Best Kitchen Faucets for 2024

While faucet design is likely an important factor in choosing your kitchen faucet, its functionality depends on five key components.

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Assuming you’re buying a faucet for an existing sink, you’ll first need to know how many holes you have available for installation: one, two, or three. If you have three, you can more or less choose the faucet you want, since extra holes can easily be plugged when not in use, but you can’t install a faucet that requires more holes than your sink has. The number of handles on the faucet, as well as whether it has any additional features such as a separate sprayer, soap dispenser, or hot water filler, will all require additional holes.

Neck

swan neck Faucets are common, but even below that there are lower and higher arch options. You should measure the space to make sure you don’t choose a faucet that is higher than the available height. Straight away Faucets take up less vertical space and are generally less expensive, but leave less room in the sink for washing dishes or filling pots.

Reach

Whether your faucet can easily reach every corner of your sink also depends on how the faucet needs to work. Pull-out taps are the most common and consist of a sprayer mounted on a hose. This hose can be pulled out of the curved neck or secured in the crane arm when not in use. Pull-out taps are usually found in lower profile models, and pull forward from the base rather than down, and usually feature a longer hose. Stationary spoutslike those in most straight-neck models, are often equipped with a separate spray head that mounts to the side of the sink.

Handles

Single handle Faucets are the most common and have only one lever to adjust the water temperature. They are the easiest to install, but can be tricky to get to the perfect temperature every time. Contactless or smart features, if available, are typically applied to single-handle models. Double handle Faucets have separate handles for hot and cold water, allowing you to adjust the temperature to your liking and giving a more old-fashioned or farmhouse look. Dual-handle faucets are difficult to install and require additional holes to be drilled into the corresponding sink.

Finish

Many faucets offer stain-resistant or fingerprint-resistant finishes, which are usually a brushed metal look, rather than a glossy finish. Nickel, chrome, matte black, and stainless steel are the most common finishes, with bronze, gold, and pewter as occasional options.