The Verdict

Ultrean Food Scale Review: A $7 Scale That Actually Works?

Filed under: Kitchen Scales | ASIN: B08CZDYNF7 | Price: $6.98

Quick Verdict

If you need a digital kitchen scale and don’t want to spend more than the cost of a burrito, the Ultrean Food Scale delivers. At $6.98, this thing has over 21,000 reviews and a 4.6/5 average for good reason. It’s accurate enough for baking, compact enough to live in a drawer, and simple enough that your grandmother could figure it out without the manual. It won’t win any design awards and the build quality screams “budget,” but it does the one job you ask of it — weigh stuff — reliably well.

Bottom line: Buy it. It’s seven bucks. If it breaks in a year, buy another. You’re still ahead.

What You’re Getting

Let’s set expectations: the Ultrean scale is a no-frills, entry-level digital scale. We’re talking:

• Capacity: 11 lb / 5000 g
• Platform: 304 stainless steel (the nice stuff)
• Units: g, oz, lb:oz, ml (water), fl.oz (water)
• Resolution: 1 g / 0.05 oz increments
• Display: LCD backlit readout
• Batteries: Included (two CR2032 coin cells)
• Extras: Tare function, auto-off

But specs don’t tell you what it’s like to use. Here’s the real talk.

Performance: Surprisingly Accurate for the Price

Look, when something costs seven bucks, you expect jank. You expect the readings to drift. You expect to have to tap the scale twice to wake it up. And yes — this scale is a little sensitive to placement. Put it on an uneven cutting board and your flour measurement will wander.

But on a flat, level surface? The Ultrean is legitimately accurate. I tested it against a known calibration weight (100 g) and it read 100 g flat. Let it sit, re-zeroed, tested again — 100 g. That’s genuinely impressive for an $8 scale that fits in your palm.

I’ve used this daily for weeks — coffee beans in the morning (18 g for my V60), flour for pizza dough, portioning ground beef for meal prep. It handles the range well from 2 g of yeast all the way up to a full 5 lb bag of potatoes. No stuttering, no lag.

One thing I’ll flag: the sensor is touchy in the first second. If you put something on before the display fully settles, it’ll take a moment to catch up. Give it one Mississippi and you’re fine.

Design & Build: Compact, Clean, Cheap

The scale is small — about the size of a smartphone (roughly 7.5" x 5"). It’s thin enough to slide vertically into a narrow cabinet, which reviewers consistently call out as a selling point. I keep mine in a utensil drawer, no problem.

The stainless steel platform looks clean and wipes down easily. Spilled flour? Wipe. Sauce splatter? Wipe. Raw chicken juice? Wipe and sanitize. No rust, no staining, no weird chemical smell.

The buttons are responsive. Not tactile-click nice, but not mushy either. They beep on press (which you can’t turn off — minor annoyance). The LCD is backlit in blue and readable in both dim and bright kitchen light. It auto-shuts off after a couple minutes to save battery.

Downsides? The build is all lightweight plastic underneath. The steel top feels good, but flip it over and you’re reminded this was mass-produced at a price point. It’s not going to survive a drop onto tile. Don’t drop it.

Also, the auto-off timer is aggressive — about 2 minutes of inactivity. If you’re mid-recipe and step away to grab an ingredient, you’ll come back to a blank screen. The tare button resets it, but it’s a minor workflow hiccup.

Tare Function: Yes, It Works

The tare button does exactly what it should. Put a bowl on, press tare, add ingredients, press tare, add next ingredient, repeat. I used it for a batch of chocolate chip cookies — butter, sugar, eggs, flour — all in the same bowl, zeroing between each. No complaints.

One caveat: on the maximum end of the scale’s capacity, taring a heavy bowl might leave you less headroom than expected. If you’re weighing a full 5 lb batch of dough in a 2 lb ceramic mixing bowl, you’ll hit the limit. Use a lighter bowl.

Battery Life: The One Real Grievance

The scale uses two CR2032 coin cell batteries. They’re included (a nice touch), but several reviews mention arriving with dead or weak batteries. I got lucky — mine worked out of the box — but it’s a consistent enough complaint to mention.

Battery life is fine, not great. Expect to change them every few months with daily use. No USB-C charging here (not at this price), so keep a spare pack handy. CR2032s are cheap and widely available — grab a 10-pack for like $3 and forget about it.

Who Should Buy This

Buy it if:

• You’re on a budget and just need a scale that works
• You’re new to weighing ingredients and don’t want to invest big
• You need a small, storable scale for a cramped kitchen
• You want a backup/secondary scale for travel or camping

Skip it if:

• You bake professionally or need lab-grade precision
• You want USB charging or premium materials
• You’re prone to dropping things (this won’t survive)
• You need to weigh >11 lb regularly

How It Stacks Up

The Ultrean isn’t the best scale at any single thing. But at one-third the price of the Etekcity and one-quarter of the OXO, it’s the best value, full stop.

Final Call

⭐ Rating: 4.5 / 5

The Ultrean Food Scale is a masterclass in hitting the right price point. It’s not fancy, it’s not rugged, and the batteries might be DOA. But for $6.98, it does the one thing a scale is supposed to do — measure weight accurately — better than anything else at this price has any right to.

If you’re on the fence: buy it. Use it. If you outgrow it, you’ve spent less than dinner out and can upgrade guilt-free. If it meets your needs (and for 90% of home cooks, it will), you just saved $15–20 over the competition.

Recommended for: Home cooks, bakers, coffee nerds, meal preppers, and anyone who’s tired of washing measuring cups.

Review methodology: Product tested in a home kitchen over two weeks. Accuracy checks performed with a calibrated 100 g reference weight. Price and availability verified at time of writing.