Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale Review: The $14 Amazon Bestseller, Honestly Tested
The Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale has more than 174,000 Amazon ratings and an Amazon's Choice badge, making it the single most-reviewed kitchen scale on the platform. At around $14, it targets anyone who wants to stop guessing at ingredient weights — but does it deliver enough accuracy to be worth keeping? For most home cooks: yes, with one clear caveat you should know before buying.
Product Overview
The B0113UZJE2 is a flat, slab-style digital kitchen scale with a brushed 304 stainless steel weighing platform and a small backlit LCD display centered on one edge. It measures ingredients in five units and includes a tare (zero-out) function so you can weigh multiple ingredients into the same bowl.
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 11 lb / 5 kg |
| Precision | 1 g / 0.05 oz increments |
| Units | g, oz, lb:oz, fl oz, ml |
| Platform material | 304 stainless steel |
| Platform size | ~7.1" × 5.7" |
| Display | Backlit LCD |
| Power | 2× AAA batteries (included) |
| Auto-off | Yes |
| Dimensions | ~7.1" × 5.7" × 0.6" |
| Scale weight | ~8.1 oz |
The scale ships in one size and one color. The stainless steel top sits on a black plastic base with rubberized feet. There is no Bluetooth, no app connectivity, and no nutritional tracking in this model — those features live on the pricier Etekcity Smart Nutrition Scale, which is a different product entirely.
Performance & Real-World Use
For standard home cooking measurements — flour, sugar, pasta, butter, protein portions — the Etekcity performs reliably. In independent testing by TechGearLab, it missed two of four precise reference weights by one gram each. For everyday baking and meal prep, a one-gram variance at normal ingredient quantities is not detectable in the finished dish.
The tare function is one of the scale's strongest real-world advantages. Press the button between ingredients, and the display resets to zero without removing the bowl. Building a recipe by adding ingredients sequentially is fast and intuitive.
The backlit LCD is small — about the size of a postage stamp — but readable at arm's length in normal kitchen lighting. The two-button interface (power/tare on the left, unit toggle on the right) takes about thirty seconds to learn.
One weakness shows up at low weights. Multiple reviewers and testers note that precision degrades below 3–5 grams. If you weigh ingredients like instant yeast, baking powder by the half-teaspoon, or a pinch of a spice by gram, the readout fluctuates or responds sluggishly. This is a real limitation for detailed bread baking.
Response time also lags when liquids are poured gradually onto the platform — the display catches up rather than tracking in real time. It's not a dealbreaker but is noticeable if you're used to a higher-end scale.
- Accurate within 1 gram for the vast majority of home cooking weights above 5 grams
- Five unit modes including ml for water and milk — useful for liquid measuring without a separate jug
- Tare function resets cleanly between multiple ingredients in the same bowl
- 304 stainless steel surface cleans with a single wipe and resists fingerprints reasonably well
- Backlit LCD is usable in dim kitchen lighting
- Auto-off saves batteries; two AAA cells are included and easy to replace
- Extremely compact profile (0.6" thick) — slides into a drawer without fuss
- 11 lb / 5 kg capacity handles everything from a single egg to a full batch of pizza dough
- Under $14 with no subscription and no app required
- Precision degrades noticeably below 3 grams — yeast, baking powder, and single-gram spice measurements are unreliable
- Response time lags when weight is added gradually, making liquid streaming imprecise
- The weighing platform is on the smaller side — wide mixing bowls and platters extend well past the edges
- Build quality feels lightweight; the plastic base does not inspire confidence in long-term durability
- In comparative accuracy testing (TechGearLab, 8 scales), the Etekcity ranked 5th — adequate, not best-in-class
- AAA-battery powered only — no USB-C charging option on this model
The Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale does what it claims for the overwhelming majority of home cooks. It measures accurately enough, uses intuitive controls, cleans easily, and fits in any drawer — all for $14. Its real limitation is the low end: anything under 3 grams is guesswork. If your baking involves precise quantities of leavening agents or specialty ingredients, spend a bit more. For everyone else, it's a hard product to argue against at this price.
Sources
- Amazon product listing — Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale B0113UZJE2
- Tom's Guide — I put the $18 Etekcity Digital Scale to the test in my kitchen
- MacSources — ETEKCITY Digital Kitchen Scale Review
- TechGearLab — The Best Kitchen Scales, Tested & Ranked (November 2024)
- Scout Reviews — Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale Digital Review
- KitchenwareSets — Etekcity Digital Food Scale Review: Is It Accurate?