Kitchen Appliances
Toasters from a compact two-slice to long-slot and four-slot models, each matched to its exact Amazon.co.uk listing and checked against the manufacturer’s own pages. Work out how many slices you toast and what shape your bread is, then check whether the controls are shared. Shopicks has not tested any of them.
Our editorial choice to illustrate this subcategory. Featured picks are not a ranking and are not the result of side-by-side testing.
A four-slice toaster built as two long slots, with six browning levels and reheat, defrost and bagel functions, for people who want four slices at once on one setting.
Featured as the long-slot example because Smeg UK prints the number of slots (2), the number of slices (4) and the number of control panels (1) on separate lines, which makes the difference between a long-slot toaster and a four-slot toaster with two pairs unusually plain. It illustrates the type and is not a ranking.
May suit: People who toast four slices of the same bread together, or longer slices, and are happy with one browning setting for the lot.
Worth checking: The Amazon.co.uk listing shows Slot Count 4, but Smeg lists two slots holding four slices, so do not expect separate pairs or separate settings. Smeg lists 36 mm slots; check that against the thickest bread you buy.
Checked against: Smeg UK (opens in a new tab)
Showing 10 of 10 products
A four-slice toaster built as two long slots, with six browning levels and reheat, defrost and bagel functions, for people who want four slices at once on one setting.
A two-slice retro toaster with 36 mm slots and six browning levels, for a household that toasts a couple of slices at a time.
A two-slice wide-slot toaster with six bread settings and an LED countdown, for people who toast several kinds of bread.
A compact two-slice toaster with an integrated warming rack and an infinitely variable browning dial, for a small kitchen.
A four-slot toaster whose two toasting chambers Bosch says can be set to different levels, for toasting two kinds of bread together.
A compact two-slice toaster with extra-wide 36 mm slots, a bagel button and a defrost button, for thick-cut bread and bagels.
A two-slot toaster with extra-long 260 mm slots and an included warming rack, for artisan loaves and larger slices.
A four-slot toaster with seven browning levels, reheat and defrost, for a household that wants four slices at once.
A four-slot toaster with five browning levels and defrost and reheat, which Kenwood says can toast four pieces or use either set of slots.
A two-slot toaster with extra-wide slots that lowers and lifts the bread automatically, for people who want an automatic toaster with a sandwich rack.
Before you buy
A four-slice toaster is not always a four-slot one. Smeg lists the TSF02SSUK as two slots taking four slices with one control panel, which is a long-slot design, while Bosch lists the TAT4P440GB as four slots and says its two toasting chambers can be set to different levels. The Amazon.co.uk listing for the Smeg shows Slot Count 4, so the maker’s page is the better guide.
Which? advises looking for independent controls on a four-slice toaster, so each pair of slots can have its own browning level. Of the four-slot models here, only Bosch says so. The Morphy Richards manual lists a single browning control and Kenwood’s page does not say.
Slot width matters for thick slices, crumpets and bagels, and length matters for a whole slice of a large loaf. Smeg lists 36 mm slots on both its toasters, Dualit lists 36 mm by 145 mm on the Lite and 260 mm long slots on the Long Slot Lite, and Sage describes wide slots for artisanal bread and thick bagels without giving the width.
Which? describes long-slot toasters as having one or two longer slots that each take two slices, and says their quality varies hugely. Compare the slot figures with the bread you buy and do not assume that a ‘wide slot’ claim covers every bagel or artisan slice.
Which? explains that defrost adds time to the cycle, reheat warms toast that has gone cold and a bagel setting toasts the cut side while warming the other. The Smeg toasters list reheat, defrost and bagel, Dualit lists bagel and defrost but no reheat, and the Morphy Richards manual lists cancel, defrost and re-heat buttons.
Check the manual for how to use them, because Which? notes that some toasters need the defrost button pressed before the bread is lowered and others after. A stop or cancel control is listed for the Bosch models and the Morphy Richards, but not on Smeg’s pages.
Electrical Safety First says toasters must be fitted with a UK 3-pin plug and fuse, that you should never put anything metal or your fingers in one, and that stuck toast should be removed with wooden tongs after unplugging it. It says the coils inside get extremely hot, often over 600 degrees centigrade. Morphy Richards’ manual also says not to insert forks or other utensils.
Empty the crumb tray regularly: Which? suggests weekly if you toast every day, and Electrical Safety First says a clean tray helps prevent fire. Bosch lists ‘heat protection housing’ as No for both its toasters, so do not assume the outside stays cool. Of the pages we read, only Smeg prints a plug type, so check the plug on arrival.
Makers print sizes in different orders, so the cards quote them as printed. Bosch gives the compact TAT3P423GB as 195x300x170 mm, Smeg gives the two-slice TSF01SSUK as 198 x 310 x 195 mm and the TSF02SSUK as 215 x 394 x 208 mm, and Dualit gives the Long Slot Lite as 17 x 41 x 20.3 cm. A long-slot or four-slot model needs more room than a two-slice one.
Of the makers that print a cord length, Bosch lists 0.9 m and Smeg lists 1 m. Some makers, including Sage, Kenwood, Morphy Richards and KitchenAid, print no wattage or size on the pages we read, so the cards leave those out.
We chose toasters that show different choices and left out any whose exact Amazon.co.uk listing or manufacturer specification we could not confirm. Several Breville pages mixed up model numbers, and one Russell Hobbs listing used a different code from the maker’s page, so those were dropped rather than guessed.
The list is not a ranking and makes no claim about toasting quality. One card is marked as a featured example to illustrate the page, and the card says why. Prices, stock, star ratings and review counts are not shown because Amazon only permits them from its own site, so each button takes you to Amazon.co.uk to check the current price and availability.
UK 3-pin plug and fuse, no metal or fingers in a toaster, wooden tongs for stuck toast, crumb tray cleaning, coil temperatures and registration.
Independent controls on four-slice toasters, long-slot toasters, defrost, reheat and bagel settings, worktop space and weekly crumb tray cleaning. Test results are behind a paywall and are not used.
Each card’s source links are recorded in the Kitchen Appliances evidence dataset; the Morphy Richards manual was read through a PDF text extractor.
Buying guide
A research-based UK toaster guide explaining slots versus slices, long slots, independent controls, defrost and reheat, crumb trays and safe use, with five examples checked against manufacturer pages.
Slots are the openings and slices are how much bread fits. A long-slot model such as the Smeg TSF02SSUK has two slots that take four slices, and a four-slot model such as the Bosch TAT4P440GB has four openings. The slot count affects whether the pairs can have different settings.
Only some do. Bosch says the two chambers of the TAT4P440GB can be set to different levels, while the Morphy Richards manual lists one browning control and Kenwood’s page does not say. Check the maker’s page for the exact model.
That depends on the slot width. Smeg and Dualit list 36 mm slots and Sage describes wide slots, but a wide-slot claim does not guarantee that every bagel or artisan slice fits, so compare the figure with your bread.
No. The cards are based on each manufacturer’s own product page or manual, matched to the Amazon.co.uk listing. We do not describe toast quality or evenness we have not seen.