Top 5 compared
The best kitchen scales
Flour, sugar and butter weighed to the gram in one bowl, so baking comes out right with fewer measuring cups to wash.
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The top 5 at a glance
A kitchen scale weighs ingredients instead of measuring them by the cup, and baking rewards it: a cup of flour packs differently every time it’s scooped, while a scale gives the same amount every time. It saves dishes too. Set the bowl on the scale, press tare, and add each ingredient in turn. Most are a flat platform with a digital display; some come with a bowl of their own.
Recipes that give weights use grams or ounces, and almost every digital scale switches between the two at the press of a button. Most stop at 5 kg (11 lb), which covers nearly any recipe, and a few go higher for big batches of dough. Many also read milk and water in millilitres, handy when a recipe gives liquids by volume.
What matters
- Steps of a gram or finer, for yeast and spices.
- A platform that lifts off or wipes clean easily.
- A backlit display that’s easy to read in any light.
- Millilitres for milk and water, if your recipes measure liquids by volume.
#1Etekcity Food Scale with Bowl (EK5250)
$20–$30
Tenths of a gram up to 1,000 g, then whole grams to 5 kg (11 lb): the finest steps of the five, so a packet of yeast or a pinch of salt registers. It reads millilitres and fluid ounces too, for milk as well as water, and the bowl flips over it as a cover in the cupboard.
What owners say: Owners rate it for accuracy, right down to small amounts, and say there’s nothing to learn before using it; they find it fairly priced and like that it tucks away in a cabinet, though not everyone agrees with its weight readings.
A closer look: Use the bowl for loose things like rice, sugar or chopped vegetables, or take it off and set your own mixing bowl on the platform for a big batch. It switches itself off after two minutes idle, so keep the additions coming, and the batteries come already fitted.
- Bowl doubles as a cover
- Milk and water settings
- Auto-off after 2 minutes
- 2-year warranty
Best for: Weighing tiny amounts
- Capacity
- 5 kg (11 lb)
- Steps
- 0.1 g up to 1 kg, then 1 g
- Platform
- Stainless steel
- Lifts off to wash
- Bowl lifts off
- Platform size
- 21 × 17 cm (8.4 × 6.7 in)
- Backlit display
- Yes
- Measures liquids (ml)
- Yes
- Batteries
- 2 AAA, fitted
#2Amazon Basics Digital Kitchen Scale (EK3211)
$10–$20
A slim stainless steel platform, a wide display and one unit button that flips between grams, ounces and pounds: everything a weekly bake needs and nothing more. It weighs up to 5 kg (11 lb), and the two AAA batteries come in the box.
What owners say: Owners describe a scale that simply does the job: easy to use, reasonably accurate and good value, though they rate the build as adequate rather than anything special.
A closer look: It needs about 2 grams on the platform before it registers anything, so a pinch of yeast or salt is better measured with a spoon. Set the mixing bowl on first and press tare, then add each ingredient in turn, zeroing between them, and one bowl covers the whole recipe.
- Grams, ounces and pounds
Best for: Cost friendly
- Capacity
- 5 kg (11 lb)
- Steps
- 1 g
- Platform
- Stainless steel
- Lifts off to wash
- No
- Platform size
- 22 × 18 cm (8.7 × 7.1 in)
- Backlit display
- Yes
- Measures liquids (ml)
- No
- Batteries
- 2 AAA, included
#3OXO Good Grips 11 lb Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display
$75–$100
The display pulls away from the base, so a wide mixing bowl or a dinner plate never hides the numbers. The stainless steel platform lifts off for washing and resists fingerprints, and it reads in 1-gram or 1/8 oz steps up to 5 kg (11 lb).
What owners say: The pull-out screen is what owners single out, far handier than a fixed one under a big bowl, and they get the hang of it right away; accuracy, battery life and the price all draw mixed views.
A closer look: The unit button switches between grams, kilograms, ounces and pounds, so a recipe in grams and one in ounces are equally easy to follow. When you’re done, the display slides back into the base, and OXO’s Better Guarantee promises a repair or replacement if anything goes wrong.
- Display slides back in
- Fingerprint-resistant steel
- Grams, kilograms, ounces, pounds
- Repair or replacement guarantee
Best for: Big bowls
- Capacity
- 5 kg (11 lb)
- Steps
- 1 g
- Platform
- Stainless steel
- Lifts off to wash
- Yes
- Platform size
- 24 × 18 cm (9.5 × 7.1 in)
- Backlit display
- Yes
- Measures liquids (ml)
- No
- Batteries
- 4 AAA, included
#4Escali Primo Digital Food Scale (P115, chrome)
$30–$50
Two buttons, a sealed control panel and a rounded body that’s easy to keep clean: the Primo is made to be wiped down after a messy bake. It weighs up to 5 kg (11 lb) in 1 g or 0.1 oz steps, in grams, ounces or pounds and ounces, and runs on two AA batteries that come with it.
What owners say: Owners find it accurate, ready within moments of unboxing and light enough to grab from a drawer, and say it stands up well to regular use; the styling is the only thing that splits them.
A closer look: It switches itself off after four minutes without a change, long enough to fetch the next ingredient from the pantry. With the buttons and display sealed under a shield, a damp cloth is all it needs after a floury bake. It weighs only, so pick another scale if you want milk and water read in millilitres.
- Two-button operation
- Auto-off after 4 minutes
- Wipes clean with a cloth
- Reads g, oz and lb:oz
Best for: Wiping clean
- Capacity
- 5 kg (11 lb)
- Steps
- 1 g
- Platform
- Plastic
- Lifts off to wash
- No
- Platform size
- 22 × 15 cm (8.5 × 6 in)
- Backlit display
- –
- Measures liquids (ml)
- No
- Batteries
- 2 AA, included
#5Nicewell 22 lb Digital Kitchen Scale (MQD-C018)
$30–$50
Twice the capacity of the usual 5 kg scale: four load sensors under a 23 × 16 cm (9 × 6.3 in) tempered glass platform take up to 10 kg (22 lb), so a heavy mixing bowl full of bread dough or a big batch of meal prep can go straight on.
What owners say: Precise, owners say, and no fuss to use, equally sure with light and heavy loads; they like the look, the clear display and the value, and nothing comes up as a common complaint.
A closer look: Peel the blue protective film off the top before the first weigh. It needs 2 to 3 grams on the glass before it registers anything, so it suits bread dough, meal prep and parcels more than a pinch of saffron, and a hook lets it hang on the wall when the counter’s full.
- Hangs on a wall hook
- 2-year warranty
Best for: Heavy loads
- Capacity
- 10 kg (22 lb)
- Steps
- 1 g
- Platform
- Tempered glass
- Lifts off to wash
- No
- Platform size
- 23 × 16 cm (9 × 6.3 in)
- Backlit display
- Yes
- Measures liquids (ml)
- Yes
- Batteries
- 2 AAA, included
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 5.
| Feature | #1Etekcity with bowl | #2Amazon Basics | #3OXO 11 lb | #4Escali Primo | #5Nicewell 22 lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Best budget | Best for big bowls | Biggest capacity | ||
| Picked Rating | 9.3 | 9.2 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 9.0 |
| Price | $20–$30 | $10–$20 | $75–$100 | $30–$50 | $30–$50 |
| Capacity | 5 kg (11 lb) | 5 kg (11 lb) | 5 kg (11 lb) | 5 kg (11 lb) | 10 kg (22 lb) |
| Steps | 0.1 g up to 1 kg, then 1 g | 1 g | 1 g | 1 g | 1 g |
| Platform | Stainless steel | Stainless steel | Stainless steel | Plastic | Tempered glass |
| Lifts off to wash | Bowl lifts off | No | Yes | No | No |
| Platform size | 21 × 17 cm (8.4 × 6.7 in) | 22 × 18 cm (8.7 × 7.1 in) | 24 × 18 cm (9.5 × 7.1 in) | 22 × 15 cm (8.5 × 6 in) | 23 × 16 cm (9 × 6.3 in) |
| Backlit display | Yes | Yes | Yes | – | Yes |
| Measures liquids (ml) | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Batteries | 2 AAA, fitted | 2 AAA, included | 4 AAA, included | 2 AA, included | 2 AAA, included |
| Best for | Weighing tiny amounts | Cost friendly | Big bowls | Wiping clean | Heavy loads |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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