Upgrading your home appliances? Choosing the right gadget can be tricky, and many of them don’t come cheap. At IndyBest, we’re here to help you make sense of it all. A good place to start? The tried and tested brands that we trust.
Wondering which brands are behind the smartest air fryers? Want to know which vacuum cleaners leave the competition in the dust? Looking into buying a new fridge-freezer, and want to save a little money? You’ve come to the right place. To steer your search for the best kitchen and household tech, here, we’ve cherry-picked brands that have performed well in our expert-tested reviews. Many of these names have impressed us enough to earn the top spot in our tried and tested guides.
Wherever your priorities lie in affordability, stylish design or high-tech features, we’ve listed the brands to know, from premium names like Kitchenaid, Ninja and Smeg to the more budget-friendly options, including Lakeland, Tower and Salter.
Budget brands
Lakeland
You’ll find budget-friendly options galore at Lakeland, from steam irons to ice cream makers. Its stand mixer (£249.99, Lakeland.co.uk) on best on test in our review, and its Dry:Soon drying pod heated clothes airer (£79.99, Lakeland.co.uk) dries T-shirts and shirts in as little as one hour. Our reviewer hailed it as compact, powerful and speedy.
Russell Hobbs
Russell Hobbs has been a reputable go-to for years - you’ll find them all over our guides to the best appliances. Our reviewer praised its power steam ultra steam iron (£36.97, Amazon.co.uk) for its vertical steaming and drip-free design. If you’re looking for an air fryer that can also grill, our reviewer recommends its satisfy air and grill multi cooker (£89.99, Russellhobbs.com). We also love its good to go slow cooker (£59, Amazon.co.uk) - our tests found that it’s fantastically versatile.
Beldray
Beldray offers affordable, capable appliances. Its sub-£60 heated clothes airer with wings (£54.9, Amazon.co.uk) is a case in point. Our reviewer praised the model for holding up to 15kg of washing and for featuring wings that can be extended or collapsed.
Tower
You name the appliance, and there’s a good chance British brand Tower makes it. Its T17021 family size air fryer (£69.99, Amazon.co.uk) was awarded the best budget air fryer in our review. We’ve been impressed with the performance of its irons, steam cleaners and fans, too.
Tefal
Our reviewer praised Tefal’s pure pop slim handheld clothes steamer (£34.99, Currys.co.uk) for its lint remover. Tefal makes good budget kitchen appliances too - the brand’s multicook actifry slow cooker (£158, Amazon.co.uk) was dubbed best for busy cooks in our review of the best slow cookers.
Mid-range brands
Princess
Princess’s efficient smart air cooler (£162.50, Amazon.co.uk) is our pick for the best air cooler, while its smart wifi-connected tower fan (£100, Argos.co.uk) earned a spot as the best twoer fan in our tests of the best fans. The brand proves you don't need to pay big bucks for some of the best. The brand is big on smart tech, too, which can be controlled using your smartphone or voice.
Swan
Dating back over a century, Swan offers classic retro and contemporary British design. We recommend its 800W retro stand mixer (£99.99, Swan-brand.co.uk) for baking beginners – our reviewer was impressed with its performance and slim silhouette. Those looking for the best microwaves should consider its nordic microwave (£79.47, Amazon.co.uk), which boasts a compact, Scandinavian-inspired design.
LG
LG specialises in large appliances like dishwashers and washing machines. However, we recommend LG’s fridges. A fridge-freezer is a costly investment, so you want to be sure you've got it right. Our reviewer chose LG's centum GBB92MCBAP 70/30 (£1399, Currys.co.uk) which boasts superb energy efficiency and convenient features.
Philips
Nose hair trimmers, soundbars, sunrise alarm clocks: Philips does it all. Our reviewer rated the smart features of the essential air fryer 5000 series XL connected, (£98.89, Amazon.co.uk) which can be controlled via phones and Alexa, while its 3000 series handheld (£39.99, Amazon.co.uk) is a super portable option for those after a clothes steamer.
Cuisinart
It’s not without reason Cuisinart is known for its food processors – we dubbed the expert prep pro (£250.45, Amazon.co.uk) the best for cooking enthusiasts because our tester loved its attachments. Stretching from mid-range to premium, the French brand’s kitchen appliances span from air fryers to pizza ovens.
Bosch
Bosch makes a wide variety of home and garden equipment, with products for everything from food storage to mowing the lawn. However, the brand excels when it comes to dishwashers. You can expect high-quality design with mid-range prices and its energy-efficient eco mode, which will help you save a little money over time.
Salter
Salter has been around for more than 250 years, and this experience shows. Thanks to its cooking options and easy-to-use design, our tests found its dual air fryer the best in the country. Brilliant for busy households, its versatile duowave two-in-one microwave (£99.99, Amazon.co.uk) also won the top spot in our tests of the best microwaves.
Morphy Richards
Morphy Richards makes a super speedy steam iron, the easy plus power plus cordless iron (£59, Amazon.co.uk). In our tests of the best steam irons, our reviewer also found the iron easy to use. On top of that, we recommend its compact sauté and soup maker (£99.99, Morphyrichards.co.uk) our tests of the best soup makers found that it was able to make chunky or smooth soup in less than 20 minutes. Landing a spot in our slow cooker review, its sear & stew cooker (£32.99, Amazon.co.uk) was also great for smaller households.
Duux
Duux specialises in air treatment appliances. We found Duux’s bora smart dehumidifier hard to beat in our review of the best dehumidifiers. Its whisper flex smart fan (£160.72, Amazon.co.uk) lived up to its name in our review, and its threesixty 2 portable smart ceramic heater (£99, Amazon.co.uk) reigned supreme in our review of the best heaters.
Meaco
Meaco is another of our favourite dehumidifier brands. In fact, our tech writer Alex Lee went as far as to say that the affordable, effective and quiet ABC dehumidifier “kind of changed his life”. Need to cool off? Our reviewer was also a big fan of its MC pro series 9000 portable air conditioner (£389.99, Meaco.com).
Haier
For appliances large and small, look to Haier. Is your washing machine on the brink? Its i-pro series 7 plus (£639, Very.co.uk) got our vote in our tried and tested review. It’s app-connected, easy to use and energy efficient.
Vortex Air
Specialising in high-tech bladeless fans, Vortex Air needs to be on your radar. Its cleanse heater, cooler and purifier (£164.99, Vortexair.co.uk) won best fan overall in our review, as it worked quickly to cool and heat the space.
Premium
Dualit
Expect sleek design, chrome, and hints of retro from Dualit. It’s the gold standard when it comes to coffee machines too, with its three-in-one coffee machine (£199, Dualit.com) using pods and ground coffee and offering good value for money. British-made, the brand also offers a huge range of spare parts, so you can keep your appliances running as they should for years.
Ninja
Powerful, innovative and stylish, we’re often singing the praises of Ninja’s line-up, from its viral ice cream makers to its air fryers. The brand is fairly pricey, but the quality is undeniable. The crispi air fryer and the foodi power blender three-in-one, (£149, Amazon. co.uk) which came out on top in our tests of the best blenders, are among some of our standout tested products.
KitchenAid
Beloved for its timeless design and strong performance, KitchenAid is a baking icon suited to professionals and home bakers. Take it from us, its mixer tilt-head artisan (£449, Kichenaid.co.uk) is a powerhouse to last a lifetime. Its espresso machine (£429, Lakeland.co.uk) deserves attention too, earning a spot in our guide to the best coffee makers. However, beware of the price tags - their classic appliances will cost you.
Shark
While more affordable than its rival, Dyson, Ninja’s sister brand Shark is pricey – but you get for what you pay for. Air purifiers, floor mops, vacuum cleaners, Shark’s cutting-edge appliances consistently impress us. After a cordless vacuum cleaner? We don’t think you’ll find better than the stratos anti-hair-wrap plus pet pro, (£278, Sharkclean.co.uk) which landed top spot in our review, while its corded models are just as good.
Dyson
Dyson is nearly synonymous with innovative, stylish tech. Behind the revolutionary bagless vacuum cleaner, Dyson is famed for its vacuum cleaners. In fact, we’ve got a whole guide dedicated to Dyson vacuums. But they don’t only make vacuums - Dyson’s AM09 hot + cool fan heater (£399, AO.com) is well worth considering.
Eufy
Rubbing shoulders with the likes of iRobot, Tapo, Dyson, Samsung, Eufy is king when it comes to robot vacuum cleaners. It featured twice in our tech expert’s guide to the best robot vacuums, and Eufy’s X10 pro omni (£799, Amazon.co.uk) was the overall winner. As far as robot vacuum cleaners go, its line-up is relatively affordable.
Irobot
Irobot has been making robot vacuum cleaners for decades - its Roomba was one of the first successful robot vacuums. Its autonomous combo j7+, (£999, Irobot.co.uk) is one of the best. Our tech expert noted its top tier obstacle avoidance, plus, how it can switch modes for rugs and floors automatically.
De’Longhi
De’Longhi is known for high-quality, good-looking design. Best known for coffee machines like the Eletta explore bean to cup machine (£900, Argos.co.uk), the brand’s recent forays into more practical appliances are also successful. Our reviewer found its DEX212F dehumidifier (£229, Amazon.co.uk) to helped to drying laundry while being quiet and sleek to boot.
Sage
High-end and stylish, Sage’s line-up of premium appliances delivers almost every time. Choose from its smart ovens and specialist appliances such as ice cream makers, food and drink smokers and waffle makers, and get to know its coffee machines – the premium creatisa pro (£699.95, Sageappliances.com) is one of our favourites.
Smeg
This luxury brand may look vintage, but these appliances boast high-tech features. Choose large and small, from cookers to toasters, and great compact countertop appliances – landing in we’d recommend its mini kettle (£119, AO.com) in our reviews of the best kettles. Just beware that Smeg can be a little pricey - few people will be able to find a place for a their expensive collaboration with Dolce&Gabbana, for instance.
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