Head-to-head · Best Toasters

Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster vs Hamilton Beach Classic Chrome 2-Slice Toaster (22790)

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

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The short answer

Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster comes out ahead by a narrow margin (4.1 vs 4.0). The gap is mostly about large households needing 4-slice capacity with smart features — read the strengths below before deciding.

Higher ratedRanked #3 in Best Toasters

Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster

4.1

5 sources$250as of Oct 2

The Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster offers substantial capacity and versatile settings that allow users to toast different types of bread simultaneously. Its auto-lift and lower feature, along with a sleek design, make it appealing for large households. However, reviewers noted inconsistent performance and questioned whether its 'smart' designation is justified, especially given its premium price point.

Strengths

— Good capacity with four wide slots suitable for thick slices of bread
— Can use different settings simultaneously for toasting multiple items, per Homes and Gardens
— Auto-lower and lift function for convenient operation, according to Homes and Gardens

Watch-outs

— Homes and Gardens found it lacks consistency in toasting performance
— Expensive compared to non-smart alternatives

$250 · Buy at cookswarehouse.com Full review →

Ranked #5 in Best Toasters

Hamilton Beach Classic Chrome 2-Slice Toaster (22790)

4.0

1 sourceall derived

The Hamilton Beach Classic Chrome 2-Slice Toaster (22790) offers a compact footprint ideal for smaller kitchens while providing a large, accessible crumb tray for easy cleaning. Its controls include bagel, defrost, reheat and cancel functions and nine shade settings. It toasts evenly, but The Kitchn found its cycles slow, with the medium setting taking 2:23 and the darkest 3:07. The toaster delivers even toasting results and is preferred over four-slice models by users who typically only toast two slices at a time.

Strengths

— Compact design that saves counter space
— Rear slide-out crumb tray for cleaning
— Bagel, defrost, reheat and cancel functions with nine shade settings

Watch-outs

— Slow toasting cycles: 2:23 on the medium setting and 3:07 on the darkest

Check Price on Amazon Full review →

Derived means the reviewer published no score, so one was inferred from their written verdict. Everything else is a number the publisher printed. How we rank.

How they stack up

Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster

The Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster offers more capacity than the Breville BTA820XL Smart Toaster but suffers from inconsistent performance and a higher price point. Unlike the Beautiful by Drew Barrymore toaster, it lacks the touchscreen interface and special settings for bagels and gluten-free breads. Compared to the Cuisinart CPT-142, it has better build quality but lacks the dual independent controls that make the CPT-142 more versatile for multitasking.

Hamilton Beach Classic Chrome 2-Slice Toaster (22790)

The Hamilton Beach Classic Chrome 2-Slice Toaster (22790) is less versatile than the Breville BTA820XL Smart Toaster, which offers better performance with its die-cast construction and automatic basket lift. Unlike the Beautiful by Drew Barrymore toaster, it lacks a touchscreen interface.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	Breville Die-Cast 4-Slice Smart Toaster	Hamilton Beach Classic Chrome 2-Slice Toaster (22790)
Slots	4	2
Material	Die-cast aluminum	Stainless steel
Dimensions	7.5 x 11.7 x 11.2 inches	7.6 H x 6.9 W x 11.1 D inches
Features	A Bit More, Lift and Look, Bagel, Frozen	Bagel, defrost, reheat and cancel functions; rear slide-out crumb tray
Slices	4	2
Functions	A Bit More, Lift and Look, Bagel, Frozen	Toast, Bagel, Defrost, Reheat, Cancel
Settings	Variable browning control	9 shade settings
Operation	1-touch lowering	—
Browning Settings	Variable	9
Weight	—	3.6 lbs

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