6 Best Toasters Under $100 of 2025

Embark on your breakfast journey with the Mueller UltraToast 4 Slice, a toaster engineered to handle diverse bread types with remarkable efficiency. Its long, extra-wide 1.6-inch slots effortlessly accommodate everything from thick bagels to lengthy artisan loaves, a key feature addressing the common frustration of oversized bread not fitting. The intuitive LED display paired with sleek touch buttons provides precise control over its six browning levels, ensuring your toast is exactly to your liking every time, making it a versatile foundation for any busy kitchen.

Performance is where this Mueller unit truly shines, particularly when handling multiple slices simultaneously. The intelligent heating technology aims for even toasting, a critical factor often lacking in multi-slot models. While capable of toasting four slices, users should note that achieving perfect uniformity across all slots might sometimes require minor adjustments depending on bread type and freshness. Its removable crumb tray and under-base cord storage contribute to a clean countertop, simplifying daily use and maintenance in a practical, real-world setting.

Positioned as a robust family-sized option, the Mueller UltraToast stands out against smaller 2-slice models like the GE B08NWGNQPS, offering double the capacity for just a slightly larger footprint. It directly competes with the Elite Gourmet ECT4123 in the long-slot 4-slice category, distinguishing itself with a more modern LED interface and memory recall for settings. This toaster is ideal for households frequently toasting various bread sizes and wanting a blend of high capacity and user-friendly digital controls.

The Hamilton Beach 22794 is a dependable workhorse designed to simplify your morning routine, offering exceptional versatility for a 2-slice model. Featuring extra-wide slots that easily handle thicker items like Texas toast and bagels, it eliminates the struggle of fitting bulkier breads. With dedicated bagel, defrost, and cancel functions, plus a 7-shade selector, this toaster provides precise control to achieve your desired level of crispness, making it a highly adaptable tool for diverse toasting needs.

In terms of real-world performance, the Hamilton Beach excels with its Toast Boost feature, a standout innovation that lifts smaller items higher for safe and easy retrieval – a thoughtful solution for English muffins or shorter slices. While offering reliable toasting across its seven shade settings, users should note that like many toasters, achieving absolute edge-to-edge uniformity can sometimes require flipping or minor shade adjustment for certain bread types. The slide-out crumb tray ensures quick cleanup, adding to its practical daily utility.

Compared to basic 2-slice models like the BELLA B0B135NQQZ, the Hamilton Beach offers a more extensive shade range (7 vs 6) and the unique Toast Boost mechanism, adding a layer of convenience. While lacking the 4-slice capacity of units like the Mueller B091SQRKVG, its compact size is perfect for smaller kitchens or individuals/couples. This toaster is best suited for those seeking a reliable, feature-rich 2-slice unit with smart design elements that enhance usability for various bread types.

The GE B08NWGNQPS presents a no-nonsense, reliable approach to morning toast, embodying the brand’s reputation for straightforward, functional appliances. Its stainless steel finish offers a clean, durable aesthetic, while the extra-wide 1.38-inch slots are generously sized for bagels, waffles, and thicker bread slices, addressing common user needs. With seven adjustable shade settings and illuminated buttons, this toaster provides precise, easy-to-select control over your toasting preference, ensuring consistent results for standard toasting tasks.

Engineered with an 850-watt heating element, this GE toaster focuses on delivering even, consistent toasting, a core performance metric for any toaster. In practical use, it handles standard bread and bagels effectively within its seven shade options. While the slots are wide, they are slightly less capacious than the 1.6-inch slots found on some competitors like the Hamilton Beach B09G24YVNG, meaning exceptionally thick artisan bread might be a tight fit. The removable crumb tray makes routine cleaning simple and efficient.

Positioned as a solid mid-range 2-slice option, the GE B08NWGNQPS offers a wider shade range than the BELLA B0B135NQQZ and the brand reliability GE is known for. While it lacks the unique “Toast Boost” feature of the Hamilton Beach B09G24YVNG, its simple interface and consistent performance make it a strong contender. This toaster is an excellent choice for individuals or small families prioritizing dependable, even toasting and a clean, durable design over advanced features or higher capacity.

The BELLA B0B135NQQZ offers a refreshing blend of style and simplicity, making it an attractive budget-friendly option for basic toasting needs. Its compact design and elegant matte finish are perfect for smaller kitchens where counter space is at a premium, addressing the common issue of bulky appliances. Featuring extra-wide slots, 6 browning options, and essential cancel, defrost, and reheat functions, it covers all the fundamental requirements for toasting bread, bagels, and waffles with ease and style.

In terms of performance, the BELLA toaster provides dependable functionality for everyday use. The high lift lever is a practical addition, making it safer and easier to retrieve smaller items like English muffins without fumbling near hot elements. While the auto-centering guides aim for even browning, users might find some variation, particularly at higher shade settings compared to more expensive models. The removable crumb tray is standard and facilitates quick, hassle-free cleaning.

Competing in the crowded 2-slice market, the BELLA distinguishes itself primarily through its attractive design and accessible price point, making it a great value compared to the GE B08NWGNQPS. While it offers fewer shade settings (6 vs 7) than the GE or Hamilton Beach B09G24YVNG and lacks unique features like Toast Boost, its simplicity and compact form are significant advantages. This toaster is ideal for budget-conscious consumers or those with limited space who need a stylish, functional toaster for standard bread types.

The Elite Gourmet ECT4123 is a specialized appliance designed with capacity and versatility for oversized breads in mind, making it a standout choice for families or artisan bread enthusiasts. Its defining feature is the two extra-large, long slots measuring a generous 10 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, capable of fitting up to four standard slices or two extra-long, thick slices of specialty breads. With dedicated bagel, defrost, and reheat functions, alongside 6 adjustable shade settings, it offers targeted controls for various toasting tasks.

Performance-wise, the Elite Gourmet excels at its primary function: handling large and unusually shaped breads that simply won’t fit in standard toasters. The long slots allow for even toasting along the entire length of artisan loaves or multiple smaller items side-by-side. While the six shade settings provide adequate control, achieving perfect uniformity across the entire 10-inch length can sometimes present challenges, requiring careful placement of bread. The reheat function is particularly useful for warming without re-toasting.

Directly competing with the Mueller B091SQRKVG in the long-slot 4-slice category, the Elite Gourmet boasts even longer slots (10″ vs Mueller’s implicit ~5-6″ per slot) but uses a simpler dial control instead of the Mueller’s LED display. It offers significantly more capacity for specialty breads than any 2-slice model like the Hamilton Beach B09G24YVNG. This toaster is the ultimate solution for households that regularly toast long, thick, or multiple slices of non-standard bread types, prioritizing slot size and capacity above all else.

The BLACK+DECKER B00SMS3KZO is a practical and functional toaster built for families needing higher capacity and specific settings for common breakfast items. Its extra-wide slots are designed to accommodate thicker breads and bagels, addressing a frequent pain point for users. With seven shade settings controlled by a simple dial and dedicated push-buttons for Bagel, Frozen, and Cancel, it offers straightforward controls tailored for popular toasting scenarios, making it a convenient appliance for busy mornings.

In terms of real-world use, this BLACK+DECKER unit performs well for standard toasting and excels with its dedicated Bagel function, which toasts the inside while warming the outside – a key feature for bagel lovers. The extra lift lever is a valuable addition, making it safe and easy to retrieve smaller items without reaching into hot slots. While its 1400 watts provide ample power, achieving perfectly even browning across all four slots simultaneously can sometimes require experimentation with shade settings and bread placement.

Positioned as a feature-rich 4-slice toaster, the BLACK+DECKER offers more shade settings (7 vs 6) than the Mueller B091SQRKVG or Elite Gourmet ECT4123 and includes the handy extra lift feature not found on those models. While it lacks the long slots of the Mueller or Elite Gourmet, its standard extra-wide slots are sufficient for most bagels and thicker breads. This toaster is best suited for families who primarily toast standard-sized bread and bagels and value dedicated function buttons and safe retrieval of smaller items.