Best hand mixers to buy in 2024, tried and tested

Find the best hand mixers to take your baking to the next level, whether you’re whipping up a cake for a friend’s birthday or spending the weekend on a baking project

By Imogen Hope

Published: Friday, 03 May 2024 at 12:21 PM

An electric hand mixer is a must-have piece of kit if you’re taking up baking or are looking to take your bakes to the next level. Hand mixers speed up mixing and whisking, often producing a lighter and more aerated result than can be achieved by hand.

In comparison to a lot of other kitchen equipment, hand mixers tend to be compact and therefore easy to store, and they have a much lower price point than stand mixers.

We tested hand mixers using a selection of recipes from olive magazine to put their different functions to the test – from meringues to cinnamon buns.

Read on to discover our selection of the best hand mixers out there, tried and tested by our baking experts.

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Best hand mixers at a glance

Best hand mixers to buy in 2024

Smeg HMF01 Hand Mixer

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Best hand mixers

Best all-round hand mixer

Star rating: 5/5

Smeg is well known for its retro styling and appliances in bold colours, and this hand mixer is no exception. We found the design to be practical as well as attractive, and the mixer was very comfortable to use.

There are nine speed settings, which we found allowed for a lot of control, plus the screen on the handle shows how long you’ve been mixing for, which we found really helpful when following a recipe with a recommended mixing time. We found the mixer to be impressively sturdy, handling tough mixtures without any problems.

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KitchenAid 5KHMB732 Cordless Hand Mixer

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Best hand mixers

Best cordless hand mixer

Star rating: 4.5/5

Being cordless, this mixer from KitchenAid can be used anywhere without worrying about a power cable. There are seven speed settings, plus a choice of colours, as we’ve come to expect from KitchenAid.

Although the mixer only comes with one set of beaters, limiting the versatility slightly, we still found this mixer effective for whipping cream, whisking egg whites into stiff peaks and beating together butter and sugar for our lemon drizzle cake.

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Cuisinart RHM100U Cordless Power Hand Mixer

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Cuisinart RHM100U Cordless Power hand mixer

Best modern hand mixer

Star rating: 4.5/5

With a modern metallic look and clean lines, the design of this hand mixer impressed us right out of the box. The mixer is cordless, which means you can use it anywhere in your kitchen without need to worry about proximity to an outlet. 130 minutes of charge gives you 20 minutes of use, which isn’t the most efficient, but one charge was enough to mix yeasted buns, a cake and whipped cream.

The mixer is quiet during use and the handle is comfortable to hold. Clean-up is also easy, with beaters that are dishwasher-safe.

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Dualit Hand Mixer

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Best hand mixers

Best mid-range hand mixer

Star rating: 4.5/5

This hand mixer from Dualit has a shiny chrome finish that would fit into any modern kitchen, and didn’t show too many fingerprints. While it looks brilliant, there are also practical elements that make it very user-friendly — in particular the retractable cord, which you can wind to your desired length.

The main drawback of this mixer is that it can only be used for one minute on a high speed or if mixing a thick dough using the dough hooks. This meant that on test our enriched dough had only just come together before we had to stop the mixer and finish kneading by hand. However, it was really easy to use with the balloon whisk, which made impressively light and airy meringues and quickly produced whipped cream.

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KitchenAid 9 Speed Hand Mixer

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KitchenAid 9 speed hand mixer (2)

Best colourful hand mixer

Star rating: 4.5/5

If you favour KitchenAid appliances or are looking for a colourful and stylish addition, this is a great option. The stylish design means we wouldn’t blame you for wanting to keep it on display, but it’s also really easy to store and even comes with a dedicated cloth drawstring bag so you can keep all the whisks and beaters together.

There are two buttons to control this mixer: a sliding on/off button and up/down arrows to choose the speed. We found this gave a nice amount of control, and the nine speed settings meant we were able to be precise while mixing. We were especially impressed with how it mixed the yeasted dough, kneading it with ease and producing light, fluffy pecan cinnamon buns.

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Gastroback Design Handmixer Pro
Best hand mixers

Best versatile hand mixer

Star rating: 4/5

With a sturdy design and a multitude of accessories, this hand mixer is highly versatile and would be a great option if you’re limited on storage space. As well as coming with the usual beaters, balloon whisk and dough hooks, this mixer can also be used as a mini chopper and immersion blender.

On test we found the speed controls a bit counterintuitive, which meant a few times we turned the mixer up rather than down. However, once we’d got used to it we were impressed by the results. You can run this mixer for 10 minutes, which meant we didn’t need to knead our dough by hand and the resulting buns were light and pillowy.

Available from:
Juicers (£144.90)

Morphy Richards Total Control Hand Mixer

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Best hand mixer

Best affordable hand mixer

Star rating: 4/5

At under £25, this hand mixer from Morphy Richards is an affordable pick. We were impressed by the quality of design given the price and there’s a nice weightiness to the mixer.

Even the slowest speed setting had quite a kick, which we found left a slight danger of flour and sugar flying around the kitchen. However, this did mean that it handled mixtures like our buttercream with ease, resulting in a light and fluffy mixture.

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Braun MultiMix 3 HM3100 Hand Mixer

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Best hand mixers

Best for precise speed control

Star rating: 4/5

If you favour practicality over aesthetics this hand mixer could be a good option. While the design might look a bit flimsy, we were impressed with how this model coped on test with different textures of mixture.

The standout feature is the variable speed control dial, which allows you to adjust the speed by small amounts, giving lots of control for your mixing. The beaters coped well with the buttercream, egg whites and whipped cream. We used the dough hooks to mix an enriched dough and, while the mixer sounded like it was struggling slightly, it mixed the dough without a problem.

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Which is better, hand mixers or stand mixers?

If you’re looking to take your baking to the next level, whether it’s for kneading doughs, creaming fluffy buttercreams or easily whipping cream, an electric mixer will allow you to step up your game and save time. But when choosing between a hand mixer and a stand mixer there are several factors to take into consideration.

The first is budget. There are models of both types available at a range of price points, but if you’re on a budget a hand mixer is probably your best bet. In the same vein, if you’re limited on space in your kitchen, hand mixers are far easier to store than stand mixers, which normally demand some dedicated countertop space.

Another factor to consider is frequency of use, and what you’re planning on making. If you regularly bake bread or yeasted doughs, the sturdiness and powerful motor of a stand mixer will likely be more useful than a hand mixer. Although many hand mixers do come with dough hooks, they often have very short run times, which means you have to finish kneading the dough by hand.

What to look for in a hand mixer

Hand mixers largely have similar features, but here are a few factors to look for before buying:

  • Price
  • Number of speed settings
  • What types of beaters it comes with
  • Energy usage
  • Sturdiness
  • Size
  • Aesthetics

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