You get what you pay for with stand mixers, and the Hamilton Beach 7-speed is no exception. This machine has an appealing price point, yet when compared to other tilt-head mixers in the review, it's in the bush league. The mixer does have a planetary mixing action that whips with a degree of competence, but it lacks the power to mix heavy doughs. Also, the clicking whining noises issuing from the machine raise concerns about a complete motor failure. With other notable kitchen appliances on the market, we think it's wise to pass on this contender.
Editor's Note: We updated this gear review on February 14th, 2022, to incorporate new sections that explain whether or not we would purchase this stand mixer and others we suggest.Hamilton Beach 7-Speed Review
This is a light-duty machine for those that use mixers infrequently
Credit: Amazon.com
Price:
$100 List | Check Price at Amazon
Pros: Planetary mixing action, inexpensive
Cons: Limited power, dubious durability
Manufacturer: Hamilton Beach
Pros: Planetary mixing action, inexpensive
Cons: Limited power, dubious durability
Manufacturer: Hamilton Beach
By Nick Miley and Michelle Powell ⋅ Feb 14, 2022
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Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Hamilton Beach 7-Speed | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  | | ||
| Price | Check Price at Amazon | $430 List $449.00 at Amazon | $330 List $347.52 at Amazon | $150 List $139.99 at Amazon | $50 List $37.49 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Planetary mixing action, inexpensive | Powerful motor, simplistic design, sturdy platform | Powerful, affordable, easy to use | Easy to clean, one-handed operation, large bowl | Inexpensive, compact, lightweight |
| Cons | Limited power, dubious durability | Tilt-head impedes bowl access, mediocre whipping action | Poor whipping action, requires bowl scraping | Broad bowl/attachment gap, fiddly splash guard | Under powered, poor at mixing, hard to clean |
| Bottom Line | This is a light-duty machine for those that use mixers infrequently | A do-it-all mixer with a bowl capacity and price suited to most households | Incredibly powerful and easy to use for the price | This economic mixer sacrifices little in the way of performance to keep the cost low | Essentially this is a hand mixer mounted into a stand |
| Rating Categories | Hamilton Beach 7-Speed | KitchenAid Artisan | KitchenAid Classic... | Aucma 6.5qt | Dash Everyday Stand... |
| Mixing (30%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (30%) | |||||
| Whipping (25%) | |||||
| Kneading (15%) | |||||
| Specs | Hamilton Beach 7-Speed | KitchenAid Artisan | KitchenAid Classic... | Aucma 6.5qt | Dash Everyday Stand... |
| Head Type | Tilt | Tilt | Tilt | Tilt | Tilt |
| Bowl Capacity | 4 quart | 5 quart | 4.5 quart | 6.5 quart | 3 quart |
| Standard Attachments | Whisk, flat beater, dough hook | Wire whip, dough hook, flat beater | Wire whip, dough hook, flat beater | Wire whip, flat beater, spiral dough hook | Beaters and dough hooks |
| Motor (watts) | 300-watt | 325-watt | 275-watt | 660-watt | 250-watt |
| Mixing Action | Planetary | Planetary | Planetary | Planetary | Kneading and triplicate whip |
| Number of Speeds | 7 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Attachment Port | no | yes | yes | no | no |
| Timer | no | no | no | no | no |
| Measured Dimensions (L x W x H) | 14.5" x 10.75" x 14.25" | 13.25" x 8.75" x 13.5" | 14.5" x 10.75" x 14.25" | 15.2" x 9.4" x 12.4" | 10.5" x 7.5 x 10.25" |
| Measured Weight | 9lbs. 14oz. | 22lbs. 13oz. | 22lbs. 13oz. | 13lbs. 6oz. | 4lbs. 1oz. |
| Warranty | limited 5-year | 1-year | 1-year | none | limited 1-year |
| Color Options | 4 | 46 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
Show full specification detailsHide full specification details
Our Analysis and Test Results
As the saying goes, buy cheap, buy twice. The Hamilton Beach 7-Speed is one of the least expensive stand mixers in the class. This machine does not offer consumers much beyond an inexpensive way to get a mixer into the kitchen and a little help on low-demand tasks. If you plan to put your mixer to work, this is not the machine for you. A high-quality hand mixer will cost you less, take up less space, and be more dependable.
Performance Comparison
Can a stand mixer look anxious? These ingredients may be too much for this machine's motor.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Likes
Compared to its peers, there isn't a lot positive to say about the Hamilton Beach 7-Speed. However, it is lightweight and it is inexpensive. So, it might offer some consumers access to the mixer market that would otherwise be less than willing to spend the money to get a quality machine.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The 7-Speed's one success in our testing regiment was the whipping exercise. This machine will bring together a decent whipped cream if the user is willing to scrap the sides of the bowl to guide the cream back in contact with the whisk.
Dislikes
There is a lot to gripe about with this machine. However, the wellspring of these critiques is a machine built for limited use on recipes requiring minimal torque from the motor.
The machine's body is almost entirely constructed of plastic, so durability is an issue. The motor issued whining clicking noises when mixing from the first test onward. When set to more demanding tasks such as mixing cowboy cookies or kneading dough, the machine vibrated violently, and the motor would issue a burning smell. We had to turn the mixer off in both cases and finish the tasks by hand.
The hard to reach speed dial.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Should You Buy the Hamilton Beach 7-Speed?
The Hamilton Beach 7-Speed is an expensive kitchen appliance that will likely fail to perform the task for which it was purchased. Of the test recipes that it could satisfactorily complete, the user had to aid it with the spatula. More to the point, some of the tasks we used to test the machine required the user to manually complete as they would have broken the machine had we continued.
What Other Stand Mixers Should You Consider?
We think it's wiser to go with a more reliable option, like the KitchenAid Classic Plus KSM75WH. It's more expensive than the Hamilton but offers better performance, one that is right up there with the top-ranking stand mixers.
— Nick Miley and Michelle Powell
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