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, a pinch of salt or a dose of coffee beans shows up on the display. It reads millilitres and fluid ounces too, with settings for milk as well as water, and the bowl flips over it as a cover when it’s put away.
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: Bakers who weigh the yeast too
- Capacity
- 5 kg (11 lb)
- Steps
- 0.1 g to 1 kg, then 1 g
- Weighing surface and size
- Stainless steel, bowl lifts off; 21 × 17 cm (8.4 × 6.7 in)
- Display
- Backlit LCD
- 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.
- Tare between each ingredient
- Grams, ounces and pounds
Best for: No-fuss weekly baking
- Capacity
- 5 kg (11 lb)
- Steps
- 1 g, from 2 g
- Weighing surface and size
- Stainless steel, fixed; 22 × 18 cm (8.7 × 7.1 in)
- Display
- Wide LCD, backlit
- 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
- Tare button
- Repair or replacement guarantee
Best for: Serious bakers with wide bowls
- Capacity
- 5 kg (11 lb)
- Steps
- 1 g or 1/8 oz
- Weighing surface and size
- Stainless steel, lifts off; 24 × 18 cm (9.5 × 7.1 in)
- Display
- Pull-out, backlit
- 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: A simple scale that wipes clean
- Capacity
- 5 kg (11 lb)
- Steps
- 1 g or 0.1 oz
- Weighing surface and size
- Plastic, sealed, fixed; 22 × 15 cm (8.5 × 6 in)
- Display
- LCD, sealed, no backlight listed
- 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.
- Four load sensors
- Hangs on a wall hook
- Peel off the blue film
- 2-year warranty
Best for: Batch cooking and heavy doughs
- Capacity
- 10 kg (22 lb)
- Steps
- 1 g or 0.1 oz, from 2–3 g
- Weighing surface and size
- Tempered glass, fixed; 23 × 16 cm (9 × 6.3 in) platform
- Display
- Backlit LCD
- 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 to 1 kg, then 1 g | 1 g, from 2 g | 1 g or 1/8 oz | 1 g or 0.1 oz | 1 g or 0.1 oz, from 2–3 g |
| Weighing surface and size | Stainless steel, bowl lifts off; 21 × 17 cm (8.4 × 6.7 in) | Stainless steel, fixed; 22 × 18 cm (8.7 × 7.1 in) | Stainless steel, lifts off; 24 × 18 cm (9.5 × 7.1 in) | Plastic, sealed, fixed; 22 × 15 cm (8.5 × 6 in) | Tempered glass, fixed; 23 × 16 cm (9 × 6.3 in) platform |
| Display | Backlit LCD | Wide LCD, backlit | Pull-out, backlit | LCD, sealed, no backlight listed | Backlit LCD |
| 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 | Bakers who weigh the yeast too | No-fuss weekly baking | Serious bakers with wide bowls | A simple scale that wipes clean | Batch cooking and heavy doughs |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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