In a single syllable, the name 'Smeg' can tell you a lot about an appliance. The iconic brand has a reputation for chic, premium, and stylish appliances. At the same time, they're also associated with high price tags. It's rare that 'Smeg' and 'bargain' are in the same sentence.
I've been lucky enough to test just about every appliance Smeg has on the market. Lots of these have made it into our buying guides for the best drip coffee makers to kettles and toasters. I've seen and used the lot. I've also tested many competing models, so I know when Smeg sits at the top of the market and when they're not quite delivering on what you need.
As Black Friday deals roll in, there's no better time to invest in Smeg. If you can grab some of these appliances at a discount, they'll be the talk of the dinner table. Not every single one is worth chasing, but these are the ones worth looking for.
Are Smeg worth it in 2024?
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The short answer is that they're worth it for looks, but they're not always the best appliances. Don't get me wrong, they do a great job, but there are often better appliances out there that cost hundreds of dollars less. However, the competitors are almost always pretty ugly hunks of boring black and gray metal and plastic.
If you want an appliance to uplift your kitchen design, Smeg are the way to go. If you're a utilitarian who just wants an appliance to make good food and drink, there could be other choices to consider.
The quick list
Smeg makes a lot of appliances and you might be wondering just how far to take a Smeg obsession in your home. Here are some of my favorite tried-and-tested appliances from the iconic brand. I'll go into more detail about them further down.
This can do the job of a whisk, immersion blender, normal blender, food chopper, and electric masher. It's the best value Smeg appliance when you consider all the functions.
A brilliant option for small kitchens and those who are always on the go, this compact blender comes with two bottles, saving you on washing up. It's expensive, but beautiful.
Smeg's iconic, retro design works particularly well on toasters. This is easy to use and the four-slice capacity means that it's also roomy enough for long slices of artisanal sourdough.
Smeg's drip coffee maker is the most stylish model on the market. It's not even the most expensive in our buying guide, but does still retail over $200. It's worth waiting for a sale, but this is a Smeg essential.
It was love at first sight with this stunning stand mixer and when we started using it, we knew that it was brilliant. It's powerful and easy to use. However, it costs more than a KitchenAid.
Available in a range of colors and styles, Smeg's juicer is a true style statement. It's not the most expensive model on the market, but it's also not the most versatile: this is only useful with citrus fruits.
Petite and perfect for small spaces, this is an adorable kettle. It looks just like the bigger counterpart, but takes up less room. At around $150, it's expensive, but it's nice to have compact, top-quality products.
Even though this is the most expensive hand mixer on the market, it's second in our buying guide. Ergonomic, powerful, and beautiful, it's almost faultless. Whether you're right or left handed, you'll love this.
If you want to know which milk frother our experts come home to, it's this one. We all love it, because it can froth hot and cold milk. For $230 it's too expensive, but if you can shave at least 10% off, it's a good treat.
An easy bean to cup machine which makes delicious coffee. It looks and feels premium (and it should be for $850). There are better machines for $600, so wait until this is discounted.
Smeg fridges are iconic. They're not the most technically advanced or energy efficient, but they're a brilliant basic. If you like the retro style and need a specific color, this is perfect.
This is expensive for a kettle, but it's designed with left and right-handed users in mind. Available in a range of colors with a range of temperature settings, there's a lot to love.
The best Smeg appliances that we've tested
Smeg's immersion blender
This is number five on our list of best immersion blenders on the market. It's actually the one I use at home and, judging by how frequently I reach for it, I think we need to move it higher up in our guide.
At $134.95 from QVC, this isn't a bad price, especially if you're cultivating that 'Smeg kitchen' aesthetic. It can do the job of an immersion blender, normal blender, masher, whisk, and food chopper, so divide the price by three and ask yourself, would you pay $27 for each appliance? I probably would, so this is a pretty good deal.
It's an excellent option if you're short on space and is close to faultless. Of course, a hand mixer will probably be better at whisking, but if you're not a perfectionist, this is brilliant at covering the basics. Smeg offer cable storage and some pieces slot together, but I still had to devote some considerable cupboard space to storing mine.
The fairest comparison with this immersion blender is the KitchenAid Cordless Variable Speed Hand Blender. This has similar attachments and performance, but usually retails for $30 more.
Laura has a review for this blender coming soon
Smeg's personal blender
Sitting at number six in our best portable blenders buying guide, you might be forgiven for thinking that this puts style over substance: it's certainly beautiful, but it also has lots of well considered features designed in too. Number six doesn't sound impressive until you consider how many personal blenders that Smeg knocked off our list to earn its spot.
We made everything from soups to smoothies in this blender and found that it could tackle even the toughest ingredients, such as spinach. It also made an exceptionally good hummus and looked elegant whilst doing so. However, when it came to ice crushing, this struggled quite a lot.
The Smeg blender retails around $170, which is triple the price of our top pick, so when it comes to value, this is expensive. It's not cordless either, so you're paying top price and it might not even be the most convenient option on the market. If you can find this on sale, snap it up, but if you can't stretch to it, I'd grab a Ninja Blast or a BlendJet 2, which are more portable and around the $50 mark.
There's more information in our Smeg Personal Blender review.
Smeg's drip coffee maker
In spite of this sitting at number seven in our best drip coffee makers buying guide, this is the one that I think about the most. I tested it in bright red and absolutely loved it. The retro style looked so cool on the countertop and it had lots of brilliant, albeit basic, functions.
If you need a coffee maker to get you out of bed in the morning, this is a good option. You can programme an auto-start function and brew up to ten cups of coffee totally noiselessly. The keep warm function doesn't diminish any lovely rich and bold flavors in coffee, so it's actually an excellent appliance. When you get really into coffee, Smeg sells a matching grinder (which is also brilliant), so you can have complete coffee co-ordination.
Take a deep breath because this retails around $230. It's expensive and actually sits quite tall, so might not squeeze under low wall cabinets. However, it's worth noting some of our favorite premium drip coffee makers cost around $350, so if you like drip coffee, this isn't the most expensive option. I've seen this with $70 knocked off the price before, so if you spot a deal like that, grab it.
Our full Smeg Drip Coffee Maker review has more details.
Smeg's stand mixer
You probably think of KitchenAid when you look at stand mixers and you're not wrong. They make our favorite stand mixer (the Artisan). However, we've tested and enjoyed Smeg's retro challenge to the KitchenAid classic design and think it puts up a good fight.
One of the best things about the Smeg is that it has lots of attachments, including a pouring shield and ice cream maker (this is available at QVC). The whole appliance remarkably powerful and really intuitive; you can place it on either side of the countertop, so left and right handed bakers will find using it equally useful.
At full price, this is more expensive than the KitchenAid Artisan (our top pick), so I wouldn't ever recommend investing in this when it's not on sale. In a head-to-head of KitchenAid vs Smeg, we found that the Artisan is better by pretty much any metric. It's even more authentically 50s than the Smeg, because the silhouette of the Artisan is largely unchanged from the 50s, where the Smeg is deisgned as a nod to the 50s.
Perhaps you could justify it if you want an all-Smeg kitchen, but I'm unconvinced. However, if you can find this with at least $100 off the price, it could be worth buying. My only other word of caution would be that this is noisy, so if you're using it to make dough or ice cream (i.e. for tasks that take more time than quick mixes) you'll want to leave the room.
There's more detail in our Smeg 1950s Retro Stand Mixer review.
Smeg's juicer
This might be at the bottom of our best juicers buying guide, but if I re-phrase it, this sits amongst the ten best juicers on the market in the US. It knocked plenty of big brands, including Ninja out of our guide.
We loved this for it's obvious style, but also for how effortlessly it squeezed citrus juices. It didn't leave a single drop behind and oozed retro charm the whole time it was on display.
It's slower than competitors and limited to citrus juices; you can't blend up a smoothie like some other options. However, if you enjoy a glass of grapefruit juice in the morning, you won't find a more stylish option.
It tends to retail at around $150, which is a lot to spend on a single-function appliance. Other juicers are more expensive, but they can do a lot more too. If you can get some discount on this and know you'll use it every day, this will serve you the most luxurious lemonade on the market.
You can find more detail in our Smeg Citrus Juicer review.
Smeg's toaster
Smeg makes toasters in two sizes and this 4 slice option is their biggest. At full price, it sits around $250, but is currently reduced at QVC. $250 feels like a lot for a toaster, but this caters to very specific needs and I have to say, when I was testing it, I loved having it on my countertop. Even though my kitchen is pretty petite, I cleared the surfaces to keep this on display (for reference, all the other toasters got hidden in the cupboards when not in use).
Aside from the classic finish and surprisingly lightweight feel of this toaster, the reason that I love it is because the slots are so long. They can comfortably fit four slices of bread in and if you like making your own sourdough, these are more than long enough for even the middle piece.
I tested the range of settings, spanning from 1 to 6 and they're incredibly versatile. One really only warmed my bread and six took it to the most toasted that I would tolerate. The de-frost setting was thorough and on everything from bagels to brioche, I was pleased.
This lacks specific settings for bread types, which you might find on toasters such as KitchenAid's Artisan (retailing for a similar price), but the unique dimensions are worth considering. I would aim to buy this when it's under $200, because $250 feels excessive for a toaster, but this often drops below that price and I have a feeling you'll be able to grab a good deal on one of these this Black Friday.
Read more: Smeg 4 Slice Toaster TSF03 review
Smeg's mini kettle
I'll cover Smeg's temperature variable kettle further down in this article (headline: it's pretty, but expensive). Out of the three kettles that Smeg makes, this is the best. It's still $150 which is steep for a small appliance, but this is a brilliant option for small kitchens.
Often, when brands make 'compact' versions, they compromise on quality, so for small space dwellers seeking to cultivate a premium kitchen, it can be really hard to find nice appliances. This kettle is one of a few of my favorites. It looks beautiful, comes in a brilliant range of colors and boils water quickly and quietly. The swivel base is 360 degrees, suitable for left and right hand users too.
The temperature isn't variable, which can be tricky if you like herbal teas and matcha. The mini kettle doesn't often get reduced by much, but if you can knock even 20% off the price, it makes the kettle seem more reasonable. I've tested full-size, temperature variable kettles for the same price as the mini Smeg, so if you're all-about value, be patient and wait for a deal to come through.
Smeg's automatic coffee maker
Total disclaimer: at full price this is eye-wateringly expensive. Compared to other bean-to-cup coffee machines, this is a basic model with a high price tag. It has a wonderfully premium finish and is available in a range of colors, but if you're spending close to $1,000 on a coffee maker, you can get a lot more for your money (De'Longhi's Eletta Explore: I'm looking in your direction).
However, if you can find this discounted by a hundred plus dollars, there's a lot to love about this machine. Not only is Smeg's modern, stainless steel style beautiful to look at, it can make a delicious cup of coffee too. I extracted a flavorful espresso and frothed some delicious oat and dairy milk with the steam wand. In terms of build-quality, it's faultless.
Read more: Smeg BCC02 review
Smeg's hand mixer
This took second place in our buying guide for best hand mixers, bested by only the iconic KitchenAid. Our experts agreed that this is the best choice for those looking to spruce up their kitchen style.
Across our tests, this was powerful and use-friendly. Not only is it super speedy, it also comes with lots of attachments: two dough hooks, beaters, and whisks. Our experts also wanted us to mention that this has a 'seamless digital control panel, which features a very handy timer'. When you're finished, this packs neatly into a dust case, so if you're looking for luxury, this more than delivers.
At $180, it's an expensive option, but if you shop around, you can take at least $15 off the price (it's the cheapest at Amazon at the moment). Patience is key and if you're savvy, buying this in a sale, you could get it for much less money. It might never quite reach the extraordinarily exceptional value of KitchenAid's (currently $70 at QVC), but if you're determined to have a Smeg hand whisk, you won't be disappointed with the performance of this Smeg.
Read more: Smeg Retro 50s Hand Mixer
Smeg's milk frother
This makes up for all the sadly ineffective and screechy milk frothers that I've tested. Not only is this by far the most beautiful milk frother on the market, it can achieve café-quality, frothy perfection in mere minutes. It's also really quiet too.
With a range of froth options and cold and hot settings, the credentials of Smeg's milk frother are close to perfect. I've tested dairy and plant-based milks and was impressed across all the functions: this didn't trip up at all. There's also a useful measuring cap for adding in any syrups and powders, making this tidy as well as tasteful.
Of course, as with most Smeg appliances, this has its drawback. It's expensive. At around $230, this is easily at the top of the market for prices. Thankfully, almost every time that there's a sale on, the milk frother comes down in price. I've not seen it much lower than $180, but I always keep an eye on this one over sales periods.
Read more: Smeg milk frother review
Smeg's refrigerator
Smeg makes a second appearance in our roundup, and while I like to give a range of brands, I couldn’t miss this off the roundup. As expected with Smeg, this is a stylish refrigerator. Even though it has an E energy rating, which is quite low, users commented on a good temperature regulation throughout the fridge.
For more heat-sensitive products, such as dairy or meat, there is a special cooler drawer with separate digital temperature control, so you can easily adjust the temperature of the whole fridge, or drawer separately.
Whilst the different adjustable compartments are great, the refrigerator is still very slim. There isn’t room for bulky foods, but this doesn’t mean that it’s a counter-depth design either. It’s almost the worst of both worlds. You also won’t have a water or ice dispenser, which it would be reasonable to expect for the price. Some users commented on the gurgling noise which it makes occasionally and that the shelves can be a little awkward to move.
Smeg's variable temperature kettle
At number three in our best electric kettles buying guide, this performs really well. I got to test one of these out the other day and it scores top marks for appearances. This retro design is available in a range of colors, so can effortlessly blend in to décor or become a stand-out kitchen feature.
It's not all looks though - this has seven different temperatures, perfect if you like matcha or loose leaf tea. When tested, these achieved the perfect temperature, not scalding leaves or leaving any bitter taste behind.
From QVC, this will cost you $269.95. There are other options, such as Smeg's mini kettle ($149.95 at QVC) and simple '50s Retro electric kettle ($189.95 at QVC) which are hundreds of dollars cheaper, but they aren't adjustable temperature models. Compared to other kettles we've tested, this is incredibly expensive. I wouldn't buy this at full price if I wanted a temperature variable kettle - it would need a discount of at least $100 before I could be tempted.
FAQs
Why are Smeg appliances so expensive?
Smeg appliances are stylish and well-built, which accounts for a large proportion of their price. However, some of the price is inflated by their excellent reputation. They're expensive, but you often get what you pay for.
Are Smeg appliances reliable?
Speaking from personal experience, Smeg's appliances are investments that last. They're well-built and often repairable, so they're worth spending a little more money on.
Should I wait for a sale to buy Smeg appliances?
Yes - these are expensive appliances and Black Friday isn't far away. There will be deals dropping very soon and we'll update you on the best deals around.
How we test
Testing the Smeg espresso machine in our dedicated test kitchen
At Homes & Gardens we test every appliance before we recommend them. In this roundup, our experts have taken every single one of these products to our test kitchen (with the exception of the refrigerator), so we know what they're like to use. We've got notes on every aspect of the appliance, form how they perform in day-to-day tasks, to how they store and look on the countertop. If you'd like to know more, you can visit our dedicated page which explains how we test.
Final thoughts
I love Smeg appliances as much as the next person, possibly more. If you check my kitchen, you'll find that I have lots of their appliances. They're not gifted or sponsored: I've bought them all outright. I love the immersion blender and the milk frother, in particular. I use these every day. Although, I do wish that I had waited for a sale to buy the milk frother; it's really expensive. However, that's what you get with Smeg. Their appliances feel premium, but their price tag reflects that. We'll update you on any appliances that are in the sale, so that you can enjoy these luxury appliances for a little less.
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