Bowl-lift VS. Tilt-head stand mixer: What’s difference?

Tilt-head vs. bowl-lift stand mixers: the lowdown

First of all, relax. You can’t go wrong when choosing a tilt-head vs. a bowl-lift style mixer. Rest assured that all our mixer models have the power, durability and iconic curves that KitchenAid is famous for. The main difference between tilt-head and bowl-lift stand mixers is simply how the bowls are attached and accessed. 

The top of a tilt-head mixer does exactly what it says on the tin. It tilts back so you can twist the bowl onto the base. With a bowl-lift mixer, the head stays still and you use a simple lever to lift and lower the bowl for mixing or adding your ingredients.

You can jump to our features chart for a quick and easy guide to all the differences between tilt-head

What is a tilt-head stand mixer?

A quick-and-easy tilt-head mixer has a head that can be released simply with a lever. Tilt it back to attach it to the base, swap out accessories as needed and add ingredients. Then just tilt it forward again and lock it into place. You can even do it while the motor is running. Easy as pie!

What is a bowl-lift stand mixer?

Bowl-lift stand mixers are more heavy duty. These hefty mixers have broader bases, so they stay well and truly put, and their heads are fixed. As the name suggests, the bowl attaches to two arms that lift it up with a lever to mix, and lower it to change attachments and add ingredients. 

Tilt-head vs. bowl-lift stand mixers: a quick look at the differences

*Additional bowls in different capacities, materials, colours, finishes and patterns can be purchased separately. 

Which stand mixer is best for me, a tilt-head or a bowl-lift?

The best stand mixer is the one that fits your lifestyle, your cooking style, and your kitchen. While each stand mixer is a little different, they also have bags in common!

Tilt-head vs bowl-lift: what’s the similarity? 

• Both use planetary action to reach every single bit of the bowl for thorough mixing.

• They have powerful, durable motors that can handle all sorts of recipes. 

• With (at least) ten speeds, you can fine-tune them for your recipe. 

• Both come with the same must-have accessories: a whisk, paddle, dough hook and bowl. Some of our models come with extras, so keep an eye out for those. 

• Other stand mixer accessories are also compatible with both models, such as flex edge beaters, pouring shields and bowl covers.

• All KitchenAid stand mixer attachments** fit both, so you can do even more with your mixer, like grind meat, puree fruits, make sausages, spiralize vegetables and much much more.

** Ice Cream Bowl attachment is not compatible with the mini tilt-head stand mixer; Food pro attachment for stand mixer does not fit with professional model 5KSM7990

What are the advantages of a tilt-head stand mixer?

KitchenAid tilt-head mixers open up all sorts of possibilities for every home cook and baker. They’re fun, accessible for everyone, even absolute beginners and can be personalised too.  

Tilt-head stand mixers pack power and versatility into a countertop-friendly size that’s always on standby for whenever inspiration strikes. But they’re also light enough to be easily stored away if needed. Tilt-head stand mixers come in two sizes: the standard 36cm models and the smaller 31cm mini stand mixer.

Bowl capacities go from the mini mixer’s 3.3 L (up to 60 cookies*) right up to our bigger models’  4.8 L, which is a whopping 9 dozen cookies*, all in one go. 

You can also buy extra bowls for your tilt-head stand mixer, in all sorts of gorgeous colours and patterns, as well as additional sizes. Then there’s our amazing selection of attachments that transform your mixer into anything from a pasta maker to a sausage machine.

Choose a KitchenAid tilt-head stand mixer based on:

• Capacity - You mostly make recipes for yourself and your household.

• Colour - Colour is important to you; tilt-head models have over 20 options to choose from.

• Style - You like to change up your decor for seasons, holidays, or ‘just because’. You can swap out 35+ bowls in different colours, patterns and finishes.

• Space - You live in a flat or apartment, have limited counter space, or need to store your stand mixer in a pantry or cabinet. Choose a mini stand mixer for an even more compact option.

• Height - You want to tuck your stand mixer under kitchen cabinets for storage.

* Based on standard 5.1 cm (2 inch) cookies.

The perfect KitchenAid tilt-head model for you

A style icon is the popular KitchenAid tilt-head model 4.7L Artisan By You stand mixer. This mixer gives you the widest palette of colour choices and comes with a bowl with a handy handle. 

What’s more, with this model you can make it totally ‘you’ with our personalisation tool. Pick your colour, then bundle it with your perfect additional bowl, accessories and attachments. You can also add a free engraving to your mixer with a meaningful message, name, special date… whatever you’d like for yourself or a loved one.

Or how about the 4.8L Artisan Premium, which comes with an extra bowl and all stainless steel accessories?

What are the advantages of a bowl-lift stand mixer?

If you’re always making large batches, or heavy mixtures like bread dough, then a bowl-lift stand mixer is the way to go. Bowl-lifts offer larger capacity options (4.8 - 6.9 L bowls), 10 mixing speeds and more power to give it extra oomph for very thick or heavy mixtures.

This heavy-duty stand mixer weighs more than tilt-head models, between around 12 to 15 kg, to provide extra stability. And, because you don’t want to be carrying this powerhouse backwards and forwards, you’ll need enough countertop space to store it when you’re not using it.

Choose a KitchenAid bowl-lift stand mixer based on:

• Capacity - You often make large batches or recipes to entertain and share. 

• Weight - you often work with heavy or dense mixtures.

• Space - You have a large kitchen, or somewhere to easily use and store your stand mixer. 

• Performance - Heavy-duty performance is more important than colour or bowl options.

• Design - You enjoy a professional mixer look.

The perfect KitchenAid bowl-lift model for you

There are 3 bowl-lift mixers in our Artisan range, a 5.6 L, 6.6 L and a 6.9 L model, which is our largest bowl capacity. The 6.9 L heavy duty bowl-lift has that big bowl capacity but is even tougher for heavy and frequent use. While our 6.9 L professional mixer is a winner for a commercial kitchen and is NSF-certified for use as a professional appliance.

And, just like our tilt-heads, our bowl-lifts are all compatible with a huge range of attachments. Making your own sausages, bread or pasta from scratch – even milling flour – all become possible, adding an extra special touch to your menu.

So, are you team tilt-head or team bowl-lift?

As you’ve seen, there really isn’t a wrong choice when it comes to tilt-head and bowl-lift stand mixers. They both have all those things that made you want to buy KitchenAid in the first place. Tilt-head vs bowl-lift is  all about what you love to make, and how you love to make it. Have fun choosing from all our colorful models.