The best kettles for everyday use

Read on to discover which kettles are best – you might be surprised by how inexpensive some of our choices are. For over 200 buyer’s guides, visit our product review section and find guides to everything from sandwich toasters to bread machines.

Bosch cordless kettle

Best high-tech kettle
Pros: Sleek, fast, good value
Cons: Larger than average base, slightly noisyThis Bosch cordless kettle is attractive, stylish and offers great features. The kettle sits on a black base with touchscreen-like controls. From here, you can turn it on and off, or set the temperature to between 70C and 100C. This means that if you’re an aficionado of different teas, such as green tea or oolong, you’ll be able to select the best temperature for your brew.

There’s also a 'keep warm' button to maintain the water at the same temperature for 30 minutes – you can press this while it’s heating up or when it’s just finished. The kettle will reheat every few minutes before switching itself off again. All the icons are self-explanatory and easy to use.

The kettle itself is sleek and sturdy, with a stainless steel body, while the top, handle and spout match the black base. The chunky handle is set well away from the water-level indicator, making it easy to read. This is a flip-up kettle, and it opens widely, making it particularly easy to fill.

As the kettle gets to work, you can watch it progress with a funky blue light moving through the temperatures until it reaches your chosen one. The kettle announces that it's finished with a beep as it switches off.

The size of the base means the footprint is bigger than for most kettles. However, it's deep rather than wide, so it shouldn’t be a deal breaker if you have a small kitchen.

This was also the quickest of all the kettles we tested, boiling a litre of water in 2 minutes 6 seconds. However, it is on the noisy side – we had to turn up the volume on the radio!

Specifications
Product code: TWK7203GB
Choice of temperature: Yes
Temperature indicator: Yes
Keep warm function: Yes
Water level indicator: Yes
Removable limescale filter: Yes
Lid type: Flip up
Capacity: 1.7l
Height: 23cm
Width: 23.5cm
Depth: 14.2cm
Finished beep: Yes

Dualit domus kettle

Most user-friendly kettle
Pros: Stylish, great quality
Cons: Expensive

The shiny, stainless steel Dualit domus kettle doesn’t come cheap, but it's brilliantly designed. There are two water windows – one showing the number of cups and the other the volume in litres. Both of these are marked in contrasting white and very easy to read. Unusually, these windows are also not behind the handle, making reading it even easier.

The Dualit is smaller than most of the kettles we tested, with a maximum capacity of only 1.5 litres. However, that’s still enough for around six cups of tea, so unless you have a particularly big household or host tea parties, this shouldn’t be a problem. The base is smaller than average as well, giving it a compact feel.

The lid is a pull-up one but, unusually, it's hinged, so dropping it back into place is effortless and it clicks in easily, while the silicone handle is easy to grip.

The on switch is satisfyingly chunky, and a white light at the bottom of the kettle clearly shows when it’s on. The kettle is also BPA-free (a chemical used in many household products).

It’s a heavily branded kettle, with the Dualit logo twice on the body, once on the lid and three times on the base. It boils fairly quickly – we tested it several times and got an average time of 2 minutes 26 seconds for a litre. It also pours very easily – the spout is designed to ensure no drips.

Specifications
Product code: 72310
Choice of temperature: No
Temperature indicator: No
Keep warm function: No
Water level indicator: Two
Removable limescale filter: Yes
Lid type: Hinged pull-up
Capacity: 1.5l
Dimensions: H23cm x W16cm x D24cm
Weight: 1.025k
Finished beep: No

Tower Bottega 1.7l kettle

Best traditional kettle
Pros: Quiet, distinctive
Cons: Water level is quite hard to see

We loved the unusual look of this Tower kettle. Taller than a pyramid kettle and rounder than a jug style – it's nothing if not distinctive. It has a cottage-style appearance and would look great in a kitchen of this style.

There's an old-style thermometer feature, which shows the temperature rising as the kettle heats up. It means you can switch if off when it reaches a lower temperature if you want to, though you can’t set it to do this automatically.

We tested the black and rose gold kettle, which is also available in white and rose gold. We liked the pull-off lid which has a ring-shaped top, so you can hook your finger into it and pull it off effortlessly. The 'on' switch is a rose gold knob, with the stalk leading to it and the end lighting up so you can see it’s working.

The contoured handle is easy to hold as well as being stylish. The kettle was one of the quietest we tested and we had no problem listening to the news as it heated up. It was reasonably quick too, boiling our litre of water in an average of 2 minutes 16 seconds. The only downside we found was the water-level indicator, as the markings are difficult to read.

Specifications
Product code: T10200
Choice of temperature: No
Temperature indicator: Yes
Keep warm function: No
Water level indicator: Yes
Removable limescale filter: Yes
Lid type: Pull off
Capacity: 1.7l
Dimensions: H28cm x W24cm x D19cm
Weight: 1.115k
Finished beep: No

Swan Nordic jug kettle

Most stylish

Pros: Very attractive, reasonably fast
Cons: Limescale filter awkward to remove

If you want a kettle that's striking and different, this Scandinavian-style Swan kettle could be the answer – it's an elegant and streamlined kettle.

Although it’s simple, it’s very thoughtfully designed, even down to the cord matching the white body of the kettle (which is also available in grey). The wood-effect handle is made of rubber – but you wouldn’t know until you touch it. There’s a striking, contrasting trim along the top and bottom of the kettle, and it isn’t over-branded.

There's a lift-off lid, which pulls off and fits back in easily. The 'on' knob is a small stalk with a little blue light at the end, so you can check it’s heating up. The kettle is fairly efficient, taking 2 minutes and 24 seconds boil time for a litre of water. This kettle is also among the lightest of the ones we tested.

Another advantage is the small footprint of the base, so despite its 1.7 litre capacity, it doesn’t take up much space on the worktop. However, the water level is tricky to see as it’s behind the handle, and we found the small limescale filter very fiddly to remove.

Specifications

Choice of temperature: No
Temperature indicator: No
Keep warm function: No
Water level indicator: Yes
Removable limescale filter: Yes
Lid type: Pull off
Capacity: 1.7l
Dimensions: H25.5cm x W16cm x D22cm
Weight: 936g
Finished beep: No

Buyer's advice

Which kettle to buy?

Classic or multifunction
If you just want a kettle that boils water, you’re spoilt for choice. If you’re a lover of fine teas, some of which brew better at lower temperatures, you might want one which enables you to select the temperature. This option can also suit parents making hot drinks for children. Some kettles also have a 'keep warm' function, which is useful if you don’t all want your tea at the same time.

Style
Classic, old-fashioned, shaker, trendy, futuristic – there’s a kettle for you whatever type of kitchen you have. While most modern kettles are jug-style, taking up less space on the worktop, there are plenty of pyramid kettles on the market if you prefer one of those. All the kettles we tested sat on a base, which plugged into the mains, and all had auto-switch off.

Lid
Flick up or pull off? If you like to operate your kettle with one hand, you might prefer one where you just press a button to lift the lid. Some people would rather have one where the lid comes off completely.

Speed
If you want a quick break from work, you might appreciate a kettle that is a minute or so quicker.

Noise
Some people want their kettle to be as unobtrusive as possible, and certainly not loud enough to drown out the radio or music. But if you like to flick on the kettle, then go off into a different room while it boils, you might like one that’s a bit louder, so you can hear when it clicks off.

Price
You might be surprised at how cheap – or expensive – a kettle can be. Our samples ranged from £22.99 to £149.

What we looked for in a kettle

Good looks

Kettles live on worktops, so which one you buy might come down to the one you like the look of, and will fit in well with the style of your kitchen.

Quality

Well-fitting lids, quality on switches and filters – we were looking for a kettle that felt like it would last.

Speed

While speed might not be the deciding factor when choosing a kettle, for most of us the quicker, the better. We poured a litre of water into each of the kettles – enough for four mugs – and got the stopwatch out.

Ease of use

There’s no point having a beautiful kettle if it’s awkward to use. We looked for kettles that were simple to fill and pour, with a good grip and easy-to-read water levels.

Value

We awarded extra points for those kettles that were great value for money.

How to clean a kettle

It's the age-old question of kettle maintenance – how do you get rid of a build-up of limescale? We recommend using vinegar, which is a common household ingredient that works as a gentle acid to break down deposits inside of your kettle. Add half a cup of neat white vinegar to a kettle filled with water and leave it to sit overnight – this should remove any surface scale. Try to do this regularly to avoid a heavy build-up that becomes impossible to remove.

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This review was last updated in January 2020. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.

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