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One must-have gadget you're probably missing from your kitchen? A kitchen scale. Whether you're an avid baker who wants to get your measurements just right before you tackle brioche bread or homemade croissants, you're following a keto diet and want to use a scale to help you with portion control, or just want to streamline your cooking, this kitchen tool is here to help.
Why the Delish kitchen swears by cooking and baking with a kitchen scale? It makes your life so much easier! Imagine not having to spoon and level flour ever again for banana bread or chocolate cake.
Our top picks
How we picked these products
To find the best kitchen scales, we consulted our friends at the Good Housekeeping Institute. Their team of on-staff experts—which includes all types: engineers! data analysts! registered dietitians!—rigorously put everyday products to the test (and then more and more tests) in their New York City-based labs to determine which ones you can trust. They tested over 20 options for quality assurance, then evaluated each contender based on a variety of important factors, including cleanability, readability, design, ease of use and assembly, accuracy, and features like power sources and the ability to tare to determine the best models.
KitchenAid Dual Platform Digital Kitchen and Food Scale
Pros
- Highly accurate
- Pre-installed batteries
Cons
- Short inactivity period before automatic shut-off
Just ask Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock: It takes two to make a thing go right! In addition to being the only scale the Good Housekeeping Institute tested that came with its batteries installed (three AAAs, for those wondering), the KitchenAid Dual Platform boasts two food grade stainless steel weighing surfaces—an 11-lb. platform and a 16-oz. platform—that can even be used at the same time!
Testers were quickly impressed by this gadget’s "commercial precision" and ability to "accurately weigh very small amounts". This digital model has everything you could want, including perfect accuracy, stain-resistant surfaces, the ability to tare heavy containers, and an easy-to-read, backlit display. The catch? Its automatic "off" feature shuts down the scale after one minute of inactivity, which can be a pain for kitchen multitaskers.
Taylor Precision Products Digital Glass Top Household Kitchen Scale
Pros
- Lightweight
- Affordable
Cons
- No backlight
- Hard to clean
Perfect if you don't want to spend much on this culinary gadget, the Taylor Precision Products Digital Glass Top Household Kitchen Scale has an 11 lb. capacity, a glass weighing platform, a stain resistant surface, a tare function, and ounces-to-grams unit conversion capability. (It even comes with two AAA batteries!) Though it lacks a backlight, we were impressed with its easy-to-read digital display and auto shut-off feature, which only activates after three minutes of idleness.
Overall, this handy kitchen tool is simple, lightweight, and easy to use, but the Good Housekeeping Institute found its overall design to be lacking, noting that there is no backlight, the "platform does feel a little cumbersome", and "the plastic base feels a little cheap". That being said, if you’re looking for an inexpensive scale, this Taylor Precision Products model is the one to get.
OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale
Pros
- 100% accurate during testing
- Easy to use and read
Cons
- Pricey
If you want a decent-size scale that offers unit conversion measurements in ounces, pounds, grams, and kilograms, the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale is sure to impress with its accuracy, precision, and capacity of up to 11 pounds. Boasting a smudge-resistant and lightweight design, this sleek stainless steel scale comes fully-loaded with all the essentials (and then some), including a removable platform, clear digital screen, pull-out display, and four AA batteries.
The Good Housekeeping Institute noted that this straightforward model had "lots of crevices to clean", but we think it’s still well-worth the investment considering it "was a breeze to use" and scored a "100% [for] accuracy" in the GHI's lab results. Plus, the Good Grips’ automatic turn-off feature activates after 30 minutes of inactivity—the longest delay out of all the options we recommend.
Pros
- Offers liquid measurements
- Can measure ingredients down to a tenth of a gram
Cons
- Bulky
- Not quite as accurate as our other recommendations
Looking for a scale that can do it all? Look no further than the Ooni Dual-Platform Digital Scale, which can help you make everything from the perfect cup of joe to homemade pizza. This intuitive kitchen tool boasts the ability to measure liquids and even ingredients as small as a tenth of a gram and comes equipped with a cover that performs double duty as a measuring tray for the smaller platform and three AAA batteries.
Unlike other dual-platform models, this wide, ovular scale doesn’t offer as streamlined a design, with the Good Housekeeping Institute’s lab panel calling it a little "bulky" and warning that "one of the scales… malfunctioned [during testing], which is not good odds."
Ozeri Pronto Digital Multifunction Kitchen and Food Scale
Pros
- Small footprint
- 5 units of measurement
Cons
- Short inactivity period before automatic shut-off
Just because you live in a small space doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to properly weigh your ingredients. With a precision tare button, automatic unit button, large screen, oversized weighing platform, the Good Housekeeping Institute appreciated all the small-but-mighty Ozeri Pronto Digital Multifunction Kitchen and Food Scale had to offer—including a wide variety of color options.
In addition to performing very well in accuracy and ease of use tests, one panelist even said "I liked using this scale, it was easy to maneuver and had a quick readout." This 1 lb. scale does go into power conservation mode after just two minutes, but it makes up for that with its five units of measurement, two included AAA batteries, and compact, lightweight design that easily fits into any drawer or cupboard.
Zwilling Enfinigy Digital Food Scale
Pros
- Rechargeable
- Tons of color options to match your kitchen decor
Cons
- Pricey
Tired of fumbling with batteries (and remembering to buy more when you run out)? This may not be able to solve all your battery woes, but the Zwilling Enfinigy Digital Food Scale comes with a charging unit on its base, rechargeable battery, and micro USB charging cord. Available in multiple trendy color combinations, this sleek model is as easy to use as it is to clean and offers useful details like a tare weighing feature, large glass platform, impressive 22 lb weight capacity, and a bright, clear digital display.
What's more, its automatic shut-off feature kicks in after three minutes of inactivity and you can access the small button that adjusts the measurement units between ounces and grams by simply lifting the scale. Now, we know what you’re thinking—and so does the Good Housekeeping Institute—if you’re experiencing a bit of sticker shock at the cost of the Enfinigy, the lab panel pointed out, "while this scale may be on the pricier side, Zwilling stands behind their scale offering a five year warranty."
Are food scales worth it?
Kitchen scales can be used for so many culinary endeavors. To find the best one or you, consider these tips when shopping.
Accuracy: Of course, some of this responsibility falls on the user. To get the best results, it doesn’t matter how “smart” the kitchen scale may be, but rather, how accurate. When you're measuring ingredients that require precision, say, coffee grounds, you want a scale that can measure weight down to 0.1 grams. So, if you’re wondering whether cheaper models are accurate, the answer is largely yes—just look at our under-$20 budget option, the Taylor Precision Products Digital Glass Top Household Kitchen Scale, as proof. However, if a scale seems too cheap to be true, be sure to check the reviews.
Features: Some models come with convenient features to make your life a little easier. If you truly need a larger range of measurement beyond grams and ounces, you can pay the extra cost. If you're someone who bakes in the middle of the night to relieve stress (you do you!), a large, backlit screen can make it easier to see your digital scale’s readout. Some models also include a removable weighing tray to ensure an accurate read every time, but if you prefer to use your own receptacles, you might benefit from a tare feature, which takes out the guesswork and wait time of pre-weighing your vessel and then weighing additional ingredients.
Simply put the container on the scale to weigh, then select the tare option to reset the scale to zero without removing the container. Be forewarned that this feature does increase your likelihood of overloading your scale, so check to see if there is an additional feature that limits the amount of weight you can tare before reaching the maximum capacity.
Another handy feature that can extend the battery life of your digital kitchen scale is an automatic shut-off function—just be sure you check the inactivity period, because it’s not worth the inefficiency of having to turn your device back on every few minutes if you’re multitasking in the kitchen.
Power: Many digital kitchen scales are battery-operated, and some even come with the batteries pre-installed. If you’d prefer a more eco-friendly option or simply don’t have the patience to wrestle with changing out batteries (especially before you’ve had your coffee), there are some models that are rechargeable for ultimate ease of use. Typically, these kitchen scales can hold a charge for about a month if used for an hour a day—just don't forget to plug it in before it runs out of juice, as some can take up to a couple hours to get a full charge.
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