KitchenAid Artisan Review: KSM150PS Pros, Problems, Verdict

Is the KitchenAid Artisan worth it? What ATK and TechGearLab measured, the problems owners report, and who should buy a different mixer.

By Maksud · Published Oct 4, 2026

The KitchenAid Artisan KSM150PS is worth it if you mostly whip cream, cream butter and make cookie or cake batters, and want KitchenAid’s attachment hub. TechGearLab named it its Best Overall stand mixer at 92 of 100, and America’s Test Kitchen rates it Recommended. Skip it if you knead stiff bread every week: ATK measured only 3 working quarts in the “5-quart” bowl, and it rocks on heavy dough.

Nobody here used one; this page weighs what labs, KitchenAid’s own support pages and owners have published, as explained in how we research. For the ranked shortlist, see the best stand mixers.

Is the KitchenAid Artisan worth it?

The published measurements are strong on whipping and mixing, and the weaknesses show up mostly under hard dough work. TechGearLab scored it 10 of 10 for whipping and kneading. ATK found it competent but about $150 dearer than the Classic for “roughly equivalent size and performance.” The cons that matter: small working capacity (ATK), rocking and a sticking bowl on stiff dough (ATK, Food Network), and a speed lever that is easy to overshoot (Reviewed).

What TechGearLab, ATK and Reviewed measured

TechGearLab whipped 1 cup of cream to stiff peaks in 1 minute 50 seconds and half a cup in 1 minute 45 seconds. Its sandwich dough formed a ball within the first minute and passed the windowpane test after 7 minutes of kneading. Beating scored 7 of 10: on its chunky Cowboy Cookie dough the mix-ins pushed up one side of the beater and needed occasional pushing down. While creaming butter and sugar, the motor sounded like it struggled slightly at speed 4 and improved at speed 6.

America’s Test Kitchen (published Oct 1, 2026) measured 3 quarts of working capacity and lists its weight as 20.7 lb. In abuse testing it “rocked and got very warm” but completed all 12 extra batches of bread and pizza dough in a row. Reviewed’s single-model review whipped egg whites in two minutes.

Consumer Reports rates the KSM150PS too, but its scores are behind a paywall, so I cite none of them.

KSM150PS vs the Classic, the 7-quart bowl-lift and the Cuisinart SM-50

Why the “5-quart” bowl holds about 3 quarts

The 5-quart figure is the bowl’s volume, not how much it mixes well. ATK measured 3 quarts of working capacity, less than the Classic’s 3.25 quarts. The batch figures elsewhere don’t settle it: Reviewed repeats KitchenAid’s claim that it handles 72 cookies or 4 loaves, while Foodal lists 9 dozen cookies or 4.5 loaves of light bread without saying where those numbers come from. The two don’t agree with each other.

TechGearLab measured the bowl tapering from 8.5 inches at the top to about 3.5 inches at the bottom; no source tests whether that shape limits working capacity. If you regularly double recipes, read what size stand mixer you need first.

Stiff bread dough: the sources disagree on how far to push it

Food Network made it Best Overall, yet says that with heavier breads “the mixer jumped on the countertop, especially as we increased the speed.” ATK heard a slight clicking on bagel dough, saw it struggle at first to combine wet and dry ingredients, and notes the bowl “sometimes gets stuck on its base” after hard work. TechGearLab scored kneading 10 of 10 on whole wheat sandwich bread and focaccia, though even there it noted the motor stuttered slightly around three minutes and the tilt head bounced a little at five.

The sources used different doughs and loads, so the evidence can’t settle how much stiff dough is too much. KitchenAid’s limit, as ATK reports it, is no higher than speed 2 when kneading with the dough hook; TechGearLab reports the same limit for yeasted doughs. ATK found doughs took significantly longer at speed 2 than in machines without that restriction. For which tool to use when, see dough hook vs paddle and the KitchenAid mixer speed guide.

KitchenAid Artisan problems: shutoffs, oil, beater height and the speed lever

Mid-batch shutoffs. KitchenAid’s support page says some mixers have a Thermal Overload Protection switch that cuts power if the motor overheats; once it has cooled completely, about 30 minutes, it should restart. When mixing something steamy, steam can condense on the circuit board and shut the motor off; once the steam dissipates, it should turn on again in about 3 minutes. The page sits in KitchenAid’s bowl-lift section, so it isn’t KSM150-specific. More in stand mixer overheating.

Oil weeping. KitchenAid’s oil-leak page says the mixer is packed with lifetime grease, and oil can separate and settle over the beater shaft, more often in warm weather or with little use. To help prevent it, the page says to run the mixer empty periodically and, if it hasn’t been used for a while, at speed 10 for 2 minutes before use, then wipe excess oil from around the planetary. If that doesn’t work, a KitchenAid service facility removes the old grease, repacks it and replaces the gasket. Details in KitchenAid mixer leaking oil.

Beater scraping or missing the bottom. ATK and TechGearLab both note the beater height is adjustable; TechGearLab describes the dime check. See the KitchenAid dime test.

Units that stop working. No source I read gives a failure rate for the KSM150PS. If yours goes dead, start with KitchenAid mixer won’t turn on.

The speed lever. Reviewed says it has sharp edges and enough resistance that “it’s easy to push too hard” and start faster than intended. TechGearLab adds that the odd-numbered speeds don’t firmly lock into place.

Access and bulk. TechGearLab lists the head blocking access to the bowl as a con, and says its 21.3 lb measured weight suits a permanent spot on the counter rather than frequent moves in and out of storage.

Recalls and the 2023 lead rumor

The CPSC recall database shows no KitchenAid stand-mixer recall. A CPSC Recall API query for KitchenAid products, run Oct 4, 2026, returned six recalls (cooktops, an electric kettle, coffeemakers, toasters, microwave-hood combinations and food processors) and no mixers. A query for “stand mixer” returned one recall, a 1990 Sunbeam Mixmaster.

In January 2023 viral social media posts claimed KitchenAid recalled white paddles and dough hooks for “extreme amounts of lead.” Snopes rated it False and found no current or recent recall for KitchenAid mixers. To check any mixer yourself, see the stand mixer recall check.

Weight, footprint and cabinet clearance

Published weights disagree. TechGearLab measured 21.3 lb and ATK 20.7 lb. Cooktry, which compares published specs, lists 24.3 lb, and Foodal 26 lb. The two lab figures are within a pound of each other; neither higher figure says how it was obtained.

TechGearLab measured it at 14 x 8.7 x 13.7 inches (D x W x H). Food Network notes that tilt-head models like this one can be challenging if you have low-lying cabinets. The tilt-head vs bowl-lift guide covers the clearance trade-off.

Wattage: 325 W isn’t the number to compare

325 W is the manufacturer spec, and most other mixers in TechGearLab’s lineup list 450 to 660 W. TechGearLab’s results show wattage doesn’t predict performance: the 660 W Aucma needed 3 minutes 30 seconds to whip a cup of cream, against the Artisan’s 1 minute 50 seconds. TechGearLab writes that some of its top models “achieved better results with 325 watts than others did with 500.” More in stand mixer wattage explained.

Who should skip the Artisan and buy something else

• Save money: the Classic K45SS measured 3.25 quarts at ATK and scored 80 at TechGearLab, though its tilt head broke in ATK’s abuse test. See Classic vs Artisan.
• Bake bread weekly: the 7-quart bowl-lift’s sibling measured 5.25 working quarts at ATK. See Artisan vs 7-quart bowl-lift.
• Spend less on a non-KitchenAid: ATK rates the Cuisinart SM-50 Recommended with Reservations; it struggled to whip egg whites. See Cuisinart SM-50 vs Artisan.

The full ranking is on the best stand mixers hub.

Cleaning, dishwasher-safe parts and attachments

ATK’s care notes list the KSM150’s bowl, paddle and dough hook as dishwasher-safe, with the whisk and splash guard hand-wash only. TechGearLab also lists the bowl, beater and hook as dishwasher-safe and the whisk as hand-wash, but it puts the pouring shield in the dishwasher-safe group, so check the manual that came with your mixer before putting the shield in. For the details, see how to clean a stand mixer, are stand mixer parts dishwasher safe and KitchenAid attachments compatibility.

More on the Artisan and other stand mixers

• Best stand mixers, ranked by weight of evidence
• KitchenAid Classic vs Artisan
• Artisan vs 7-quart bowl-lift
• Cuisinart SM-50 review
• Stand mixer overheating
• How we research