They look similar and do fundamentally different jobs. Get this right and the rest is just sizing.

Planetary mixer — the all-rounder. The tool spins on its own axis while orbiting the bowl (like a planet, hence the name), and you swap attachments: a whisk for cream and egg whites, a flat beater for batters and mash, a dough hook for lighter doughs. If you make cakes, batters, icing, mashed potato, meringue and the occasional dough, this is your machine. It's the versatile choice — a bakery, café or restaurant kitchen usually wants one.

Spiral mixer — the dough specialist. A fixed spiral hook works the dough against a rotating bowl, kneading intensively without overheating it. It does one thing supremely well: bread and pizza dough, in volume. A spiral will knead far more dough, far better, than a planetary of the same bowl size — but it only does dough. If you're a pizzeria or bakery pushing serious dough every day, this is the one.

The quick test: whisking, beating and mixing a variety of things → planetary. Kneading a lot of bread or pizza dough → spiral. Many busy kitchens end up with both — a planetary for general work and a spiral for the dough.

Bowl volume is the headline; dough capacity is the realistic limit if you knead in it.

Buy for your biggest regular batch, not your average — a mixer run at its limit every day wears faster. If dough is most of what you do, compare these dough figures against the spiral range below; a spiral will out-knead a planetary of the same bowl size.

Rated by dough (kneading) capacity, which is what matters for a dough machine.

Two fixed speeds (typically 22/12 rpm) let you start slow to bring the dough together, then work it.

If your job is sheeting dough — pizza bases, pastry — rather than kneading it, that's a

dough roller, not a mixer. We stock 12" angled and 15"/18" horizontal rollers. A pizzeria often runs a spiral mixer to make the dough and a roller to sheet it. ("dough roller" draws ~1,700 searches a quarter — a real category in its own right.)

• Number of speeds — more speeds (the countertop planetary has 5) give finer control for delicate work like meringue; 3 speeds is plenty for general kitchen use.
• Bowl guard / safety cut-off — a wire guard that stops the machine if lifted. Expected on commercial gear and a real safety point around staff.
• Attachments included — planetary machines should come with whisk, beater and hook; check what's in the box.
• Build and motor — kneading dough is hard on a motor; commercial-grade beats a domestic stand mixer for anything more than occasional use.