KitchenAid Artisan Plus Review: Is the $600 Mixer Worth It?

The Precision Revolution: Why KitchenAid’s New Artisan Plus is More Than Just a Pretty Face

For decades, the KitchenAid stand mixer has been the undisputed monarch of the kitchen counter. It is the heirloom appliance—the kind of heavy-duty machine passed down from grandmothers to grandchildren, usually accompanied by a stained recipe card for legendary chocolate chip cookies. But for all its rugged reliability and iconic silhouette, the KitchenAid has long harbored a frustrating secret: its speed settings were often more suggestion than science. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve tried to gently fold flour into whipped egg whites, only to have the stir setting feel like a gentle hurricane, sending a cloud of white dust across my backsplash.

KitchenAid has finally addressed this decade-old gripe with the new Artisan Plus Stand Mixer. Billed as the most significant overhaul since 1955, this isn’t just a new coat of paint. It is a fundamental rethink of how a mixer should behave in a modern, precision-oriented kitchen.

Artisan Plus At A Glance

Price: $599.99 Capacity: 5-Quart Polished Stainless Steel Bowl Speed Control: 11 distinct settings, including a true half-speed for folding Key Innovation: Redesigned control lever for granular, in-between speed selection Included Accessories: New self-scraping beater, dough hook, and wire whip New Signature Colors: Sundried Tomato, Hibiscus, Mineral Water, and Evergreen

The End of the Gentle Hurricane

The headline feature here is the speed control. For years, professional-grade competitors like the Breville Bakery Chef have held a slight edge over KitchenAid by offering digital timers and more granular speed dials. The Artisan Plus is KitchenAid’s emphatic response to that challenge.

In the past, you had ten speeds, but the jump between stir and speed two always felt like skipping a gear in a sports car. The Artisan Plus introduces a dedicated half-speed. This is a revelation for anyone who works with delicate mixtures like meringues or sourdough starters. It allows you to incorporate dry ingredients or aerated whites without deflating the structure you’ve worked so hard to build.

More importantly, the control lever itself has been re-engineered. It no longer just clicks into presets; it allows for nuanced micro-adjustments between those 11 settings. This level of tactile control puts it on par with high-end European mixers, giving the home baker the kind of precision that used to be reserved for commercial pastry kitchens.

The Beater That Does the Dirty Work

While the speed control gets the glory, the redesigned beater is the unsung hero of this update. We’ve all been there: stopping the mixer every sixty seconds to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula because the butter and sugar have decided to migrate to the walls.

The Artisan Plus comes standard with a beater that features a built-in flexible scraper. As it rotates, it constantly wipes the sides of the bowl, ensuring every gram of ingredient is incorporated into the mix. This doesn’t just save time; it ensures a more consistent bake. When your batter is perfectly homogenous, your cakes rise more evenly and your cookies have a better snap. It’s a small mechanical change that yields a massive improvement in workflow.

Is the $600 Price Tag Justified?

There is no getting around it: $599.99 is a steep price for a kitchen appliance. You can find the standard Artisan model on sale for significantly less, and even high-end competitors like Breville often sit in the $400 to $500 range. So, why spend the extra hundred dollars?

If you are a casual Sunday baker who makes a batch of brownies twice a month, the Artisan Plus is likely overkill. Your current model (or a mid-range alternative) will do just fine. However, if you are a prosumer—someone who bakes bread three times a week, tackles complex macarons, or experiments with high-hydration doughs—the investment starts to make sense.

The Artisan Plus bridges the gap between a consumer appliance and a professional tool. You’re paying for the elimination of frustration. You’re paying for the ability to walk away from the mixer while it scrapes the bowl for you, and for the peace of mind that comes with knowing you won’t accidentally explode a cup of flour into your face because the stir setting was too aggressive.

A Gift That Commands the Room

If you are looking at this as a gift, you are essentially buying the gold standard of the category. A KitchenAid is a statement piece, and the Artisan Plus is currently the most prestigious version of that statement.

KitchenAid has also doubled down on its color game. While the classic Empire Red and Onyx Black are still available, the four new colors are designed to be the focal point of a kitchen. Sundried Tomato is a deep, sophisticated earthy red that looks stunning in rustic kitchens. Hibiscus is a vibrant, punchy pink-red that feels modern and energetic. Mineral Water offers a soft, calming blue-grey for minimalist spaces, and Evergreen is a rich, dark forest green that feels timeless.

For a wedding gift or a milestone birthday, this is a showstopper. It’s an appliance that won’t end up in a garage sale in five years; it’s a tool that will be used, loved, and eventually handed down.

The Final Verdict

KitchenAid didn't need to do much to keep selling mixers, but with the Artisan Plus, they chose to actually innovate. By fixing the speed-gap issue and integrating the scraper beater, they have addressed the two biggest complaints from their most loyal users.

While the price is high, the functional upgrades are genuine. It’s more precise than its predecessors and more intuitive than many of its high-tech competitors. If you take your baking seriously, or if you want to give a gift that truly represents the pinnacle of home kitchen gear, the Artisan Plus is the new benchmark. It’s a classic that has finally learned some very impressive new tricks.