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Best Overall
Cosori Electric Glass Kettle
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A Gooseneck Kettle for Precision Pours
Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Kettle
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Best Kid-Proof Kettle
Zwilling Enfinigy Cool Touch Kettle Pro
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If you don’t have an electric kettle in your kitchen, you’re missing out. Not only are these appliances slightly more energy-efficient than using a stovetop, but they’re portable and boil water more quickly. These days, electric kettles come in various sizes with different kinds of spouts, and you’ll often find models with customizable temperature settings too—allowing you to set the perfect brew temp for your pour-over coffee or loose-leaf tea.
But there are a lot of electric kettles out there. If you’re looking for the best bang for your buck or one that’s particularly great for coffee, we’ve done the hard work for you. We’ve been using over a dozen models in our lives over the past year to find out what’s the best and what’s junk. These are our favorite electric kettles worthy of your countertop.
For more kitchen guides, check out the Best Espresso Machines, the Best Latte & Cappucino Makers, the Best Air Fryers and the Best Chef’s Knives.
Updated May 2023: We’ve added the Breville IQ, KitchenAid Pro Line, Wolf Gourmet True Temperature and Hay Sowden kettles.
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Photograph: Cosori
Best Overall
Cosori Electric Glass Kettle
At the end of the day, the primary task of an electric kettle is to … boil water. You shouldn’t have to spend more than $100 for one. That’s why, for most people, the Cosori Glass Electric Kettle will do the job just fine without costing a fortune. Made of borosilicate glass, the Cosori is durable even when exposed to high temperatures, and while it’s heavier than the stainless steel kettles I’ve tested, the rounded handle offers a sturdy hold (even with my smaller hands).
The bottom of the kettle has a built-in blue LED, which turns on when the water is boiling and off when it’s done—it automatically shuts off when it’s done boiling. The LED is really convenient for when I’m moving around my apartment; I just glance over at it once in a while to see whether the light is still on or not. The Cosori is on the louder side, but it boils quickly. I boiled a little more than one liter of water in just four minutes. Best of all, it pours quite smoothly.
Boils up to 1.7 liters
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Photograph: Breville
A Class Above
Breville IQ
Breville (Sage in the UK and Australia) has carved out a niche in the small appliance market as purveyors of high-quality products—far from cheap, but not too premium—and this 2,400-W kettle epitomizes their approach to form and function. It feels good, looks good, works well, boils quickly, and should last for years. It also teaches you the correct temperature to brew better-tasting drinks, with five presets including those for brewing green tea, oolong, coffee, and black tea. Yes, there are loads of buttons as a result, but all of them make sense.
In WIRED contributor Chris Haslam’s test kitchen, lined up alongside the KitchenAid, Hay, and Wolf options, it was the undisputed champion of repeat use—with comments about the ease and smoothness of the pour commonplace—which, given the quality of the competition, is saying something. There’s genuinely nothing to fault here, and while the price point is high, it’s not extortionate, and the look will happily fit in with most kitchen schemes.
Boils up to 1.8 liters (1.7-liter Sage version)
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Photograph: Fellow
A Gooseneck Kettle for Precision Pours
Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Kettle
Fellow’s Stagg EKG kettle has a gooseneck spout—it quite literally looks like a goose’s neck. It’s the perfect option for anyone who loves making pour-over coffee because it gives you precise control when pouring water over the coffee grounds. But WIRED reviewer Jaina Grey recommends it for anyone, whether you brew coffee or not. Thanks to the temperature control knob and LCD display, you have the luxury of heating up water at any temperature. It’s great for tea lovers that prefer steeping at specific temps or bakers who need a narrow spout for certain recipes.
There’s a smart version, the EKG+, complete with Fellow’s iOS companion app (there’s no Fellow Android app, but you can use the Acaia Brewmaster app). The app functionality is minimal (and is generally clunky). You can use it to turn the kettle on and off, change the temperature, and keep an eye on it without needing to head to the kitchen. That’s about it. I recommend skipping the “smart” version and sticking with the regular Fellow Stagg EKG to save some cash.
Boils up to 0.9 liters
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Photograph: Zwilling
Best Kid-Proof Kettle
Zwilling Enfinigy Cool Touch Kettle Pro
If you’ve got kids that love to touch everything on the kitchen countertop, I recommend the Enfinigy Cool Touch Kettle Pro for peace of mind. It has a heat-insulated double-walled body—the water stays hot on the inside while the kettle remains cool on the outside. You won’t have any worries about burning your prints off when touching the stainless steel kettle. The dock you place the kettle on features a touchscreen display with six presets you can cycle through, including specific temperatures for tea and coffee from 140 degrees up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. There’s also a dedicated button for baby formula, which heats up water to a specific temperature safe to pour into the formula, and another button keeps the water warm for up to 30 minutes. It’s quick to boil and quiet—letting out a couple of short beeps when it’s done.
My only gripe? The touchscreen display can be finicky; occasionally I had to tap it a few times to wake it up. That’s easy to forgive because this is arguably the sleekest-looking electric kettle I’ve tested so far. I tested it at my parent’s house, where my mom has a tendency to stash away appliances she deems unattractive. The Zwilling remained on the countertop. In fact, she liked it so much that she bought a matching toaster that now sits next to the kettle in the kitchen.
Boils up to 1.5 liters