Best electric kettles – for tea lovers and craft coffee drinkers

I use my electric kettle every single day. I boil the water to make my morning cup of tea, and leave enough for my dad to use for his French press coffee. Since our kettle is thermoregulating, it can warm water as well as boil it. Sometimes, I use my electric kettle to simmer water, dissolve stock or make ramen: it's a very versatile appliance.

You can find electric kettles in every color, from sleek stainless steel to baby blue and pastel pink. There are gooseneck kettles with neat, narrow spouts for pour over, as well as short, stout machines to serve hot water for every need. In short, there are so many kinds of electric kettle that it's easy to feel spoiled for choice. 

I've boiled enough water to make countless cups of tea in the best electric kettles. I know my stovetop kettles from my hard water kettles, and I know what I'm looking for: a quick, quiet boiler with a sleek, chic design. After extensive tests and research, I've rounded up the nine best electric kettles to suit every style of kitchen and size of budget.

Best electric kettles 2024

Full disclosure: I haven't tried and tested every single electric kettle on this list. I couldn't take that many tea breaks. Where I haven't been able to get my hands on a kettle, I've scoured the specifications and read countless customer reviews to make sure I'm recommending the best electric kettles.

The Quick List

If you already know what you're looking for, and you just want to learn more about a particular appliance, you can skip to that section of the article using the jump menu. For now, here are the best electric kettles at a glance. 

The best electric kettles we recommend in 2023

The best electric kettle overall

I just finished testing this electric kettle, and I'm obsessed. I liked it so much that I took it home from the test center, and now it sits pride of place on my kitchen counter. 

Where your average kettle is short and stout, with a bulbous body and a sharp spout, the Aarke Electric Kettle is all long lines and rounded edges. Fashioned from stainless steel, it should complement any kitchen color palette and blend beautifully with the rest of your appliances. Such a shiny surface could easily pick up finger smudges – and that's why Aarke throws in a microfiber cleaning cloth for free. 

The Aarke Electric Kettle doesn't just look good: it works well, too. This kettle features a double-wall construction for heat retention, which boosts energy efficiency and should keep your brew warmer for longer. There's a no-drip spout to minimize spills and splashes, as well as a heat-safe handle for easy holding. 

This electric kettle is thermoregulating. That means it doesn't just boil water, but warms and simmers it, too. Whether you drink tea or coffee, or you're partial to a glass of warm water in the morning to soothe your stomach, you could make it all in the Aarke Electric Kettle. 

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The best gooseneck electric kettle

You don't need the best pour-over coffee maker to make a quality cup of coffee. All you need is a bag of beans and the Fellow Stagg Electric Gooseneck Kettle. 

Gooseneck kettles feature long, narrow spouts that arch upwards from the kettle base. They're designed to slow the flow of water and promote a controlled pour. With a gooseneck kettle, you can concentrate the flow of water and distribute it evenly across your cup, allowing your coffee beans to bloom without burning. 

When you use the HOLD mode, you can boil now to brew later. The Fellow Stagg Electric Gooseneck Kettle can keep water hot for up to an hour. That means you could finish your first cup of coffee and come back for more without wasting time and energy boiling more water. 

Don't take my word for it: check the brew range thermometer, which monitors the internal temperature of your kettle and shows you just how hot the water is. 

With its gooseneck spout and awkward (though ergonomic) handle, the Fellow Stagg Electric Gooseneck Kettle won't appeal to everyone, but it would make a great asset to a modern kitchen. 

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The best electric kettle for tea

To satisfy a household of tea and coffee drinkers, you need a capacious kettle, such as the Smart Kettle Luxe by Breville. There's space for 1.7L of water inside this thing, which works out to about seven cups of coffee. You could boil enough water for the whole family and still come back for more.

This electric kettle is thermoregulating and features no fewer than five temperature pre-sets to brew black, green, white, and oolong tea, as well as French press coffee. The keep-warm setting should retain heat for up to 20 minutes at a time. That's not quite as long as other kettles, such as the Fellow Stagg Gooseneck Kettle, but it's long enough to let you finish that email or take a quick call before you brew. 

The Smart Kettle Luxe comes in a wide range of cool metallic shades, including deep red and black truffle, but I think the classic stainless steel looks best. Each edition of the electric kettle features a soft opening lid to release steam and prevent splashing, as well as an ergonomic handle for easy pouring.  

The Smart Kettle Luxe is designed with function, rather than form, in mind. If all you want is a quick, quiet boiler to brew tea and coffee, you'll get along just fine. If you're shopping for a statement kettle, you might want to check out the Alessi Plissé, instead.

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The best retro electric kettle

Like a lot of Smeg kitchenware, this electric kettle oozes retro charm. It would make a great addition to a mid-century modern kitchen, though its stainless steel accents should help it to blend with any kitchen color palette. 

Powered by a 2400W coil, the Smeg Variable Temperature Kettle means business, though the seven temperature settings allow you to keep control over your brew. You could use this electric kettle to boil water for tea or coffee or simmer water to dissolve stock. 

The Smeg Variable Temperature Kettle comes in a range of cute colors, from baby pink and pastel green to bright red and bold black. This kettle design isn't just stylish: it has real practical benefits. Thanks to the anti-slip swivel mechanism, you can turn the kettle on its base and lift it with either hand. This is good news for left-handed users, who no longer need to give up control to pour from their kettle. 

The Smeg Variable Temperature Kettle also features a limescale filter, which works to remove calcium molecules in hard water areas and keep your kettle in top condition. The filter itself is easy to remove and clean as part of your descaling process. 

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The best lightweight electric kettle

This little kettle couldn't serve a whole family of tea and coffee drinkers, but it's ideally sized for single servings and smaller households. There's enough space inside for three cups of coffee, or two large mugs if you're feeling thirsty. 

This electric kettle's small capacity should mean that it never gets too heavy, even when full to the brim. An ergonomic handle and that arching gooseneck spout make it even easier to lift and pour from this kettle. I'd recommend it for anyone who struggles with arthritis, Parkinson's, or other mobility issues. 

You can shop the Balmuda Kettle in matte black or white to suit your color palette. As it boils, the bottom of the handle is illuminated by a subtle, warm glow to cast a calming light over your kitchen. When your water has come to the boil, that light automatically switches off. This sort of visual cue is so much more civil than a harsh, high-pitched beep, though it might not be suitable for anyone who struggles with their sight.  

The Balmuda Kettle isn't thermoregulating. It isn't capacious, it isn't colorful, and it certainly isn't cheap. All that aside: if you have some money to spare, and you want to spend it on a cute and compact kettle, Balmuda might be the place to start. 

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The best electric kettle for precision

The Cuisinart PerfecTemp Electric Kettle boasts hundreds of five-star reviews on Amazon, and it's not hard to see why. Happy customers praise the speed of boiling, especially for such a capacious machine, and the accuracy of the temperature control. 

This thermoregulating kettle features six pre-set temperatures, each of which offers something different for herbal tea lovers. The hotter settings are best for black tea, while temperatures at the lower end of the spectrum are better suited to green and white teas, as well as oolong. 

If you tend to drink coffee, rather than tea, you could still get a lot of use out of the Cuisinart PerfecTemp Electric Kettle. When you select the second highest setting, you can boil water at 200°F and make a great French press. That's the ideal temperature at which to bloom coffee grounds without scorching them. 

If you fill this capacious kettle to the brim, you could boil enough water to steam vegetables or cook pasta. Just look through the viewing window to check how much water you've already got, and how much you need to top up from the faucet. Though it's not the most attractive appliance, the Cuisinart PerfecTemp Electric Kettle would make a great kitchen companion for a busy cook working in a smaller space. 

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The best electric kettle for capacity

When it comes to kettles, bigger isn't always better. I'm looking for a kettle that's large enough to boil a liter of water, but not so large that you can't get through all that water in a day. That's where the KitchenAid Pro Line Variable Temperature Electric Kettle comes in: not too big, not too small, but just right. 

This thermoregulating kettle features seven temperature settings, so that you can simmer, boil, and warm water. You can shuffle between settings by sliding the screw across the bottom of the base. I like this sort of manual mechanism. It's quicker and easier to use than a power button, which you have to keep pressing until you reach your desired temperature, and then press again if you happen to switch past it. 

Like all KitchenAid kitchenware, this electric kettle comes in multiple colorways. It's pictured here in Empire Red, but you might prefer something softer, such as Imperial Gray or Almond Cream. Each edition of the kettle features a dual-core construction that keeps heat inside the kettle and away from your hands. 

Eleven inches tall and ten inches wide, the KitchenAid Pro Line Variable Temperature Electric Kettle should easily clear low counters, but it might crowd your counters. If you're working with a small kitchen, you might appreciate a more compact kettle, such as the Smeg Mini. 

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Should I buy an electric kettle with multiple temperature settings?

The best-looking electric kettle

Michele de Lucchi is better known for his work as an experimental architect. At the request of Italian design house Alessi, he turned his hand to a range of appliances, including this kettle. 

Where a lot of electric kettle makers prioritize function over form, de Lucchi took inspiration from classical sculpture and high fashion. That's how we ended up with the Alessi Plissé, which crafts tucks and pleats from thermoplastic resin. 

If you're on the hunt for an attractive appliance, but stainless steel leaves you cold, you might appreciate the depth and dimension of this electric kettle. I think the Alessi Plissé looks best in black, but you could also shop it in bright red or olive green, as well as bright white and soft gray. 

If you like the look of the Alessi Plissé Electric Kettle, you could get the matching set. There are Plissé toasters, citrus squeezer, immersion blenders and milk frothers to kit out the whole kitchen. 

The Alessi Plissé doesn't just look good. It's a quick, quiet boiler with a thermally insulated base to retain heat and a limescale filter to promote smooth sipping. 

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The best compact electric kettle

Not everyone needs a capacious kettle. If you live alone or in a smaller household, and you're working with limited counter space, you might appreciate a more compact electric kettle. It doesn't get much cuter than the Smeg Mini.

When you use a smaller kettle, you minimize water and energy waste. The Smeg Mini has a 27oz capacity, which is still sufficient space to boil water for four cups of tea or coffee. Of course, you couldn't warm or simmer water in a machine this size. If you like the look of Smeg, but you're shopping for a thermoregulating kettle, then you should consider the Smeg Variable Temperature Electric Kettle, instead. 

Like all things Smeg, the Mini Kettle comes in a range of colors to pop against white walls with chromatic accents to tone into any kitchen color palette. The handle and spout might look like stainless steel, but they aren't: they're painted plastic. That might be good news if you're clumsy in the kitchen, or you struggle to lift heavy weights, but it makes the whole thing feel a little cheap. 

While the Smeg Mini Kettle couldn't keep a whole household of tea and coffee lovers satisfied, it would make a great gift for apartment dwellers working with smaller kitchens, or college students moving into a new dorm. 

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How we test electric kettles

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It's easy to test electric kettles. All you need is running water, a stopwatch and a digital thermometer. 

To assess energy efficiency, I time how long it takes an electric kettle to come to the boil. I fill the kettle with water, set it to boil, and start my timer. Most electric kettles take anywhere from one to four minutes to boil water. I conduct this test twice – once at the minimum water line, then again at the maximum water  line − to see whether the kettle struggles with larger volumes of water.

To assess heat retention, I use a digital thermometer to read the temperature of the water. The closer the temperature to boiling point, the more accurate the thermoregulating capacity of the kettle. 

Meet the team

Millie Fender

Millie was Head of Reviews here at Homes & Gardens. She spent a lot of her time in our dedicated test kitchen, trying out the best electric kettles, coffee makers, stand mixers, and more. These days, Millie works as Head of eCommerce at Woman & Home.

Emilia Hitching

Emilia is one of our eCommerce editors. She spends her days searching the web to find the deepest discounts on the hottest products. She's also part of our testing team and loves to sample the latest and greatest kitchen appliances. For this article, Emilia tested the Aarke Electric Kettle (and absolutely loved it).

How to choose the best electric for you

When you're choosing the best electric kettle, it's important to consider the size and style of kitchen, as well as what you want to use the kettle for. 

Most electric kettles are short enough to clear low cabinets, but some are so stout that they'll crowd your countertops. Check the dimensions of your kettle before you buy and work out where in your kitchen you might station it. You could nestle it into your coffee nook or set it on the corner of your counter. Stainless steel designs should complement any kitchen color palette, while bolder hues might be better suited to brighter kitchens. 

A gooseneck kettle would make a great gift for a coffee lover. These kettles features narrow, arching spouts that promote controlled pouring. This sort of electric kettle could compete with the best French press to produce perfect pour-over coffee. 

It takes a long time for water to trickle through the spout of a gooseneck kettle. If you're more of a tea drinker, you should opt for a capacious tea kettle that can handles larger volumes of water.  

Electric kettle FAQs

Should I buy an electric kettle with multiple temperature settings?

If you like a cup of matcha in the morning or herbal tea at night, you might get a lot of use out of a variable temperature electric kettle. With a thermoregulating machine, you can simmer water, instead of boiling it, and save your tea leaves from being scorched. 

Tea connoisseurs will appreciate the addition of variable temperature settings to ensure the perfect brew for your leaves. For white and green teas, you want your water to simmer at 160-180°F. For black and oolong tea, you want around 185-195ºF, depending on the blend. Herbal teas taste best at 212ºF, and for coffee lovers, it’s just off the boil – anywhere from 194-204ºF.

Which is better: a stainless steel, glass or plastic kettle?

Stainless steel kettles look good and work well: they're the best for retaining heat. Many of the best stainless steel kettles feature removable limescale filters for easy cleaning. They might be more expensive upfront, but a stainless steel kettle should last you years. 

Glass kettles can make a sleek and stylish addition to a modern kitchen. It's easy to peer into the machine and tell how whether your water is boiling and whether limescale is building up inside the kettle. Much like stainless steel, glass kettles are heavier to hold and more expensive upfront. 

Plastic kettles tend to be lightweight and reasonably priced, but they're unlikely to last. Even the best plastic kettles could contain harmful BPA chemicals, which are bad for your body and for the planet. Plus, they don't look anywhere near as good as a stainless steel or glass kettle. 

Is it ok to leave water in a kettle?

To save energy, you should try to use all the water you boil and not leave liquid lying around in the kettle, where it could take on an unsavory metallic taste. Plus, leaving water to sit in a kettle could lead to a build-up of limescale inside the machine.

Final thoughts

Once you've invested in one of the best electric kettles, it's important to take good care of it. It's worth learning how to clean an electric kettle to keep the inside fresh and the outside shining. 

If you've made it to the end of this article, and these kettles just aren't doing it for you, it might be time to consider other options. Not to worry: you can learn how to make tea without a kettle when you follow our expert advice.