookie dough to see how well the mixer could power through it.

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 based on how easy both the attachments and the mixer were to clean, and on 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.

Hand mixer FAQs

What can I use the hand mixer for?

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.

Can a hand mixer replace a stand mixer?

Most stand mixers range in power from 300 to 600 watts, meaning the motor delivers plenty of power. Most hand mixers have less than 300 watts, so they can't replace a stand mixer as easily for working with tough dough or making double batches. However, hand mixers do offer a quick-to-grab, compact solution for making cookie dough, cake batter, and more.

Can you use a hand mixer to make dough?

While a stand mixer is a better choice, a hand mixer can be used to make bread or pizza dough if it has a dough hook attachment. Keep in mind, it may not offer as smooth of results when it comes to kneading, but it can still accomplish the task in a pinch.

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