OXO and Cuisinart are the two brands you see on every kitchen-tool aisle in America. Both have been around for decades, both produce a peeler and a can opener and a whisk and a garlic press, and both are priced within a few dollars of each other. So which one should you actually buy?
The honest answer is that neither brand dominates across the whole category. OXO wins on ergonomics and on certain tools that demand grip. Cuisinart wins on metal-only tools and on dishwasher resilience. A well-equipped kitchen draws from both. This guide compares the two head to head on the eight handheld tools most home cooks own, and calls the winner on each one.
A quick brand history
OXO launched in 1990 with a single product: the Good Grips swivel peeler, designed by Sam Farber after watching his wife struggle with arthritis. The patented Santoprene rubber handle defined the brand and remains its core differentiator. OXO is now owned by Helen of Troy and produces hundreds of kitchen tools, but the design DNA still revolves around comfortable, ergonomic grips for soft-pressure tasks.
Cuisinart started in 1971 with the food processor that turned French-style mirepoix from a 20 minute task into a 30 second one. The brand has since expanded into every major kitchen category, but its handheld tools draw on a different design philosophy: more steel, simpler shapes, and a price point that often undercuts OXO by 15 to 25 percent.
Tool by tool comparison
1. Y peeler
OXO Good Grips Y Peeler: $9 to $12. Santoprene grip, sharp double carbon-steel blade, cleans easily. The blade dulls slowly over 18 to 24 months of regular use. Replacement is cheap.
Cuisinart Stainless Steel Y Peeler: $7 to $10. All-steel construction, looks like a Kuhn Rikon copy. The blade is slightly thicker and stiffer, which is a plus on hard squash but a minus on delicate skins like tomato.
Winner: OXO for soft fruit (apples, peaches, kiwi). Cuisinart for hard skins (butternut, jicama). If you peel daily, own one of each. If you peel weekly, buy the OXO.
2. Can opener
OXO Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener: $22 to $27. Cuts under the rim so the lid lifts off without a sharp edge. The gear mechanism is plastic-internal and dies around year three for heavy users.
Cuisinart CTG-00-CO Can Opener: $14 to $18. All-metal mechanism, cuts the traditional way (sharp lid edge). Lasts five to seven years.
Winner: Cuisinart for durability and price. OXO for safety if you have kids or arthritis. The choice depends more on household than budget.
3. Box grater
OXO Good Grips Box Grater: $26 to $32. Removable measuring container at the base, four grating surfaces, soft-grip top. The measuring base is genuinely useful when grating cheese for a recipe.
Cuisinart CTG-00-BG Boxed Grater: $20 to $25. Four-side stainless construction, no base container, slightly sharper teeth out of the box. Lasts longer because there are fewer parts to fail.
Winner: OXO for cooks who weigh or measure grated ingredients. Cuisinart for pure utility.
4. Microplane-style rasp grater
Microplane Premier Classic Zester: $14 to $16. Sharpest blade in the category, period.
OXO Good Grips Etched Zester: $14 to $17. Soft handle, comparable etched blade, less sharp than Microplane but more comfortable.
Cuisinart CTG-00-RG Rasp Grater: $10 to $13. Slightly less sharp blade, simpler handle.
Winner: Microplane. Neither OXO nor Cuisinart beats Microplane on the rasp. Buy outside both brands for this one.
5. Balloon whisk
OXO Good Grips 11 inch Balloon Whisk: $12 to $15. Silicone handle, stainless steel wires. Comfortable for long mixing sessions.
Cuisinart CTG-00-BW Stainless Steel Balloon Whisk: $9 to $13. All-steel, dishwasher-safe forever. Thicker wires that hold their shape better in stiff doughs.
Winner: Cuisinart for daily cooking. OXO if you have grip pain or whip cream by hand often.
6. Spatula (silicone)
OXO Good Grips Silicone Spatula: $9 to $11. Soft head, heat resistant to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, comfortable handle. Mid-range stiffness.
Cuisinart CTG-00-2SP Silicone Spatula Set: $13 to $17 for two. Stiffer head, useful for stiff doughs and frostings. Slightly less heat resistance (450 degrees).
Winner: OXO for general purpose. Cuisinart’s set is the better value if you bake regularly.
7. Garlic press
OXO Good Grips Garlic Press: $20 to $25. Skin-on pressing, flip-down cleaner, durable hinge.
Cuisinart CTG-00-GP Garlic Press: $13 to $17. Simpler, no flip-down cleaner, slightly stiffer hinge.
Winner: OXO. The flip-down cleaner saves 30 seconds per use. After 50 uses the price difference has paid itself off in cleanup time.
8. Kitchen shears
OXO Good Grips Kitchen and Herb Scissors: $19 to $23. Pull-apart blades for cleaning, soft handles, micro-serrated edge.
Cuisinart Kitchen Pro Shears: $15 to $19. Heavier all-steel build, can cut through chicken bone reliably. Hand wash only despite the steel construction.
Winner: Cuisinart for poultry breakdown. OXO for general kitchen and herb cutting.
The overall scorecard
If you tally the head-to-head:
- OXO wins: Y peeler (soft fruit), box grater, balloon whisk (ergonomics), spatula (general), garlic press, kitchen shears (general)
- Cuisinart wins: can opener (durability/price), Y peeler (hard fruit), balloon whisk (durability), kitchen shears (poultry)
- Outside winner: Microplane wins on rasp grater
OXO takes more categories on the strength of its grip system. Cuisinart wins on tools where pure metal construction is the right answer. Both brands lose to a specialist (Microplane) on the rasp.
When the brand differences stop mattering
For tools you grip briefly (measuring spoons, basting brushes, slotted spoons, tongs), the differences between OXO, Cuisinart, and a store-brand are almost invisible. Spending the OXO premium on a $5 silicone basting brush is hard to justify when the Target store-brand performs identically.
The premium pays off most clearly on tools you grip for more than 30 seconds at a time, or where slip leads to injury risk (Y peelers, can openers, graters). For everything else, buy on price and ignore the logo.
Practical buying strategy
Build a kitchen drawer from the winners of each category, not from a single brand:
- Peelers: OXO swivel + one Cuisinart Y peeler
- Can opener: Cuisinart all-metal
- Box grater: OXO with the measuring base
- Rasp grater: Microplane Premier
- Whisks: one OXO silicone-handled for whipping, one Cuisinart all-steel for batter
- Spatulas: OXO silicone, two sizes
- Garlic press: OXO Good Grips
- Shears: Cuisinart Kitchen Pro
That setup runs about $150 total and outperforms either brand’s full $300 starter set. The “matching kitchen” instinct is the most expensive mistake home cooks make in the handheld category.
Frequently asked questions
Is OXO Good Grips really the gold standard for handheld tools?+
For ergonomics, yes. The Santoprene non-slip handle that OXO patented in 1990 is still the most arthritis-friendly grip in the category, and it has been copied by every major brand. For peak metal quality, no: a few specialist brands (Kuhn Rikon, Joseph Joseph) edge OXO on cutting-edge sharpness. But for everyday durability and replacement availability, OXO is still the safest pick.
What does Cuisinart actually make better than OXO?+
Stainless steel construction on certain tools. Cuisinart's all-steel whisks, balloon whisks, and kitchen shears use thicker gauge metal than OXO's equivalents, which makes them sturdier for heavy mixing or cutting through poultry bone. They are also dishwasher-safe without coating wear, which OXO's silicone-handled items are not.
Are OXO Good Grips tools worth the 30 percent price premium?+
For tools you grip for more than 30 seconds at a time, yes. Peelers, can openers, garlic presses, and microplanes benefit from the soft handle. For tools you use briefly (measuring spoons, tongs, slotted spoons), the cheaper Cuisinart or store-brand alternatives are functionally identical.
Which brand holds up better in the dishwasher?+
Cuisinart's all-metal tools win on dishwasher durability. OXO's silicone and rubber overmolds slowly degrade after 200+ dishwasher cycles, especially in heated dry mode. OXO recommends hand washing for soft-handled tools, which most people ignore until the handle starts cracking.
Can I mix and match brands or should I stick to one set?+
Mix and match. The 'matching kitchen set' instinct is a marketing trick. Buy the best tool in each category. A typical strong kitchen ends up with OXO peelers and can openers, Cuisinart whisks and shears, Kuhn Rikon paring knives, and Microplane graters. Brand loyalty across a whole drawer is rarely the best buying strategy.
Morgan Davis
Morgan Davis writes for The Tested Hub.