If you mostly toast for one or have limited counter space, a simple 2-slice toaster could be just what you need. Then again, if you've ever struggled with a toaster that consistently burns your bread (or your fingers when you extract it) or dries it out, you know that finding a good toaster isn't necessarily a simple task. Ideally, 2-slice toasters should produce a spectrum of toast shades, from barely browned to charred, while browning each slice evenly and retaining enough moisture to keep the center soft. They should also contain crumbs well and offer one-sided toasting for bagels, English muffins, and other split breads. You'll also want to ensure your toaster can fit your favorite baked goods, whether you prefer bagels, long slices of focaccia, or frozen waffles, and that it won't take forever to pop up your breakfast.
We've tested over 30 toasters, and below are our recommendations for the best 2-slice toasters. If you need more toasting capacity for busy mornings, check out our recommendations for the best 4-slice toasters. For an overview of the best overall, see our picks for the best toasters or the best toaster brands.
We've put over 25 toasters through the wringer to help you make a confident buying decision. But how do we do it? It starts with buying the products ourselves, just like you. We take it a step further with our lab, where we measure a variety of characteristics, like toasting evenness, so that a prospective toaster's performance doesn't come as a shock. You can even compare models and results, making it easy to find the right toaster for your needs.
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Best 2-Slice Toaster For Most People
Everyday Use7.8Toast7.8Bagels8.8Crumb Management7.0Toasting Evenness9.0Toasting Speed7.0Capacity7.1See all our test resultsFeatures10For a 2-slice toaster that suits most people without breaking the bank, try the Breville the 'A Bit More' 2 Slice, which offers very good performance for day-to-day use. The slots are wide, so it's suitable for a range of bread types, from regular sandwich bread to thickly sliced sourdough or a chunky bagel. With seven presets, this toaster lets you make everything from lightly toasted to charred sandwich bread. It evenly toasts the bread's surface on both sides, and its one-sided toasting mode can brown only the cut side of bagels and other split breads while leaving the outside soft. That said, its toasting speed is just decent, so you have to wait an extra minute for your breakfast, and it comes out a little dry after the extra toasting time.
This toaster stands out for its suite of extra features that make toasting more convenient. Along with buttons for one-sided toasting and frozen foods, this toaster includes a function that lets you lift the slots to check the progress of your toast, a button that adds a little extra time to the toasting cycle, and an LED cycle countdown indicator, so you know when your toast is about to be ready. It also does a decent job of containing crumbs; some crumbs and seeds fall onto the counter, but not too many, so you'll have to clean them somewhat regularly, but not every time you use the toaster.
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Best High-End 2-Slice Toaster
Everyday Use7.9Toast8.3Bagels9.2Crumb Management7.5Toasting Evenness8.0Toasting Speed8.4Capacity6.7See all our test resultsFeatures7.5If you're looking to invest in a toaster that will last, no matter the price, consider the Dualit 2 Slice NewGen Classic, the best high-end 2-slice toaster we've tested. This old-school model has a sturdy metal body with an analog design that makes at-home repairs possible. You can pick up replacement parts for key components directly from Dualit, and installation is simple, so it's easy to swap out the part you need instead of replacing your entire toaster every few years. This durable, serviceable design is also backed by a strong reputation, and some owners report their Dualit toasters have stayed in service for decades. That said, its capacity is smaller than that of the Breville the 'A Bit More' 2 Slice, so longer slices or chunky bagels can be a tight squeeze.
While this toaster is a lot less high-tech than the Breville, it still includes a few handy features. It has a wind-up timer that acts as a cycle countdown indicator as it ticks back down. There's also a defrost setting and a manual lever that lets you check your toast mid-cycle. This model toasts quickly without drying out the bread, and its one-sided toasting mode works especially well for bagels and English muffins. It leaves each side of your toast with a similar level of browning, but because it lacks a self-centering mechanism, slices don't brown very evenly across each surface. Still, as long as you don't mind a little unevenness, you can get a range of shades from this toaster. It doesn't leave many crumbs on your counter, so you don't have to clean up after it very often.
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Best Upper Mid-Range 2-Slice Toaster
Everyday Use7.9Toast8.7Bagels9.3Crumb Management6.0Toasting Evenness10Toasting Speed7.8Capacity7.2See all our test resultsFeatures7.5Our pick for the best upper mid-range 2-slice toaster is the Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL 2-Slice, a touchscreen toaster available at a significantly lower price than the Dualit 2 Slice NewGen Classic. The touchscreen controls offer a wide range of options, including settings for bagels, waffles, and frozen foods, as well as options to toast one slice at a time or add 15 seconds to a toasting cycle. One notable exception, however, is that this model lacks a cycle countdown indicator, which you might expect from a touchscreen toaster.
Apart from its touchscreen design, this model stands out for how evenly it toasts; each slice browns exceptionally evenly on both sides. It works quickly, too, which helps retain moisture, so your bread doesn't dry out before reaching a golden-brown color. The slots are long, wide, and deep, so they easily accommodate a wide range of baked goods, and with its six shade settings, you can get anything from pale to charred toast. Unfortunately, it leaves more crumbs on your counter than our top picks, so you have to sweep them off your counter pretty regularly.
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Best Mid-Range 2-Slice Toaster
Everyday Use7.6Toast8.2Bagels9.1Crumb Management5.0Toasting Evenness8.6Toasting Speed7.9Capacity7.5See all our test resultsFeatures7.5For your favorite carbs that don't fit in a standard 2-slice toaster, the Dash Clear View Long Slot is a good alternative. Instead of two slots like the Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL 2-Slice, it has one long slot that fits two slices of sandwich bread or one longer slice of homemade or bakery bread. It's wide enough to fit thicker slices of bread, but it's not very deep, so taller slices can sometimes stick out the top. This unique toaster has a few features that help it stand out, most notably a viewing window that lets you watch your bread toast. There's also a defrost button for frozen items, another for one-sided toasting, and the typical shade-selector dial with a cancel button in the center.
When it comes to toasting performance, this model is excellent. Like the Cuisinart, it provides a fantastic toasting range, so you can make your toast exactly how you like it. Each slice comes out evenly toasted on both sides, though the bottom edge can start to burn at higher settings. It also toasts quickly, leaving your carbs soft and fluffy in the middle. Its one-sided toasting mode also works well for bagels, leaving the outside soft, while the inside toasts. On the downside, its long, narrow crumb tray lets plenty of crumbs and seeds fall onto your counter, so you'll have to clean around it after every use.
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Best Budget 2-Slice Toaster
Everyday Use7.5Toast8.8Bagels7.1Crumb Management7.0Toasting Evenness9.6Toasting Speed8.1Capacity7.1See all our test resultsFeatures6.0The Black+Decker 2-Slice T2569B proves you don't need a ton of bells and whistles to make good toast. While it doesn't offer one-sided toasting or provide a way to check your toast's progress, its toasting performance is tough to beat. It toasts quickly and very evenly without drying out your bread, so each slice comes out uniformly browned on both sides and soft in the middle. You can get barely toasted bread on the lowest setting, while the highest setting is sufficient to toast denser bread and thicker slices in a single cycle. Its slots are wide enough for thickly sliced bread, but they're somewhat short, so taller slices can stick out the top.
This toaster has a less premium feel, but it's also very light, which is nice if you plan to store it in a cupboard or on a shelf when it's not in use. And while it doesn't offer many convenience features, this model still has the basics covered: you get settings for frozen items and bagels, both of which add extra toasting time, along with the standard shade selector and cancel button. It's also decent at containing crumbs, though a few still end up on your counter.
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Best Cheap 2-Slice Toaster
Everyday Use6.6Toast7.9Bagels6.6Crumb Management5.0Toasting Evenness8.0Toasting Speed7.9Capacity7.2See all our test resultsFeatures2.5Tight counters and tighter budgets are no match for the bella 2-Slice Slim, our choice for the best cheap 2-slice toaster. It shares a similar single-long-slot design with the Dash Clear View Long Slot, with room for two slices of sandwich bread or one longer slice, but it leaves out the viewing window. This toaster has even fewer features than the Black+Decker 2-Slice T2569B, with only six shade settings and a cancel button; it lacks settings for frozen foods or bagels, and it can't toast only one side. Plenty of crumbs and seeds also fall past the narrow crumb tray, so you'll need to clean the counter each time you toast.
With all that in mind, this toaster offers very good performance for toast. It toasts very evenly, leaving each slice uniformly browned on both sides. Your toast doesn't take long to pop back up either, which also helps prevent it from drying out. Just keep in mind that you get different results depending on where you place your bread in the slot, and taller slices may stick out the top.
Notable Mentions
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Smeg 2-Slice TSF01:
The Smeg 2-Slice TSF01 is a premium option that comes in a variety of colors and features a 1950s-style design. It toasts faster than the Breville the 'A Bit More' 2 Slice, but doesn't offer as many features. It's also more expensive.
See our review
Recent Updates
Oct 28, 2026:
We added the Breville the 'A Bit More' 2 Slice to a new category, 'Best 2-Slice Toaster For Most People' and moved the Dualit 2 Slice NewGen Classic to another new category, 'Best High-End 2 Slice Toaster.' We also added the Cuisinart SimpliTouch XL 2 Slice as the 'Best Upper Mid-Range 2-Slice Toaster,' and edited the text for clarity and correctness.
Jul 22, 2026:
We removed the unavailable Hamilton Beach 2 Slice Toaster with Extra-Wide Slots 22217, adding the Dualit 2 Slice NewGen Classic as our top pick, and naming the bella 2-Slice Slim our cheap pick. We also reorganized the lineup and updated the article to reflect our recent Test Bench Update v1.2.
May 14, 2026:
We removed the Sur La Table Touchscreen 2-Slice as our mid-range pick, as it's unavailable, and we removed the Oster 2-Slice with Quick-Check Lever as our budget pick because it doesn't offer as much day-to-day convenience as our remaining picks. We added the Dash Clear View Long Slot as our new mid-range pick, and the Hamilton Beach 2-Slice Toaster with Extra-Wide Slots 22217 as our cheap pick, since they perform well for everyday use.
Feb 09, 2026:
We've updated the article to give price-based recommendations. The Sur La Table Touchscreen 2-Slice Toaster has been added as a pick.
Nov 17, 2025:
We've made minor updates to the text and verified that the products are in stock; however, our recommendations remain unchanged.
All Reviews
Here are our recommendations for the best 2-slice toasters for most people. We factor in the price, feedback from our visitors, and availability.
If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here is the list of all our toaster reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. There's no perfect toaster; most are good enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.