The Best Toasters of 2026

The Cuisinart CPT-180 is the best toaster of 2026 for most kitchens that want four slots, a defrost and bagel button, and a 3-year warranty for under $70. It topped this article’s rubric for slot design, controls, and build quality, and it carries the largest verified review base of any toaster covered here: 4,469 ratings on Target’s product page.

Shoppers who mainly toast bagels or English muffins and do not need four slots should look at the Black+Decker 2-Slice T2569B, which independent testing lab TechGearLab scored 8.0 of 10 for bread toasting evenness, the highest bread score of any toaster in this article, for $29.99. Families who toast breakfast for more than two people at once may prefer the Hamilton Beach 24714, which runs two pairs of slots on independent controls. This roundup is built from published manufacturer specs, the CPSC’s saferproducts.gov recall database, and named third-party lab testing, not from toasters tested in our own lab; see how we score for the full method.

How we picked

Every toaster in this article was scored on 5 weighted criteria: browning evenness (35%), slot size and lift (20%), controls and settings (15%), build and warranty (10%), and 3-year cost (20%). Price, wattage, slot dimensions, warranty terms, and control layout came from each product’s current listing on Target, the US retailer where all 5 models were confirmed in stock on Sep 16, 2026. Independent browning and bagel toasting scores for the Breville the ‘A Bit More’ 2-Slice and the Black+Decker 2-Slice T2569B came from TechGearLab’s individual lab reviews of each model, and RTINGS separately maintains an active test bench that lists both of these exact toaster lines among the models it reviews. We queried the CPSC’s saferproducts.gov recall database for the term “toaster” and checked all 24 returned recall records against the 5 picks in this article; none of the 5 carry an active recall. As noted above, none of these picks were toasted in our own test kitchen; see how we score for the full method.

What to look for in a toaster

• Extra-wide slots of at least 1.4 inches if you regularly toast bagels, English muffins, or thick artisan bread; standard slots under 1 inch will not fit them without squeezing.
• A high-lift lever or carriage if you toast small or thin slices like rye or sandwich thins; a standard lever can leave short pieces stuck below the rim.
• Independent shade dials per side, with at least 6 settings, if two people in the household like different levels of browning; a single shared dial forces a compromise.
• A warranty of 2 years or longer as a signal the maker expects the toaster to outlast a typical 1-year appliance; the Cuisinart CPT-180’s 3-year warranty is the longest of the 5 picks here.
• An independent browning or bagel toasting score, if you can find one, since brands rarely publish evenness data themselves; TechGearLab measured a 2.7-point spread on bagel toasting between the Breville and Black+Decker picks in this article, evidence that browning quality varies even among similarly priced toasters.
• The 3-year cost, not the sticker price alone. Running any of these toasters about 6 minutes a day adds roughly $15 to $34 in electricity over 3 years at the US average residential rate of $0.17 per kWh, on top of the purchase price.

FAQ

What is the difference between rated watts and toasting speed?

Wattage is the amount of electricity a toaster draws, not a guarantee of speed. The Cuisinart CPT-180 runs at 1,800 watts and the Hamilton Beach 24714 at 1,500 watts, both higher than the Breville A Bit More’s 1,000 watts or the KitchenAid KMT2115’s 900 watts, but wattage alone does not determine how fast or how evenly a slice browns. TechGearLab’s lab data on the Breville A Bit More, for example, still measured only 6.0 of 10 for bread toasting evenness despite its 1,000-watt sensor-driven design.

Is a 2-slice or 4-slice toaster better for most households?

It depends on household size and counter space. A 4-slice toaster like the Cuisinart CPT-180 or Hamilton Beach 24714 toasts breakfast for more than 2 people in one cycle, and on both of these picks each pair of slots runs on its own control dial. A 2-slice toaster like the Black+Decker T2569B or KitchenAid KMT2115 takes up less counter space and costs less to run over 3 years by this article’s electricity estimate, but a family of 4 needs a second toasting cycle.

Do independent labs test toasters the way they test TVs or vacuums?

Yes, on a smaller scale. TechGearLab runs bread toasting, bagel toasting, frozen waffle, and ease-of-use tests on each toaster it reviews and publishes a score out of 10 for each category; RTINGS also keeps an active toaster test bench that includes the Breville A Bit More and Black+Decker T2569B lines covered in this article. Neither lab has published evenness data for every toaster on the market, which is why the measured data in this article names a source for each figure instead of estimating one.

What voids a toaster’s warranty?

Warranty terms vary by brand, so check the manual for the exact model, but the most common exclusions across the brands in this article are commercial use, immersion in water, and damage from inserting metal utensils to free stuck bread. The Cuisinart CPT-180 carries the longest warranty here at 3 years; the Breville, Hamilton Beach, and KitchenAid picks are each covered for 1 year.

How do I know if my toaster has been recalled?

Search the model number on the CPSC’s saferproducts.gov recall database, which lists recall notices going back to the 1990s along with the specific model or serial numbers affected. As of Sep 16, 2026, none of the 24 toaster-related recall records on file matched any of the 5 picks in this article. For related countertop appliances, see our best toaster ovens roundup and best waffle makers guide.