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Prices and specs last checked by Look Into on 23 October 2026 · next check 18 December 2026 · how we picked
The short answer
Prices checked at Argos and Lakeland on 23 October 2026.
- Best value: Salter Digital Kitchen Scale (black), £11 at Argos. 3kg in 1g steps, one CR2032 battery, and a 15-year guarantee, so 73p per guaranteed year.
- Best 5kg scale: Salter Electronic Scale with steel platform (black), £15 at Argos. 5kg in 1g steps, 15 years of cover, £1.00 per guaranteed year, and one coin cell to replace.
- For bread and coffee: Heston Blumenthal Precision Scale, £30 at Argos. The only scale in the pool with 0.5g steps, also with 15 years of cover, so £2.00 per guaranteed year.
- Cheapest sticker, dearest cover: Argos Home Digital Kitchen Scale, £9. One year of guarantee makes it £9.00 per guaranteed year, about 12 times the Salter's 73p.
- Not one of the 15 digital listings we read states how accurate the scale is. They state the display step (1g or 0.5g), which is not the same thing.
A 1g display is not a 1g promise
Every digital scale listing we read at Argos gives a "graduation": 1g on 13 of them, 0.5g on the Heston Blumenthal, and none on the Habitat. The graduation is the smallest step the display shows. It says nothing about how far the reading can be from the true weight.
Of the 15 digital scale listings we read in full at Argos, none states an accuracy or tolerance figure. We also read Salter's instruction manual for one of its electronic scales (model 1024) on salter.com. It sets out a 15-year guarantee in detail and contains no accuracy or tolerance statement either.
There is a reason scales sold for homes say so little. Scales used for trade in Great Britain are governed by the Non-automatic Weighing Instruments Regulations 2016, which set rules for "use for trade". Isle of Wight Trading Standards puts it plainly: kitchen scales are "not suitable and cannot be used for trade or commercial purposes". A kitchen scale has no verification stamp to show you, so the guarantee is the strongest written commitment you get.
Four listings also contradict themselves or carry obvious typing errors:
- Ooni Dual Platform (£50): the description says it goes "as precise as a tenth of a gram"; the specification line says "Graduations of 1g".
- Habitat Digital (£11.75): maximum capacity printed as "5 litres / 11fl.oz". Five litres is far more than 11 fluid ounces.
- Salter Stainless Steel Digital Scale with Bowl (£15): maximum capacity printed as "5 litres / 0.01fl.oz".
- Salter Measuring Jug Scale (£17.50): maximum printed as "1.5 litres" while the bowl is listed as 1.25 litres.
How we picked and ranked these
We read every kitchen scale on the first page of Argos's own range for "kitchen scales" on 23 October 2026, plus Lakeland's Salter Union Jack scale for comparison. Pet scales were excluded. Three scales on the results page showed a price but we did not read their specification pages, so they are noted in the limits box rather than ranked.
The ranking metric is price divided by years of guarantee as stated on the listing. We use it because a scale has no running cost worth ranking (see the battery section) and the guarantee is the only written statement of how long it should last. We show capacity, graduation and battery type alongside.
We did not handle or use any of these scales.
At a glance
| Scale | Retailer, price 23 Oct 2026 | Max | Display step | Batteries | Guarantee as listed | Price per guaranteed year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salter Union Jack Kitchen Scales | Lakeland £9.99 (was £14.99) | Not stated on listing text | Not stated | Included, type not stated | 15 years | £0.67 |
| Salter Digital Kitchen Scale (black) | Argos £11.00 | 3kg | 1g | 1 x CR2032 | 15 years | £0.73 |
| Salter Stainless Steel Digital Scales (3kg) | Argos £11.75 | 3kg | 1g | 1 x CR2032 | 15 years | £0.78 |
| Salter Slim 5kg | Argos £14.00 | 5kg | 1g | 3 x AAA | 15 years | £0.93 |
| Salter Electronic Scale, steel platform (black) | Argos £15.00 | 5kg | 1g | 1 x CR2032 | 15 years | £1.00 |
| Salter Stainless Steel Digital Scale with Bowl | Argos £15.00 | 5kg | 1g | 2 x AAA | 15 years | £1.00 |
| Salter Electronic Bowl Scale | Argos £15.00 | 5kg | 1g | 2 x button cell | 15 years | £1.00 |
| Salter Stainless Steel Digital Scale (5kg) | Argos £15.00 | 5kg | 1g | 3 x CR2032 | 15 years | £1.00 |
| Salter Aquatronic Glass | Argos £17.00 | 5kg | 1g | 2 x AAA | 15 years | £1.13 |
| Salter Measuring Jug Scale | Argos £17.50 | 5kg | 1g | 1 x CR2032 | 15 years | £1.17 |
| Salter Aquaweigh Mechanical Baking Scale | Argos £18.00 | 4kg | 25g | None | 15 years | £1.20 |
| Salter Electronic Scale, steel platform (silver) | Argos £19.00 | 5kg | 1g | 1 x CR2032 | 15 years | £1.27 |
| Heston Blumenthal Precision Scale | Argos £30.00 | 5kg | 0.5g | 3 x AAA | 15 years | £2.00 |
| Beurer KS25 with bowl | Argos £24.00 | 3kg | 1g | 2 x AAA | 5 years | £4.80 |
| Argos Home Digital Kitchen Scale | Argos £9.00 | 5kg | 1g | 1 x CR2032 | 1 year | £9.00 |
| Habitat Digital Kitchen Scale | Argos £11.75 | 5kg | Not stated | 1 x button cell | 1 year | £11.75 |
| Habitat Stainless Steel Mechanical | Argos £19.00 | 5kg | Dial | None | 1 year | £19.00 |
| Ooni Dual Platform Digital Scales | Argos £50.00 | 10kg | 1g (copy says 0.1g) | AAA | 2 years | £25.00 |
The five we would shortlist
1. Salter Digital Kitchen Scale (black): best value
£11.00 at Argos on 23 October 2026. 73p per guaranteed year.
3kg capacity, 1g steps, add-and-weigh, metric and imperial, and one CR2032 coin cell (included). The listing states a 15-year manufacturer's guarantee.
The catch: 3kg is enough for most baking but not for a large batch of bread dough plus a heavy bowl. Salter's guarantee terms say service is "solely through Salter Service Centre" and exclude misuse and accidents.
Best for: everyday cooking and baking. If you prefer to buy at Lakeland, the Salter Union Jack scale was £9.99 on the same day with the same 15-year term (67p a year), though its listing text did not give capacity or display step.
2. Salter Electronic Scale with steel platform (black): best 5kg scale
£15.00 at Argos on 23 October 2026. £1.00 per guaranteed year.
5kg capacity, 1g steps, a liquid-measuring mode in millilitres, and one CR2032 coin cell. The extra £4 over pick 1 buys 2kg more capacity.
The catch: the Salter Slim 5kg is £1 cheaper (93p a year) but takes three AAA batteries instead of one coin cell, which costs more to replace (see below).
Best for: batch cooks and anyone weighing heavy mixing bowls.
3. Salter Stainless Steel Digital Scale with Bowl: best with a bowl
£15.00 at Argos on 23 October 2026. £1.00 per guaranteed year.
5kg capacity, 1g steps, a 2 litre bowl and two AAA batteries. It suits anyone who wants a dedicated weighing bowl rather than using their own.
The catch: its listing prints the liquid maximum as "5 litres / 0.01fl.oz", an obvious typing error, so read the manual rather than the listing for the liquid mode.
Best for: bakers who weigh straight into a bowl.
4. Heston Blumenthal Precision Scale: for small quantities
£30.00 at Argos on 23 October 2026. £2.00 per guaranteed year.
5kg capacity with 0.5g steps, the finest display in the pool, three AAA batteries and a 15-year guarantee. Useful for yeast and coffee doses where 1g is a big share of the total.
The catch: a 0.5g display step is still not an accuracy promise, and the listing gives no tolerance. It costs twice as much as the 5kg Salters.
Best for: bread bakers and home coffee brewers.
5. Salter Aquaweigh Mechanical Baking Scale: no batteries
£18.00 at Argos on 23 October 2026. £1.20 per guaranteed year.
A dial scale with a 4 litre bowl, 4kg capacity and 15 years of cover. Nothing to replace.
The catch: the dial moves in 25g steps, so it cannot weigh a 7g sachet of yeast. Only for recipes measured in tens of grams.
Best for: people who hate replacing batteries and bake by the 25g.
Live Amazon prices
The table below pulls live prices from Amazon's own feed, which can differ from the Amazon buy box and from the retailer prices we ranked on above. Not in it: the three Salter digital scales, which we could not match to an Amazon listing for the exact Argos model, and the Salter Aquaweigh, which Amazon's product feed does not return.
Prices in this table come from Amazon and are refreshed at least once a day, with the date of the last update under the table. The cost-per-use and running-cost figures on this page use prices Look Into read on 23 October 2026, so they can differ from today's price.
As an Amazon Associate, Look Into earns from qualifying purchases. Product prices and availability are accurate as of 23 October 2026 and are subject to change.
Not worth buying at these prices
- Argos Home Digital Kitchen Scale, £9: the cheapest sticker in the pool but one year of cover, so £9.00 per guaranteed year. Spending £2 more on the Salter buys 14 more years of written guarantee.
- Habitat Digital Kitchen Scale, £11.75: one year of cover and no display step stated.
- Ooni Dual Platform, £50: two years of cover (£25 a year) and a listing that disagrees with itself about precision.
What the batteries cost
| Battery set | Retailer price, 23 Oct 2026 | Cost of one change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 x CR2032 coin cell | Argos, Duracell 4-pack £8.00 | £2.00 |
| 2 x AAA | Argos, Duracell Plus 4-pack £5.00 | £2.50 (£1.25 with Argos Home AAA at £2.50 for 4) |
| 3 x AAA | as above | £3.75 (£1.88 with Argos Home AAA) |
| 3 x CR2032 | as above | £6.00 |
No listing we read says how long a set of batteries lasts, so we cannot give a yearly figure. What we can say is that the £15 Salter Stainless Steel Digital Scale (5kg) takes three CR2032 coin cells, so each change costs £6.00, three times the £2.00 for a single-cell Salter at the same price.
Questions people ask
Are digital kitchen scales accurate? None of the 15 listings we read says. The display step (1g or 0.5g) is not an accuracy figure. If precision matters, check your scale against a second scale.
Do I need 0.5g steps? Only for small quantities such as yeast or coffee. For most cooking, 1g steps are plenty.
3kg or 5kg? 3kg suits most home baking. Choose 5kg if you weigh heavy bowls or large batches, because the bowl counts towards the maximum.
What does a 15-year guarantee cover? Salter's manual covers defects in material and workmanship, excludes misuse, accidents and alterations, and requires service through Salter's own service centre.
Sources
- Argos product listings for 17 scales, read 23 October 2026 (URLs in the source register).
- Lakeland: Salter Union Jack Kitchen Scales, read 23 October 2026.
- Salter instruction manual, model 1024 (PDF), read 23 October 2026: guarantee terms; no accuracy statement.
- The Non-automatic Weighing Instruments Regulations 2016, Part 7, use for trade in Great Britain.
- Isle of Wight Council Trading Standards: weights and measures, read 23 October 2026.
- Argos battery listings: Duracell CR2032 4-pack, Duracell Plus AAA 4-pack, Argos Home AAA 4-pack, read 23 October 2026.