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Four-slice toasters allow you to toast four pieces of bread at once, preventing you from having to toast two batches of bread with a two-slice toaster. To help you find the best four-slice toaster for your kitchen, the This Old House Reviews Team researched some of the top-rated models on Amazon. Here are our recommendations.
Top 4 4-Slice Toasters
- Most Sleek: Cuisinart Metal Classic Four-Slice Toaster
- Best Controls: Cuisinart Four-Slice Compact Plastic Toaster
- Most Compact: Elite Gourmet Maxi-Matic Four-Slice Long Toaster
- Best Safety Features: Hamilton Beach Four-Slice Toaster
Most Sleek
Cuisinart Metal Classic Four-Slice Toaster
- $55.12
- $69.95
- 21% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Key Features
- 11.15 by 10.65 by 7.5 inches
- Four slots
- Two sets of buttons, dials, and levers
- Six browning functions
- Bagel, defrost, reheat, and cancel buttons
- Three-year warranty
What Customers Are Saying
This toaster received high ratings from customers because it was easy to use, featured an easy-to-clean body, and evenly toasted bread products. Dissatisfied reviewers were disappointed with the toaster’s bagel setting. Some customers also mentioned that the lettering along the buttons rubbed off over time.
Best Controls
Cuisinart Four-Slice Compact Plastic Toaster
- $47.56
- $49.95
- 5% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Key Features
- 10.8 by 10.7 by 7.2 inches
- Four slots
- Two sets of buttons, dials, and levers
- Seven browning functions
- Bagel, defrost, reheat, and cancel buttons
- Three-year warranty
- Two finish options
What Customers Are Saying
Reviewers said that this toaster was reliable, affordable, and stylish. Reviewers were also pleased with the toaster’s compact size. Unsatisfied customers said that it sometimes made patchy toast and filled their kitchen with a strange smell during the toasting process.
Most Compact
Elite Gourmet Maxi-Matic Four-Slice Long Toaster
- $32.99
- $34.99
- 6% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Key Features
- 14.68 by 7.13 by 7.68 inches
- Two slots
- One set of buttons, dials, and levers
- Six browning functions
- Defrost, reheat, and cancel buttons
- One-year warranty
What Customers Are Saying
Satisfied customers noted that this toaster provided consistent browning on all bread and pastry items. Other reviewers commented on its durable and easy-to-clean chrome exterior. However, some customers said that the few highest settings burnt their bread.
Best Safety Features
Hamilton Beach Four-Slice Toaster
- $39.95
- $49.99
- 20% off
Prices taken at the time of publishing.
Key Features
- 10.43 by 7.28 by 10.23 inches
- Four slots
- Two sets of buttons, dials, and levers
- Six browning functions
- Bagel, defrost, and cancel buttons
- One-year warranty
What Customers Are Saying
Satisfied customers liked the toaster’s affordability. Several reviewers also said that it provided several toasting capabilities without taking up too much counter space. Dissatisfied customers said that the toaster unevenly browned their food items. A couple reviewers mentioned that the crumb tray was inconveniently located.
Buyer’s Guide
Before purchasing a four-slice toaster, consider its slots, safety features, and usability.
Slot Size
Consider both length and width when looking at a toaster’s slots.
- Width: Width is important if you plan on toasting bagels, artisanal bread, or Texas toast. Most toaster slots have a width of 1.5 inches, which is enough to accommodate most types of bread.
- Length: In some cases, four-slice toasters have two slots instead of four. The two slots are double the length of the slots in a four-slot toaster, allowing you to fit two pieces of bread in each slot. If you plan on buying a four-slot toaster, make sure that its slots are fairly long so that it can fit abnormally shaped pieces of bread.
Safety Features
Toasters should have safety features to prevent you from burning yourself or catching your kitchen on fire.
- Automatic shut-off: Toasters with an automatic shut-off function turn off when the cooking process is done, preventing the toaster from starting a fire.
- Feet: Your toaster should have rubber feet to prevent it from tipping or sliding.
- Exterior temperature: Some toasters, especially those made of stainless steel, can get as hot as 140 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re worried about you or your family members burning their hands on the exterior of your toaster, choose an aluminum or plastic model since those materials don’t get as hot.
Ease of Use
Toasters will have a range of features to make toasting easier.
- Toast dial/button: Toasters will have a dial or buttons to increase or decrease how toasted you want your bread to be.
- Modes: Some toasters have defrost, reheat, bagel, and cancel buttons so that you can tailor your toasting experience to the type of bread you’re toasting.
- Lever: Your toaster will have a lever that you push to start the toasting process. The lever will pop back up when your toast is done, and you can usually pull the lever up a little farther to get any bread that’s too far down the slot to reach.
- Crumb tray: Toasters have crumb trays to catch crumbs before they hit your counter. Remove this tray and dump the crumbs in the trash every so often to prevent them from burning.
- Timer: High-end toasters will typically have a timer that lets you know how much time is left in the toasting process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do if I don’t have a lot of counter space for a toaster?
If you don’t have a lot of counter space, you can buy a toaster with two extra-long slots. If you live alone, have a small family, or don’t make a lot of toast, a standard two-slice toaster may be a better option.
How do I prevent my toaster from electrocuting me?
Here are a few safety tips to follow when using a toaster:
- Unplug your toaster before cleaning it.
- Remove your toasted bread by using a wooden or plastic fork, or unplug the toaster before using a metal fork.
How much do toasters cost?
In general, toasters cost between $30 and $500. Cheaper toasters may not last as long as expensive toasters, and they likely won’t have extra features, such as toasting modes or timers.
Why Trust The This Old House Reviews Team
This Old House has empowered homeowners for more than four decades with top-notch home improvement content in the form of television programs, print media, and digital content on its website and social media platforms. The This Old House Reviews Team focuses on creating in-depth product and service review content to help inform your purchasing decision for just about any item or resource that you might need for your home. The This Old House Reviews Team has written over 1,000 reviews on products in the home space, from cordless drills to kitchen trash cans, lawn mowers, and dining room decorations.
We recommend products in each review using an intensive research process, spending hours combing through the best available models on Amazon. For a product to make our list of top picks, it must hold a solid sales record on Amazon, have consistently positive customer reviews, and offer unique features, among other factors. After narrowing down our list of recommendations, we conduct additional research and sometimes in-person testing to ensure that the products meet our standards. Once we conclude the research phase, we craft a well-rounded, user-friendly article that includes our recommended products and additional information to help homeowners like you make the right purchase.
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