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Best kitchen scales
The best kitchen scales are accurate and easy to use and a must-have for any gourmand or keen baker.
We've tested digital kitchen scales from Argos, John Lewis, Lakeland, Salter and more, ranging in price from £7 to £60.
To find the best kitchen weighing scales, we put them through tough accuracy and ease of use tests and discovered deviations of up to 10g in some cases. This could mess with your baking prowess. We also discovered which auto shut-off times are so quick they become annoying.
Two kitchen scales impressed enough to our Best Buy recommendation, and we also found a Great Value kitchen scale for less.
The best kitchen scales
Only logged-in Which? members can view the kitchen scales test results below.
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| Kitchen scale | Price | Auto shut-off time | Ease of use | Accuracy | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very easy | Excellent | ||||
| Very easy | Excellent | ||||
| Easy | Good | ||||
| Average | Excellent | ||||
| Average | Average | ||||
| Easy | Very poor | ||||
| Easy | Average |
Date tested: July 2021. Pricing and availability last checked 12 April 2023.
The kitchen scales we tested
All the kitchen scales we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.
Only logged-in Which? members can view the best kitchen scales from our tests.
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Argos Home Digital Kitchen Scale
Only available at Argos: £9
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Weight: 150g
Maximum weight on scales: 5kg
Need to know: 17 x 14 cm (L X W) product dimensions, 13 x 13cm (L X W) scale dimensions, measures in kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, no bowl included, one-year guarantee, tare function (allows you to reset the scales to zero if you put an empty bowl on it to weigh something in), lithium battery included.
Beurer Nutritional Analysis Kitchen Scale
Only available at Amazon: £40.48
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Weight: 550g
Maximum weight on scales: 5kg
Need to know: 23 x 16.5 cm (L X W) product dimensions, 19 x 16.5cm (L X W) scale dimensions, measures in kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, no bowl included, five-year guarantee, tare function, can provide nutritional information on weighed foodstuffs, lithium battery included
Heston Blumenthal Dual Platform Digital Scale
Cheapest price: £44.30 at Amazon, also available at John Lewis, Robert Dyas (out of stock)
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Weight: 850g
Maximum weight on scales: 200g (precision scale) 10kg (large scale)
Need to know: 26 x 17.5 cm (L X W) product dimensions, 16.5 x 14.5cm (L X W) scale dimensions, measures in kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, litres/millilitres, fluid ounces, no bowl included, 15-year guarantee, tare function, 3 x AAA batteries included
Joseph Joseph Triscale Folding Digital Scale
Cheapest price: £32 available at Amazon, also available at John Lewis
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Weight: 150g
Maximum weight on scalest: 5kg
Need to know: 22 x 22 cm (L X W) product dimensions, 4.5 x 4.5cm (L X W) scale dimensions, measures in kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, litres/millilitres, fluid ounces, no bowl included, three-year guarantee if bought at Lakeland, tare function, lithium battery included
Lakeland Digital Kitchen Weighing Scale
Only available at Lakeland: £29.99
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Weight: 550g
Maximum weight on scales: 5kg
Need to know: 20 x 19 cm (L X W) product dimensions, 11.5 x 11cm (L X W) scale dimensions, measures in kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, bowl included, three-year guarantee, tare function, ambient temperature feature, timer, 2 x AAA batteries not included
Oxo Good Grips Kitchen Scale
Cheapest price: £37.99 at Amazon, also available at John Lewis
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Weight: 750g
Maximum weight on scales: 5kg
Need to know: 23.5 x 18 cm (L X W) product dimensions, 18 x 18cm (L X W) scale dimensions, measures in kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, no bowl included, lifetime guarantee, tare function, pull-out display, 4 x AAA batteries included
Salter Disc Digital Kitchen Scales
Cheapest price: £14.99 at Amazon, also available at Argos (out of stock), Dunelm
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Weight: 500g
Maximum weight on scales: 5kg
Need to know: 18 x 16 cm (L X W) product dimensions, 18 x 16cm (L X W) scale dimensions, measures in kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, litres/millilitres, fluid ounces, no bowl included, 15-year guarantee, tare function, lithium battery included
Terraillon Smart USB Kitchen Scales
Cheapest price: £14.98 available at Costco (but you'll need to pay for membership) also available at Amazon, Dunelm.
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Weight: 450g
Maximum weight on scales: 5kg
Need to know: 21 x 16 cm (L X W) product dimensions, 21 x 16cm (L X W) scale dimensions, measures in kilograms/grams, pounds/ounces, litres/millilitres, fluid ounces, no bowl included, 15-year guarantee, tare function, milk-conversion unit, USB charger cable included
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How we tested kitchen scales
We tested the most popular kitchen scales available at major retailers, including Amazon, John Lewis and Argos.
We buy all products we test and test them all at the same time for a truly comparative test.
Accuracy and consistency
- We used a set of calibration weights, from 1g to 1kg, on each scale.
- We placed the weights in succession on each scale and repeated to see whether the correct reading came up and whether consecutive readings were the same each time.
- We also did this with water, which we pipetted in, to measure the accuracy and consistency with wet ingredients.
Auto shut-off time
- We timed how long each set of kitchen scales stayed on before turning themselves off.
- The best kitchen scales have a long auto shut-off time, so you don't have to constantly turn them back on during use.
Ease of use
- We assessed how easy each scale was to use, noting useful features such as a clear display, easy navigation, sensitive buttons and rubber feet.
Ease of storage
- Keeping your kitchen free of clutter is important when you're using it regularly.
- We penalised scales that were overly heavy or unnecessarily bulky.
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Five things we learned about testing kitchen scales
- Deviations of 5g/5ml isn't going to make much difference to a recipe — Unless you're cooking up a minuscule amount or you're making a spice mix.
- We were surprised to see that a lot of the scales we’ve tested have one step battery removal — Two-step battery removal is law for children's toy to avoid children getting harmed by swallowing batteries. If you’ve got little ones about, we'd advise storing scales with a one-step battery removal out of reach. Read: Parents warned about the dangers of button batteries after child die. battery removal safely out of reach.
- Inconsistencies in measurements were more apparent when measuring water — Even scales claiming to measure liquids had discrepancies of 10ml or more.
- A bright, clear display with sensitive buttons is paramount for ease of use — Having to press down on buttons can make the scales unstable so ingredients could spill.
- Jug scales were by far the most accurate of those we tested — However, you need a much bigger jug to match the amounts you could weigh with a regular digital scale. The jug scales we tested also seemed to falter on larger amounts.
How does a measuring jug scale compare?
Weighing scales aren't the only option if you need to weigh out wet and dry ingredients.
Jug scales are, as the name describes, a jug with a digital display that can show you the weight and volume of whatever you put inside them.
We tested the accuracy of one and, while they were the most accurate of any of the alternative scales we tested, there were still discrepancies of up to 25g at larger weights. However, they are sensitive and managed to register from 2g and 2ml.
The size of your jug also limits what you can put in there. We'd recommend buying a very large one if you decide to go for this type of scale.
What you need to know about mechanical scales
If you don't need precise measurements, have great eyesight and don't mind zero-ing everything manually, then mechanical scales will work fine.
But beware they require more effort to use than digital scales.
We found them straightforward to use and though they registered the weights we put on, the accuracy of the reading is dependent on you judging where the hand is pointing, so you can never really know how accurate the reading is.
How do you use balance scales?
Balance scales are incomparable to any other type of scale.
They work by weighing an unknown amount against a known amount – once you find a balance, you’ll know what your ingredient weighs.
We used our lab weights on both sides and, to our surprise, saw a registering of 1g. From then on, it's a guessing game as to how accurate they really are.
You'll also have to buy a set of weights to use them if they aren't included. You certainly won't be able to slip these into a drawer.