Most and Least Reliable Toaster Oven Brands
Consumer Reports' member survey reveals the brands that last—and which brands fall short
By Consumer Reports
A toaster oven earns its spot on the kitchen counter for being able to do a lot more than make toast. It can broil burgers, roast asparagus, bake cookies, and reheat leftovers. But longevity factors in, too. How long before this appliance conks out?
Generally speaking, a toaster oven should last a while. Ninety-one percent of the toaster ovens CR members purchased since 2013 were still being used when we conducted our surveys in 2019 and 2021; only 5 percent had been replaced because of reliability problems. That’s good news if you’re looking to buy a toaster oven.
Our survey is based on the track records of 40,690 toaster ovens owned by CR members who purchased a new machine between 2013 and 2021. We crunched that data to produce a rating for predicted reliability, which estimates the likelihood that newly purchased toaster ovens from a given brand will develop problems or break within the first four years.
The owner satisfaction rating reflects the proportion of CR members who are extremely likely to recommend the toaster oven they bought. You’ll see both reliability and satisfaction ratings combined with lab test results for models in our toaster oven ratings. Prices range from $45 to $400, and performance varies just as widely.
Below, we detail our survey results for 19 brands, including Breville, Cuisinart, Hamilton Beach, and Panasonic.
Most Reliable Toaster Oven Brands
Breville, Calphalon, NuWave, Oster, and Panasonic were the most reliable brands in our survey, snagging an Excellent rating for predicted reliability. Owners of Breville and Panasonic models are generally very happy with them; these brands also earned Excellent ratings for owner satisfaction. Oster and Calphalon, however, earned only a Good rating for owner satisfaction, while NuWave earned only a Fair rating.
Three brands earned Very Good ratings for reliability, but with varying degrees of owner satisfaction: Cuisinart and KitchenAid earned Good owner satisfaction ratings; and Hamilton Beach earned a Fair rating. Owners of Bella, Emerson, and Toastmaster toaster ovens are the least satisfied with their models—these three brands earned a Poor rating for owner satisfaction.
Least Reliable Toaster Oven Brands
CR cannot recommend toaster ovens from the brands Wolf and Farberware, regardless of how well they perform in our lab tests, because both received only Fair ratings for reliability. Despite their low reliability scores, Wolf toaster ovens received an Excellent rating for owner satisfaction—the only brand outside of our top-rated Breville and Panasonic to do so.
Impressive Toaster Ovens From CR's Tests
Our tests find that you can’t get a toaster oven that’s great at everything. We suggest you consider which functions are the most important to you and check our toaster oven ratings to find the models that earn high scores in those tests. One hint from our members: Look for a model that we rate as easy to clean because difficulty cleaning was survey respondents’ biggest complaint. Here are four toaster ovens that perform well in our lab tests and earn high scores for reliability.
(You won’t see picks from Calphalon and Oster below, though those brands are among the top of the pack in terms of brand reliability. Models from these two brands currently in our ratings don’t perform well enough in our lab tests to sit in the top tier of our ratings.)
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Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2022, Consumer Reports, Inc.
