Philips Viva Collection holds a clear lead, frequently highlighted for mixing, kneading, and extruding fresh dough in under ten minutes. The Philips 7000 Series regularly shares the spotlight as a dedicated electric extruder for hands-off pasta making.
The best pasta maker for most people is the Marcato Atlas 150. It’s a well-built Italian manual machine that makes consistently thin pasta sheets for lasagna and ravioli, plus fresh noodles such as fettuccine. It’s also a top pick in reviews from Food Network and Serious Eats.
The one big caveat: if you want to make pasta frequently without turning a hand crank, a motorized machine may be worth the extra money.
The best pasta makers to consider
1. Best overall: Marcato Atlas 150
(Best for most people)
$100–$140 approximately
A durable, manual roller with adjustable thickness and cutters for classic noodles. Ideal for fettuccine, lasagna sheets and ravioli.
Essentially a motorized version of the classic roller. It frees both hands to guide the dough, making it especially convenient for frequent pasta making or working alone.
Downside: Expensive, and it primarily makes rolled pasta rather than a wide variety of extruded shapes.
My advice: Buy the Marcato Atlas 150 unless you specifically want electric convenience. It offers the best balance of durability, control and value for traditional homemade pasta.
One important question: Which kind of pasta maker are you looking for?
Traditional Italian pasta — fettuccine, lasagna, ravioli
Fully automatic — mix, knead and make pasta for me
Best Overall Manual. Highlights include a robust steel frame and smooth anodized aluminum rollers. It offers 10 thickness settings—more than most competitors—allowing you to roll incredibly thin, intact sheets without tearing. It comes standard with cutter slots for lasagna, fettuccine, and tagliolini.
Key Consideration: Being manual, it requires anchoring to a flat surface with the included clamp and demands two-handed coordination to crank while feeding dough. It can be upgraded later with a Marcato Pasta Drive Motor to go electric.
Best Electric Extruder. For maximum convenience, this fully automated machine mixes, kneads, and extrudes fresh pasta in under 15 minutes. It features an auto-weighing scale that calculates the exact volume of liquid needed for your flour, preventing hydration mistakes.
Key Consideration: It uses immense extrusion force to push dough through shaping discs for styles like penne, spaghetti, and angel hair. While it takes up more counter space and requires disassembling for cleanup, it handles all the physical labor.
Best Stand Mixer Attachment. If you already own a KitchenAid Stand Mixer , this heavy-duty stainless steel attachment set turns your mixer's power hub into a motorized pasta roller.
Key Consideration: Because the mixer's motor handles the rolling, both of your hands are completely free to guide, fold, and catch the dough. It dramatically cuts down prep time compared to manual hand-cranking.
Best Compact Electric. A smaller, more budget-friendly alternative to the Artisan model, the Viva series automatically kneads and pushes out 2–3 servings of fresh noodles in roughly 18 minutes.
