If you've ever ruined a sourdough starter because you guessed the flour weight, or stalled your keto diet because serving sizes were off, you need a kitchen scale. Guessing by volume introduces enough error to derail baking recipes and derail macros. The Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale costs under $15 and promises 1g precision up to 11 pounds. Six weeks of daily testing later, here's what actually works.
Quick verdict
Buy this scale if you bake or track macros and want precision without spending more than a lunch. The 1g accuracy is genuinely useful for weighing yeast, flour, and small portions. Skip it if you need to measure liquid volumes by fluid ounce for cocktail or soup recipes—the buttons are small and the auto-off is aggressive.
Who is this for?
This scale serves three audiences well. Home bakers who want to move past volume measurements will appreciate the 1g precision for flour, sugar, and leavening agents. Keto and macro trackers get the tare function to weigh proteins and vegetables in their cooking containers without math. Meal preppers scaling recipes up or down for meal prep containers find the compact size fits neatly in a cabinet between uses. If you mostly wing it in the kitchen and rarely follow written recipes, this adds more friction than value.
Key features
Five weighing units
The Etekcity supports grams, ounces, pounds-ounces, fluid ounces, and milliliters. Switching between units takes one button press. The backlit LCD shows the current unit in small text above the weight. Most users stick with grams or ounces—those are the default modes you'll use for cooking and baking.
Tare function
Press the tare button to zero out the weight of any bowl or container on the platform. This lets you build recipes in one vessel, adding ingredients and subtracting the bowl weight each time. Works reliably even with bowls weighing up to 1.5 pounds. The scale re-zeros within about half a second after removing a container.
Precision and capacity
1g increments up to 5kg (11lb) covers most home kitchen scenarios. Testing with calibrated weights showed accuracy within 1g across the range—no drift until you approach the maximum capacity. Below 2g, readings stabilize after a 1-2 second wait. This matters when weighing a single egg or small spice quantities.
Build quality
The platform is 304 stainless steel, food-grade, and wipes clean with a damp cloth. The buttons are membrane-style—tactile but not clicky. The scale sits on four small rubber feet that keep it from sliding on smooth countertops. The platform is 5.5 by 5.5 inches, large enough for a standard mixing bowl.
Auto-off and battery life
The scale shuts off after 2 minutes of inactivity to conserve battery. Two AAA batteries are included. In daily use, battery consumption is minimal—you'll likely go 6-8 months before needing a replacement. No AC adapter, which is fine at this price point.
Real-world performance
Testing started with sourdough maintenance. Weighing 500g of flour by volume can vary by 50-80g depending on scooping method. With the Etekcity, hydration ratios stayed consistent across batches—the crumb structure improved noticeably after switching from cups. Next came weekly meal prep: weighing chicken breast portions for macro tracking showed 4-6oz per breast, and the tare function let me build containers without washing extra bowls.
The scale struggled with one scenario: measuring sticky ingredients like honey or peanut butter. These cling to the stainless platform, and the tare function fights the adhesion when you try to zero out a container. A silicone mat fixes this, but it adds a step. The other annoyance is the auto-off timer. If you step away for more than 2 minutes mid-recipe, the scale shuts down and you have to re-tare when you return.
The backlit display reads clearly under kitchen overhead lighting. Morning light through a window washed it out slightly, but positioning the scale away from direct sun solved it. Large fonts help if you're checking weights from a distance, though you won't be reading from across the room.
Pros and cons
See the structured pros/cons in the right rail for the full breakdown.
Verdict & price check
The Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale earns its spot in any kitchen where precision matters. The 1g accuracy, tare function, and five-unit flexibility outperform guessing by volume for baking, portion control, and recipe scaling. Small annoyances—the auto-off timer and sticky-ingredient handling—don't undermine the core function. At the price point, there's little reason to spend more for casual home use. Check the latest price for the Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale on Amazon.