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Jan 05, 2024

Best hand mixer 2021: Convenient and light tools for all jobs

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Up your baking skills and remove the hassle of many common kitchen tasks with one of our best hand mixers, with choices to match every budget and need.

A mixer is a great kitchen tool, taking the leg (well, arm) work out of many jobs. For those who don't have the space to accommodate a stand mixer, one of our best hand mixers below is ideal. Or maybe you’re simply wanting to supplement your stand mixer with a convenient grab-and-go tool.

We’ve tested all of the major hand mixers available, putting them through a series of tests from mixing dough to whipping eggs and making cakes, allowing us to rate them for quality and real-world performance.

In this guide, we’ve selected a range of mixers to suit a variety of budgets and needs.

If you already have an idea of what you’re looking for, then you can skip down to our list of models. Otherwise, the simple questions below will help you discover the right mixer for your needs.

1. What are the advantages of a hand mixer? While stand mixers are more powerful and come with a greater number of speed settings for more control, they’re large, bulky and, in general, more expensive. A hand mixer is a simpler tool at a more convenient size, which can be used with any existing pan or bowl (the deeper the better, however). Their smaller size also means hand mixers are easier to store, making them a better choice for those for whom space is limited. They’re also worth considering if you bake only sporadically, or are after a tool that you can easily grab and use.

2. What accessories do I need? Most hand mixers will ship with at least beater accessories, which can be used for mixing cake mixtures and the like. While you can use beaters on egg whites and cream, you’ll achieve better results with a model that includes a whisk attachment. Those who want to make bread should look for a model that comes with a dough hook.

3. How much power do I need? Hand mixers typically run on a motor that's between 100W and 350W in size, which is less powerful than a stand mixer. However, having a wide enough range of mixer speeds is arguably more important, letting you switch between getting lots of air into eggs, for example, and gently blending ingredients together. Our reviews provide details about how each individual mixer actually performs.

Mixer type: Hand mixer | Size: 150 x 80 x 200mm, 1kg | Controls: 9 speeds | Motor power: 85W | Accessories included: Two beaters, two dough hooks, whisk and mixing rod

Read our full KitchenAid 9 Speed Hand Mixer review

If you’re used to KitchenAid's chunky metal kitchen appliances, then knowledge that the 9 Speed Hand Mixer's body is made of plastic might be cause for concern. There's no need to fret, however: build quality here is excellent, and the use of plastic helps to keep both the price and weight of the unit down. More important is the fact that this hand mixer is an excellent performer and ships with plenty of accessories, including beaters, dough hooks, a whisk and a mixing rod for emulsifying and stirring liquids.

As you may have already determined from the name, this model offers nine speeds, and a handy guide will help you choose the right speed for the right job. Cleverly, soft-start tech means that the mixer will begin at the lowest mode before ramping up to the desired speed, to avoid splattering contents on yourself and around the kitchen.

Overall, performance is excellent: we made cookie dough, mixed bread and whipped up eggs easily with this model, while the choice of speeds gave us a fine level of control.

If you’re looking for the best hand mixer for standalone use, or you want a quality handheld tool for everyday jobs, the KitchenAid 9 Speed Hand Mixer is a versatile and powerful choice.

Mixer type: Hand mixer | Size: 210 x 100 x 170mm, 0.91kg | Controls: 5 speeds plus Turbo | Motor power: 350W | Accessories included: Two beaters, two dough hooks

Read our full Russell Hobbs 24672 Desire Matte Black Hand Mixer review

You don't have to spend a fortune on a hand mixer for decent performance. The Russell Hobbs 24672 Desire Matte Black Hand Mixer may be plain to look at, but this hand mixer is super-light, making it comfortable to use, even for long periods.

Often, budget hand mixers keep the price down by reducing power, but there's plenty on tap here, with five speeds and a turbo feature. The latter proved particularly useful when mixing some brioche dough. In the box, you’ll also find dough hooks (suitable for mixing ingredients, rather than kneading), and a couple of beaters, too. There's no whisk, but you can use the beaters to the job if you’re prepared to take longer to achieve stiff peaks in eggs or cream.

From mixing dough to wet mixtures, the Russell Hobbs performed very well. You’ll get more features and faster results elsewhere, but for such a low price, this hand mixer is hard to beat.

Mixer type: Stand and hand mixer | Size: 270 x 345 x 390mm, 1.04kg | Controls: 5 speeds and pulse | Motor power: 350W | Accessories included: 3-litre bowl, two beaters, two dough hooks

Read our full Kenwood by Mary berry Special Edition Hand Mixer HM680CR review

As useful as a hand mixer is, trying to combine some ingredients is just easier with a stand mixer. Step forward the Kenwood by Mary Berry Special Edition Hand Mixer HM680CR, which does both jobs. It's a standard hand mixer with five speeds and a pulse control, but it can also clip onto a stand. Cleverly, in stand mode, the deep bowl rotates around the mixing blades, helping to combine ingredients without having to scrape them down the sides of the bowl.

A 3-litre bowl is included in the box, and will prove a sufficient size for most recipes. Dough hooks and beaters are included too, but there's no whisk attachment. While you can use the beaters for to bring egg whites and cream to stiff peaks, it will be a lengthier exercise than if tackled via a model with whisk.

For those who are short on space in the kitchen, the Kenwood by Mary Berry Special Edition Hand Mixer HM680CR offers a good compromise between a handheld and stand mixer.

Mixer type: Hand mixer | Size: 300 x 215 x 85mm, 1.7kg | Controls: 7 speeds | Motor power: 270W | Accessories included: Two beaters, two dough hooks, whisk

Read our full Breville HeatSoft Hand Mixer review

One of the biggest challenges when baking is trying to achieve the right softness of ingredients so that they mix well. The Breville HeatSoft Hand Mixer helps by using warm air to soften ingredients. Similar to running a hairdryer on low power, it works really well. For mixing a cake batter using butter fresh from the fridge, the ingredients were blended far quicker than using other hand mixers, resulting in a light and fluffy batter and delicate cake after cooking. The HeatSoft feature is controlled independently, so you won't have to worry about the hot air scrabbling any eggs that need to be added to the mix.

Offering seven speeds and a turbo setting, the Breville HeatSoft is also very powerful. In tests it was able to cope with the thickest of mixtures, and proved pretty good at mixing dough, too.

However, as useful as the heating feature is, it has its downsides. At 1.7kg, this is a weighty hand mixer. In addition, there's a bit of extra maintenance require, with Breville recommending that the filter is cleaned every three to six months. This certainly won't be the right hand mixer for everyone, but for impulse cooks out there, the Breville HeatSoft Hand Mixer lets you cook with cold ingredients and get perfect results each time.

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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.