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 Pasta Machine. It makes consistently thin pasta sheets, fettuccine, tagliolini, and lasagna sheets, with durable construction and adjustable thickness settings. It is a recurring top pick in independent testing by Food Network and Serious Eats.
The main decision is whether you want the traditional hands-on experience of rolling pasta or a machine that mixes and extrudes it automatically.
The best pasta makers to consider
(Best overall)
Marcato Atlas 150
$100–$160
Approximate price range; retailer and version vary.
A sturdy Italian-made manual roller with adjustable thickness and included cutters. Ideal for fettuccine, lasagna, ravioli sheets, and other rolled pasta.
Downside: You crank it by hand and prepare the dough yourself.
Best premium option if you want the quality of a traditional pasta roller without turning the crank yourself. The motor frees both hands to guide the dough.
Downside: More expensive, and it still requires you to prepare the dough.
Best for convenience. It automatically mixes, kneads, and extrudes pasta, making it a good choice for beginners and people who want fresh noodles with less manual work. The compact model is designed for roughly 2–3 servings.
Downside: You have more parts to clean, and its extrusion process differs from a traditional roller.
KitchenAid 3-Piece Pasta Roller & Cutter Attachment Set
Best if you already own a compatible KitchenAid stand mixer. It uses the mixer's motor to roll and cut pasta, saving you from buying a separate countertop machine.
Downside: Less economical if you don't already own the mixer.
Best quality and long-term value: Marcato Atlas 150.
Best if you make pasta frequently and want easier operation: Marcato Atlasmotor.
Best for quick, convenient homemade noodles: Philips Compact.
Best if you already own a KitchenAid mixer: KitchenAid roller attachment.
One important distinction: roller machines excel at silky sheets and ribbon pasta, while automatic extruders are better suited to producing shapes such as penne and other die-formed noodles.
My recommendation: I'd choose the Marcato Atlas 150 for most home cooks. It's simple, durable, versatile, and doesn't require electricity.
Do you mainly want to make traditional Italian pasta like fettuccine and ravioli, or shapes like penne and rigatoni? That will help narrow down the best machine for you.
The absolute best pasta maker depends on the style of pasta making you prefer: the Marcato Atlas 150 is universally regarded by experts like Serious Eats as the best overall manual hand-crank machine , while the KitchenAid 3-Piece Attachment Set is the top choice if you already own a stand mixer, and the Philips Artisan Smart Pasta Maker reigns as the best fully automatic extruder.
Top Manual Pasta Makers
Manual roller machines require you to feed dough through with one hand while turning a crank with the other, offering total tactile control over traditional laminated styles like lasagna, fettuccine, and tagliolini.
Best For: Absolute best overall choice for beginners and pros alike.
Performance: Beautifully rolls smooth, intact dough sheets down to 0.6mm across 10 precise thickness settings.
Build: Anodized aluminum rollers grip the dough cleanly, giving the pasta a slightly rough surface that holds sauce exceptionally well.
Best For: A highly durable, classic alternative to the Marcato.
Performance: Offers 6 adjustable thickness settings for smooth flat sheets and features duplex cutters for spaghetti and fettuccine.
Build: Heavy-duty chrome-plated steel construction with an old-school Italian aesthetic.[1][2][3]
Top Electric & Automatic Pasta Makers
If you want to skip the manual labor, electric pasta makers either hook onto a mixer to turn the rollers automatically, or take raw flour and water to mix, knead, and extrude complete noodles entirely on their own.
Best For: Anyone who already owns a compatible KitchenAid stand mixer.
Performance: Cuts dough prep time down drastically by using the mixer's motor to roll out thin, wrinkle-free sheets hands-free.
Build: Highly robust, all-metal construction that locks firmly into the mixer hub.
Best For: The best fully automatic extruder for maximum convenience.
Performance: Automatically weighs ingredients, mixes, kneads, and pumps out a batch of fresh pasta in just 7 to 10 minutes.
Versatility: Comes with 10 interchangeable shaping discs to handle complex varieties like penne, shells, ramen, and paccheri.
To narrow down the perfect option, tell me:
Do you already own a KitchenAid stand mixer?
What kinds of pasta shapes (like flat fettuccine vs. hollow tubes like penne) do you want to make most?
Do you prefer a hands-on process or a machine that does all the mixing and kneading for you?