The ten best toasters to buy online now

The De’Longhi Ballerina Toaster is great for thick bread thanks to its wide slots. When it comes to toasters, it has one of the most beautiful and high-quality design and fits perfectly with its matching kettle on your kitchen counter. For such a luxe-looking product, it comes with a not so expensive price tag, so definitely great value for money. It has the ability to set each side of the toaster to different brownness settings. There’s a dial which sets the duration of toasting time. It is tactile and gradual, meaning you won’t have to compromise if your ideal slice is between 3 and 4.

This compact and premium KitchenAid has a stylish design that comes in five colours to suit most kitchen themes and it feels high-end in use, and makes a sound alert when it finishes, raising the toast slowly into view rather than popping it up. It performs consistently, even when toasting batch after batch, with almost every slice coming out with an edge-to-edge golden brown finish. Want to toast your bagels to perfection? Then this may be the pick for you. It’s a great all-rounder that's well worth the investment.

This toaster is great for bread from frozen or thick. Its digital display shows a useful timer which counts down when toasting too. It also comes with a handy bun warming rack and setting, should you want to heat a croissant first thing in the morning. Lastly, the “check” button allows you to pause the timer to check your toast, rather than resetting the program. It’s not the easiest to keep clean, however, as it easily picks up fingerprints, especially around the top.

Perfect for defrosting and toasting frozen bread, the Dualit 4-Slice produces even results. The Peek & Pop function allows you to check the bread while toasting without cancelling the toasting cycle giving greater browning control.It wonderfully cooks bagels, toasting evenly to the edges and leaving the backs soft and warm. It’s great value for money considering how simple it is to use and the overall consistency when toasting batch after batch. It’s also easy to clean with a high quality stainless steel cover and features an optional sandwich cage which accommodates extra-deep fillings.

The Funky Toaster lives up to its name. The controls are appealing, with defrost and cancel buttons front and centre, which make a satisfying click when pressed. You can buy this toaster in three colours, cream, chrome and rose gold. The definition of funky, right? You can control the dial on both sides of the toaster, so if you’re looking for a toaster with lots of settings, this one will suit your household’s various toast preferences. You could also match your toaster with the Funky Kettle and have the complete set.

With the Dualit Architect range, there are interchangeable panels which fit on to the sides of the toasters. This means you have a range of 16 patterns and colours to choose from if you want to change the look of the appliance. You even have three choices for the finish of the main body as well (cream, grey and black), so it can really be personalised. This 4-slice toaster has eight shade settings but it lacks a keep-warm function. It would suit someone who wants to add some personality to their kitchen without compromising on performance.

The Morphy Richards Verve Toaster is budget-friendly and offers a range of great features. The levers allow you to lift and look as your bread toasts, and the slider dial means you can adjust your level of toasting completely. It comes in cream, black and white. The slots are relatively wide, and your toast will pop up once done so you can leave it to brown while you prepare your morning cuppa. While there’s no bagel or crumpet function, this option does come with reheat and frozen settings.

Modern and neat, this toaster has a sleek exterior and solid build at a reasonable price. It has six browning settings but, as with all the others we tested, we set it to half-way first to see what that produced. On the opposite end to the push-down toaster lever, there’s a switch that controls an integrated rack that pops up that, when the dial is set to two, works as warmer and crisper. It’s also great for warming and crisping a roll to have with your lunchtime soup.

Looking for a toaster and kettle combo that you can rely on? Look no further. For a start, the Salter is a good value pick. The toaster is a two-slice model with a defrost setting, as well as a reheat and cancel button. It toasts very evenly between the two slices, and because it’s so compact, it slots into just about any kitchen corner. The kettle is that classic pyramid shape we love. It’s not too loud, and the line along the back makes it easy to judge whether you need a refill. If you have a penchant for rose gold and want a great toaster and kettle set, this is a great choice.

With an exterior that’s pure 1950s Americana, the retro-looking toaster comes in 8 different colours. Although it’s not huge, it does everything you need it to, and it does it all well. There are six browning functions and it also has a defrost button so there aren’t any ‘Oh no, I forgot to take the bread out of the freezer’ moments, while the one side toasting function is good for bagels and the reheat perfect for those of us that sometimes get distracted and leave the toast to cool. The self-centering racks keep the bread neatly in place and there’s a generous pop-up so you don’t end up burning your fingers trying to remove small items.