Skip to Content

The 8 Best Toasters You Can Buy In 2023

Boom, toasted.

By
best toasters
Sarah Ceniceros

Delish editors handpick every product we feature. We may earn commission from the links on this page.

If you’ve been burned (literally or figuratively) by toasters in the past, you may think there is no such thing as a toaster that evenly toasts all types of bread on both sides. Good toasters exist… kind of. As is the case with most, if not all, appliances, they just don’t make toasters like they used to, and many expensive toasters simply aren’t worth the extra cash because of their tendency to break after 5 to 10 years.

According to Nicole Papantoniou, the Director of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Kitchen Appliances & Culinary Innovation Lab, “Toasters are designed to give you even heating on both sides, so yes, they exist, but it gets a little trickier when you toast a single slice because of how the heating elements work. But yes, it is possible.”

Toasters are one of the most essential small appliances in your kitchen. After all, what other kitchen tools can easily elevate a slice of buttered cinnamon swirl bread, or pillowy milk bread slathered in avocado or chunky peanut butter? Or have you ever had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with toasted bread? Life-changing. But before we get ahead of ourselves, you'll need to actually pick up that toaster, and there are actually a lot of options and upgrades to choose from.

We sat down with Papantoniou, who has 10 years of experience helping home chefs like yourself find the best appliances and gadgets, to discuss her team’s tireless work to find the best 4-slice, 2-slice, and long-slot toasters on the market—a.k.a. ones that that can fit a full slice of homemade bread while looking chic on your kitchen counter. Check them out below, so you can find your favorite and get to toastin’.

Want more than just your run-of-the-mill toaster? Allow us to introduce you to the humble toaster’s more evolved cousins, the toaster oven and air fryer toaster oven. (You’re welcome.)

Our top picks

How we picked these products

To find the best toaster, we turned to our friends at the Good Housekeeping Institute, who have identified the most reliable brands and highest-rated toasters and put them to the test. 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.

These Kitchen Tech Experts put a ton of toasters (over 58—that’s a lot of bread!) through rigorous tests to analyze their ease of use, consistency, surface temperature, efficiency, cleanability, slot capacity, temperature range, and performance. After reviewing their findings and discussing their road tests in-depth with Papantoniou, we’ve determined that these are the best toasters you can buy in 2022.

1
Best Toaster

Cuisinart Cuisinart CPT-122 Compact Plastic 2-Slice Toaster, White

Cuisinart CPT-122 Compact Plastic 2-Slice Toaster, White

Pros

  • Seven shade settings
  • Removable crumb tray

Cons

  • Can’t accommodate extra-long slices

What's better than four slices of perfect, golden brown toast? Four slices of perfect, golden brown toast from a toaster you can count on. That’s exactly what you get with the Cuisinart CPT-122 2-Slice Compact Toaster, which offers multiple functions (including preheat, defrost, and cancel).

This BPA-free plastic toaster’s simple white design will complement any kitchen décor, and its high-lift carriage prevents your toast from getting stuck while the removable crumb tray slides right out for easy cleaning.

“It’s a really good basic toaster that you’ll see in a lot of stores,” explained Papantoniou. “It has really basic controls and makes good, even toast.”

Churning out consistently crisp slices every time, all it takes is a simple turn of the dial to cycle between the seven shade settings and the Cuisinart CPT-122’s two 1.5-inch wide toasting slots can effectively toast a variety of your favorite carbs—just not those super-long slices of artisanal bread you get from your local bakery.

2
Best Budget Toaster

Black+Decker Black+Decker 2-Slice Toaster

Black+Decker 2-Slice Toaster
Now 29% Off
Credit: Black + Decker

Pros

  • Affordable

Cons

  • Flimsy plastic controls

From dorm rooms to small apartments, the compact and cost-effective Black+Decker 2-Slice Toaster is perfect for making breakfast on a budget.

“This one has basic controls, a small footprint, and it has some elements of stainless housing that makes it look nicer,” Papantoniou explained.

In addition to boasting a drop-down crumb tray, the Black+Decker Toaster has two extra-wide slots to accommodate all kinds of tasty toasted treats, like bread, bagels, and English muffins. In fact, it even comes with a specific bagel setting, as well as frozen food and cancel functions. Just select one of the seven available toasting levels using the selector knob, toss in your ciabatta or French bread, and get to toasting. (Though fair warning: the plastic controls are somewhat flimsy.)

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
3
Best Splurge Toaster

Revolution InstaGLO R180 Toaster

InstaGLO R180 Toaster
Now 33% Off
Credit: Dash

Pros

  • User-friendly
  • Tons of techy features

Cons

  • Pricey

It’s no secret that smart kitchen appliances make our lives so much easier. But with the Revolution InstaGLO R180 Toaster, the proof is in the (bread) pudding.

Compatible with everything from bread and bagels to waffles and homemade pop tarts, this futuristic model can heat your food differently based on what it is, and do so in 15 seconds flat. Simply choose between this unit’s seven browning levels, and three toasting modes—fresh, frozen, and reheat. There’s even a panini press mode, which you can use with Revolution’s separate panini press attachment! For optimal convenience, this model also offers a countdown timer and the ability to automatically lower and lift your slices.

Calling it a “fun little toaster,” Papantoniou said the InstaGLO R180 “takes the guesswork out of toasting. It has pictures of the types of browning you can get—so you don’t have to worry about it being inconsistent—and it has a touchscreen control panel.”

This toaster’s sleek design features a stainless steel and aluminum construction, a 2-slice capacity, and diamond-shaped heating elements for fast, even heating. It also displays the dates and your choice of an analog or digital clock display when it’s not in use—gotta love an appliance that makes itself useful! And when you’re all done toasting and crisping up your favorite carbs, just keep an eye out for the clean crumb tray reminder and then wipe down the InstaGLO R180 and its removable crumb tray with a damp cloth for easy cleanup.

4
Most Versatile Toaster

Cuisinart CPT-2500 Long Slot Toaster

CPT-2500 Long Slot Toaster

Pros

  • Dual independent controls
  • Great for long slices

Cons

  • Large footprint

Say “so long” to half-browned sourdough and Irish soda bread with the Cuisinart CPT-2500 Long Slot Toaster. Featuring two self-centering 10-by-1.5-inch slots, this toaster will perfectly brown any artisanal (or homemade!) bread that you'd like to enjoy with its seven customizable shade settings. Though these larger slots do of course result in a larger footprint, we appreciate this sleek stainless steel model’s versatility—with dual independent controls and multiple toasting functions, including toast, bagel, reheat, and defrost, your toasting needs will definitely be met.

“This one accommodates longer pieces of bread,” explained Papantoniou.

Per the Good Housekeeping Institute, the benefits of this design are twofold: The slots are “big enough for oversize slices from round loaves, or you can toast four regular-size pieces of bread at once.”

What’s more, the Cuisinart CPT-2500’s design also includes a high-lift lever for safe, easy retrieval of your scorching toast (no burnt fingertips or precarious fork fiddling here!), a removable crumb tray, and convenient cord storage at the base.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
5
Most Stylish Toaster

Smeg Smeg 2-Slice Toaster

Smeg 2-Slice Toaster

Pros

  • Small footprint
  • Stylish, colorful design

Cons

  • Pricey

Toasters take up valuable counter space, so you might as well get some eye candy out of the deal. Using its two extra-wide slots and self-centering racks (which hold your toast upright, so no slippage here!), the Smeg Toaster effectively browns toast and looks good while doing it.

Though Papantoniou hasn’t tested the Smeg Toaster, she also appreciated its curb (or, shall we say, counter) appeal, remarking “It’s really pretty.”

But don’t let the classic, nostalgia-infused design fool you; behind this unit’s retro-chic exterior is a thoroughly modern construction, with six browning levels and a backlit chrome knob with four pre-set programs: bagel defrost, reheat, and cancel.

And for added peace of mind, the Good Housekeeping Institute noted, “When you select a setting, it locks into place so you know you've set it precisely.”

So just throw on a record of your favorite golden oldies and let the Smeg Toaster get to work turning your homemade banana bread a gorgeous golden brown.

6
Best Large Toaster

KRUPS Savoy 4-Slice Toaster

Savoy 4-Slice Toaster

Pros

  • Consistent, even toasting
  • Four extra-wide slots

Cons

  • Large footprint

Whether you love a big breakfast or live with a lot of hungry people, the KRUPS Savoy Toaster’s four slots are wide enough to toast two bagels at once and brown them to your exact preference thanks to the dual independent control panels and six darkness settings.

Papantoniou hasn’t had the opportunity to test this model herself, but she said of the Savoy: “This is good for households that like their bread toasted differently. You can leave each side to a different toast setting, so there’s less fussing around when you need it, and it has a really straightforward control panel that even has a bagel setting.”

Boasting a dial to cycle through the browning settings and pushable buttons to select one of four additional cooking functions—bagel, reheat, defrost, or cancel—this toaster also comes with blue LED lights, so early risers won’t have to fumble around in the dark. And like the Cuisinart CPT-2500 Long Slot Toaster, the Savoy’s design also includes convenient cord storage at the base and not one, but two high-lift levers to easily collect your scorching bread, buns, or rolls.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
7
Best Smart Toaster

Breville Breville Die-Cast 2-Slice Smart Toaster

Breville Die-Cast 2-Slice Smart Toaster

Pros

  • Multiple settings
  • Consistent, even toasting

Cons

  • Pricey

The Breville Die-Cast Smart Toaster is the Natalie Portman of toasters—it’s got beauty and brains. This impressive gadget’s die-cast aluminum construction features two extra-wide slots, a convenient slide-out crumb tray, and a stunning brushed stainless-steel finish.

Papantoniou hasn’t tested the Breville Smart Toaster herself, but she noted, “Die-cast basically means it’s a heavier, sturdier product. It has electronic controls, and you can adjust the shade settings on the bottom of the unit with that lever.”

With just the press of a button (no need to lower a lever), this toaster can anticipate your every preference with five precise shade levels and five roasting functions, including toast/cancel, bagel, defrost, and lift and look for mid-cycle check-ins and adjustments. And if it's simply not brown enough, select the "A Bit More" feature, which automatically lowers the bread at the end of the toasting cycle to provide a kiss of extra browning.

Sure, all these features come at a (literal, and pretty significant) cost, but if loving the Breville Smart Toaster is wrong, we don’t want to be right.

8
Best See-Through Toaster

Dash Clear View Toaster

Clear View Toaster

Pros

  • Easy to monitor toast

Cons

  • Less differentiation between settings

Nothing can ruin your morning quite like a burnt bagel. If you're prone to leaving your food in just a little too long, the Dash Clear View Toaster takes the guesswork out of making perfect toast every time with a large window built into the door and an auto-shutoff function for added safety. And when you’re done, you can slide out the removable crumb tray and wipe it down for a fully fool-proof cleaning experience.

“It’s cute, it’s fun, it’s a good price,” said Papantoniou, adding how part of the fun and convenience of the Dash Clear View Toaster is that “you can watch your bread as it’s toasting.”

Available in four classic colors to match your kitchen décor, you can toast a wide variety of dough-lectables with the extra-long slots and one-touch buttons for functions like bagel, defrost, and reheat.

However, it’s good to keep in mind that “Some reviewers note that the range of toast settings between 2 and 6 (there are seven total) is hard to differentiate but that it does a good job of toasting evenly,” according to the Good Housekeeping Institute.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
9

Are expensive toasters worth it?

squiggle

We’re gonna level with you: When buying a toaster, you have two options—a cheap one that breaks or an expensive one that breaks.

As we said before, they just don’t make toasters like they used to (thanks planned obsolescence), so spending that extra cash isn’t synonymous with a buy-it-for-life guarantee. By paying more, you’re getting a design with more add-ons, such as smart features, a sleeker design, and more functionality.

“I don’t think price is usually a good indicator of performance,” said Papantoniou. “I think that’s where the Good Housekeeping Institute comes into play, because we test the products and let you know how they perform. There are toasters that perform really well and can cost between $25-50, and then more money can get you more bells and whistles, like an automatic lift and a more digital experience.” But in all, she said, “Price doesn’t correlate with performance.”

For example, what people find to be so special about the Smeg Toaster are its beautiful, 50s-style aesthetic and reliable toasting capabilities. On the other hand, our top pick, the Cuisinart CPT-122 2-Slice Compact Toaster, is just as effective and dependable for browning your bread, waffles, and bagels. Its simple, unassuming design and lack of color options aren’t as sexy, but it gets the job done just as well—and at ⅙ of the Smeg’s price.

Everyone has heard the tale of 18th century French Queen Marie Antoinette’s callous reply of “Let them eat cake” when she was informed of her subjects starving in squalor. But a little-known fact is that the more accurate translation of her response is “Let them eat brioche,” a rich, buttery type of bread that isn’t as cheap as a plain ole loaf of whole wheat, but is certainly more sustainable than cake. That’s all to say, when it comes to toasters, you don’t have to pay for the less attainable “cake-level” model. You can get by just as well with the brioche (or, yes, even the whole wheat).

10

What should you look for when buying a toaster?

squiggle

There’s no such thing as the perfect toaster, but there are plenty of factors that can make up the perfect one for your home and lifestyle. This is as individual a decision as choosing how you like your toast.

When buying a toaster, Papantoniou advised that shoppers should consider “how much space they have for the toaster, how much toast they’re making at one time—is four slices really important to you and your household?— and the material. Some are made of plastic, some are stainless steel, some are even die-cast.”

Another factor to keep in mind is what exactly you plan on toasting, she said: “There are also other styles for things like long pieces of bread—so if you have a lot of sourdough, you could benefit from that. And if you eat a lot of bagels, you could go for a model that’s extra-wide, though most toasters should be able to fit a regular-size bagel into a standard toaster anyway, but some toasters also come with a bagel setting that makes it crispy and toasted on the outside, but still nice and fluffy on the inside.”

Meanwhile, you won’t need to necessarily consider attributes like wattage—according to Papantoniou, “Things with more wattage are typically more powerful, but that shouldn’t really affect the quality of your toast.” What it can affect, however, is how long it takes for your toast to brown. In general, a toaster doesn’t use up too much electricity, but a lower wattage toaster can conserve energy if that is a concern for you. Depending on the size, a toaster’s wattage should be at least 700 watts for a 2-slice model or at minimum 1200 watts for a 4-slice toaster. But bear in mind that a higher wattage means more power, which means a faster turnaround time for your toast to be perfectly browned to your preferred level of doneness.

Watch Next 
preview for Watch Our Newest Videos
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below