The 4 Best Pepper Mills of 2024

If you have difficulty twisting hand-crank pepper mills, we also recommend an electric battery-operated model, which can be activated with the push of a button.

The Peugeot Paris u’Select Pepper Mill has long been adored by professional cooks and design enthusiasts alike for its inimitably sharp, case-hardened steel grind mechanism and sleek looks. (Peugeot introduced its first table pepper mill in 1874.) The grind mechanism produces even grinds at each preset coarseness setting (unlike much of the competition), and the mill comes with a lifetime warranty. You can also find it in other sizes and finishes.

Runner-up

If the Peugeot is unavailable, or you prefer a more-streamlined look, the Fletchers’ Mill model offers a similar performance with a solid build. But it lacks preset coarseness settings.

Even though we liked the Peugeot pepper mill best, we found that the Fletchers’ Mill Border Grill Pepper Mill offered a very similar performance, with a sleeker design. The only downside is that there are no preset coarseness adjustments; you have to eyeball it. This model is also available in five colors and three stain options: cherry, mahogany, and walnut.

Budget pick

This mill is on the smaller side, but the Trudeau Seville grinds consistently (though not quite as finely as the Peugeot and Fletchers’ Mill models).

If you want a more affordable pepper mill, and you don’t mind a smaller model, we recommend the Trudeau 6-Inch Seville Pepper Mill. The wide nut at the top of this mill made adjusting the grind size easy. Its carbon steel grinding mechanism produced very finely ground pepper (but not quite as fine as the grinds produced by the Peugeot and Fletchers’ Mill models).

Also great

The Eparé Battery Operated Pepper Mill requires four AA batteries, but it finely grinds pepper and was the quietest electric model we tested.

We prefer the design and quick output of our other picks. But if you’re partial to electric mills, the Eparé Battery Operated Pepper Mill was the best of those we tested. Its ceramic grinding mechanism produces consistent results with the push of a button. And like our top pick, the Eparé has a generous capacity, holding up to 5 tablespoons of peppercorns. The drawbacks: It requires four AA batteries, which make the pepper mill slightly top-heavy and get in the way of refilling. And, as with most electric models, finer settings take longer to grind.