A Digital Scale Will Take Your Cooking and Baking to the Next Level

Equipment expert Adam Ried discusses the options for digital kitchen scales.
Note: OXO, the manufacturer of our favorite scale, has discontinued the model we tested and introduced a retooled version. We ran the new model through the same set of tests we developed in 2016. We still highly recommend it.
Buy our updated winning digital kitchen scale: cooks.io/2CU3ZIJ
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[@MommaBronkema]

FYI: the Ozeri's platform is actually removeable. Just give it a counter-clockwise turn and lift off.

[@BrandonGraham]

Hmm... Then I wonder how thorough these tests actually are.

[@AnnavBF]

@@BrandonGraham I have a feeling the model they tested (this video is years old) didn't have a removable platform, but the model has since been updated to better compete with the Oxo.

[@TonyValdezCeballos]

@@AnnavBF Sounds about right, my Ozeri is older than this video and doesn't come with the removable platform.

[@logmegadeth72]

I bought mine circa 2015 and it does have the removable platform. It's a good budget scale, but trying to use larger bowls with it is a pain because it covers the display.

[@jeffkim6729]

@@BrandonGraham I wonder if the removability is not mentioned in the instructions. Assuming these are Made in China, often the instructions manuals are pretty substandard.

[@aidanbyrne8267]

You didn't mention precision at all, how many of them have a 0.1g precision and how many only have a 1g precision?

[@ATLfletch]

I can also vouch for the inexpensive Ozeri model. I bought mine about 2 years ago online and I use it at least several times a week and it's performed great. I find its controls easy to use to: tare, convert grams & ounces, and to read. There are just two buttons (simple & accessible) but it works. -Cleanup TIP I picked up : If I'm dealing with something that might get messy all I do is place the scale on the counter with some space around it and tear off a sheet of clear plastic film, about a foot square, and just place it over the whole thing. You can even tape it to the counter if you think it might shift. Then you just toss the plastic film away when you're done measuring. So there's really no clean up at all. -Warning : it is plastic and it doesn't seem very durable. I've probably had up to 5-10 lb of weight on it many times and no problem. However I think if you knock it off the counter and hits the floor once it's probably done (but for about $12 it probably won't sting that bad) . Thank you for all the great reviews.

[@xurx2838]

One thing you didn't cover was the batteries. I recomend people get one that uses AA or AAA for the cost of batteries. The wafer batteries are too expensive and you can't buy rechargeable replacements.

[@humidly]

For anyone interested, according to their description, OXO one runs on 4 AAA & Ozeri's on 2 AAA.

[@oldcowbb]

if i didn't know ATK, i would thought they are sponsored by OXO

[@LifeOfPabs]

These recommendations are all nice but at the price the Oxo one is now, you might as well buy a commercial grade one with higher accuracy with similar features than the Oxo

[@PropunKla]

This is so true. I got one years ago thinking I'd use it for dieting. That never happened but for baking it has been amazing! It makes recipes fool proof now.

[@letsgoalready5515]

Please tell me a good one to get

[@tymesho]

I'm an OXO cat, a pure fan. learned a long time ago that this company puts out quality that is well thought out. their products were a little cheaply made when they first appeared, but you knew smart minds were behind the scenes. since then, they quickly came to the forefront because they are now made extremely well, and yes, I'm a midnight chef as well...it's just fun, and if I have a date, she usually has a blast as well!

[@logmegadeth72]

This is so true, OXO products are super solid. I usually pour over reviews for kitchen gadgets, but if it's OXO it's an instabuy for me.

[@awoodhouse17]

literally said in watching the video. "love oxo".

[@zukacs]

90% of wins on this chanel ara oxo

[@tymesho]

@@zukacs All they do is "just work".

[@desiree2693]

I love my Ozeri. Definitely wish it would do half grams though. But it is a great buy for someone who can't afford the Oxo or maybe wanted to see how weighing ingredients works for them without committing to a more expensive item.

[@michelleadams5609]

I purchased the ozieri scale from Bed Bath & Beyond a year ago for $12 it was a wonderful purchase. Then last December there was a sale at Macy's and I applied a 20% off coupon and added an additional 12 % off which brought it down to $36 I believe. So either way there is no excuse to measure another baking recipe. I only wish that America's test kitchen would also provide their recipes in grams.

[@Smithcraft1]

Why didn't you mention the resolution of the scale, which can be very important with some recipes?

[@dh2950]

summary: 1) Oxo Good Grip $49.99, 2) Ozeri Pronto (Best buy) - $11.79

[@LifeOfPabs]

I was about to buy the oxo scale but the sensitivity is not as impressive as I would’ve wanted for its price

[@hockeyvoice49]

The 11lb isn't available so we've ordered the 5lb. Thanks ATK for always looking into things! Happy to buy OXO and support the good work at ATK!!!

[@GG-qg2iu]

Unfortunately I have a question that wasn't answered. When weighing things out on a scale to bake bread for example and then you want to add say 5 g of yeast are any of these scales sensitive enough to pick up that 5 g?

[@Charley711away711]

Thank you! I just picked the OXO Good Grips 11lb with pull out scale at Bed Bath and Beyond using the 20% off coupon so $39.99 saved $10! And I used Rakuten so saved another 2%.

[@letsgoalready5515]

How do you like it so far

[@BlueHen123]

I have the Ozeri and do like it, however, there are a few things I don't like. First and most important, it doesn't to weigh small amounts well. It goes from 1 gram to 2 grams. Nothing in between. So when I want to add 1.5 grams of yeast, it's not helpful! Also, the quality, while decent, it's not high end by any means. I would definitely splurge for the OXO next time

[@michelleadams5609]

I have both scales on I don't recall if the oxo can measure in decimals engrams. As a Baker myself I definitely would like to look in to that feature. I guess I bake in greater quantities to ever need anything but whole grams

[@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her]

Late reply, but for the benefit of anyone coming along in the future, the OXO also only does full grams. And it's quite inaccurate at micro-weights (0-3 grams). They gloss over the fact that the expensive OXO can be 1-2 grams off & that's considered acceptable in the industry! That sucks... You might have to look for a "precision scale", also called a jewelry scale, coffee scale, or garden scale. Those are more likely to have small, precise increments & gram decimals. Though the trade-off is that they often are physically very small, & most can't handle more than 300-400 grams (less than a pound) of weight.

[@Peppermint1]

A few tips: - skip the $10 scales. You will pest over buttons - I am shocked they didn't mention the importance of the SEALING around the display and buttons. Man, when you are going to pour flour or splash oil and see it leak past the display and into the digits.. you will hate that balance. And if the platform is removable, you can be SURE food will get trapped underneath it. Experts - many scales have big digits on the display, but tiiiiny 'gr' or 'oz' indicators. Awful - as mentioned by others, get ones that use AA batteries, as opposed to ones using cell batteries - last weight 'memory' is quite a good thing to have, these scales have an automatic shutdown after a few minutes, you know as well as I do that we may put something on the scale, weight it, need to add something else but start looking for something else around, then we come back and bam! the scale is off and we cannot remember the weight of the item! Oops. That's why I like the old style mechanical scales, no rush. By the way, for most items you don't need to weight with the precision of a gram To sum it up, you want one that has clear display from all angles (back light displays are not really needed), EASY working buttons and most important very easy to clean and food doesn't get stuck around the screen, buttons or platform

[@johnwilde164]

I have the Escali Primo, which goes for about $25, and have no complaints. I use a small bowl, so platform size isn't an issue. That scale was recommended by NYTimes-Wirecutter.

[@JonnyDIY]

Thank you! Just ordered the Ozeri. Needed a scale for my "attempt" at baking some sourdough bread 😄💕👍

[@kathybandli5897]

The Ozeri broke after a short time of use. Now looking for another scale..😒

[@thatgirl626]

That’s the one I bought Ozeri pronto. Totally love the scale,I use it mostly for baking how ever I do use it when making burgers, I put a piece of wax paper on the scale weigh each ball of burger,wax paper on each flatten stack,when ready to cook in my air fryer use the spices I prefer all the parries are the same.

[@teknophyle1]

This made no mention of precision. I want a scale that will quickly show fractions of a gram. For example if I'm measuring something like coffee grounds for espresso 12 grams on the scale may either overfill or underfill the filter cup. If any beans are broken before grinding they may pack more tightly into the measuring scoop so that's not very reliable either.

[@hollym5873]

This is a duplicate of a video you aired a couple of months. I know because I purchased the winner

[@HeyImDateMike]

Holly M how is it?

[@Brandon-mh7mr]

I bought the one from Opanaa.com 100% the best

[@capcon52]

I am new to baking. I even went out and bought a digital scale. However what is driving me crazy in converting from cups to ounces to grams is that if I clicked on 100 different conversion charts, I get 100 different figures for example. One chart may say 1 cup of bread flower converts to 120 grams and the next will say 130 grams and one even says 137 grams. How do I learn what the correct conversion is????????

[@rainerrain9689]

I hear ya, I've run into the same problem ,different conversions all over the web, frustrating . Plus we NEED exact measurements/weights when Baking.

[@bezoomer]

Try King Arthur - and stick with their products (I'm a baker, not a marketeer - no affiliation with that company other than I love their stuff). I have the Ozeri and while it's easy to use, I'm not sure I trust its accuracy, particularly with liquids. Actually looking for something that may be more precise.

[@rainerrain9689]

Your reply has nothing to do what we're talking about,your only concern is to pump King A and the Ozeri. Tell me ,so called Baker,what Baker uses a scale they don't think is accurate ,don't bother answering. Baker my a$$.

[@RadicalEdwardStudios]

I must confess, this seems like you just shot a new video with the same test data from the 2016 tests. I say this because, while there was talk about there being many new options "since the last test", one of the items mentioned had the "switch in the battery compartment" flaw that was identical to the one from 2016. I believe it to be the same item. I can't imagine why anyone would re-run the same tests, the same ways, with the same scales. So ... the content just got re-recorded. If you're going to do a re-shoot, maybe remember that your similar videos ... tend to link to each other through the youtube algorithms.

[@TonyValdezCeballos]

But Lisa McManus does a better job

[@zheckav]

Same old models, a lot of the same old footage… Why?!

[@persephonelark6533]

My Weigh Maestro is better in every way than the Oxo... did you leave it out of the test for a reason?

[@mspeir]

I have a MyWeigh KD-8000 and it's the best scale I've ever owned. Not to mention it's priced comparably to the OXO. It's exclusion is rather strange.

[@MarshaMarsha885]

I usually buy what they recommend but I can't see dishing out 50$ for a scale. Being off a half an oz isn't going to break the recipe on a cheaper one I got for 15$ and weights just fine.

[@michelleadams5609]

Exactly that's why I measure in grams.

[@mythicalsurvivor]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqCvlmd6qsmabck

[@alessandroluce]

escali primo is amazing !!!

[@misteryman526]

I'd be interested to see the weight testing, because the reviews on Amazon indicate that the OXO readout has a significant delay registering changes to the weight and may not register very small (1g, 2g) amounts at all.

[@markholm7050]

MiSt 526 I received the new version of the 11 pound OXO scale as a Christmas present. The response to weight changes is pretty quick. I have no complaint about that. The repeatability seems to be about +-1 to +-2 grams. That is good enough for all my heavy ingredients, like flour and water in bread making, or portioning food for diet control. I don’t use it for smaller amounts of ingredients. I work in a hybrid mode for bread baking, flour, water, and sourdough starter by weight, salt and sugar by measuring spoon, yeast by packet. If I wanted to measure the smaller ingredients by weight, I would need a more precise scale. Note, I am a retired chemist, so I have a fair amount of experience with scales. (Chemists call them balances, and I have to mentally translate balance to scale and back every time I communicate with a non-chemist.) I can’t comment much on accuracy because I don’t have a set of calibration weights.

[@DennisInVenice]

I have a bread recipe with amounts like 4.3 grams. Most scales are accurate to only a gram. Did you test the finest increments of accurate?

[@aliarsenal6136]

THANK YOU. I really need this video as I'm looking for an accurate kitchen scale. It's been 3 days of my search but I am still wandering around to find the best one with afforsable price. OXO still out of my budget. Its like almost 1k here in my country.

[@cindyboor7876]

Did you ever find a accurate scale and if so what was it?

[@aliarsenal6136]

@@cindyboor7876 I went for a digital kitchen scale but it is not branded. And its cheap, less than $15. It is not that bad.

[@AndreyK415]

Review sucks, not in-depth, recommending budget scale which won't fit a small bowl on it because the platform is too small. Didn't talk about micro-adding powder and seeing if the scale is able to register that and stay linear in weight measurement.

[@dyvel]

So what about the soehnle? Why did you choose to evaluate the only one with tricky unit conversion instead of their best-selling page comfort or page profi models with easy unit conversion? This test doesn't seem fair.

[@TonyValdezCeballos]

What are you talking about? Soehnle?

[@dyvel]

@@TonyValdezCeballos yeah, soehnle page profi 300 for example. Look it up.

[@CaptainFabulous84]

I use a postal scale. Cause I'm a maverick.

[@dscrive]

I also do that, because I'm not going to go out and buy another digital scale when I hardly ever have to weigh a package or mail anyway :P

[@AirrowRocket]

Banal.

[@jamesbell4041]

Guys please check that the scale platform can be removed for cleaning, before purchasing, as on many (including the OXO one featured in this video) the pan is glued down. 🙏🏿💜

[@XavierKatzone]

Where are the item titles?

[@wendymcclean3182]

Are scales available that do not use batteries?

[@CarolineWolterHall]

It doesn’t say OXO anywhere on that scale, and it’s absolutely no where to be found to buy, including on OXOs own website. ☹️

[@crickkett7510]

I bought mine 10 yrs ago. Two scales and each having at least two features that the other does not. Brands are KitchenAid hand Salter.

[@3DPI67]

Am I the only one who has - scale turning off automatically anxiety ? I wish it was one of the testing parameters. otherwise the review was great.

[@ginawiggles918]

The only problem is.......when you go to Amazon to BUY the winning OXO scale, it is *"CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE."* So kinda defeats the purpose of the recommendation. Maybe an update is in order.

[@EssexCountyPhoto]

My great Oxo is stuck on 1 when I try to use start it up... Anyone knows if there's a secret reset button anywhere? Cheers!

[@SonicBoomC98]

I wish OXO had a mini scale

[@DrLFV]

I love this channel, and I have absolutely NO criticism. America's test kitchen can do no wrong....However, someone needs to tell me what in the heck are those people doing in the background, worrking away like a bunch of umpa loompas as if these two weren't in the middle of a best-in-class review sesh?! 😂 Is there no break for the rest of the test kitchen?

[@jessepartida9119]

That's the one I'm buying, Thanks

[@JEEBUSxHIMSELF]

this channel is such a great tool for this type of stuff

[@lilrubberducky2]

A very useful video.

[@SweetiePeachies]

Haha of course the presenter touched the calibrated weights with his bare hand!

[@Hittsy]

Man you guys love oxo's stuff

[@michaelbracken5049]

sgt. rootbeer oxo is great stuff

[@tymesho]

use it Sarge, then let me know...

[@craigcalame2219]

Oxo kitchen scale cannot be calibrated

[@darryldrax606]

I'm in the market for a scale Thanks for doing the research for me 👍😉

[@Productum]

Really good review and comparison! Last week I bought a similar kitchen scale (from Ommo) and I'm quite happy with it. :)

[@Chris-op7yt]

my latest digital scale is a flop, for when you want to make sourdough starter. it can indeed weigh things correctly to the gram, but not when you're slowly adding or removing small amounts of flour. often the display doesnt budge, many grams later, and reading still off, until you lift and set down container with the flour. bad, bad, bad scale..accura brand btw. Looking into it more...I found out it's a software bug, common in the chip used by many scales. I could provide a fix to the software but, they most likely dont desire their proprietary buggy software fixed.

[@user-ss6yv6cy5g]

Bought an OXO can opener. Lasted about two months. Very poor quality.

[@j7ndominica051]

There are usually only a couple models available at a store, and I can't choose all the best properties at the same time. Even though my scale by Soehnle comes with AA batteries with higher capacity, which can commonly be recharged, it still automatically shuts off to "save energy". They all have electronic buttons, which continuously drain the battery. Pointless virtue signalling. It has tactile microswitch buttons, which are superior to flat buttons that need to be pressed hard. Removable glass. Reads the same with bowl off center. Libra switch is on the bottom.

[@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her]

......WTF do button types have to do with virtue-signaling, dawg? 😂

[@kingdombarbecuecateringser6572]

Hello love you guys and all of your shows

[@cristrivera]

Excellent video, Thanks👍🏻

[@kejung1]

Thank you!!

[@tkjazzer]

Compare the 11 lbs oxo scale with the 22 lbs oxo

[@jasonf5920]

When is Lisa coming back to run these reviews the right way? (Single host, no hack dialog, covers every item... not just the couple being promoted). These feel more like informercials than objective professional evaluations. Are the exhaustive reviews just too expensive to run completely?

[@TonyValdezCeballos]

Lisa is the best for this

[@graceiovine3080]

I love my OXO!

[@JoeyFallas]

The recommended scale is very poor at reading small amounts of weight. As in small amounts of added spices that may way less than 10Mg.

[@JaredSutter]

You need a jeweler's scale for that. No kitchen scale has that much precision

[@margaretmccullough4457]

I don’t know if you’ll see this or not but I would love to see a review on electric skillets

[@88tongued]

Wait a minute, the man said all he requires to be happy is to stay off those food scales. So, he is probably the easiest man to please in human history! One condition that can easily be met in almost all circumstances is honestly a cheap, adequate alternative to the unconditional happiness of the enlightened Buddha.

[@Goldone99]

Dropping a Scale Blasphemy!

[@caseytrader7478]

Wheres Lisa?

[@melbee0508]

The ozeri, is trash and is very unreliable... I've had it change weights while weighing... for instance i put a 14oz containers on it and it went from 0- 10 oz and to 8 and bach to 0. it did this for 20 minutes I had to turn it off and put it away. This happened only a few months after purchase. I'm surprised they liked this one.

[@puretoronto]

Was anyone else watching the redhead in the back the whole time... or is it just me?

[@lindad535]

Now $55.99. 😞

[@dracon501]

Breaking up weed has never been easier.

[@jacobnewman2494]

Why do they never age they all look the same as the did 10 years ago

[@HamHamDude]

... who gets their scale dirty?

[@jonmatle]

Anyone who uses a scale while baking.

[@vernacote2219]

Hello girls

[@lisawhitfield2794]

He's married to that other lady that usually be with this lady in real life. The lady on the right at the end.

[@ya00007]

Why do Americans still use cups for measuring?

[@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her]

It's convenient, & easier to visualize & memorize than some random hundred-something mL stuff. We have measuring cups everywhere. Standard water bottles are just slightly over 2 cups (servings) of water, which also makes them easy to add drink mix to for perfect measures.

[@ya00007]

@@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her For liquids cups are fine, but for other ingredients such as flour it's not. Same for temperature. It's easier to remember water boils at 100 and freezes at 0. So why don't Americans move over to celcius? The metric system is far more easier to understand and use.

[@cgirl111]

You know who knows a whole lot about good scales for baking? People who vape and make their own vape juice. Hit up a forum or two and check out what they recommend.

[@9682juan]

Lisa did this so much better

[@Deovera94]

10 scales, 2 failed but you only cover the 2 best out of 8? Thanks for wasting my time.

[@SonicBoomC98]

I think the rest are on the website

[@squirt0003]

Boo bring back Lisa

[@CarolusBuchwurm]

Actually it makes a lot of sense to hide the ounces/grams setting somewhere you'll never push on by accident if you exclusively use grams like us Europeans.

[@brianbrown7982]

Can you use these scales to weigh weed?

[@imfrommanndame]

Please bring back the old format. These over-enthused caricatures posing as experts are doing my head in.

[@crickkett7510]

imfrommanndame, agree!

[@wackycuda9906]

Anyone mention that this guy’s fingers exhibit a minor form or clubbing; indicating a need to assess cardiovascular health? Can someone let him know?

[@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her]

Good concern, though some people are also born with them like that (I am).

[@ronitroth187]

.

[@erikadowdy686]

Can u make these shows any more BORING?!?! I mean, information is good but cut it down a bit to make it more interesting please

[@tymesho]

a lot of people that view their videos are newbies. probably as many as seasoned cooks, I like them because they cater to both. relax, babygirl, it's all smooth...

[@michelleadams5609]

They've been doing this longer than you've been born I'm sure

[@tymesho]

@@michelleadams5609, YEP, AND I'm SURE the people Chris surrounds everybody with are capable of bringing out their best. now, if we could just get P.B.S. to broadcast the show in HD? I just know that spinach pie would look more delectable!

[@jeffjohnsonharrison4719]

Let me guess... Oxo sponsor?