The 5 Best Toasters - Spring 2025

The best toaster we've tested with two slots is the Breville the 'A Bit More' 2 Slice. As you may have noticed, it's pretty expensive for a toaster, and if you only care about how fast and evenly it toasts, you might prefer a cheaper option. However, it's a great choice if you want a higher-end look and extra quality of life features. It has a sturdy metal body with slots twice as wide as a piece of regular sandwich bread, so it can easily accommodate thicker slices and chunky bagels. 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 with just one cycle. It toasts the bread very evenly, too. It's also very consistent from slot to slot, although you might notice that the inner face of the toast ends up darker than the outer face.

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

If you only care about the essentials, the Black+Decker 2-Slice Toaster T2569B is a great budget option. This inexpensive toaster doesn't have cycle countdown indicators or a 'Lift and Look' feature like the Breville the 'A Bit More' 2 Slice, and its plastic body doesn't look or feel as premium. However, it's a real standout where it counts the most. Its incredible toasting range means you won't need to push your toast down again 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 Breville, there's no way of raising the slots mid-cycle to check on your toast's progress. That said, the slots are wide enough for thickly sliced bread and deep enough for taller slices. Even though you can't lift the slots without interrupting a cycle, when your toast is done, the slots lift 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, you can find more options in our list of the best 2-slice toasters.

If you want more capacity for busy mornings, the best 4-slice toaster we've tested is the Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster. This model is similar to the Breville the 'A Bit More' 2 Slice, and like that toaster, its premium design and extra features set it apart from cheaper options. It has the same 'A Bit More' and 'Lift and Look' functions and a sturdy metal body. In a little twist on the usual toaster design, there are buttons instead of levers to operate the slots. It has a superb toasting range, so you can easily make golden brown sandwich bread or toast denser pieces in a single cycle. Its slots can be lifted higher than the previous picks, making small items like frozen waffles or English muffins even easier to grab. Each pair of slots can be operated independently, which is helpful 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 brown bread that evenly compared to the 2-slot toasters recommended here. Some slots produce darker toast than others on the same setting. It doesn't compensate very well for the toaster heating up after the first batch either, so if you're making a lot of toast, you'll want to use a lower setting for the second round to get consistent results. It's quite heavy and bulky, even compared with other 4-slot models, so keep that in mind if space is at a premium. 

If you're having trouble finding this toaster through major retailers, you can purchase it directly on the Breville website.

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. The slots aren't as deep, long, or wide as the Breville's, so they may not fit bigger slices of artisan bread. However, you might prefer its less bulky shape if you have limited counter space. It also offers a similar performance, with seven shade settings that yield anything from lightly toasted to charred sandwich bread, so it's easy to get perfect golden brown toast, and it's possible to brown denser breads in one cycle.

It toasts bread more evenly and consistently than the 4-Slice Breville, so you don't have to switch to a lower setting after the first batch. It does a good job of browning the entire surface of the bread, too. The Black+Decker also has modes for bagels, thawing, and toasting frozen items, but it lacks cycle countdown indicators, so there's no way of telling when a toasting cycle will conclude.

If a slice of your favorite bread won'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 lots of different colors. The slots are long enough to fit a couple of slices of sandwich bread side by side, wide enough for chunky bagels, and deep when pushed down, so it's a good choice for tall as well as longer slices. However, its toasting range is good but not great, so unlike previous picks, it might not brown denser bread in one cycle. You can easily add more time to the end of a cycle with the 'reheat' function, though.

It has settings for bagels and frozen items, but no cycle countdown indicators, so you can't tell when your toast will be ready. That said, its biggest downside is the price. 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 difficulty grabbing regular-sized sandwich bread without burning yourself. Its slots are also quite shallow when pushed down, so taller slices might stick out of 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.