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Critics' Pick Kitchen Gadgets

The 3 Best Kitchen Scales for Most Home Cooks

updated Feb 22, 2021

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Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Brett Regot

If you’re even semi-serious about baking, a kitchen scale is a must . “Owning a kitchen scale might sound a bit nerdy, but if you never want to guess what 4 ounces of chocolate looks like ever again, I suggest getting one,” says Sheela Prakash, our Senior Contributing Food Editor. The rest of the Kitchn team agrees. A kitchen scale is a must-have. Especially when it comes to sourdough bread making , which we know lots of you are doing these days.

Which scale should you get, though? We looked to see what other experts, websites, and satisfied shoppers had to suggest. And then, in true Kitchn form, we weighed in (pun intended!) with our own two cents.

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Escali Primo Digital Scale

The Best Kitchen Scale, According to Wirecutter

This scale was originally picked as Wirecutter ‘s favorite back in 2017 and the testers still love how it’s held up over time. They say it’s among the fastest and most accurate of all the scales they’ve tested (reading in increments of 1 gram or 0.05 ounces, all the way up to 11 pounds). They also liked that it stays on for longer than most before automatically powering off. Plus, the interface is easy to use: It just has two buttons (one for switching units of measure, and another to tare or power on and off.)

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OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

The Best Kitchen Scale, According to Cook’s Illustrated

The folks at Cook’s Illustrated have stood by OXO’s digital scale for years now. Among the things testers love about it: It’s accurate, sturdy, has responsive buttons and a platform that comes off for cleaning. They also like that the screen has brightly lit numbers on a dark background and that you can view ounces only (up to 24 ounces), pounds and ounces (1 pound, 8 ounces), grams only (2500 grams), or kilograms and grams (2 kilograms, 500 grams). Also: The scale uses decimals instead of fractions, making it more precise and easier to read.

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OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale The Best Kitchen Scale, According to Alton Brown

The Best Kitchen Scale, According to Serious Eats

Serious Eats also chose OXO’s digital scale as their top pick. They loved its pull-out display, great battery life, and slim profile that fit into any drawer. It also had the longest delay before automatically shutting off, which is helpful when you’re weighing a bunch of different ingredients. “The OXO offers the best display, with a backlit option and high-contrast indicators, and it was the only model we tested that has battery-life and maximum-weight indicators, saving you from the frustration of a dead scale mid-recipe or the risk of damaging the scale through accidental overloading,” Serious Eats said.

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GreaterGoods Digital Kitchen Scale

The Bestselling Kitchen Scale on Amazon

The bestselling kitchen scale on Amazon is a budget-friendly pick and has more than 77,000 reviews (that are mostly five stars!). Happy shoppers love its low price and accuracy. “The scale is small, sleek, elegant, and light — it’s the perfect size to tuck it in the corner of a drawer or on top of my cookbooks,” says one reviewer. “The industrial design is very appealing and modern, and the ‘zero’ feature is amazing. It’s just absolute perfection.”

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Kitchn’s Thoughts on The Best Kitchen Scale

All of these are great picks! Kitchn staffers all have either the OXO or Escali scales. While both sides made a passionate case, we officially picked the less expensive option. (No reason to spend $50 when you can spend $20 and put the difference toward flour and other ingredients.) This little guy is incredibly accurate, weighing up to 11 pounds in 0.05 oz increments using ounces, pounds and ounces, or grams. Most of us have had our Escali scales for years and marvel at the fact that it’s still accurate (scales of lesser quality can start to get off a little here and there.) Plus, it comes in fun colors if you’re looking to spice things up. Fun fact: This scale made our list of Kitchn Essentials list!

Do you have a kitchen scale? Which one do you have and do you like it?

Lisa Freedman

Lifestyle Director

Lisa Freedman is the Lifestyle Director at The Kitchn. She has never met a cheese or a washi tape she didn't like. She lives in New York state with her husband and their pup, Millie.

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Source : food