We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. What to Buy Appliances Small Appliances We Found the Best 4-Slice Toasters After Putting 20 Top-Rated Models to the Test Our top performers offer functional design features like a removable crumb tray and high-lift lever. By Liz Mundle Liz Mundle Liz Mundle is currently the managing editor at Domino Magazine. She has been the photo editor at a variety of publications, including This Old House, Byrdie, and MyDomaine. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on April 23, 2024 In This Article Expand In This Article Our Top Picks ReviewsOur Favorite Factors to Consider The Tests FAQ Others We Tested Our Expertise Photo: Food & Wine / Fred Hardy II A perfectly toasted piece of bread is a tasty meal in and of itself, and whether you want a savory snack, a sweet treat, or a sandwich, a toaster is a crucial part of the equation. Yes, toaster ovens are undeniably versatile, but traditional slotted toasters are the best way to quickly and evenly toast bread, bagels, waffles, and Pop-Tarts. And when it comes to serving up breakfast for a crowd, nothing is more functional than a 4-slot toaster. After toasting mountains of bread, bagels, and waffles in 20 different 4-slice toasters, we determined which models yielded the most perfectly golden brown and crisp results. The appliances ranged from the basic-but-serviceable to what we've deemed the “Tesla of Toasters.” Keep scrolling to learn more about the best (and the not-so-great) 4-slice toasters on the market. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Zwilling Enfinigy Cool Touch 4-Slice Toaster at Amazon ($180) Jump to Review Best Value: Cuisinart 4-Slice Custom Select Toaster at Amazon ($67) Jump to Review Best Splurge: KitchenAid Pro Line Series KMT4203SR at Amazon ($500) Jump to Review Best with Large Slots: Buydeem 4-Slice Toaster at Amazon ($80) Jump to Review Best Touchscreen: Cuisinart 4-Slice Touchscreen Toaster at Amazon ($68) Jump to Review Best Overall Zwilling Enfinigy Cool Touch 4-Slice Toaster PHOTO: Food & Wine / Fred Hardy $180 At Amazon $180 At Williams-Sonoma $180 At Sur La Table Pros This toaster delivered the most consistent browning in our tests, both from piece to piece as well as even coverage from edge to edge. Cons Crumbs and fingerprints showed easily on the top of the toaster. The Zwilling Enfinigy Cool Touch Toaster evenly toasted bread, waffles, and bagels to a beautiful golden brown with a pillowy interior. Some other models we tested toasted bread unevenly, with extreme light and dark patches, but on the Zwilling's medium setting, we found that the bread came out to an even brown without any scorching or charring. Each of its number settings corresponds to an appropriate level of brownness that you would expect, and the removable crumb tray is easy to find. The slots are also wide enough to easily accommodate bagels or thick slices of bread. The matte black stainless steel casing and simple interface add a nice design, making this toaster worthy of being displayed on your countertop. While we like the uncluttered look of the clean lines, the Zwilling lacks the bells and whistles of other models that have preset functions for bagels, waffles, English muffins, and so on. Dimensions: 12.2 x 11.3 x 8.1 inches | Weight: 8.38 pounds | Settings: 7 | Programs: 3 Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Best Value Cuisinart 4-Slice Custom Select Toaster PHOTO: Food & Wine / Fred Hardy $67 At Amazon $80 At Target $80 At Williams-Sonoma Pros This is an affordable toaster that outperformed many of the more expensive models we tested. Cons This was not the most attractive toaster we tested. Also, the knob doesn't click at different settings, making it a bit tricky to know what level you're selecting. The reasonably priced Cuisinart CPT-640 4-Slice Metal Toaster toasted bread better than any other model under $60 (except for the BUYDEEM, which was a tie). It's worth noting that of the five Cuisinart toasters we tested, two were among our favorites, while the other three were near the bottom of our list. In our tests, the Cuisinart CPT-640 toasted bread evenly and didn't have any hot spots that would cause inconsistent browning. It also has a surprising number of extra features for a relatively inexpensive toaster. Beyond the basic bread, bagel, and defrost setting, this toaster also has presets for waffles, pastries, English muffins, and single slices. We also liked the satisfying click when you push the lever down to lower the bread. However, on the lowest setting the toast was a little too light, on medium, it was slightly too dark, and on high it was a little too brown–but not burned. There is also no click when you turn the knob, so it's a bit harder to know which level you've set. If you make your toast the same every day, however, this wouldn't be much of an issue. And while this wasn't our favorite design-wise, overall it is a solid, consistent toaster at an affordable price point. Dimensions: 13 x 13 x 9.25 inches | Weight: 7.3 pounds | Settings: 7 | Programs: 7 Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Best Splurge KitchenAid Pro Line Series KMT4203SR PHOTO: Food & Wine / Fred Hardy $500 At Amazon $500 At Walmart Pros This is a beautiful countertop toaster that performs well for toasting bread, bagels, and more. Cons It’s large and heavy, meaning it might require a permanent spot on your countertop. We know what you’re thinking: This is an extremely expensive toaster, but hear us out. We don’t know the price of each product we test until we’ve completed all the tests. Of course, we were a little taken aback by the high number, but after seeing its outstanding performance, we think it’s worth the price. In fact, we were so impressed that we even called it the "Tesla of Toasters." During the bread test, the results were almost perfect, with even shading at the intended doneness. We also had success with the bagels; however, we recommend using the highest setting to get the golden exterior you would expect on a medium setting. But what really makes this toaster stand out from the others are its innovative features. For example, when you place a piece of bread in the slot, it automatically lowers it to toast on your selected setting, and if you don’t remove it 45 seconds after it’s done, the device will lower the toast back down to stay warm for up to three minutes — hence the Tesla comparison. If you plan on leaving your toaster on the countertop, this one is an excellent choice to keep your space looking sleek and updated. Overall, it works beautifully and produces consistent results. Dimensions: 16.5 x 15.5 x 11 inchesc| Weight: 19 pounds | Settings: 7 | Programs: 4 Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Best with Large Slots Buydeem 4-Slice Toaster PHOTO: Food & Wine / Fred Hardy $80 At Amazon $53 At Walmart $83 At Wayfair Pros This toaster performed well across the board, and its 1.4-inch slots were wider than any of the other models we tested. Cons Its lightweight casing made this toaster feel less sturdy than the other models we tested. The Buydeem was a close runner-up for both the Best Overall and Best Value categories, performing well in the bread and waffle toasting tests with good overall progressions from light to medium to dark at each setting. However, it occasionally unevenly toasted the bagels, and we felt the lightweight casing and plastic buttons looked and felt rather cheap. We also felt that the crumb tray was not intuitively placed and we had to puzzle out how to remove it. However, the overall design is straightforward with three buttons corresponding to preset functions, though it's unclear what kind of muffin would fit into a toaster slot. If color is your thing, in addition to standard stainless steel, this toaster also comes in minty green and buttery yellow. Dimensions: 6.9 x 12.2 x 11 inches | Weight: 7.63 pounds | Settings: 7 | Programs: 4 Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Best Touchscreen Cuisinart 4-Slice Touchscreen Toaster PHOTO: Food & Wine / Fred Hardy $68 At Amazon $70 At Walmart $77 At newegg.com Pros This toaster has a sleek, modern design that is a head-turner atop any counter. Cons Temperatures skewed high, making it easy to burn the bread. While the design of the Cuisinart CPT-T40 isn't the flashiest we tested, it is perhaps the sleekest and certainly the most clever. When powered off, this toaster looks like a sleek black box, but when you turn it on, the unit lights up to reveal backlit touchscreen buttons. There's also a handy progress bar, and the toaster dings pleasantly when done. Despite advertising 1.5-inch slots, due to the internal construction, we found that bagels were a snugger fit in this model than they were in any of the others (including our Wide Slot pick, which has 1.4-inch slots). And while we were able to achieve desirable levels of even browning, this toaster tended to run hot: "Medium" yielded dark brown toast, and "high" resulted in inedible burnt bread. Dimensions: 11 x 10.4 x 7.2 inches | Weight: 6 pounds | Settings: 6 | Programs: 4 Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Our Favorite 4-Slice Toaster In all of the toasters we tested, it took some fine-tuning to find the perfect setting for perfectly golden-brown toast. Across the board, the lowest setting barely warmed the bread and imparted no color, while the highest setting toasted bread to unappetizing shades of dark brown or, worse, set off the smoke alarm. Our overall favorite is the Zwilling Enfinigy Cool Touch Toaster due to its consistent browning, even coverage, and easy-to-use features. If you're looking to splurge, consider the KitchenAid Pro Line Series KMT4203SR, which we liked so much that we dubbed it the "Tesla of Toasters." Factors to Consider Toasting Features Beyond toasting performance, a good toaster should be intuitive to use, with easily identifiable controls (some models have unintelligible icons for specific settings – for instance, on the Smeg, the bagel button more closely resembles a baguette), and an easy-to-use temperature adjuster. The most basic features should include temperature controls (usually between 150 and 450 degrees Fahrenheit) and adjustable toast-shade settings. If you keep your bread in the freezer, it’s important to choose a toaster that has a defrost function so your food is reheated to perfection. For bagel lovers, toasters with a bagel setting are a must to give the sliced side the ideal texture and color. Each toaster we tested also had a removable crumb tray and a high-lift lever (to give a little extra oomph to shorter pieces of bread that might be otherwise hard to reach). Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Toaster Design Toasters typically live on the countertop full-time, so it’s important that you like the way they look. If the majority of your kitchen appliances are stainless steel, you might consider a 4-slice toaster with the same finish. There are plenty of neutral color options, but you can also find vibrant shades if that’s more your style. Crumb Tray and Ease of Cleaning With regular use, your toaster will attract fingerprints and build up crumbs that fall to the bottom of the slots. In our tests, the Smeg showed no fingerprints at all, and the Zwilling showed very few. Otherwise, most models were restored to their luster with a damp cloth wipe down. One underwhelming exception was the All-Clad, where wiped fingerprints simply turned into stubborn streaks. To tackle crumbs, make sure you get a model with a removable crumb tray (nearly all do). Not only will this make cleaning easier, but turning your toaster upside down to dump out crumbs can damage the delicate heating elements. Food & Wine / Fred Hardy How We Tested 4-Slice Toasters To find the best 4-slice toasters on the market, we compared 20 different models in our test kitchen, putting each one through a series of trials to evaluate their performance. The first test for each toaster was, unsurprisingly, bread. To start, we toasted four fresh slices of bread in each toaster three different times (once on low, medium, and high settings). Then, we took notes on the results, evaluating how evenly toasted each slice of bread was, the overall doneness, and how long each of the settings took to finish toasting. We also saved every finished slice of toast for a side-by-side comparison of the toast from each model, so we could see firsthand the differences in browning and doneness between each toaster. We also tested any additional functions each toaster provided. For example, if the model had a bagel setting, we toasted four bagels and evaluated the results, once again saving the finished products for side-by-side comparisons. And for our final test, we used frozen waffles to see how well toasters with a defrost setting performed. In addition to those three tests, we rated each toaster based on its ease of cleaning, its design, the look and feel of its components (buttons, knobs, and casing), the intuitiveness of its features, and its overall value. The top performers came out as our winners, while the others didn't quite make the list. Food & Wine / Fred Hardy Frequently Asked Questions How do toasters work? When you push the lever down on a toaster, a spring-loaded tray lowers the bread into the toaster's slot between two sets of heating elements. Then, the elements rapidly heat up and toast your bread for a set amount of time. The numbers on your toaster's dial roughly correlate to the number of minutes the bread will toast. When the timer goes off, the spring releases, popping the bread up and out of the toaster. How long do toasters last? You can expect your toaster to last for about five years of daily use, though if you use it less often, it will last longer. Modern toasters infamously don't last as long as their vintage predecessors, some of which are still operational after 60-plus years. This is because early toasters used a nickel alloy in their heating coils, which was strong and ductile. Modern heating elements are made with an iron-heavy aluminum alloy which, while corrosive-resistant, is more brittle and less ductile. How do you clean a toaster? A removable crumb tray is a crucial part of regular toaster maintenance, both to prevent pests as well as the risks of dried crumbs building up and catching fire. You also shouldn't flip your toaster and shake it to get rid of crumbs, as this can damage the delicate interior heating elements. All of the toasters we recommend include removable crumb trays, and we don't recommend you buy a toaster without one. Other 4-Slice Toasters We Tested Strong Contenders All-Clad TJ824D51 Stainless Steel Digital Toaster This model had some useful features, such as the countdown timer, but we didn’t like that you couldn’t select settings until the bread was dropped down. For such a high price, it didn’t wow us during any of the tests. KitchenAid KMT4115 4-Slice Toaster If you’re looking for a toaster primarily for bagels, this one is a good choice, as it gave the exterior a nice crunch and left the inside fairly soft. As for bread, this toaster skewed dark to burnt. Smeg Retro-Style 4-Slice Toaster There’s no denying that this is a stylish toaster for those who love a retro-inspired design. However, its performance wasn’t as impressive as its appearance. Proctor Silex 4-Slice Toaster While this toaster is a great value, it was very clear which side the heating element was on — there was a clear ombre of browning from right to left in the toast. Elite Platinum Cool Touch Long Slot Toaster The long slots were nice for rustic bread, but this toaster didn’t include a bagel function. We also found that the knobs and weight of the toaster felt cheap. What Didn't Make the List We tested 10 more 4-slice toasters that didn't make it onto our list of favorites or as strong contenders. Among those are models from Breville, Oster, Hamilton Beach, Cuisinart, KRUPS, Dualit, and Sunbeam. While Breville appliances are generally very high quality and perform quite well, we were surprised by their underperformance in this category and couldn't justify recommending them at such a high price point. Other models we tried missed the mark on several (or all) of our tests, whether due to cheap components, features that didn't work, unreliable performance, or extremely burnt toast. Breville BTA830XL Die-Cast Smart Toaster 4-Slice Long Slot Toaster This model's automated function of lowering and raising the bread was a plus, but ultimately, it seemed more like a "fashion" function that didn't serve a real purpose. Plus, we felt that the progression was too extreme for each doneness setting because the high setting was way too dark. Cuisinart CPT-435 Countdown 4-Slice Toaster This wasn’t the worst toaster we tested, but it wasn’t the best. At the same price point, there are superior options available. It also skewed hotter than any of the other toasters — on the highest setting the toast was black and smoking. Breville BTA720XL Bit More Toaster We like the “bit more” feature, we but took points away when the unit started to smoke. Any setting above three produced burnt-like results. Oster Black Stainless Toaster It looks great but doesn’t perform great. The toasted bread had inconsistent browning, and the bagel function was a flop — both sides were heating the bagel, leaving the exterior charred. Hamilton Beach Extra Wide Slot Toaster For the price, we were fairly pleased with the results from the bread test, producing a beautiful golden brown finish. However, the features didn’t work as promised, especially the bagel function. Sunbeam Wide Slot 4-Slice Toaster This toaster missed the mark on all our tests and felt cheap. The bagel feature didn’t work, as both sides were very dark, and there was inconsistency during the bread test. Cuisinart CPT-142 4-Slice Compact Plastic Toaster This isn't the most reliable toaster we tested. It skews high on browning, and the slots are tight for bagels. Cuisinart Classic 4 Slice Toaster CPT-180WP1 This toaster runs very light, even on the highest setting, meaning you would have to toast your bread a few times to get a true dark color. The bagel function didn’t work and, overall, felt cheaply made. Dualit 4-Slice, 4-Slot Toaster This toaster emits a loud whirring noise while it toasts. That, plus limited features and inconsistent toasting didn’t impress us. KRUPS 4-Slot Toaster There's a lot left to be desired here. The bulky size takes up a lot of room on the countertop, and in testing, the browning was inconsistent. It’s also a fingerprint magnet. Our Expertise Liz Mundle is a writer, editor, and chef in New York City with over a decade of experience in kitchens and magazines. Her writing has appeared in Food & Wine, Saveur, and Domino, among others. She is opening Circus Provisions, a specialty grocery store in Brooklyn, early next year. For this article, she analyzed the insights from our toaster tests to determine the best 4-slice toasters on the market. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit