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The best budget stand mixers and electric whisks to buy now
Improve your baking skills without breaking the bank
Tested by Blossom BoothroydHomes Testing Manager
There’s nothing better than baking – and eating – homemade treats, and the best stand mixers and electric whisks can make all that mixing, whipping and folding a piece of cake (sorry).
Bad puns aside, these time-saving appliances are lifesavers in the kitchen as they do much of the heavy lifting, making tiring tasks like kneading dough feel effortless.
Investing in a stand mixer can feel like an indulgence, though, particularly when some cost upwards of £500. However, after baking countless cakes and kneading a lot of bread dough, our experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute have found a selection of top-scoring designs that meet their high standards and won't cost you more than £200.
Short on space? We’ve also included some affordable and more compact electric whisks and hand mixers under £50 in our recommendations below. They will all make excellent sous chefs, but crucially take up less cupboard space than a full-sized stand mixer, if that's a concern.
Whether you’re buying a gift for a budding star baker or treating yourself, these are our tried and tested best cheap mixers to buy now in a handy list, but scroll on for our detailed reviews.
What is the best cheap mixer?
How we test food mixers
To find the best mixers, our testers at the GHI pull on their aprons and get baking. They mix cake batter, whisk eggs, whip cream and knead bread.
For stand mixers, they also mix up a Christmas pudding to judge how well the machine handles heavy mixtures that combine wet and dry ingredients. They make cookie dough, too.
Finally, they rate the design of each mixer and how easy it is to use, before awarding it a final score. These are our best stand mixers and hand mixers to buy on a budget. Hollywood handshake here we come!
Pros
- No dirt traps
- Whipped eggs into stiff peaks in just over a minute
Cons
- Noisy motor
Score: 92/100
Our testers believe this electric whisk offers the best value for money of all the models they tested. Putting in a star performance when it came to kneading dough and whipping cream (it was strawberry-ready in under a minute), this is a mixer you can rely on, whatever’s on your menu.
It boasts a robust (if a tad bulky) design with a comfortable non-slip handle, and it cleans up easily. It’s not the cheapest on this list, but if you can spare the extra pounds, it should serve you well.
Key specifications
| Weight | 0.82kg |
|---|---|
| Variable speeds | 5 plus turbo and pulse |
| Accessories | 2x beaters, 2x dough hooks |
| Wattage | 500W |
| Dishwasher-safe attachments | Yes |
Pros
- Good at mixing heavier doughs
- Main body and attachments are easy to clean
Cons
- Vibrated more than other mixers
Score: 91/100
With its high score and low price tag, this is an absolute steal of a stand mixer. It’s lightweight enough to move between cupboard and counter, the motor won’t run when the mixing arm is up, and it competently handled everything from heavy bread mix to cookie dough.
Its quality can't rival a KitchenAid – the attachments felt loose at times and it struggled to incorporate liquids – but these niggles aren’t dealbreakers, especially for under £90.
Key specifications
| Weight | 3.8kg |
|---|---|
| Variable speeds | 8 |
| Accessories | 4.5L bowl, dough hook, beater, balloon whisk and splash guard |
| Wattage | 1000W |
| Dishwasher-safe attachments | Yes |
Pros
- Lightweight and easy to store
- Eject button makes attachment removal simple
Cons
- Feels less sturdy than other mixers
Score: 91/100
For maximum versatility, treat yourself to this 2-in-1 stand and hand mixer. You can switch between fixing the mixer in place and holding it, and the bowl cleverly rotates to maximise its mixing performance. It also features Breville’s unique HeatSoft technology, which will melt butter or chocolate as you go. Genius.
Our experts couldn’t fault its cake batter, but they had to finish off the thicker Christmas pudding mix by hand. The dough hooks are on the small side, as is the stand mixer overall, but this makes it well suited to small kitchens.
Key specifications
| Weight | 2.3kg |
|---|---|
| Variable speeds | 5 |
| Accessories | 3.5L bowl, dough hook, beaters |
| Wattage | 250W |
| Dishwasher-safe attachments | Yes |
Bosch CleverMixx Hand Mixer MFQ2420
Pros
- Lightweight and comfortable to hold for long periods
- Good instructions with recipes included
Cons
- Basic design with slightly flimsy buttons
Score: 90/100
This electric whisk is what meringue dreams are made of; it whipped our egg whites into the perfect stiff peaks for a Pavlova.
It also competently mixed cake batter and kneaded bread dough. It felt stable throughout our testing, but the power switch is a little flimsy, and it wasn’t the most powerful we’ve tried at top speed.
Key specifications
| Weight | 0.9kg |
|---|---|
| Variable speeds | 4 plus turbo plus pulse |
| Accessories | 2x beaters, 2x dough hooks |
| Wattage | 400W |
| Dishwasher-safe attachments | Yes |
Pros
- Simple to use
- Produced light and well risen fairy cakes
Cons
- Doesn’t make dough
Score: 90/100
You can mix up a light, airy cake batter at speed with this trusty hand mixer, which is ideal for everyday baking. Egg whites were also whisked to a fluffy consistency in a speedy two minutes.
Cream took longer to stiffen but our testers liked that they didn't have to worry about splashing during use. Note that it only comes with beaters, so pick another model if you want to use yours to knead dough.
Key specifications
| Weight | 0.72kg |
|---|---|
| Variable speeds | 5 plus turbo |
| Accessories | 2 x beaters |
| Wattage | 125W |
| Dishwasher-safe attachments | Yes |
Pros
- Easy-to-grip speed dial, even with buttery hands
- Attachments felt robust and sturdy
Cons
- Failed to fully mix cookie dough, leaving small amounts uncombined
Score: 90/100
Keen cake bakers, this one is for you. It mixed batter brilliantly, particularly when tackling large quantities, and produced a light, spongy cake. For smaller batches, you may need to lend a hand though, as it struggled to completely pull the mixture together, leaving a little flour around the edges.
Whipped cream came out nicely though, as did our Christmas pudding. The mixer moved slightly when tackling weighty doughs but, that niggle aside, it’s a strong performer at a very reasonable price (although note that it only made our list because it's significantly reduced right now).
Key specifications
| Weight | 7.6kg |
|---|---|
| Variable speeds | 12 |
| Accessories | 5.2L bowl, splash guard, flat paddle, dough hook, whisk |
| Wattage | 500W |
| Dishwasher-safe attachments | Yes |
Pros
- Whipped egg whites into stiff peaks in 70 seconds
- Controls are easy to use and accessible
Cons
- The beaters are small and compact, so ingredients can easily get caught in the middle of the whisk
Score: 89/100
This powerful yet petite hand mixer made a near perfect cake batter – it only lost marks for injecting a bit too much air. It’s cleverly designed so it can balance against the side of a mixing bowl, but there’s not much difference between its six power modes. so don’t expect much control. It also only comes with beaters.
But for jobs that need a bit of oomph, this more than delivers.
Key specifications
| Weight | 0.77kg |
|---|---|
| Variable speed | 6 |
| Accessories | 2x beaters |
| Wattage | 125W |
| Dishwasher-safe attachments | No |
Pros
- Lightweight and easy to move
- Good quality build
Cons
- Made creaking noises when mixing heavy loads of dough
Score: 89/100
With room inside the bowl to store its accessories, this stand mixer tucks away tidily and compactly – ideal for kitchens with limited cupboard space.
It proved reliable when kneading dough, mixing Christmas pudding and whipping double cream, but we sometimes had to scrape some flour from the sides of the bowl. It didn’t feel as sturdy as other models when mixing dough either. On balance, though, we’d say it’s a good all-rounder.
Key specifications
| Weight | 6.97kg |
|---|---|
| Variable speeds | 10 |
| Accessories | 5L bowl, whisk, dough hook, beaters, splash guard, plastic beater |
| Wattage | 1000W |
| Dishwasher-safe attachments | Yes |
Pros
- Attachments are sturdy and attach easily to the body
- Comfortable to hold for extended periods
Cons
- Struggled to combine all the ingredients into a dough ball
Score: 87/100
If you’re looking for an easy-to-use hand mixer that will ace simple baking tasks, consider this Salter model. It impressed our testers with its light, airy cake batter, while our egg whites transformed into stiff peaks in under two minutes.
Tougher tasks such as kneading dough were more challenging, and the motor became hot when whipping cream. But if cupcakes and traybakes are your go-tos, this shouldn’t be a bother. Plus, the attachments only needed a rinse under hot water to remove most of the dirt, so your clean-up will be done before your bakes are out of the oven.
Key specifications
| Weight | 1.17kg |
|---|---|
| Variable speeds | 5 plus turbo |
| Accessories | 2x bread hook, 2x beater whisk |
| Wattage | 300W |
| Dishwasher-safe attachments | No |
Pros
- Whisked cream to a firm, yet velvety texture in under two minutes
- Clear and helpful instructions
Cons
- Created large air bubbles in the cake mixture
Score: 87/100
When testing this hand mixer, our experts loved the steady increases between each of the five speed settings, which made combining ingredients easy and precise. The pulse function added a noticeable burst of power too, helping to achieve just the right consistency for their bakes.
It didn’t quite bring together all the ingredients in our cookie dough and working the bread mix was a little laborious. It was on the noisy side too, particularly on the highest setting. But if that doesn't bother you, it’s another reliable baking companion for the price.
Key specifications
| Weight | 1.05kg |
|---|---|
| Variable speeds | 5 plus pulse |
| Accessories | 2x bread hook, 2x beater whisk |
| Wattage | 450W |
| Dishwasher-safe attachments | Yes |
Do I need a stand mixer or an electric whisk?
The difference between stand and hand mixers comes down to how much effort you want to put into your baking. Both can do the same jobs, but you’ll have to hold your electric whisk while it kneads or beats, whereas to operate a stand mixer all you need to do is set it up and turn a dial.
Stand mixers also come with a mixing bowl included, but they do need more cupboard space, so if you have a small kitchen, an electric whisk may be the better buy.
For some (generally more expensive) stand mixers, you can buy extra attachments in addition to the beaters, dough hooks and whisk that usually come as standard. This does give scope for additional functionality if you think you’d like to turn your stand mixer into a pasta machine or an ice cream maker, for example.
For more on what to look for in a mixer, read our detailed buying guide.
The verdict on budget mixers
Our best budget buy is the VonHaus VonShef Black Food Mixer, which boasts eight speeds and comes with a dough hook, beater and balloon whisk. We also loved Breville’s Flow Hand and Stand Mixer, which has a function that melts and softens butter as you go to create the perfect consistency. No need to remember to leave it out of the fridge before you start!
If you're looking for a hand mixer, the Braun MultiMix 3 claimed our top spot. It’s not the cheapest on the list (at £49.95) but its stellar performance makes it worth the extra spend.
Why you should trust the Good Housekeeping Institute
At the GHI, we’re experts at reviewing kitchen appliances. In fact, we’ve been doing it for 100 years now, so we know exactly what we're looking for when it comes to the best mixers for your bakes.
Our team, led by homes testing manager, Blossom Boothroyd, follows strict protocols shaped by our years of experience, to test every appliance against its claims. The results are then passed onto our homes writer, Megan Geall and homes editor, Hannah Mendelsohn. They analyse each product and make sure they're answering all your questions in our detailed reviews.
Megan is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s senior homes and lifestyle writer. She loves diving into the latest product releases to find the very best buys on the market and has written hundreds of product reviews on everything from the best vacuum cleaners and coffee machines to the best ice cream makers and robot window cleaners.
When she’s not writing about the newest gadgets and gizmos for your home and garden, you’ll find her running every distance from 5km to 100km or relaxing at home with her cat – there really is no in between.
Megan has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously written for Stylist, Glamour, Women's Health, TimeOut, SquareMeal, and YOU magazine. You can find Megan on Instagram @meganlouisegeall.
Hannah is our homes editor, specialising in reviewing the latest kitchen appliances, cleaning products, mattresses and bedding, and crafting equipment. Hannah has written about hundreds of products, from air fryers to smoothie makers to pillows, and is committed to finding the most reliable and best value for money buys.
Hannah is also interested in sustainability in the home and has completed a course with the University of the Arts London in sustainable textiles, so she can help cut through the noise on what’s green and what’s not. Hannah has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously worked as a freelance lifestyle and women’s sports journalist, working for Stylist, Sky Sports and more.
Hannah has also previously worked in a florist and can normally be found caring for her house plants or sewing something new for her home or wardrobe.
Blossom is passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for GH readers. As head of the homes testing team, she has led reviews across multiple categories, from pizza ovens, and smart plugs to portable fans and hobs. She enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols to ensure we’re testing them against their claims. Her aim is to find the top-performing products on the market, to help take the hard work out of housework. Blossom’s most notable accomplishment in the lab has been toasting 528 slices of bread in her quest to find the best toasters money can buy. In her free time, she openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.
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