Best Kettles to Buy in 2024 for the Perfect Cup
A kettle is an essential kitchen appliance
Especially for us tea-loving Brits. There’s more to a great kettle than just boiling water though, which is why the Good Housekeeping Institute has tried a wide range of models to find the best on the market.
After spending countless hours testing over 180 kettles
In our lab – we've boiled enough hot water to make nearly 5,460 cups of tea! – here are the best kettles to add to your kitchen at a glance, but scroll on for our detailed reviews.
Are expensive kettles worth it?
Here at the GHI, we love a product with fancy features and an innovative design, but is spending extra for these things actually worth it? It comes down to budget and what you’re willing to pay, but a higher price tag doesn’t always mean better quality. After 100 years of product testing, we know that price and performance aren’t always related. The kettles in this list range from £18 to a huge £179. In our search for the best model on the market, we found that the priciest KitchenAid option and our cheapest George Home buy could only be separated by three marks in testing, despite the George kettle boasting a more basic design. Features such as a ‘keep warm’ setting and variable temperature are nice to have and are worth the investment if you have the budget, but they certainly aren’t essential.
Design, speed, capacity and noise control are the features you actually need, but more on that below.
Kettle testing at the GHI is thirsty work, but it involves more than just sipping hot drinks all day.
We fill each kettle from the tap and test the pouring precision into a hot water bottle, looking for splashing and spillages. Next, we monitor how long it takes to boil each kettle at different capacities.
We also check the temperature of the external casing of the handle when water is freshly boiled – some kettles get extremely hot and extra care needs to be taken when picking up to pour. We look at how easy the kettle is to use based on how clear the water level gauge is to see, whether the filter is easy to remove for cleaning and refit, and how comfortable the kettle is to hold.
The overall design is also taken into account, as well as how clear and concise the instructions are. Read on to learn more about our pick of the best kettles, and what you need to know before you buy.
Russell Hobbs Honeycomb 26051 Kettle
This kettle has a handy illuminated water level gauge, which lights up when it's boiling and switches off when it’s ready. We found it fast to boil too, taking a speedy 46 seconds to heat 240ml. At full capacity though, it took almost four minutes.
It has markers for one, two and three cups on the inside, which are helpful if you want to boil specific amounts. It's worth noting that while the handle remained cool, the kettle's exterior reached 63C (very hot!).
