Steel, Glass and Nothing Else: The Best Electric Kettle No Plastic

Plenty of electric kettles are sold as “stainless steel” or “glass” and still have plastic in the water path: a plastic lid liner, a plastic scale filter in the spout, or a plastic water window down the side. If the reason you are shopping is to keep hot water away from plastic, the outside of the kettle tells you very little. What matters is the inside of the lid, the spout filter, the level gauge and the seal, and whether the maker says what those parts are made of.

This guide is narrower than our main electric kettle guide. It includes only kettles whose maker states that the water touches no plastic, and for each one we say which parts that statement covers and where the maker is silent. None of the kettles from the main guide or our other kettle guides is repeated here.

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Quick verdict: which plastic-free kettle to buy

The table compares those five. All seven kettles are reviewed in full below it.

Five plastic-free kettles side by side

Capacity, body material and what the maker says touches the water, for our five standout picks.

Product images from Amazon. Materials and capacities are each maker’s or listing’s own statements; we have not taken these kettles apart.

Our picks for the best electric kettle no plastic

Seven kettles from Cosori, Vianté, Krups, Comfee and Bear. Four are steel inside, three are glass with steel parts. We stopped at seven: many more kettles on Amazon carry a “no plastic” line in the title, but most come from sellers we could not identify, and several well-known kettles either do not say what their lid liner is made of or are already picks in our other kettle guides.

How to choose a kettle that keeps water off plastic

Start with the inside, not the outside. A plastic outer shell on a double-wall kettle never meets the water; a plastic lid liner sitting above boiling water does, every time steam condenses and drips back. These are the parts to check, in order.

The lid underside. This is the part most often missed. Many glass and steel kettles have a plastic lid with a thin metal disc, or none at all. Look for a maker who names the lid liner, as Vianté, Bear and Comfee do, or who says no plastic parts touch the water at all, as Cosori does.

The spout filter. The little mesh screen that catches scale is often nylon. Steel is better if plastic is the concern. If the listing says nothing, assume you need to ask, and remember that you can usually lift the filter out.

The water window. A clear strip down the side of a steel kettle is almost always plastic, and water sits against it. Internal fill markings, as on the Cosori steel kettles, or an all-glass body avoid it.

The seal. Lids that close tightly use a gasket, usually silicone. Silicone is a different material from the hard plastics most buyers are trying to avoid, but if you want none of either, Bear is the only maker here that says its gasket is not plastic. Others do not say.

Steel or glass. Steel kettles hide scale and do not break; glass lets you see the water and the scale. A double wall keeps the outside cool, which matters around children. Temperature control is worth having for green tea and pour-over coffee, and our gooseneck kettle guide covers kettles built for slow pouring.

How we chose these seven kettles

We started with every kettle we could find on Amazon whose maker states, in writing, that the water does not touch plastic, then kept only those from makers we could identify that were in stock when we checked. For each kettle we read the maker’s listing, recorded which parts it names, and wrote “not stated” where it is silent. We checked the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall database for every brand on this page and found no kettle recalls for any of them.

Some good kettles are missing on purpose. The Fellow Corvo is a pick in our small electric kettle guide, the Fellow Stagg and Bodum goosenecks are in the gooseneck guide, Balmuda and Zojirushi are in our Japanese kettle guide, and Cosori’s glass kettle with an infuser is in our tea infuser kettle guide. We left out the Fellow Clyde because retailer descriptions mention plastic lid surfaces and Fellow does not say whether water reaches them, the Breville IQ Kettle Pure because Breville does not describe its water path, and the OXO glass kettle because OXO names a stainless filter but not the lid. We did not buy or use these kettles for this guide; what each one does comes from its maker.

Plastic-free kettle questions, answered

What is the best electric kettle with no plastic?

The Cosori Stainless Steel Kettle with Temperature Control, because Cosori states the interior is all metal with no plastic in contact with the water, and it adds presets and keep-warm. For glass, the Cosori 1.7L Glass Kettle.

Is a glass kettle plastic-free?

Not automatically. The glass jug is fine, but the lid underside, filter and the ring around the element are often plastic. Choose a glass kettle whose maker names those parts, such as the Vianté Alba or the Bear.

Do stainless steel kettles have plastic inside?

Many do: a plastic lid liner, a plastic water window or a nylon filter. “Stainless steel” on the box usually describes the body. Look for wording about the water path, as on every kettle in this guide.

Is the silicone lid seal plastic?

Silicone is a rubber, not one of the hard plastics such as polypropylene that most kettle buyers are avoiding, but it is still not metal or glass. Most makers here do not say what their seal is; Bear says its gasket is not plastic.

How do I keep a steel or glass kettle clean?

Empty it after use and descale it regularly with a vinegar or citric acid solution, more often if your water is hard. Filtered water helps; our countertop water filter guide covers options that do not need installing.

Our final pick for plastic-free hot water

Buy the Cosori Stainless Steel Kettle with Temperature Control if you want one kettle for every hot drink with an all-metal interior. Choose the Cosori glass kettle to watch the water, the Vianté Alba for steeping loose tea, the Krups or Comfee for a cool-touch body, the Cosori double-wall for steel inside and out, and the Bear for the most settings. For kettles chosen on other grounds, see our main electric kettle guide; to serve the tea, our teapot guide.

Related guide: Glass vs stainless steel electric kettle.

If you would rather someone else made the drinks, see our drinks and the menu, or call to order.