This Escali scale has held the top spot for kitchen scales on our sister site Epicurious for over six years and has been a favorite in the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen for far longer than that. “This scale has been with me for more than a decade of my career, staying faithfully by my side through 12-hour shifts in pastry kitchens, bouts of religious recipe testing, and weekly sessions of casual baking,” says senior Test Kitchen editor and resident baking whiz Shilpa Uskokovic.
It’s durable, accurate, intuitive to use, and affordable—pretty much everything we could ask of a kitchen scale.
What we love: The Escali Primo is lightweight, comes in a variety of fun colors, and has a simple two-button interface to turn it on, tare it, and toggle between ounces, pounds, and grams. In testing, it was responsive and precise, quick to tare, and delivered accurate readings every time. Its 4.5-minute auto shut-off is among the most generous of any model we tested, so you won’t lose your measurements mid-bake. Plus, its 11-pound capacity is large enough to accommodate any task a home cook might ask of it.
Performance aside, the Escali Primo has several design features that helped it stand out. For one, the fact that the weighing platform is elevated and offset from the base means you can easily read the display or use the buttons even when measuring into a large, wide mixing bowl. The plastic body and sealed control panel make it a breeze to wipe down after a floury baking session and also keep stray crumbs from getting stuck in any crevices. Another detail we like? The four rubberized feet keep it stable on your kitchen counter.
The Escali Primo has proved quite durable as we’ve continued to test it long-term, another reason why it’s a perennial favorite among our Test Kitchen editors. As Shilpa puts it: “It’s compact and easy to store, it’s easy to wipe clean, it toggles between grams and ounces seamlessly, and it’s reliably accurate.”
What we’d leave: The Escali can only measure in 1-gram increments. While this was typical of most scales we tested, those looking to use their kitchen scale for dialing in their coffee routine will want something more precise (though coffee scales are kind of their own thing). Unlike some pricier models, the Escali’s display is not backlit, but we didn’t find this to be an issue. It’s also worth noting that the Escali is not a touchscreen device, so you’ll need to use a bit of pressure on the buttons.
The best budget kitchen scale: Amazon Basics Kitchen Scale
Pros:
- Very inexpensive
- Lightweight and compact
- Pretty accurate
Cons:
- Not quite as accurate as our top pick
- Buttons can be prone to collecting crumbs and grime
Size: 8.3 x 7 x 1.3″
Capacity: 11 lb.
Gradation: 1 g
Auto shut-off: NA
Power: AAA batteries (included)
