I grew up boiling water in a pot on the stove. Then I went to England for a semester abroad and every dorm room, every office, every hotel had an electric kettle. The British boil water more often than they blink. I came home, bought one, and have not boiled water in a pot since.

An electric kettle boils water in about half the time of a stovetop kettle and uses less energy. But not all kettles are worth the counter space.

What to Look For

Variable temperature control separates good kettles from great ones. Different drinks need different temperatures: green tea at 175 degrees F, coffee at 195-205, black tea at 212. Boiling everything to 212 and waiting for it to cool burns delicate teas.

Keep-warm function matters if you drink multiple cups over a few hours.

The Top Picks

Best Overall: Cuisinart CPK-17 PerfecTemp (eighty to one hundred dollars). Six preset temperatures, keep-warm, 1.7-liter capacity, blue backlit water window. Three years of daily use, zero issues. Physical buttons work when hands are wet.

Budget Pick: Amazon Basics Electric Kettle (twenty to twenty-five dollars). One temperature (boiling), 1 liter, no features. It boils water, it shuts off, it costs twenty bucks.

Gooseneck for Pour-Over: Bonavita BV382510V (fifty to sixty dollars). Long narrow spout gives precise pour control. Temperature control accurate within a degree.

Premium: Fellow Stagg EKG (one hundred sixty-five dollars). Beautiful design, precise control. The kettle you buy when you want it to be a conversation piece.

What You Do Not Need

Wi-Fi connectivity. A kettle that connects to your phone solves a problem that does not exist. You still have to fill it with water manually.