Food mixers make baking easier, faster, and more consistent. Our reviews and buying guide help you choose between benchtop (stand) mixers and hand mixers, understand key features, and find the right model for your kitchen.
Find the best food mixer for your kitchen
Looking to buy a food mixer? Our test results let you compare models to find the right mixer for what you like to bake the most and your budget.
Best food mixers of 2026
If you’re a keen baker, a benchtop mixer (also called a stand mixer) can be a good investment. They make hands-free work of mixing cake batter, kneading dough and beating egg whites.
Light, portable and cheaper, a hand-held mixer is good for smaller jobs like whipping cream. You’ll get the job done faster than by hand, and you can use any sized bowl.
Best large mixer
Best mid-size mixer
Best hand-held mixer
Get access to Consumer & see all reviews
Thousands of expert product/service reviews
Personal support through our Consumer Rights Advice Line
Premium articles and in-depth buying advice
Add a Consumer magazine for even more exclusive content
How to choose a food mixer
With so many options on the market, it can be challenging to pick a food mixer. Start with looking at which type of food mixer will suit your needs:
Benchtop/stand mixers: Good for mixing cake batter, kneading dough and beating egg whites.
Hand mixers: Ideal for whipping cream, beating eggs and mixing light batters.
Learn more about the pros and cons of each type of mixer, as well as features to look out for.
People's Choice
Our People's Choice awards are granted to brands that consistently rate above average for customer satisfaction and meet out other performance criteria. Become a member and see which brands have earned a People’s Choice award.
Which brand is most reliable?
Complete your kitchen set up
Get everything you need for your kitchen with our range of top-tested products. Whether you’re looking for a good fridge, reliable cooktops, durable frying pans, or air fryers. Check out our test results and find the right items for your kitchen.
Small kitchen appliances
From making breakfast to brewing your favourite beverage, sometimes it's the small appliances that do the most important jobs in the kitchen.
How we test food mixers
We test a range of food mixers that are available in New Zealand to find the best models.
The test involves real-world baking tasks, including:
Mixing cake batter
Kneading dough
Whipping egg whites and more.
Find out more about how we score food mixers below.
