Hi all.. was ready to shell out $200 for a classic kitchenaid mixer and then i saw right next to it a similar mixer from sunbeam for $80! that's a $120 price difference.. was just wondering from any of you out there if you've tried the sunbeam mixer? the differences between the two that i could see was that the kitchenaid mixer has more attatchments to buy. And i LOVE the flat paddle beater. plus you can buy the plastic guard which is great for powdered sugar...

the sunbeam didn't have as many different attachments to buy, but it has a 350 watt motor! compared to the kitchenaid's 250.

which is better?

I got a KA mixer for Christmas, and prior to that I was using a Sunbeam. It seems like the Sunbeam one got bogged down easily (cookie dough would slow it down), and mine was only a 3qt bowl, which really wasn't large enough. I'm loving the fact that I have 5qt that doesn't blink at making fondant.

I'd probably spring for the KA if you can afford it.

till i was able to afford my KA i had the sunbeam and i used it for all my cakin needs but too stiff of frosting or tryin to make RI would bogg down and smell very warm... so my beautiful wife bought me one for christmas last year . now i use my sunbeam for my scratch cakes and my KA for all my icing and fondant needs

till i was able to afford my KA i had the sunbeam and i used it for all my cakin needs but too stiff of frosting or tryin to make RI would bogg down and smell very warm... so my beautiful wife bought me one for christmas last year . now i use my sunbeam for my scratch cakes and my KA for all my icing and fondant needs

I have the Sunbeam and use it to make fondant, Indydebi's buttercream,& SMBC and it works just fine for me. I always make a double batch of Debi's buttercream at a time as to fill my mixer bowl to avoid too much air especially since I don't have a paddle attachment. I just couldn't afford the KA at the time I bought the Sunbeam.

If money isn't an issue I would go with the KA. But just wanted to let you know that I use my Sunbeam 3-5 times a week and it gets the job done and it didn't break me financially

To quote "W" on Good Eats it's not all about the Watts. All Watts indicate is how much electricity the device draws. Higher Watts does not automatically equate to higher power. If the motor is poorly designed with crappy torque conversion, it may require greater Watts to produce lesser power.

Go for the KA. You get what you pay for.

My first mixer was a Sunbeam, it burned out within a year. Then I bought a KA, I've had it for about 12 years.

I have a sunbeam but needless to say, I finally bought my Kitchen Aid today. Kitchen Aid is a lot better.

I've had a Sunbeam for 4 months now and it's been great. I just got into baking/decorating & only had a hand mixer before so my husband was quick to encourage my new hobby! I'm totally hooked now on CC & want to bake nonstop! I've been reading all the forums & everyone is always talking about the KA's like a race car driver does about his car & I was jealous!! Last month I was lucky enough to get a 30% off coupon from Kohls & the KA's were on sale. Not to mention the fact I had $20 Kohls Cash! I'm sure you can figure out what happened...Yeap I'm riding around with that new Artisan KA in the car not wanting to bring it in & use it, thinking it may hurt hubby's feelings! All I want to do is plug that sucker in, stick that paddle beater in and whip up a batch of Indydebi's or Sugarshacks buttercream! Ahhhhh!! What to do?!............... This doesn't help you does it?

I have both and use both my Sunbeam & KA. I love the design of the Sunbeam. Easy to add to bowl while running, easy to scrape while running, and don't get that unmixed residue at bottom of bowl. However, I would never use my Sunbeam to make fondant with, just not heavy duty enough. It works great for batters and icings, but agree with other posters, when it comes to making fondant & royal, KA is the way to go.

I love my KitchenAid

I'VE GONE THROUGH SO MANY MIXERS, EVEN A KITCHEN AID HAND MIXER (NEARLY $100), I PREFER A HAND MIXER TO A STAND MIXER, I CAN MIX 6 BOXED MIXES AT ONE TIME AND MAKE FROSTING WITH 1-1 1/2 CANS OF VEGETABLE SHORTENING AND 6-8 POUNDS OF POWDERED SUGAR. I'VE FOUND THAT THE BOWLS ON THE STAND MIXERS JUST AREN'T BIG ENOUGH.

MY ALL TIME FAVORITE MIXER IS AN ORECK HAND MIXER (HAD IT FOR NEARLY 5 YEARS). I MAKE AN AVERAGE OF 25-30 CAKES PER MONTH. I FOUND IT AT TUESDAY MORNING FOR ABOUT $65 AND I'VE BEEN LOOKING AROUND FOR ANOTHER ONE ON EBAY FOR A BACK UP

I invested $400 in a KitchenAid mixer.  It didn't clean the side of the bowl.  Then I bought the plastic attachments to go on top so it wouldn't throw the flour out all over the kitchen.  But then I couldn't get in there with a spatula to scrape down the bowl.  What an expensive experiment.  So I sold it in a garage sale and got most of my money back.  And I went back to my vintage Sunbeam.  I have every color they made in the 1950's.  The beaters scrape down the bowl and rotate it automatically.  It pulls flour into the middle and never slings it out.  I don't know about modern Sunbeam mixers, as my Sunbeams are all 50 years old.  They are very heavy, very powerful, and still running strong.  I'll take my vintage Sunbeams any day over a KitchenAid.

I was very interested to read these comments as I am trying to decide between a Sunbeam and a Kitchenaid mixer.

My Sunbeam mixer just burnt out - I have had it since Christmas 1980.  It has done VERY WELL!

Whatever brand I decide on, I am fairly sure it will not last any where near as long as my good old Sunbeam.

I am in Australia and the prices of Kitchenaid are HIGH!  :(

Terri you might want to look at the Kenwood Chefs.  My first one lasted 22 years and my new one is now in its second decade.  I expect a lot from my machine as not only does it have to cope with icing but also with heavy bread doughs. 

I have both and use them for different stuff.  I love my sunbeam for mixing my cake batter.  I have the one where the bowl rotates and I don't have to stop it and lift to scrape, i just let it run and scrape as it turns.  I've made the same cake mix in the KA and it didn't turn out as good.  I use the KA for buttercream and RI and it works better than the sunbeam for those.  I swear by both because to me, both have different functions.  

I burnt the motor out of my first mixer, a cheap Sunbeam. I was making my own wedding cake and luckily it burnt out on the trial run! My husband's grandmother loaned me her old Kitchen Aid and then as a wedding gift told me to keep it. I'd love to get something bigger (it's only 4 qt bowl) but it's still chugging away and I believe it's close to 20 years old.

I have one of the Sunbeam Heritage stand mixers and love it. It mixes up a beautiful pound cake!

I see Sunbeam and Kitchenaid both as Ok mixers but if you can afford it go for the Ankarsrum (DLX).  It is fantastic for cream or fondant. Never a worry about warranty either as they have 5 yr warranty included, which shows its quality.  Only 600 Watts but watts doesn't matter how it utilizes them. This mixer  has enough torque to mix fondant as easy as cream.  A dream to use. Just google to see all the great reviews on this machine. Worth the extra if you can afford it.  A friend found them on sale in Canada.

The old Sunbeam mixers were work horses but they were made in the US. I had one for 30 years and only gave it away because it was looking too shabby to take to my cake classes. The friend I gave it to is still using it. The new Sunbeams are not made in the US and I went through 2 of them in a couple of months. One lost all it's speed except high which was so high it threw the cake batter out of the bowl. The second one hardly had any power so I returned it and bought a good hand mixer. I also have 2 KA which I love and wouldn't want to be without.

My Kitchen Aid is about 37 years old.  It still works fine, no problems with cookie dough or breads.   One warning - the old ones were made by Hobart; they aren't any more.

Hmm. I use a handheld GE 5-speed for mixing cake and waffle batter (not with each other -- yet).

And I use an ordinary dinner fork for mixing cold-process buttercream (and cookie dough, and turkey loaf, and for beating eggs)

I think KitchenAid is great. Best seller stand mixer of 2014 are almost KitchenAid mixer