The Ultimate Toaster Review from Budget-Friendly to High-End

Heads up: EverydayChecked is reader-supported. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes our verdict.

Have you ever stood in the kitchen aisle wondering whether a fancy toaster is really worth several times the price of a basic one? I had the same question, so instead of guessing, we tested toasters across a wide price range, from budget-friendly models to one that costs about as much as a nice dinner out.

The plan was simple: feed each toaster the breakfast staples (bread and bagels) and see how it handled them. No marketing claims, just side-by-side results you can actually see. Below are the four toasters that earned a place in this roundup, with photos of exactly what came out of each one.

• The Budget Buster: GE 2-Slice
• The Reliable Workhorse: KitchenAid 2-Slice
• The Sweet Spot: Smeg 2-Slice
• The High-End Contender: Revolution touchscreen

It’s easy to get distracted by looks and shade dials. After running these tests, here’s what genuinely affects your morning:

• Bread vs. bagel performance: Some toasters nail bread but fumble bagels (or the reverse). Think about what you eat most.
• Slot size: Thick artisan slices and bagels need extra-wide slots, or they’ll only toast halfway up.
• Bagel setting: A proper bagel mode toasts the cut side hard and the outside gently. It makes a real difference.
• Shade range: More shade steps mean you can dial in your exact golden-brown instead of choosing between pale and burnt.
• Defrost and reheat: Small conveniences that earn their keep if you toast frozen bread or forget your toast on the counter.
• Crumb tray: A removable tray is the difference between a quick clean and a shake-it-over-the-sink mess.
• Design: It lives on your counter every day. If looks matter to you, factor them in.

The GE is the value play here. It covers the basics competently and looks far more expensive than it is, with a brushed stainless body and clear illuminated buttons. Where it shows its price is consistency: great on bread, less sure of itself on bagels.

If you mostly toast bread and want to spend as little as possible, the GE gets you there. Just know that bagels are its weak spot.

The KitchenAid is the toaster I’d hand to someone who just wants it to work, every morning, without drama. It has the widest feature set in the mid-range (bagel, defrost, reheat, and keep-warm) plus a high-lift lever for fishing out smaller items. Bread is consistently good; bagels are decent rather than dazzling.

At 1200 watts it’s also one of the quicker toasters here. If you want the most features per dollar, this is the one.

This is the toaster I kept coming back to. The Smeg looks like a piece of design jewelry on the counter, but it backs the retro styling up with genuinely excellent results. Bread came out beautifully even across repeated tests, and (crucially) it handled bagels better than anything else short of the high-end Revolution.

The self-centering racks are the quiet hero here. They hold each slice in the middle of the slot so both faces toast evenly instead of one side scorching against the element. For the money, it’s the most satisfying toaster in this lineup.

The Revolution is the gadget-lover’s toaster: a touchscreen, smart toasting algorithms that adjust to the bread type, and an InstaGLO heating system that gets going fast. It even ships with a panini-press attachment. The results are excellent (the best bagels of the group), but here’s the honest part: they weren’t dramatically better than the Smeg at a fraction of the price.

If you toast constantly, love kitchen tech, and want the panini trick, the Revolution earns its keep. For most people, though, it’s more toaster than the morning requires.

We also threw a few rock-bottom toasters into the test, and none of them earned a spot. The cheapest models shared the same problems: burnt patches next to undercooked spots, bagels that came out pale on one side and scorched on the other, and missing basics like wide slots or a removable crumb tray. The savings are real, but so is the daily frustration. It’s the one place I’d tell you not to cut the corner.

For most buyers, the choice comes down to the mid-priced Smeg versus the premium Revolution. Here’s how they actually stack up.

The most expensive toaster we tested didn’t toast meaningfully better than the mid-range one.

That’s the whole story of this roundup in one line. Spending more does buy you more even browning, up to a point. Past the mid-range, you’re mostly paying for features and finish, not better toast.

When it came time to choose for my own kitchen, I was genuinely torn between the stylish Smeg and the do-everything KitchenAid. The Smeg’s retro design and flawless bagels were hard to resist. In the end I leaned toward value for everyday use, but if your counter is on display and you want the best-looking toast in this test, the Smeg is the one I’d point you to first.

The bigger takeaway: match the toaster to how you actually eat. Occasional toaster? The GE or KitchenAid will treat you well. Daily ritual with bagels in the mix? Spend up to the Smeg. Want the gadget and the panini press? The Revolution is waiting.

If I had to hand one toaster to a friend, it’s the Smeg. It gave us the most consistently great results across both bread and bagels, it’s a joy to use, and it costs a lot less than the high-end option that barely outperformed it. The Revolution is the move only if you want every bell and whistle.

Check the Smeg on Amazon

Is it worth buying an expensive toaster? It depends on how much you toast. If you want perfectly browned bread and bagels every single morning, a step up to the Smeg or Revolution is worth it. For occasional use, the budget-friendly GE does the job just fine.

What’s the best toaster for bagels? The Smeg was our bagel standout, with even browning and a chewy inside, and the Revolution close behind. The cheaper models all struggled to brown both sides evenly.

Can I toast thick bread slices in a regular toaster? Yes, as long as it has extra-wide slots. The GE, KitchenAid, and Smeg all swallowed thicker slices and artisan bread without trouble.

How do I clean a toaster with a removable crumb tray? Slide the tray out, tip the crumbs into the bin, and give it a quick wash. All four toasters here have removable trays, which makes upkeep painless.

Does a higher-wattage toaster toast faster? Generally, yes. The 1200W KitchenAid and 1440W Revolution heated and toasted faster than the 880W GE and Smeg. Faster isn’t always better, though. Even browning matters more than raw speed.