The Best Kettles in Australia

The kettle is the appliance you use most and think about least, until the old one starts tasting of scale or the switch gives up halfway through the school-morning rush. Then you’re facing a wall of near-identical boxes, all promising fast boiling. Our pick for the best kettle in Australia is the KitchenAid KEK1701. It lets you choose the water temperature, it’s metal inside, and 143 JB Hi-Fi owners give it 4.45 out of 5.

If you only ever want boiling water, don’t pay for temperature control. The De’Longhi Distinta Moments does the plain job and has an excellent owner score. If you’d like a glass kettle for one or two people, get the Breville Compact Clear.

The short answer

The best kettles in Australia

• Best overall: KitchenAid KEK1701
• Best simple kettle for families: De’Longhi Distinta Moments
• Best mid-priced stainless steel kettle: Breville Soft Top Dual
• Best glass kettle for one or two people: Breville Compact Clear
• Best stovetop kettle: Avanti Novara
• Best budget temperature-control kettle: AUSELECT HHB1806D
• Cheapest glass electric kettle: Billord PY1843-G

Product		Price
	KitchenAid KEK170 1.7L Variable Temperature Electric Kettle (5KEK1701ASX)	from $175.00 at Bing Lee · 2 shops	$175.00 at Bing Lee
	De'Longhi Distinta Moments Kettle (KBIN2001BK)	from $169.00 at The Good Guys · 2 shops	$169.00 at The Good Guys
	Breville the Soft Top Dual BKE425BSS	from $118.78 at Amazon · 2 shops	$118.78 at Amazon
	Breville the Compact Kettle Clear BKE395 (BKE395BSS)	from $109.00 at Bing Lee · 2 shops	$109.00 at Bing Lee
	Avanti Novara Stainless Steel Stove Top Whistling Kettle (16562)	from $32.00 at Amazon · 2 shops	$32.00 at Amazon
	AUSELECT Electric Kettle (HHB1806D)		Unavailable
	Billord 1.8L Glass Kettle (PY1843-G)	from $39.99 at Amazon	$39.99 at Amazon

1. Best overall: KitchenAid KEK1701

If you drink green tea, make plunger coffee or just get annoyed waiting for boiled water to cool, a kettle that stops at the temperature you want saves you that wait every morning. The KitchenAid KEK1701 does that. Pick a lower setting and it heats to that point and switches off, so you can make the drink straight away.

It’s at the top because it does more than the De’Longhi and still has a strong score: 4.45 out of 5 from 143 JB Hi-Fi owners, the most reviews of any kettle here.

The other thing worth having is the removable limescale filter. KitchenAid says it’s easy to clean. In hard-water areas that filter is what stops flakes ending up in your cup, so a filter you can lift out and rinse is a real plus. Inside it’s brushed stainless steel, which suits anyone shopping for a stainless kettle who doesn’t want to see plastic when they lift the lid.

Where it falls short is price. It’s one of the two dearest kettles here, and if the temperature dial never moves off “boil” you’ve paid for something you don’t use. KitchenAid’s listing also doesn’t give the actual temperature settings, so if your tea needs one exact number, check the manual first.

Our verdict: Buy it if you’ll actually use the temperature control. If you won’t, the De’Longhi below does the everyday job for similar money, and the Breville Soft Top Dual does it for less.

2. Best simple kettle for families: De’Longhi Distinta Moments

Some households boil the kettle every hour on a weekend morning, and nobody cares about 80°C versus 90°C. They want a big kettle that boils without fuss. That’s the De’Longhi Distinta Moments.

Owners rate it 4.8 out of 5 from 85 reviews at The Good Guys. That’s a very good score from enough people to take it seriously. The 1.7 litres covers a round of tea for a family, the swivel base means it sits down whichever way you’re holding it, and like the KitchenAid it has a removable anti-scale filter.

The catch is simple: there’s no temperature control at all. For most people that doesn’t matter. For anyone who makes delicate teas, it’s the reason to go back to the KitchenAid.

Our verdict: If all you want is boiling water and lots of it, this is the one. Just know that for about the same money the KitchenAid adds temperature control.

3. Best mid-priced stainless steel kettle: Breville Soft Top Dual

Not everyone wants to spend top dollar on a kettle, but plenty of people don’t trust the cheapest one on the shelf either. The Breville Soft Top Dual sits between those two. It costs noticeably less than the first two picks and still holds the same 1.7 litres.

Finder names it the best kettle overall, and that recommendation is what puts it ahead of the picks chosen on sales alone.

Day to day, you get a brushed stainless steel body that Breville lists as BPA-free and a cordless base you can drop it onto from any direction. Nothing exciting, and that’s the point.

Our verdict: A sensible stainless steel kettle for people who want a Finder-recommended pick without paying KitchenAid or De’Longhi prices. If you’d like owner ratings behind your choice, the De’Longhi has them.

4. Best glass kettle for one or two people: Breville Compact Clear

If it’s mostly just you, or you and one other person, a 1.7-litre kettle means heating more water than you need, or a sad puddle in the bottom of a big jug. The Breville Compact Clear holds a litre, about four cups, and Breville makes it from German Schott glass.

Finder picks it as its best glass kettle for the compact one-litre size, quick heating and slow-release lid. That soft-opening lid is the detail you’ll notice: it opens slowly rather than flipping up.

The obvious objection is the price. It costs roughly two and a half times as much as either budget glass kettle further down. What you get for that is a Finder recommendation and a smaller size, not more features.

Our verdict: The best glass kettle here for a small household. If there are four or more of you, get something bigger.

5. Best stovetop kettle: Avanti Novara

Your bench has one power point and it’s already taken, or you just like the ritual of a kettle on the cooktop. The Avanti Novara is the cheapest kettle in this guide. It holds 2.5 litres, more than any electric pick here, and Avanti says it works on every cooktop, induction included.

It was the number 1 seller in Stovetop Kettles on Amazon Australia at our last check (no owner rating yet).

The catch is the same with every stovetop kettle. The whistle tells you it’s boiled, but you have to walk over and turn the heat off. Leave the room and you’ll hear about it.

Our verdict: Buy it if you want a stovetop kettle and don’t want to spend much. If you want to press a button and walk away, go electric.

6. Best budget temperature-control kettle: AUSELECT HHB1806D

You want temperature control but can’t justify KitchenAid money. The AUSELECT HHB1806D costs about a quarter as much and, according to AUSELECT, heats to anything from 40°C to 100°C in 10°C steps, with the temperature shown on the handle.

The keep-warm function is the other useful bit. AUSELECT says it holds the water at your chosen temperature, so the second cup doesn’t mean starting again. AUSELECT also suggests 40°C for baby formula. That’s the maker’s suggestion, so follow the formula tin’s instructions.

It was number 4 in Electric Kettles on Amazon Australia at our last check (no owner rating yet). AUSELECT describes its presets as “scientifically calibrated”, which sounds more exact than 10°C steps really are.

Our verdict: The value buy if you want to set the temperature. If you’d rather have a kettle that lots of owners have scored well, pay more for the KitchenAid.

7. Cheapest glass electric kettle: Billord PY1843-G

Sometimes you just need a working kettle by the weekend, and you’d like it to look nice on the bench. The Billord PY1843-G is the cheapest electric kettle here. It’s glass and stainless steel, and it holds 1.8 litres.

The wide opening is the practical feature: Billord says it makes the inside easy to clean. The cord also tucks into the base, so there’s less cable on the bench. Billord says it boils in two to three minutes but doesn’t say how much water that’s for, so don’t read much into the number.

It was number 5 in Electric Kettles on Amazon Australia at our last check (no owner rating yet).

The real competition is the AUSELECT, which costs only a little more and adds temperature control and keep-warm.

Our verdict: Buy it if you want a glass kettle for as little as possible and only ever boil. If there’s a chance you’d use temperature settings, spend the extra on the AUSELECT.

Kettle buying guide

If you only ever want boiling water

Don’t pay for controls you’ll never touch. Most people buy more kettle than they need. The De’Longhi Distinta Moments does the everyday job well, and the Breville Soft Top Dual does it for less.

If your tea or coffee needs cooler water

Look for variable temperature. The KitchenAid KEK1701 is the well-rated choice. The AUSELECT gives you settings in 10°C steps for much less, plus a keep-warm function so the next cup is ready.

If you’re choosing a size

Think about how many cups you make at once. The one-litre Breville Compact Clear suits one or two people. The 1.7- and 1.8-litre electric kettles handle a family round, and the Avanti stovetop holds 2.5 litres. If you often boil just a cup or two, a big kettle still works: fill it to the minimum mark rather than to the top.

If you want the best glass kettle or the best stainless kettle

It mostly comes down to what you’d rather look at and clean. Glass lets you see the water level and any scale building up. The Breville Compact Clear is our glass pick, and the Billord and AUSELECT are the budget glass choices. For stainless steel, the KitchenAid has a brushed stainless interior and the Breville Soft Top Dual is the cheaper stainless electric kettle.

If you’re after a “healthy kettle”

Read those claims carefully. BPA-free or plastic-free tells you what a kettle is made of. It doesn’t prove one kettle is better for your health than another. Choose on the features you’ll use.

If you want a contemporary or good-looking kettle

Looks are a fair reason to choose, especially for something that sits on the bench all day. Glass kettles with LED lighting, like the AUSELECT and Billord, suit some kitchens; brushed metal suits others. Check the size against the space under your cupboards before you order.

If you’d rather use the cooktop

Check that the kettle suits your cooktop, especially induction. Avanti says it works on all cooktops, including induction. Remember that a whistle tells you to turn the heat off. It doesn’t turn the heat off for you.

If your water is hard

A removable limescale filter, like the ones on the KitchenAid and De’Longhi, stops flakes reaching your cup. A wide opening, like the Billord’s, makes it easier to clean the inside. Descale the way the maker’s instructions say.

If speed is all you care about

Makers’ boiling times don’t use the same amount of water or starting conditions, so you can’t compare them fairly. That’s why we haven’t named a fastest kettle.

How we chose

These picks are based on owner ratings and how many owners gave them, independent recommendations, maker specifications, and price and stock checks at Australian retailers. Kettles with a solid owner rating or an independent recommendation come first.

We found no independent owner rating at the retailers we check for the Breville Soft Top Dual, Breville Compact Clear, Avanti Novara, AUSELECT HHB1806D or Billord PY1843-G. The two Brevilles are here on Finder’s recommendations. The other three were chosen on their Amazon Australia sales rank and ordered by how useful they are for different needs. A sales rank shows that a product sells well, not that owners are happy with it.

Four of these kettles (the Breville Soft Top Dual, Breville Compact Clear, AUSELECT and Billord) are sold only through Amazon Australia among the shops we look at, so read the warranty and returns terms before you buy.

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