I’ve bought more waffle makers than most people in their entire lifetime. Sitting in my pantry right now are over 20 different units, from different makes and models. Why? I simply want to know which is the best there is (plus, I can’t turn down a good, syruped-with-a-handful-of-berries-on-top waffle).
If there's one takeaway from this personal crusade, it's that the boxes never tell you what really matter: if the plates heat evenly, whether the machine can handle a real batter instead of a liquidy-thin mix, and, most importantly, if you’d still like using it after the tenth Saturday morning. For folks who are having these questions and would like to get a nice waffle maker for their kitchen – one that’s affordable, durable, and can turn out picture-perfect waffles – these three models that I’ve personally tested and used for weeks came out way ahead of their competitors.
TLDR: The best waffle maker I'll recommend without hesitation is the Cuisinart F40. Aside from being able to cook two waffles at once, it posted the highest scores I recorded on both batters in this entire test. Despite costing more, cooking slower, and taking up more counters than the other two picks below – it’s still an excellent pick.
Here’s a visual comparison of all the top waffle makers together:
*All the prices in this article are at the point of publication.
**All test data are derived from our tests at ShouldIt.com.
How I Tested
I ran every machine through two kinds of batters:
- One I mixed myself, and
- A store-bought Birch Benders mix (which runs thinner and sweeter)
The main reason for this choice is to catch machines that only look good with one type of batter. Some irons handle a thick, home-style mix just fine, but completely blow it on a thin batter, overcooking or letting it run out the sides.
With each batch, I judge every waffle on how it’s browned, how it holds together and tasted. And because mornings are hectic, I also timed each cook from batter-in until done to see how fast each model works.
Beyond the waffles, I also live with the machines for a while to get an idea of how well-built each one is, how it ran where I grab it, how much of a hassle clean-up is, and whether I could tell from across the kitchen (using indicator lights, audible chime, or a combo of both) that my waffle’s ready.
1. Cuisinart F40 – Best to Buy ($149)
The F40 is a double Belgian waffle maker with a 180-degree rotary flip feature – you load batter into two wells, flip the whole unit, and it cooks both sides evenly while you do something else. It's a tall machine that stands nearly 20 inches at rest, with five browning settings and lights that tell you when it's ready to load and ready to eat. It runs $149.95 at MSRP, though I've seen it sitting closer to $110 to $135 at most retailers, and it carries Cuisinart's standard 3-year warranty.
This is the best-performing machine I tested across both batters, and it's not even close, receiving a total performance score of 9.2 out of 10. My homemade batter came out well-browned, tender, and the best-tasting waffle of that batch. Birch Benders came out even better – the single best-tasting waffle I made in this entire test.
That performance costs you time. Across 20 or so machines I tested, a homemade batch averaged 4 minutes and the Birch Benders averaged 6 – the F40 came in behind both, at 6 minutes and 8 minutes. Some of that gap starts before you've even poured batter: preheating took a full 8 minutes on its own, long enough that I learned to plug it in before I started mixing, not after. But the F40 is also the only one of the three baking two full Belgian waffles per cook instead of one, so that extra time buys you double the yield.
On the other hand, if what you’re after is something that can make you a waffle in under five minutes pronto on a weekday morning, this isn't that machine.
Build quality is solid, and the waffle plates are the deepest of the three, with decent room for syrup and toppings.
On a day-to-day basis, this one surprised me. I went in expecting the rotary flip to be a hassle, but Cuisinart made it rather seamless. I was able to flip the baking chamber with one hand, and no matter how many consecutive cooking sessions I put the waffle maker through, the handle stayed cool the entire time. Cleanup was fast, too, helped along by a removable aluminum drip tray that slots underneath the baking chamber to catch any batter overflows (which didn’t happen much during my test). I could just slide it out and rinse it separately instead of wiping down the whole base while it’s still hot.
The only notable issue I ran into was cosmetic: the metal shell can be scratched and smudged more easily than I’d like, and after a few days of use, mine had collected visible fingerprints and light marks that no amount of wiping fully cleared.
For all these reasons, if you want a perfect waffle, feeding a family of four and above, and have the counter and cabinet space to spare, this is the one to buy. It’s not without a reason that it got a 9.2 overall rating, which is the highest in our database thus far.
Cuisinart F40 – Best to Buy
Price: $149
2. Ninja BW1001 – Best for Busy Mornings ($99.99)
The BW1001 stands the batter reservoir on its side instead of laying it flat – by far the most unique design I’ve ever seen for a waffle maker. This also makes it compact enough to tuck into a small kitchen (since its largest dimension is height), and it comes with a measuring cup for pouring batter, five shade settings, and a specialty setting for high-sugar batters like brownie mix.
Performance-wise, the Ninja BW1001 did its job remarkably well in my hands-on tests. My homemade batter came out even – every category landing at exactly 9 out of 10. Switch to the thinner Birch Benders mix, though, and it dropped to 7 across the board. The reason is very likely to be the vertical reservoir, which depends on batter viscosity to hold its shape while it cooks, so a thinner batter has more room to run before it sets.
If you mix your own batter at a normal home-recipe consistency, this handles it better than either Cuisinart here. If you're pouring a thin boxed mix, measure carefully with the included cup and don't overfill. Cook times were steady regardless of batter – 5 minutes for the self-mixed batch, 4 minutes 40 seconds for Birch Benders. Among the top-ranking machines I tested, this was the best combination of speed and quality – quick to cook and consistently the better-tasting waffle.
Fit and finish held up well through testing – the plastic trim didn't feel cheap, and the hinge on the vertical lid opened and closed smoothly through every use. The only problem I ran into was that, at one point, out of muscle memory, I grabbed the piping hot top of the waffle maker where you pour batter in, and burned myself. Definitely something to watch.
Unlike the F40, the Ninja BW1001 only makes one waffle at a time, so the smaller footprint doesn't translate into faster batch cooking for a crowd – you're trading counter space for throughput. At $99.99 (plus 1-year limited manufacturer warranty), it landed an 8.7 overall, the second-best score in this test.
For small kitchens, apartment counters, and for anyone who only ever serves waffles for two to three people at a time, this is the most complete machine here. Bonus point if you need a speedy waffle maker, also – its cooking time is hard to beat.
Ninja BW1001 – Best for Busy Mornings
Price: $99
3. Cuisinart WMR-CA – Best Classic ($35)
The WMR-CA is the round, single-waffle, dial-controlled iron that looks like the one your grandmother owned, and that's the point. It's compact, simple, and cheap, with five browning settings and lights that tell you when it's ready to load and ready to eat.
Batter choice changed the outcome quite drastically with this one. My first pass with homemade batter scored a soft 6.7, with streaky, uneven browning and a couple of spots that stayed doughy because the batter was thicker than what this plate design wants.
Switch to the thinner Birch Benders mix, though, and it jumped to 7.7 – the best-tasting waffle this machine made all test. If you're using a boxed mix or a thin homemade batter, this iron performs closer to its price bracket than you'd expect. If you're using a thick, from-scratch batter, thin it out or expect uneven cooking.
It cooked in 3 minutes flat, which is the fastest of the three picks, likely a function of cooking a smaller single waffle rather than a double-Belgian portion. Build quality is solid for the price, and nothing rattles, though the waffle plates are the shallowest of the three, since the round single-waffle shape gives you less depth than a proper Belgian iron.
The one place this machine actually lost me was the indicator light, which scored just 6.5 – the lowest mark of any category on this machine. It's a single small light, and I lost track of it more than once from across the kitchen while doing something else. Everything else about living with it day to day was strong, adding up to a 9.1 on daily usability, the best of the three machines here.
If you want a classic round waffle for one or two people and don't want to spend more than $40, this is it – just thin your batter to get the better result I got with the boxed mix. The trade-off is small, single-serving output and the shallowest pockets of the three.
Cuisinart WMR-CA – Best Classic
Price: $35
Close Runners-Up
Hamilton Beach 26031 – Removable Waffle Plates
If you’re tired of scrubbing batter out of hinges, rather than the Cuisinart F40, take a look at the Hamilton Beach 26031. Producing decent waffles aside, it posted the perfect waffle-plate score – a 10 out of 10 – and a 9.5 on cleanability.
The waffle plates are removable. Each ceramic-coated plate (the top and bottom) are held to the chassis with a single latch. Work it, and you can take it off to clean without having to squeeze sponges and napkins into nooks and crannies. The plates are also dishwasher-safe, making cleaning up after breakfast a breeze.
Cuisinart WAF-300P1 – Best for Large Families
If you have so many people to feed that even a double-sided Cuisinart F40 couldn’t keep up with everyone’s appetite, the Cuisinart WAF-300P1 may be a better choice overall. Shaped like a suitcase with huge waffle plates that can cook four 3-inch waffles at the same time, you can handily cook for large gatherings with this model.
Cuisinart WAF-300P1 Belgian Waffle Maker
In my test, it also cooked a self-mixed batch of four waffles in around 4 minutes – much faster than the Cuisinart F40’s 6-minute record. The flavor and texture of the waffles aren’t so bad, as well, with a score of 8.6, which isn’t too far from the F40 itself.
Overall Verdict
For most people who bake waffles regularly and have the counter space, the Cuisinart F40 is the one to buy -- it posted the best raw performance numbers of anything I tested, on both batters, and the Ease of Use score that looks weak on paper is a data gap, not a real flaw.
If your kitchen is small or you just want the most complete, best-rounded machine in the test, get the Ninja BW1001. It's the only one of the three with a fully clean 8.7 overall score and no asterisks attached -- the trade-off is that it only makes one waffle at a time.
And if you want a classic round waffle without spending more than $40, the Cuisinart WMR-CA is the pick, so long as you're willing to thin out a thick homemade batter to get the texture score I measured with a boxed mix.
And if you want to see other options outside of these waffle makers? Feel free to take a look at Shouldit’s list of the best waffle makers – we’ve tested them ourselves in a lab, so you can trust us on our choice. I have a soft spot for this machine, being quite affordable while having a great balance between design, using experience, and waffle-making-ability.
Luna Regina
Writer, Author- Sasha WilsonThanks for the review! I've been on the fence about investing in a waffle maker, so the breakdown is really useful. We were on the lookout for something that can make 2 at a time, so the Cuisinart was just right.
- LankyMelt5055I don't normally make waffles. Weirdly enough, these do make the process look very easy which makes me want to try making some. Impressive.