The 6 best stand mixers, according to Consumer Reports

A good stand mixer should last you a lifetime — or at least a few decades.

But that comes down to choosing the right one. Lucky for us, Consumer Reports tested dozens of models to find the best of the best.

Continue reading to read which six it determined were the top models.

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At just $125, this lightweight 9-pound mixer shines when it comes to turning egg whites into light peaks and heavy cream into whipped cream. Plus, CR said the bowl, attachments, and splash guard are all dishwasher-safe, making it an affordable, practical pick.

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This $280 tilt-head mixer is great at pretty much everything, handling meringue to bread dough with great results. Testers gave it high marks for how painless it is to use and clean.

Screenshot: kitchenaid.com

Around $450, this KitchenAid earns its keep with fast, thorough results on egg whites and well-blended, uniform cake batter. It's also one of the quieter mixers in CR’s lineup.

Screenshot: www.kitchenaid.com

Priced around $650, this 26-pound machine runs remarkably low on noise and turns out cake and pancake batter with consistent, reliable results. Its bowl-lift design is a smart choice for kitchens with overhead cabinets, and it did well on prettier all CR’s tests.

Screenshot: www.kitchenaid.com

This near-$1,000 machine is built for big-batch baking, with an 8-quart bowl and stellar performance on whipping and cake mixing. It's the beefiest option in the lineup at 27 pounds with a 17-inch frame. “It earns top scores for whipping cream and egg whites, and mixing cake batter,” CR said. “It does less well in our kneading tests, in which our experts evaluate how thoroughly and efficiently the machine can knead bread dough.”

Screenshot: www.walmart.com

At $130, this mixer delivers well above what its price tag suggests, scoring strongly across every category in testing. “It excels at whipping egg whites, quickly mixing cake and pancake batter to an even consistency, and emulsifying ingredients for mayonnaise,” CR said.