Best sandwich toasters at a glance
- Best sandwich toaster for versatility: Philips 5000 Series Sandwich Maker, £44.99
- Best deep-fill sandwich toaster: Breville Ultimate Deep Fill Sandwich Toaster, £34
- Best sandwich toaster for toasties and more: Cuisinart Sandwich Toaster, £97.96
- Best sandwich toaster with removable plates: Cuisinart 2-in-1 Grill and Sandwich Toaster, £95.01
- Best sandwich toaster for design and build: Sage The Perfect Press, £99.95
- Best sandwich toaster grill: George Foreman Steel Grill, £39.99
- Best budget sandwich maker: Daewoo SDA1389, £23.99
- Best sandwich toaster for single toasties: Breville Solo SnackMaster, £24.99
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Best sandwich toasters to buy in 2025
Philips 5000 Series Sandwich Maker
Available from Amazon (£34.99), Currys (£34.99), John Lewis and Partners (£34.99), Philips (£44.99)
Best sandwich toaster for versatility
Pros:
- Intuitive set-up and controls
- Pleasing toastie results
- Effective non-stick
- 3 in 1 compact machine
- Space-saving design
- Handles chunky breads with ease
Cons:
- Not dishwasher-friendly
- Waffles are slow to cook
Star rating: 4.5/5
Wattage: 750W
It’s hard to find fault with the Philips 5000 Series Sandwich Maker. While not the most sleek toaster on test, it is comfortable to use, solid, well-made and satisfied on the taste tests. A compact and versatile machine with plates that pop out at the push of a button, allowing you to switch smoothly between a traditional pocket toastie, waffle maker and panini grill.
Cheese toasties were well browned and sealed, melt in the middle and soft in all the right places, with not a bit of residue leftover on the plates, and the unit locked easily down onto the thick slices of sourdough. The plates were a tad small for standard sliced bread, but I can forgive some asymmetry at this price point, and toasted well. The waffles took much longer than expected at almost six minutes for a round of two, but they tasted great and were crispy and fluffy enough to absorb the oodles of maple syrup I drizzled over them.
When it came to cleaning up, out popped the plates to be wiped clean. I like that they’re non-stick without needing to pre-grease with oil or butter. The lead wraps neatly into the base of the unit and it can be stored on its side.
Outperforming others on test for half the price, it is a versatile and good value friend to have in the kitchen.
Breville two-slice deep fill sandwich toaster
Best deep-fill sandwich toaster
Pros:
- Well-built product
- Easy to clean
Cons:
- On the expensive side for a single-purpose machine
Star rating: 4.5/5
Breville is probably the best-known brand of sandwich toaster out there. This is a solid and substantial machine and one you’d expect to last for a long time. Despite the misleading name, it actually makes two sandwiches at a time, making it ideal for a small family.
It comes with detailed instructions and heats up quickly, plus it has a high hinge so you can make deep-filled toasties. It created the perfect sandwich in four minutes – well browned with a good seal. Read our full review of the Breville two-slice deep fill sandwich toaster.
Cuisinart sandwich maker
Best sandwich toaster for toasties and more
Pros:
- Sleek
- Attractive
- Well designed
- Great stand-alone recipe book
- Choice of three heat settings
Cons:
Star rating: 4.5/5
Solid, sturdy and stylish, this is a sandwich toaster that’s built to last. It comes with clear instructions and a well-designed recipe book. The machine is the only one I tested that allowed me to choose whether to cook our sandwich on ‘low’, ‘medium’ or ‘high’, which is perfect if you’re fussy about such things.
I tested the Cuisinart using standard bread and paninis. The sandwich toaster coped well with the deeper fillings and there was no problem securing the latch. The sandwiches were very brown after four minutes on high and really crispy.
This is a product that really does cater for all tastes. The plates are easy to remove for cleaning and, joy of joys, fit into the dishwasher to make clearing up quick and easy. Read our full review of the Cuisinart sandwich maker.
Cuisinart 2-in-1 Grill and Sandwich Maker
Best sandwich toaster with removable plates
Pros:
- Grill plates are interchangeable
- Dishwasher-safe
- Dial control for different temperatures
- Materials good quality
- Small footprint
Cons:
- Takes a long time to heat up
- Only space for one panini
Star rating: 4.5/5
This high-quality and stylish sandwich maker from Cuisinart features grill and toastie plates, making it a versatile piece of kit. The plates are easily changed thanks to the release buttons on the side of the machine. The plates are also dishwasher safe for easy cleaning.
In test, both the toastie plates and grill plates produced fantastic results. I enjoyed deep, generously filled toasties and crisp paninis with well-defined grill lines. There is also a comprehensive manual and useful recipe book with some delicious sounding dishes. It’s quick to cook, but like our first place Cuisinart, it’s slow to heat up. Read our review of the Cuisinart 2 in 1 Grill and Sandwich Maker.
Sage The Perfect Press
Available from Harts of Stur (£98.95), Very (£99), Sage (£99.95), Amazon (£99.95)
Best sandwich toaster for design and build
Pros:
- Sleek design
- Built to last
- Makes a speedy grilled cheese toastie
- Stores away neatly
- Excellent non-stick
- Easy to wipe clean
- Multiple functions
Cons:
- Expensive
- Didn’t perform well in all tests
Star rating: 4/5
Wattage: 1500W
This brushed stainless steel beauty, with its gold hinge detailing, looks and feels like a quality piece of kit that is built to last. Look after it and Sage Perfect Press will serve you well for years to come.
With its ability to flatten and toast in two minutes with impressive ease, this is great for fans of the pan-cooked grilled cheese sandwich, though those used to more traditional pocket toasties might miss the indulgence of cheese oozing out as you bite.
While the sliced white toastie was crispy and looked the part, there was so much cheese lost onto the grill plates, it lacked that desired cheesy taste, despite using a full-flavoured cheddar. The results were slightly better with ciabatta, however, similarly, a lot of cheese had melted out or into the bread, and it took much longer to brown. The Perfect Press can also be set to Open Melt, however, it lacks enough oomph to create the delicious bubbly browned effect of a traditional grill.
The smooth flat plates make it easy to toast a variety of bread types and sizes, while the weighted “crush control”, flattens the sandwich with ease, and with some trial and error I can see it delivering delicious results. It would be perfect for toasting a ham and cheese croissant or a more elaborately-packed sandwich.
George Foreman Steel Grill
Best sandwich toaster grill
Pros:
- Floating hinge sits flat on food
- Plate has large surface area
- Slim
- Easy to use
Cons:
- Plates cannot be removed
- Toasts a little unevenly
Star rating: 4/5
This is a classic George Foreman grill; it has a floating hinge and slanted plates with a non-stick coating. There’s little set up required and it takes just two minutes to heat up. There’s also a floating hinge that sits the lid lightly on sandwiches.
Our toasties and paninis were super crisp and perfectly melted. There’s a large surface area to play with and I found I could comfortably fit four sandwiches on the grill at once, however I did find that this model browns bread a little unevenly. Read our full review of the George Foreman Steel Grill.
Daewoo SDA1389
Best budget sandwich maker
Pros:
- Affordable
- No set-up needed
- Cord storage
Cons:
- Plates cannot be removed
- Plates are very large
- Some more information needed in instruction manual
Star rating: 4/5
This cheap and cheerful toastie maker from Daewoo produces toasties with a neat scallop design. Like a couple of other models on the list, I found the toastie plates a bit too large for standard supermarket bread. Despite this, all sandwiches were tightly sealed.
Both our classic cheese toasties and deep filled toasties took around six minutes to cook. They were relatively well-browned with no leaks. I’d have like to have seen a little more even browning, but for the price, it produces great results. Read our full review of the Daewoo SDA1389.
Breville Solo SnackMaster
Available from Amazon (£24.99)
Best sandwich toaster for single toasties
Pros:
- Looks good
- Simple to use
- Tackles artisan breads brilliantly
- Multiple cooking options
- Stores away neatly
Cons:
- Plates need to be buttered before use
- Cheese oozes out the sides when cooking
- Hard to clean
- Performed poorly on some tests
Star rating: 3.5/5
Wattage: 1200W
This neat, sleek device – available in matte black or white – does more than cheese toasties, with a wavy top plate and flat bottom plate, you could have a lot of fun experimenting with its recipe suggestions for everything from pasties and omelettes to sausages and sponge cake. A QR code on the box links to copious recipe ideas for breakfast through to dinner and dessert.
The Breville Solo SnackMaster wasn’t the best toaster on test for a simple sliced white bread toasted sandwich (cheese oozed out even following the guides, and the edges didn’t seal), but the results with ciabatta, were excellent. The manufacturer’s advice to spread the outside of the bread with butter, was a little disappointing, as a good non-stick plate shouldn’t need this, and when it came to cleaning the fixed plates, despite much effort I couldn’t get all of the cheese out of the edges.
No fancy functions, just switch it on and wait three minutes for it to heat up. This would be ideal for one or two people, someone leaving home or going to university.
How to choose the best sandwich toaster
Before making a purchase, consider what you want to use your toastie maker or sandwich toaster for. Are you looking to make bog-standard cheese toasties or are you after a multifaceted machine that can be used a couple of different ways?
Toastie maker vs sandwich maker
A cheese toastie is one of life’s simple pleasures: crisp bread plus oozing melted cheese, what’s not to like? For these timeless classics, opt for a toastie maker. If you’re a fan of thick bread or like lots of filling, choose a ‘deep fill’ toastie maker.
If you’re looking to make deli-style toasted sandwiches, best choose a sandwich maker. These wont seal your sandwich like a toastie maker, but will impart those tell-tale chargrilled lines. A sandwich maker also allows you to be a lot more generous (and creative) with your fillings.
Size
Consider how many people are in your household and how much space you have to store your machine. On the whole, toastie makers tend to make 2 toasties at a time and are generally compact and easy to store. Sandwich makers are bigger, but are great for larger households.
Clean-up
Molten cheese and other greasy ingredients can be difficult to clean. Some machines have removable plates that can either be hand washed or even popped in the dishwasher. Others have plates that can’t be removed, so will need to be cleaned with a damp cloth.
How I tested sandwich toasters
I tested a range of sandwich toasters and toastie makers and used them to make a simple cheese toastie, a deep filled toastie, a filled panini, and if a model came with waffle plates, I made Good Food’s plain waffles, too. I used all plates supplied to test against the following criteria:
Ease of use
Sandwich toasters and toastie makers are designed to do a simple job. I made sure that each model tested was straightforward to use.
Versatility
Many of the sandwich toasters and toastie makers I tested come with different plates for different tasks, such as grilling plates, waffle plates, and even flat plancha-style plates. I tested these out to see how well they performed.
Cooking results
I looked for toasties that were evenly browned and crisp. Fillings, such as cheese, should be totally melted. For those machines with waffle plates, I wanted to see waffles that were fully cooked, soft and evenly browned.
Value for money
I scored each sandwich toaster for its value for money, taking into account the accessories provided and its performance.
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Do you use a toastie maker? We’d love to hear your product suggestions…
