4 Best Kitchen Scales of 2023, According to Our Testing

In our Kitchen Appliance and Culinary Innovation Lab's side-by-side testing, we evaluate kitchen and food scales based on two main categories: accuracy and ease of use.

Accuracy: To determine which kitchen scales are the most accurate, we test three samples of each scale to ensure consistency from unit to unit. We weigh an assortment of steel weights that weigh 1 ounce, 8 ounces, 1 pound and 11 pounds to make sure each scale takes an accurate reading. This weight range includes most standard kitchen scales' minimum and maximum capacities. We also test the tare function on each scale by taring out a glass bowl and weighing an 8-ounce weight inside of it.

✔️ Digital vs mechanical: The majority of modern home kitchen scales are digital, but there are some mechanical options on the market. Most digital scales require a power source like batteries or an electrical plug, while mechanical scales do not. A mechanical scale’s reading often has limited measurement units, while a digital scale can display various units of measurement at the push of a button.

✔️ Style: Digital scales now come in many different colors and materials; some are very portable, while others need to stay put on your kitchen counter. Some scales come with a removable tray that you can weigh ingredients directly in, while others work best with a tared-out bowl or tray on the scale platform. The digital readout also varies, from very tiny to a large LED readout with a backlight. We recommend the latter for convenience, especially if you are cooking with kids or don’t want to pull out your reading glasses.

✔️ Weight capacity: Most kitchen scales on the market are able to read a minimum of 1 ounce or 28 grams for smaller ingredients like extracts or baking powder. The maximum is often 11 pounds for larger ingredients like a whole squash or a turkey. If you need to weigh out very small measurements like salt or yeast, you should look for a scale that is sensitive enough to give readings as little as .001 ounces or .03 grams. If you need to weigh larger or heavier ingredients, there are models with 22-pound (like the Zwilling model in our list) or 33-pound weight capacities.

✔️ Units of measurement: A good kitchen scale should be able to switch easily from ounces and pounds to grams and kilograms because recipes may be written in metric or imperial units. Recipes from the United States will normally use imperial units (ounces and pounds), while recipes from outside of the United States will usually use the metric system (grams and kilograms). If you are measuring a lot of liquid ingredients it is also helpful to look for a scale that offers fluid ounces and milliliter measurements.

✔️ Ease of use: A seamless scale surface with few buttons and crevices is much easier to clean, especially if working with fine ingredients like flour or sticky ingredients like honey. Automatic shut-off is a great feature to have since it conserves batteries, but if the shut-off is too quick, you can lose your weight data, which can be frustrating. The tare feature is critical so you can ensure the weight of your bowl doesn't interfere with the measurement and so you can weigh multiple ingredients into one vessel.

✔️ Automatic shut-off: Most scales have an automatic shut-off feature that turns the scale off after a period of inactivity to preserve its battery life. If you are a multitasking cook who goes from weighing chocolate to whipping egg whites to weighing butter with the chocolate and you need the scale to remain turned on for a longer period of time, choose a scale with a longer automatic shut-off like our best overall kitchen scale from OXO. Otherwise, most scales can be quickly turned back on if you have been inactive and need to weigh out a new ingredient.

✔️ Batteries: The majority of digital kitchen scales come with batteries. We recommend making sure the battery type is easy to purchase in the future, like AA or AAA. Try to avoid a scale that requires a harder-to-find battery type or one that is more difficult to install, like flat button batteries, which often require a screwdriver. Some newer scales on the market simply need to be charged with a USB cord, which prevents any need to install batteries or purchase more batteries in the future.

In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, Eva Bleyer has tested everything from ranges to juicers to cookie sheets. She conducted the most recent side-by-side Lab testing of kitchen scales. As a trained chef who has experience in developing recipes and making hand-extruded pasta, she understands how important it is to have a quality scale for accuracy and precision. She earned a B.S. in Food Studies, Nutrition and Public Health from New York University and is a graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute.