In a previous blog, we illustrated the differences between Sub-Zero, Thermador, and Liebherr appliances with a comprehensive breakdown of sizes, configurations, and features. In the latest installment of our brand guide series, we’re examining two more premium appliance brands to see how they compare. This time, it’s a head-to-head match-up between GE Café and KitchenAid. Who will reign victorious?
Each manufacturer is a well-known and respected name in the appliance industry, so there are bound to be similarities between both brands. Both Café and KitchenAid are living up to their namesakes, and their expertly crafted products, and when it comes to creating your ideal culinary haven, reliability and reputation go a long way.
Comparing GE Café and KitchenAid Appliances
Before we delve too far into the comparison breakdown, we think a quick reference table will help paint a picture. If you’re a more visual person or aren’t as familiar with one or both brands, the industry experts at Albert Lee whipped up this table to provide a quick snapshot of how each brand stacks up.
In this reference table, we’re focusing on the big-four kitchen appliances: ranges, wall ovens, refrigerators, and dishwashers.
| Product Attributes |
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| RANGES | |||
| Convection Cooking | X | X | |
| Self-Clean | X | X | |
| Sealed Burners | X | X | |
| Edge-to-Edge Grates | X | X | |
| Smart-Compatible | X | X | |
| REFRIGERATORS | |||
| Freestanding | X | X | |
| Ice Maker | X | X | |
| Water Dispenser | X | X | |
| Energy Star Qualified | X | ||
| Smart-Compatible | X | ||
| DISHWASHERS | |||
| Flexible Third Rack | X | X | |
| Sanitize Option | X | X | |
| Sensor Wash | X | X | |
| Energy Star Qualified | X | ||
| Fingerprint-Resistant | X | ||
| WALL OVENS | |||
| Sabbath Mode | X | ||
| Energy-Star Qualified | |||
| Temperature Probe | X | ||
| Self-Cleaning | X | X | |
| Convection | X | X | |
Brand Overview: Café Appliances
Made with exquisite craftsmanship and precise detail, Café appliances represent a trendsetting culinary design. With a variety of unique products full of personality and style, you have the option to enjoy a multitude of colors, finishes, and customizable features. This is how Café strikes a chord with its audience and appeals to a wide range of tastes.
If the same old appliance finishes have you feeling exhausted and out of touch with your culinary landscape, you can enhance your kitchen appliances with customizable handles and knobs in a variety of colors, including brushed bronze, black, or copper. If you enjoy a traditional structure with something a little flashier, you can upgrade your appliances with a fashionable matte-white or matte-black finish. The options provided by Café allow you to unleash your true artistic creativity and add more depth to your kitchen.
Certain brands are best suited for tech-forward shoppers or private contractors looking for a quick flip, but Café is for anyone who wants to step out of their comfort zone and embark on a remarkable culinary journey.
Brand Overview: KitchenAid Appliances
One of the most well-known and timeless names in the appliance industry, KitchenAid offers dependable, innovative products across all major appliance varieties. You probably grew up with the legendary stand mixer, but today, KitchenAid offers a stunning display of home appliances that are uniquely designed for the modern family home.
If you have a knack for entertaining or love a good home-cooked meal, you can easily find culinary inspiration from any KitchenAid appliance. From full appliance suites to individual cooking, refrigeration, and cleaning appliances, you’ll be sure to find a top-notch product to match your love and passion for the kitchen.
Whether you’re focused on form or function in your kitchen design, upgrading your appliances with KitchenAid will ensure an eye-catching and trustworthy collection that will be the envy of all your friends and neighbors.
GE Café vs KitchenAid Appliance Breakdown
Now that we’ve set the stage for our brand comparison, we’re ready to duke it out and assess how each brand fares across the cooking, refrigeration, and dish care categories.
GE Café vs KitchenAid Ranges
If you love to cook, a slide-in range is the appliance for you. Café introduced the industry’s first edge-to-edge cooktop with six versatile burners. Many of their ranges also include an integrated griddle to easily handle large meals and family favorites like bacon and eggs, grilled sandwiches, and crab cakes. If you’re preparing a holiday feast or trying to impress your picky mother-in-law, an integrated temperature probe ensures that meats and poultry are prepared to the perfect doneness without overcooking or drying out. And if you need speed and versatility out of your range, True European Convection creates even baking and roasting results every time.
Not to be outdone, KitchenAid is boasting some equally impressive features. A 36-inch commercial-style range also features six burners, allowing you to effortlessly expand your culinary repertoire. Ultra-versatile 20,000 BTU burners provide the power and precision necessary to successfully sear, simmer, stir-fry, and sauté your favorite meals. If you’re new to the world of cooking and are still finding your groove, Even-Heat True Convection helps you achieve more consistent baking and roasting results to prevent culinary miscues.
Luckily, both the Café and KitchenAid range feature convenient and time-saving features, sealed burners, WiFi connectivity, and self-cleaning options to make light work of mealtime, but Café has a slim advantage thanks to built-in features like the griddle and temperature probe.
GE Café vs KitchenAid Wall Ovens
If you’re hoping to achieve a new level of cooking flexibility, look toward Café wall ovens. Café features an unmatched line of combination double wall ovens with True Convection and Advantium Technology. It's a five-in-one appliance that can be used as a convection oven, microwave, toaster oven, warming/proofing oven, and precision cook oven. You can easily cook your favorite dishes two- to four-times faster in the sophisticated upper oven compared to a conventional oven. And if you’re trying to eat as fresh and healthy as possible, you can deliver tasty meals with the help of a steam cook option.
Café isn’t the only brand to showcase a double oven. When it comes to wall ovens, KitchenAid holds its own with a 27-inch double wall oven with Even-Heat True Convection. A unique bow-tie-shaped design and convection fan helps ensure there are no burnt edges or undercooked centers, providing consistent and even cooking. This wall oven also includes a temperature probe to deliver accurate measurement of internal temperatures of meats, poultry, and casseroles without opening the oven.
Each appliance is equally bold with elegant and functional design details, but we’ll give a slight edge to KitchenAid with their display of built-in cooking accessories.
GE Café vs KitchenAid Refrigerators
When it comes to your refrigerator, do you prefer style or substance? We think you deserve both. A four-door refrigerator from Café provides sophisticated details and imaginative features like convertible drawers with a Soft Freeze setting or the Hands-Free Autofill dispenser that makes for an easy refrigeration solution. You can keep the drawer as low as 23 degrees or as high as 42 degrees, and keep your produce fresher thanks to a Humidity Control System with two distinct bins—a sealed high-humidity bin that preserves leafy green vegetables longer and a vented bin that provides the perfect environment for fruits.
An equally versatile appliance with a platinum interior, KitchenAid French door refrigerators include five doors, including two soft-close drawers, to deliver optimal storage. This refrigerator also features the Preserva Food Care System which uses two independent cooling systems to help keep food fresh for longer, while under-shelf LED lighting beautifully displays the food below for greater visibility.
KitchenAid has the advantage in terms of storage and organization, whereas Café leads the charge in terms of preservation features. Both appliances are visually appealing in any kitchen design, so it’s a matter of whether capacity or efficiency matters most to you.
GE Café vs KitchenAid Dishwashers
In the final round, it all comes down to dishwashers. With a Café dishwasher, you can load the dishes your way. The lower wash arm provides excellent coverage for the largest wash cycles, the fold-down tines accommodate wide or oddly shaped items, and the third rack provides extra space for your silverware and kitchen utensils. And when it comes to unloading the appliance, the comprehensive Ultra-Dry wash system ensures your dishes are table-ready for every meal.
KitchenAid dishwashers also make it easy to clean up after mealtime with three racks of versatile loading and complete wash coverage. The FreeFlex Third Rack fits glasses, mugs, bowls, silverware, and cooking tools, freeing up room below for pots, plates, and mixing bowls. The Advanced Clean Water Wash System circulates clean water to dishes in all three racks. The ProWash cycle measures soil levels, Sani-Rinse adds a final high-heat to sanitize dishes, and Print-Shield finish is easy to clean and resists smudges.
Both brands feature a spacious third rack, sanitize options, and effective cleaning power, but if you’re looking for energy efficiency, the KitchenAid model is Energy Star certified.
What’s the Verdict?
Café or KitchenAid? That's the million-dollar question. When it comes to the four major appliance categories, we're calling it a draw. Café had KitchenAid beat in ranges and refrigerators, but KitchenAid evened the score in dishwashers and wall ovens. Either way, both brands offer a tremendous selection of the highest quality appliances. You'll experience premium features, luxurious design, and high-end performance.
If you have questions about any of our Café or KitchenAid products, don’t hesitate to visit us at any one of our six Albert Lee store locations in the Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma regions. Providing major appliances since 1939, we are proud to serve you and any appliance need.