The 5 Best Toasters - Spring 2024 Reviews

The best toaster with two slots that we've tested is the Breville the 'A Bit More' 2 Slice. This model is definitely expensive for a toaster, and if all you want is a good toasting performance, you might want the budget pick below instead. However, it offers a premium build, a high-end look, and extra features that set it apart. It has a sturdy metal body, and the slots are twice as wide as a slice of regular sandwich bread, so thickly sliced bread or chunky bagels easily fit. The slots are on the longer side and deep enough for tall slices. It has a fantastic toasting range, so you can get anything from very light toast to well-browned multi-grain or rye bread in one cycle. It toasts the bread very evenly. The slots all perform the same way, and it's very consistent from slot to slot, although you might notice that the inner face of the toast is darker than the outer face.

Aside from a fantastic toasting performance, it has some extra features that help justify its premium price point. The 'Lift and Look' feature lets you check on your toast without interrupting a toasting cycle. The 'A Bit More' button adds some time to the end of a cycle. Also, unlike most toasters, it has cycle countdown indicators, so you can tell when your toast will be ready.

If you want a good toaster and don't care about extra features, the Black+Decker 2-Slice Toaster T2569B is all you need. This budget-friendly toaster doesn't have as many extra features as the Breville the 'A Bit More' 2 Slice, and its plastic body doesn't look or feel as high-quality. It also has a shorter power cord, so you'll have to find a spot on the counter near an outlet. However, it has a fantastic performance where it counts the most. It has an incredible toasting range, so you can get everything from golden brown to charred toast from white sandwich bread in a single cycle. You won't need to run another cycle to get properly browned multi-grain bread or bagels. It toasts the entire surface of the bread evenly, and both slots perform similarly.

It's also consistent after several batches, so you can prepare lots of toast using the same setting without burning it. There are functions for bagels and frozen items, but unlike the previous pick, it doesn't include a way to tell when your toast will be ready. There's also no way of lifting the slots mid-cycle to check on your toast. That said, its slots are wide enough for thickly sliced bread and deep enough for bigger slices. You can lift the slots high enough to reach smaller items like English muffins, similar to the Breville.

If you're looking for a 2-slice toaster and haven't found what you need, check out a few more options on our list of the best 2-slice toasters.

If you need more capacity for busy mornings, the best toaster we've tested is the Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster. This 4-slot toaster is similar to the Breville the 'A Bit More' 2 Slice, with a sturdy aluminum body, and once again, its premium design and extra features are what set it apart from cheaper options. In a little twist on the conventional toaster design, it doesn't have levers to push down the bread—you use buttons instead. Otherwise, it has similar features, including 'A Bit More' and 'Lift and Look.' It has a superb toasting range, so you can easily make golden brown sandwich bread or toast denser pieces that take longer without running more than one cycle. Its slots lift higher than the previous pick's, making grabbing smaller frozen waffles or English muffins easier. You can operate each pair of slots independently, so it's a good option if you have kids or roommates who want to use the toaster at the same time.

However, even though it's one of the best-performing 4-slot toasters we've tested, it doesn't toast bread very evenly. Some slots produce darker toast than others on the same setting. It also doesn't compensate very well for the toaster heating up after the first cycle, so if you're making several batches of toast, you'll have to use a lower setting to get the same result after the first batch. It's pretty heavy and bulky, even compared with other 4-slot models made of metal, so you'll need enough space to store it on your counter.

The best budget 4-slice toaster we've tested is the Black+Decker 4-Slice Toaster TR4900SSD. This toaster lacks the Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster's premium features, like 'Lift and Look' and button-operated slots, but it's still made of metal, with a stainless steel body. Its slots aren't as deep, long, or wide as the Breville's, so it's less suited for bigger slices of bakery bread. However, it's a little more compact, which is helpful if you don't have a lot of free counter space, and offers a fantastic toasting performance. Its seven shade settings produce anything from lightly toasted to charred sandwich bread, so it's easy to get nicely golden brown bread or fully brown bread, something like rye bread, in one cycle.

It toasts bread more evenly and consistently than the Breville, so you don't have to turn the dial to a lower setting after the first batch. It does a good job of browning the entire surface of the bread. The Black+Decker has modes for bagels as well as for thawing and toasting frozen items but lacks cycle countdown indicators, so there's no way of telling when a toasting cycle will conclude.

If a slice of your favorite bread doesn't fit into a regular toaster slot, you might need a long-slot model like the Smeg 4-Slice Toaster. This high-end toaster has a glossy retro design and comes in a wide variety of colors. Its slots can each fit a couple of slices of regular sandwich bread side by side, are wide enough for chunky bagels, and are particularly deep when pushed down, so it's a good choice for tall slices. It has a good toasting range, so you can get anything from lightly toasted to dark brown sandwich bread with one of the sevens shade settings. However, it might not brown denser bread in one cycle. On the plus side, you can add more time to the end of a cycle with the 'reheat' function.

It has settings for bagels and frozen items but no cycle countdown indicators, so you can't tell when your toast will be ready. This toaster's biggest downside is its expensive price tag, though. If you're not looking to invest in a high-end toaster, the Cuisinart Long Slot Toaster is way cheaper and offers a similar performance. However, its slots don't pop up all the way automatically. You must manually lift the lever at the end of the cycle, or you'll have trouble grabbing regular-sized sandwich bread. Its slots are also quite shallow when pushed down, so taller slices might stick out the top.

If you're still looking for a 4-slice toaster, check out more recommendations on our list of the best 4-slice toasters.