Best Kitchen Faucets: Many of us don’t think about our kitchen faucets until they break. Think about how often you use it to wash your hands, get a drink, scrub vegetables, rinse dishes, wet sponges, and more. You want one that can handle being used every day.
As a residential contractor, I’ve replaced and put in a lot of different faucets over the years, from large commercial kitchen faucets to simple bathroom faucets. I’ve learned to avoid mechanical red flags (like plastic ball valves that leak) and brands that aren’t reliable.
When making this list, I also talked to Jensen Landers, who is a senior interior designer at Marrokal Design and Remodeling, and Stephanie Lee, who is a lead designer at Block, a company that does remodelling and kitchen design.
1. Delta Trinsic Single-Handle Pull-Down Faucet
- Style of spout: Spray head that pulls down
- Rate of flow: 1.8 gpm (gallons per minute)
- Size: 15.4″ tall and 9.2″ wide
- Single-handle valve controls that are activated by touch
Pros:
Strong magnets hold it together, and it’s easy to clean.
Cons:
Requires solenoid
The Delta Trinsic is different from other faucets because it has Touch20 technology. This lets you turn on the water flow by touching your finger or forearm to any part of the faucet. Landers says that you should use this feature to do things like cut raw chicken without worrying about getting sick.
Single-handle faucets wear out and start leaking over time, which is another reason why the Touch20 system is so useful. By putting less wear and tear on the handle, you can make the faucet last longer. Also, the water lines are built into the faucet itself, which makes it less likely that it will leak over time. The supply lines are more likely to leak if they are out in the open.
With the LED light on the faucet, you can see how hot or cold the water is (blue for cold, red for hot). This is great if you have small children.
The Touch-Clean spray holes on this model are also something I like. Rubber nozzle heads are easier to clean than plastic ones, which can get mineral buildups and often need to be soaked in chemicals.
Even though the sensor needs a solenoid, which is an electromagnet, to power it, the Delta Trinsic is easy to install with pliers and an Allen key. Delta did a good job with the manual, and it comes with some helpful videos that go well with it.
2. Delta Single-Handle Faucet with Side Sprayer
- Style of spout: Fixed spout with spray head on the side
- Rate of flow: 1.8 gpm
- Size: 8.37″ height and 8″ reach
- Control of a valve: one handle
The side-mounted sprayer on the Delta Single-Handle Faucet with Side Sprayer gives you a lot of flexibility and will usually reach further than an integrated spray head that is attached to the faucet neck. This makes it easier to spray inside and around the sink, and it would be especially helpful for people who have a sink with a built-in drying area.
Landers recommends shorter spout heights like this one for kitchen islands, since taller faucets can look out of place and take attention away from the rest of the room. The faucet neck on the Delta Single-Handle Faucet with Side Sprayer can turn 180 degrees, and the center-mounted single-handle faucet is easy for both right-handed and left-handed people to use. Also, you can choose between brushed stainless steel and shiny chrome.
Installation is pretty easy, and since the supply lines are built right into the faucet, it shouldn’t take much time or effort. Delta also promises that the faucet won’t leak for as long as you own it, so you’ll be taken care of if any problems come up.
Keep in mind that the sprayer won’t have the same water pressure as a spray head that’s built in, and that you’ll have to hold down the trigger at all times while using it.
3. American Standard Colony Pro Single-Handle
- Style of spout: Pull-Out
- Rate of flow: 1.5 GPM
- Size: 9.7″ height, 8.7″ reach
- Control of a valve: one handle
Pros:
Respected brand, polished chrome or stainless steel, hot water safety limit
Cons:
GPM is fairly low.
I like pull-out faucets because the spout doesn’t have to be as long. For example, the Colony Pro Single-Handle Pull-Out spout is only 5.25 inches high, so it’s easy to move. By pulling it out instead of down, you don’t waste any hose length on the bend of the faucet spout.
The sprayer head on the faucet has two ways to work: a steady stream with air bubbles and a strong, concentrated spray for heavy-duty cleaning. But it doesn’t have a pause button, which could be a deal-breaker for some people. The ceramic disc valve makes it less likely that the interior seals will leak or wear out, and the adjustable hot safety limit stop prevents accidental scalding. This makes it great for homes with young children who are always running around.
The faucet is easy to put together, and the color-coded stainless steel supply hoses make it almost impossible to put them together wrong. This faucet comes with an escutcheon mounting plate, so it can be used in one-, two-, or three-hole installations.
Horton said good things about American Standard faucets, so it was easy to pick one of their models as a top pick. “They are as good or better than any other faucet in that price range, in my opinion,” he says. “I would think of them as a workhorse and a go-to fixture in any remodel project or when a homeowner needs a new kitchen faucet and does it themselves.”
4. Moen Arbor MotionSense Faucet
- Pull-down 68″ spray head style of spout
- Rate of flow: 1.5 gpm
- Size: 15.5″ height, 7.9″ reach
- Single-handle valve controls that are activated by movement
Pros:
No-touch operation is convenient, and the finish is easy to clean.
Cons:
Motion sensors may need to be readjusted on a regular basis.
If ease of use and cleanliness are important to you, this Moen model might be just what you need. With a wave of your arm, you can turn the water on and off without using your hands. It has two sensors, one on top and one in front. This makes it easy to keep the handle and neck of the faucet clean, which reduces the chance of cross-contamination by a lot.
The factory default temperature setting is lukewarm, but you can change this with a small control box under the sink. If you often drink water from your faucet, being able to keep the default setting colder could be very helpful.
You can also turn off either or both of the sensors with ease. If you put your hand in front of either sensor for five seconds, it will stop working. Even though they aren’t working, you can still turn the faucet on and off by hand with the lever handle.
The Moen Arbor MotionSense Faucet’s 100-degree high-arc spout makes it great for filling and cleaning large pots. The pull-down spray head also has three functions: an aerated stream, a strong “PowerClean” spray for heavy-duty cleaning (maximum 1.5 gallons per minute), and a pause that temporarily stops the water flow.
Don’t be scared by the thought of putting in the control box. Moen faucets are some of the easiest to put in, and the Duralock Quick-Connect system and one-way connections make it nearly impossible to put them in wrong.
5. Wewe Single-Handle High-Arc Pull-Out Faucet
- Style of spout: Spray head that pulls down
- Rate of flow: 1.8 gpm
- Size: 15.4″ height, 8.5″ reach
- Control of a valve: one handle
Pros:
Good price, nice looks, and three ways to spray
Cons:
Zinc alloy doesn’t last as long as stainless steel, and it doesn’t have any of the features that come with more expensive models.
Most of the time, cheaper faucets look nice on the outside but have cheap parts inside. The Wewe Single-Handle Faucet is surprisingly strong, with braided supply lines for durability, an ABS plastic aerator (think of the tough plastic used to make Lego bricks), and ceramic disc valves.
The Wewe Single-Handle High Arc is useful because it has a pull-down spray head with different settings for the water flow. I liked the spray head’s water pause button the most. It lets you temporarily stop the flow of water, but you have to hold down the button all the time.
With a soft cloth and some soapy water, you can clean the brushed nickel finish pretty easily. Plus, its matte finish hides water spots and fingerprints better than a glossy, polished finish. Just don’t use rough cleaning pads or cleaners that contain ammonia.
Installation is easy, and anyone who is willing to crawl under their sink. And spend 30 minutes there should be able to do it. You won’t get the “quick-connect” technology that more expensive models have. So you’ll have to use your fingers and a couple of wrenches to tighten the supply lines the old-fashioned way.
The main problem is that zinc alloy parts don’t last as long as stainless steel parts, but the low price probably makes up for that. Despite this, it is still a good choice because it is reliable and well made.
