The KitchenAid Artisan and Professional 5 Plus Series are both 5-quart stand mixers, but they cater to very different types of cooks. The Artisan is a versatile tilt-head mixer famous for its dozens of color options and user-friendly design for everyday baking, while the Professional 5 Plus is a more powerful bowl-lift mixer built with an industrial-grade motor to handle heavy, dense doughs with greater stability.
Here’s a complete comparison to help you choose the right KitchenAid mixer for your kitchen.
KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer
The KitchenAid Artisan is the brand's most recognizable mixer and a longtime favorite among home bakers, celebrated for its timeless design, ease of use, and incredible array of colors that make it a statement piece on any countertop. Its clever tilt-head mechanism allows for easy access to the bowl and attachments, making it convenient for adding ingredients or scraping the sides.
- What it is: A versatile and stylish stand mixer designed for the majority of home baking and cooking tasks, from cookies and cakes to occasional bread making.
- Key features: User-friendly tilt-head design, 325-watt motor, 5-quart stainless steel bowl with handle, 10-speed slide control, and includes a flat beater, dough hook, and wire whip. Fits under most standard kitchen cabinets.
- Price: Typically costs between $300 - $450, depending on the retailer and specific color.
- Dimensions: 14.1" D x 8.7" W x 13.9" H, weighs approximately 26 lbs.
- Materials/Construction: Durable die-cast metal body that provides stability and reduces vibrations during operation.
- Style: Iconic, vintage-inspired aesthetic. Available in over 20 colors, from pastels like "Majestic Yellow" and "Aqua Sky" to modern neutrals like "Matte Black."
- Pros: Huge selection of colors to match any kitchen decor. The tilt-head design is very intuitive and easy to use. Compact enough for most countertops. Powerful enough for almost all typical baking and cooking recipes.
- Cons: Can struggle or overheat with very dense, large batches of bread dough. The tilt-head locking pin can occasionally wear down after very heavy use. Lower power compared to professional models.
The Artisan is perfect for home bakers who want a reliable, beautiful, and versatile machine for everyday recipes without needing commercial-grade power.
Shop this product: kitchenaid.com
KitchenAid Professional 5 Plus Series Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer
The Professional 5 Plus Series is a step up in power and performance, designed for passionate home cooks and small-scale professional use. It uses a bowl-lift design, where the bowl is secured onto two pins and cranked up to the mixing attachment, providing superior stability for heavy mixing tasks. This model is engineered to handle dense bread doughs, large batches of cookies, and tough-to-mix ingredients without breaking a sweat.
- What it is: A heavy-duty, bowl-lift stand mixer built for frequent use and demanding recipes like stiff bread doughs and double batches.
- Key features: Stable bowl-lift design, 450-watt high-performance motor, 5-quart stainless steel bowl, commercial-style Powerknead spiral dough hook, flat beater, and wire whip. The bowl-lift mechanism ensures the bowl stays secure.
- Price: Usually priced between $400 - $500.
- Dimensions: 11.3" D x 14.6" W x 16.5" H, weighs approximately 29 lbs.
- Materials/Construction: Built with a full die-cast metal body and all-metal gears for enhanced durability and strength under heavy loads.
- Style: More utilitarian and industrial than the Artisan. Available in a smaller selection of classic colors like Onyx Black, Empire Red, and Metallic Chrome.
- Pros: Extremely stable bowl-lift design prevents rocking or shaking. Powerful motor kneads stiff doughs effortlessly. All-metal gearing ensures long-term durability. Great for making large or double batches.
- Cons: Taller height may not fit under all kitchen cabinets. The bowl-lift design is less convenient for adding ingredients than the tilt-head. Heavier and bulkier, making it harder to move and store. Fewer color options.
The Professional 5 Plus is for the serious baker who frequently tackles dense doughs and large quantities and prioritizes power and stability over color options.
Shop this product: kitchenaid.com
Artisan vs. Professional 5 Plus Comparison
Design & Ergonomics (Tilt-Head vs. Bowl-Lift)
The single biggest difference is the design. The Artisan's tilt-head allows the entire motor head to lift up, giving you a completely open bowl. This makes it very simple to scrape down the sides, add ingredients, or remove the beater. It's the more common and intuitive design for most users.
The Professional 5 Plus uses a bowl-lift mechanism where the head remains stationary. You place the bowl on arms that lock it in place, then use a lever to crank it up into position. This fixed head design provides exceptional stability, as there are no moving parts in the head to bounce around when mixing something heavy like a dense rye bread dough. The trade-off is that it’s less convenient to access the bowl, you often have to stop the mixer and lower the bowl to scrape effectively.
Power & Capacity
While both models have a 5-quart bowl, their ability to handle that capacity differs. The Artisan’s 325-watt motor is more than adequate for most cakes, meringues, and cookie doughs. However, it can start to strain when kneading multiple batches of dense, low-hydration bread dough.
The Professional 5 Plus is equipped with a 450-watt motor and direct-drive transmission with metal gears designed specifically for powering through heavy mixtures. It kneads up to eight loaves' worth of bread dough at once without laboring. If bread making is a serious hobby or you frequently double recipes, the extra power of the Professional 5 Plus makes a real-world difference.
Style & Footprint
Aesthetics are squarely in the Artisan's court. With dozens of glossy, matte, and textured colors, it's designed to be a centerpiece of kitchen design. It’s also slightly shorter (13.9" tall), allowing it to easily tuck under standard 18" high kitchen cabinets.
The Professional 5 Plus is more industrial in its appearance, with a limited color palette focused on classic appliance shades. At 16.5" tall, it can be a tight squeeze and may not fit under some cabinets, requiring dedicated counter space. It’s a workhorse that an owner chooses for its mechanics, not its look.
Price & Value
The Artisan consistently comes in at a lower price point, generally about $100 less than the Professional 5 Plus. For most home bakers, it offers unbeatable value, delivering signature KitchenAid performance and style for a reasonable price. It's a fantastic, long-lasting investment for general-purpose baking.
The Professional 5 Plus justifies its higher cost with a more powerful motor, superior stability, and more robust internal components like all-metal gears. For an avid baker who was previously burning out smaller mixers or struggling with heavy doughs, that extra ~$100 buys durability, power, and peace of mind.
Which One Should You Choose?
Both models are excellent machines from a top-tier brand, but they excel in different areas.
Choose the KitchenAid Artisan if:
- You bake for your household and primarily make things like cakes, cookies, whipped cream, and occasional bread.
- Kitchen aesthetics are important, and you want a specific color to match your decor.
- You value the convenience of the easy-to-access tilt-head design.
- You have standard-height kitchen cabinets and need your mixer to fit underneath them.
Choose the KitchenAid Professional 5 Plus if:
- You are a serious bread baker or often make very large, dense batches of cookies or pasta dough.
- You prioritize raw power and stability over everything else.
- You have dedicated countertop space and the taller mixer height is not an issue.
- You see your mixer as a heavy-duty tool and aren't concerned with having lots of color options.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between a tilt-head and bowl-lift mixer?
A tilt-head mixer (like the Artisan) has a hinged head that lifts up to provide access to the bowl and beater. A bowl-lift mixer (like the Professional 5 Plus) has a stationary head, and a lever is used to raise and lower the bowl. The bowl-lift is more stable for heavy loads.
Which KitchenAid is better for kneading bread dough?
The Professional 5 Plus is significantly better for bread dough. Its higher-wattage motor, stable bowl-lift design, and stronger spiral dough hook are specifically engineered to handle the strain of kneading dense doughs repeatedly without overheating or wobbling.
Is the Professional 5 Plus mixer too loud?
Bowl-lift models like the Professional 5 Plus can be slightly louder than their tilt-head counterparts due to their more powerful, commercial-style motors. However, most users do not find the noise level to be excessive or disruptive.
Will the attachments for my old KitchenAid fit a new one?
Generally, attachments are not cross-compatible between tilt-head and bowl-lift models. A beater made for an Artisan will be too short for the Professional 5 Plus bowl. However, the attachments that plug into the power hub at the front of the mixer (like the pasta maker or meat grinder) are universal and fit all KitchenAid stand mixers.
Will the Professional 5 Plus fit under my kitchen cabinets?
Maybe not. At 16.5" tall, the Professional 5 Plus is a tight fit under standard 18" cabinets and may not slide underneath if you have a light rail trim. Always measure your space before buying. The Artisan, at 13.9" tall, easily fits under most cabinets.
Is the higher price of the Professional 5 Plus Series worth it?
If you are a frequent baker who regularly makes dense bread or double batches of cookie dough, yes. The durability from the all-metal gearing and the sheer power of the motor provide long-term value and better performance for demanding tasks. For casual bakers, the Artisan is sufficient and the extra cost is unnecessary.
Can you put the bowls and attachments in the dishwasher?
The stainless steel bowls for both models are dishwasher safe. For the standard attachments, the wire whip should always be hand-washed to prevent damage and corrosion. The flat beater and dough hook that come with most models are usually coated and are dishwasher safe, but check the product manual as some accessories may vary.
Which model is more popular?
The KitchenAid Artisan is more popular among the general public due to its lower price point, vast color selection, and friendly design that is perfect for the way most people cook at home. The Professional series is very popular with serious baking hobbyists and home-based food businesses.
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