Best Kitchen Scales, Tested Over a Decade of Baking (2026)

I’ve been an avid home baker for well over a decade (my first stint in “food media” was a baking blog I started in middle school!), and I can confirm that there is no single tool quite as important to the outcome of your baked goods as a simple kitchen scale. Bon Appétit’s Test Kitchen team agrees, which is why you’ll see gram measurements in the baking recipes on our site.

Another bonus of a kitchen scale? In most cases, you can kiss measuring cups and spoons goodbye, which means far fewer dishes to clean once your bakes are in the oven.

Scales aren’t just for bakers, either. They make portioning burger patties and meatballs easier, streamline meal prep, and keep your Sunday morning pancake routine cleaner.

I've tested 16 models over several years and consulted Shilpa Uskokovic, BA senior Test Kitchen editor and co-owner of Hani’s Bakery, to find the best kitchen scale for home cooks. The winner is just $27.

New in this update: I tested the new ThermoWorks Gravitas Precision Kitchen Scale, but ultimately, while it can serve a real purpose for larger projects, I didn't think its performance matched its price tag. You can read my full review below.

This Escali Primo has held the top spot in our testing for over six years and has been a favorite in the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen for far longer than that. “This scale has been with me for more than a decade of my career, staying faithfully by my side through 12-hour shifts in pastry kitchens, bouts of religious recipe testing, and weekly sessions of casual baking,” says senior Test Kitchen editor and resident baking whiz Shilpa Uskokovic.

It’s durable, accurate, intuitive to use, and affordable, pretty much everything we could ask of a kitchen scale.

What we love: The Escali Primo is lightweight, comes in a variety of fun colors, and has a simple two-button interface to turn it on, tare it, and toggle between ounces, pounds, and grams. In testing, it was responsive and precise, quick to tare, and delivered accurate readings every time. Its 4.5-minute auto shut-off is among the longest of any model we tested, so you won’t lose your measurements mid-bake. Plus, its 11-pound capacity is large enough to accommodate any task a home cook might ask of it.

Performance aside, the Escali Primo has several design features that helped it stand out. For one, the fact that the weighing platform is elevated and offset from the base means you can easily read the display or use the buttons even when measuring into a large, wide mixing bowl. The plastic body and sealed control panel make it a breeze to wipe down after a floury baking session and also keep stray crumbs from getting stuck in any crevices. Another detail we like? The four rubberized feet keep it stable on your kitchen counter.