A toaster has one job and a surprising number of ways to get it wrong: too pale, too dark, or blackened and smoking. A recent test put eight of them through the same routine — the same breads every time, the machine cooled completely between runs except in the stress test — and judged browning at the lowest, middle and highest settings, with the middle weighted most heavily. It also ran three slices back to back without cooling to see whether the fourth setting still means what it did on the first slice, then measured the temperature of the lever after three rounds and the electricity each toaster drew.
One finding applies to every machine here: the perfect, evenly browned slice is a myth. One side always comes out darker than the other, or the element leaves its stripes. And on the highest setting every single toaster charred the toast — manufacturers suggest that level for bread or the bun rack rather than sliced toast, and even there the edges blacken. Stay at or below the middle.
The short version
- Best overall: Graef TO62 — fastest and the most consistent browning.
- Best value: Russell Hobbs Inspire 2437-56 — second place, more functions than the winner.
- Most functions: KitchenAid 5KMT2109ESX — the longest feature list, weaker browning.
- Most consistent: Severin AT 2620 — slowest in the test, but reliably even.
Best Overall: Graef TO62
The TO62 won on speed and consistency. On the middle setting toast is done in a little under two minutes, which makes it the pick if you are impatient, and the browning stays consistent run after run. Taken side by side the two faces are not identical — one comes out deep golden while the other stays paler — but the eating result is arguably ideal: crisp outside, still soft within. The lowest setting produces almost no crunch, and the highest burns one side badly enough that the slice is inedible.
The manufacturer's explanation is that the top setting is deliberate, intended for slices of bread rather than sliced toast, and the test partly bore that out: a supermarket bread slice does not burn as badly, blackening only at the edges while staying pleasantly crisp. The practical advice from the test is to ignore the top setting and go no higher than five.
There is no reheat function, though the manual offers a workaround — the integrated bun rack doubles as a warmer — and there is a defrost setting and a lift function, the latter rather feeble, raising the slices only slightly. Operation is simple and intuitive, with one quirk: the dial turns anticlockwise for higher settings. Search Amazon UK · Amazon US
Best Value: Russell Hobbs Inspire 2437-56
Proof that dearer is not better: the Inspire took second place and offers more functions than the winner — defrost, reheat, and a lift-and-look that lets you check progress mid-cycle — with a separate bun rack included. The housing is entirely plastic but the chrome detailing lifts it.
On first use there is a faint plastic smell, which the manual says is normal and which passes quickly. After that it toasts solidly: about two and a half minutes on the middle setting, slower than the winner, but with a similarly even result. The edges stay a little paler and one back face shows the classic toaster stripes. A third consecutive slice on the middle setting is still perfectly edible, though noticeably darker than the first. Search Amazon UK · Amazon US
Most Functions: KitchenAid 5KMT2109ESX
A stainless-steel body and nearly two kilograms give it a genuinely premium feel, though it tipped slightly in the direction of the lever on a few starts. Its feature list is the longest here: defrost, reheat, a bagel mode and a "just a little more" re-toast that adds a good 20 seconds for only a slight increase in colour.
Performance is where it slips. On one side only about two thirds of the slice browns, and on the middle setting slices come out generally pale — then, after three consecutive rounds, suddenly quite dark, though still edible. On the highest setting parts of the slice go black while bread takes a pleasant colour. There is no bun rack, which is a surprise at this price, and small slices barely protrude when done, so retrieving them takes care. Search Amazon UK · Amazon US
Most Consistent: Severin AT 2620
Visually it echoes the KitchenAid, and it matches almost the whole feature set — bread centring, defrost, reheat, bagel mode and seven browning levels — lacking only the re-toast function. Despite weighing less it stands more steadily than its pricier rival, and unlike it, a bun rack is built in. The cable is only 68 centimetres, which can restrict where it goes.
In use it shows two faces. It is the slowest toaster in the test — around two minutes on level one and nearly five at maximum — but it delivers the most consistent results of the group, which is exactly the trade-off some people want. Search Amazon UK · Amazon US
Also Tested
The Smeg TSF01CREU is the design piece: a stainless retro body that feels expensive and, at nearly 2.5 kilograms, sits solidly on the worktop, with defrost, reheat and bagel functions. The maker claims six browning levels; there are effectively eleven, because intermediate steps can be selected between each, and they can be set precisely — though this dial, like the winner's, turns anticlockwise for higher settings. The bagel button's pictogram looks more like a baguette. No bun rack is included despite the price, though one can be bought separately, as can a sandwich insert.
The Tineco Toasty One aims at gadget lovers with a touch display, a percentage readout and user profiles, letting you pick browning by colour and toast the two slices differently at once. In practice sandwich slices still protrude slightly, leaving a pale edge, but front and back brown almost identically and results hold steady over three rounds. Then the top setting failed outright: with one slice finished, the second kept toasting while the progress display crawled from 80 to 100 per cent, producing a charred, smoking slice that set off the test kitchen's smoke alarm. Speed is moderate otherwise, and both power draw and casing temperature are low.
The Krups Control Line KH 442D has the shortest cable in the test at 66 centimetres. It feels reasonably solid in steel and plastic but slides easily, since the two anti-slip feet are mounted on one side only. Its integrated bun rack is welcome, but the two metal struts sit far apart, so rolls can only be laid across them — and press too enthusiastically and the rack folds up. On the top setting a roll on the rack comes out crisp and warm without burning, and the lift function makes small slices safe to retrieve, though large sandwich slices are too big and leave an untoasted top edge.
The OK OTO 2722 W is the tiddler: light, compact and by far the cheapest. It does not feel premium, the plastic body stands a little unsteadily and the lever occasionally tips it. The pared-back controls are self-explanatory, if slightly stiff, and the dial must be returned to zero to cancel a cycle. It smokes a little on its first empty runs, with a plastic smell. In use, the lowest-powered machine here at 700 watts proves surprisingly keen to brown: crisp even on the lowest setting, strong colour in the middle, and nearly pitch black and smoking at maximum. It is also the most efficient, using just 25 Wh per round on the middle setting. Search Amazon UK · Amazon US
How the Testing Works
Conditions are kept identical: the same breads every time, and the toaster cooled fully between runs except in the stress test. Equipment comes first — bun rack, defrost, reheat and bagel modes, material quality, cable length and stability, with anti-slip feet, cable storage and a crumb tray treated as basic kit every model had. Handling covers whether operation is self-explanatory and how versatile the toaster is; large American sandwich slices were used, and several machines simply could not reach the top edge because their slots were not deep enough, while small slices can be a hot fiddle to extract. Browning is judged at the lowest, middle and highest settings, with the middle weighted most, plus a stress test of three consecutive rounds without cooling, and the time taken. Technical checks measure the casing temperature at the lever after three rounds — you should not burn your fingers starting the next round — and power draw, where every model came in at well under a penny per round.
How to Choose
Decide what you toast. If it is mostly sliced bread and you want it quickly, the Graef is the most complete package. If you want the extras — reheat, lift-and-look, a bun rack in the box — the Russell Hobbs delivers more of them for less. If you regularly toast large sandwich slices, check slot depth before anything else, because several machines here leave the top edge raw. A built-in bun rack is worth having if you eat rolls, and a lift function earns its keep if you toast small slices. And whatever you buy, work below the top setting: on every one of these machines, maximum means burnt.
