Consumer Reports' Top Pick For Can Openers Won't Break The Bank

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You may have heard that the can opener was invented 50 years after the tin can, raising the question of what the heck people were doing with cans for those 50 years. (Opening them with considerable difficulty, of course, but that's not a very funny answer.) Now that we have an easier method for opening cans than a hammer and chisel, we can happily slice off their lids so we can dump tomato paste in our braises. But which can opener should do the job? According to Consumer Reports, it's the effective and affordable KitchenAid Stainless Steel Manual Can Opener with Locking Handles — although the decision wasn't quite unanimous.

Consumer Reports, the consumer watchdog and rating company which offers opinions on everything from pasta sauce (it doesn't much care for Hunt's) to supermarkets (it's a big fan of Wegmans), tested 10 different manual can openers, with input from both Consumer Reports staffers and the organization's popular team of "grandfluencers," or elderly testers for social media. The staffers all went for the KitchenAid can opener, gushing over its ease of use and its design. Best of all, it's inexpensive, with prices starting at just $12.19 — the second-cheapest option. The grandfluencers, on the other hand, weren't quite so enthused, finding that it was "very hard to handle." So if you're buying a can opener for your grandmother, perhaps keep that in mind.

So what other can opener options are there? Well, the runner-up in the Consumer Reports tests is the OXO Good Grips Soft-Handled Manual Can Opener, whose price starts at a reasonable $17.79. The grandfluencers really enjoyed this one, with three out of five picking it as their favorite. The staffers were a little unsure, as one needed two tries to open their can with it. If you're looking for the outright cheapest manual can opener, you'll find it in the Gorilla Grip Manual Can Opener (no, not the glue company), which can be found for $11 to 12 — but bear in mind that you get what you pay for, with one tester going so far as to call it "terrible."

But what if you want to go old school with an electric can opener, one of 13 things from '70s kitchens that totally vanished? Then the way to go is the The Hamilton Beach Smooth Touch Electric Can Opener. Since it cuts from the side rather than the top, you're able to reattach the lid to the can and store it in the fridge if need be. (No more reusing Tupperware lids or buying Press-n-Seal for you.) Sure, at around $40, it's not the cheapest, but if you use a lot of canned goods, it could be a worthwhile investment.