The Best 4-Slice Toasters, According to Lab Tests

How We Tested

We tested 20 of the top 4-slice toasters in our Lab by seeing how well they toasted up regular white bread, bagels, and frozen waffles. We ran each test on three settings: light, medium, and high, to accurately gauge heat level and evenness. The testers also wiped down each machine repeatedly and emptied the crumb trays. All of our reviewers evaluated the four-slice toasters on design, performance, features, ease of cleaning, and overall value.

We also sent some four-slice toasters to the homes of our experienced food writers so they could spend weeks testing their capabilities. They used the machines to toast a variety of bread, frozen waffles, and ready-to-eat breakfast pastries, plus tried out all the functions and features, cleaned them, stored them, and ultimately decided what their strengths and weaknesses were.

Other Options We Tested

• Cuisinart CPT-180P1 4-Slice Classic Metal Toaster: Our home tester generally enjoyed our former best overall pick, since it's easy to clean, has independent settings, and is relatively affordable. But the negatives she observed became even more apparent when tested in the Lab. Our editors observed inconsistent results and uneven browning. When using the bagel function, the toaster doesn't turn off one side, which could result in a burnt exterior.
• KRUPS KH734D Breakfast Set 4-Slot Toaster: With six browning settings, a sleek design, and built-in cord storage, this Krups four-slice toaster was a favorite for a long time. When we tested it in our Lab though, our testers found it left a lot to be desired; the shading was inconsistent and very uneven across the functions. Toasting bread skewed toward very dark browning while toasting bagels skewed very light. On top of that, it was a "fingerprint nightmare."
• Breville BTA830XL Die-Cast Smart Toaster 4-Slice Toaster: The Breville Die-Cast Smart Toaster is one of the more expensive models on the market, so we sent it to a home tester as well as to the Lab to be evaluated as a contender for Best High-End. Our testers found that its automated lowering/rising function was very fun to use, but it didn't serve a real purpose. The bagel even got caught a few times during Lab testing, so it doesn't work perfectly. But what really took this off our recommendations was the overly hot highest setting that burned toast and bagels.
• Cuisinart CPT-142 4-Slice Compact Plastic Toaster: We initially liked this Cuisinart for its space-saving design and affordability, so it was included in our Lab testing. During the tests, it skewed very hot, burning both bread and bagels, and even warping some of its plastic casing. It led one of our testers to state that an oven broiler would work better than this. Needless to say, we don't recommend it.
• Breville BTA730XL Bit More 4-Slice Toaster: Breville is one of the most respected countertop appliance brands, and we expected its Bit More Toaster to be one of our top picks. This ultimately let us down, though: during testing, only the medium setting produced decent toast and an evenly browned bagel. The highest setting yielded burnt toast. Things got even worse with the bagel test when both sides ended up charred and inedible.
• Dualit Vario Four-Slice Toaster: Our Lab testers found this Best High-End contender looked slightly European in design and definitely the most fun to toast with. Its very powerful lift lever was one of the few toasters to give a true cartoon-like pop up and out of the toaster. Beyond that though, we couldn't find other features to justify the cost. The toast settings need to be fine-tuned or you'll end up with too-light or too-dark toast, with inconsistent browning, and the exterior was hard to keep clean.
  

What to Look for in a 4-Slice Toaster

Shade settings

These adjustable settings indicate the shade level, or how toasted your bread will be. These are either shown in numbers going up to 6 or 7, indicating the brownness of the toast (from light brown to dark brown) or in minutes counting down before the toast pops up.

Standard features

Features found in most four-slice toasters include a crumb tray, lift lever (allowing you to lift the finished toast higher to avoid getting burned), and width slots. Depending on how wide they are, the width slots will allow you to fit and evenly toast more than just a regular slice of toast, such as bagels, artisan bread slices, pastries, and more.

Extra features

Many four-slice toasters also include extra settings and features that may be useful depending on your needs. Examples include defrost, reheat, and keep-warm settings; a "lift and look" feature that lets you pause toasting to check doneness; "a bit more" option that lets you toast a little longer if the bread wasn't toasted to your liking; and a digital display.

FAQs

How do you clean a toaster?

Before cleaning your toaster, unplug it and make sure it's completely cooled down. Then, remove the crumb tray and shake loose crumbs from the tray into a trashcan or the sink. The tray can be washed by hand if needed, and should be completely dry before returning it to the toaster.

It's also a good idea to turn the actual toaster upside down and give it a shake over the trash can or sink to dislodge any additional crumbs. If any crumbs remain, you can use a small brush to clean them from the toaster slots.

The outside of the toaster and controls can be wiped down with a damp cloth.

What do the numbers on a toaster mean?

The numbers on a toaster are meant to be a guide to level of toast doneness, but they vary from toaster to toaster. Turning the dial to "2" on different toasters will likely result in very different levels of brownness.

On high-end toaster models, the numbers sometimes correlate to minutes, but again, that's not the case on all toasters.

It's best to experiment with a few slices of bread to figure out what each setting on your toaster produces and find the settings that meet your preferences.

What does the bagel setting on a toaster do?

The bagel setting lets the toaster know you're toasting something thicker, like a bagel or English muffin, which requires more time to heat through and toast evenly. The toaster automatically increases the toasting time when this function is used.

Can you put foil in a toaster?

Even though aluminum foil is designed to withstand heat, it's not a good idea to use it in a toaster; there isn't enough clearance in toaster slots to make sure the foil isn't touching the heating elements. Save the foil for a toaster oven or standard oven.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Donna Currie knows a thing or two about bread, toasted or not. The Spruce Eats writer and reviewer not only wrote a book about the bread-making process ("Make Ahead Bread") but she's also written roundups on various kinds of toasters and toaster ovens for our site. Check out her picks of the best two-slice toasters.

This roundup was edited by Katya Weiss-Andersson, a writer and editor who has nearly a decade of experience as a professional chef, and Siobhan Wallace, who compiled testing data from our official Lab as well as insights from our home testers.