The Best Garlic Press in Australia (2026): 8 Picks for Less Mess and No More Smelly Fingers

Which garlic press should most Australians actually buy?

If you cook with garlic more than a couple of times a week, the right press turns a fiddly, smelly job into a two second squeeze. For most Australian kitchens the answer is the Dreamfarm Garject, a Brisbane-designed press that crushes unpeeled cloves, scrapes itself clean and ejects the skin with a button push. It is not the cheapest, so if you want the same no-peel convenience for a fraction of the money, the Zyliss Susi 3 is the value all-rounder, and the OXO Good Grips is the budget pick of our headline three at around $22.

A garlic press is a low-stakes purchase that people somehow still get wrong, usually by buying a flimsy supermarket one that bends, clogs and leaves half the clove behind. The difference between a good press and a bad one is mostly down to leverage, the size of the chamber, and whether you can clean it without a toothpick. We pulled the presses Australians are buying right now, checked the real Amazon Australia ratings and prices, and lined up eight that are genuinely worth your bench space.

Below you will find a quick verdict, a full how-we-chose method, eight picks with honest flaws for each, a buying guide, care tips, useful add-ons, and an FAQ that answers the questions people actually type into Google. Prices move around, so treat every figure as a guide and check the live listing before you buy.

The quick answer: our top garlic presses at a glance

Short on time? Here is the TL;DR. Our top pick is the Dreamfarm Garject for its no peel, self cleaning, skin ejecting design. The Zyliss Susi 3 is the value pick thanks to a near 8,700-review track record and a price around a third of the Garject. The OXO Good Grips is the budget pick of the three at roughly $22 and carries the biggest review count of any press on this page. The IKEA KONCIS is the cheapest option overall if you only need something simple. Last updated June 2026.

• Top pick: Dreamfarm Garject, around $69.95, 4.6 stars, crushes unpeeled garlic and ejects the peel.
• Value pick: Zyliss Susi 3, from around $25.96, 4.6 stars, the all-rounder cooks keep coming back to.
• Budget pick: OXO Good Grips, from around $22, 4.6 stars, soft handles and the biggest review pile here.
• Also worth it: Joseph Joseph CleanForce, KitchenAid, ORBLUE and MANNKITCHEN each win a specific use case.

How we chose the best garlic presses for Australia

We are an Australian first-home-buyer hub, not a test kitchen, so we are upfront about our method: we research and study the market rather than running our own lab trials. Here is how we narrowed a crowded category down to eight presses worth recommending.

• Real Australian availability. Every pick was checked as in stock on Amazon Australia with an Australian price in dollars, so you are not reading about a model you cannot actually buy here.
• Verified ratings and review depth. We only shortlisted presses with a genuine star rating and a meaningful number of reviews, then cross-checked the counts so any claim about popularity is literally true.
• Design that solves the real problems. We weighted leverage, chamber size, whether the press handles unpeeled cloves, and how easy each one is to clean, because those are the four things that make people love or bin a press.
• Editorial and chef consensus. We read across Australian and international reviews, recipe sites and buyer feedback to see which models keep getting recommended by people who cook with garlic daily.
• Range across budgets and grips. We made sure the list covers a sub-$15 option, a couple of mid priced all rounders, and a heavy duty lever press for anyone with sore hands or weaker grip.

Where a press has a known weakness, we say so in its "Flaws but not dealbreakers" section. No press is perfect, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.

Best garlic press overall: Dreamfarm Garject

The Dreamfarm Garject is our top pick because it removes every annoying part of using a garlic press. You drop in an unpeeled clove, squeeze, and minced garlic comes out the front. Open it up and a spring-loaded scraper wipes the grill clean into your pan. Push the peel-eject button and the skin shoots into the bin. Your fingers never touch the garlic, so they never smell of it, which is the single most common complaint people have about prepping garlic by hand.

It is made by Dreamfarm, a design studio out of Brisbane, and the build reflects that. The body is chrome-plated zinc, it weighs a substantial 363 grams, and it can handle multiple cloves at once. It is dishwasher safe, although like most metal presses it will last longest with a hand wash. On Amazon Australia it holds a 4.6 star rating across more than 700 reviews and carries the Amazon's Choice badge in the garlic press category. Australian buyers repeatedly call it the best press they have owned, with several saying they are on their second or third unit after years of daily use.

The standout is genuinely the no-peel workflow. One reviewer noted it even works on ginger, producing juice and a little flesh, which is a handy bonus if you cook a lot of Asian dishes. The self-scraping and skin-eject mechanisms mean cleanup is as close to effortless as a garlic press gets. If you cook with garlic most nights, this is the one we would buy first.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The price is the obvious one. At around $69.95 it costs more than three times the OXO, and one Australian reviewer flatly called it a rip-off for what it is, while still rating the design five stars. The coloured versions can cost more than the black one for no functional reason. A small number of buyers had the plastic scraper or eject parts wear out after a few years of dishwasher use, which is the trade-off for those clever moving parts. Tip both ends off very hard cloves before pressing and hand wash it, and it should give you years of service.

Best value garlic press: Zyliss Susi 3

The Zyliss Susi 3 is our value pick, and honestly it is the press we would point most people to if budget is tight but you still want something that lasts. It does the no-peel trick like the Garject, has a large chamber so you can crush several cloves at once, and comes with a little red cleaning tool that pushes the leftover bits out of the holes. For a press that regularly sells from around $25.96, it punches well above its price.

This is a Swiss-designed brand with a long heritage, and the track record shows: on Amazon Australia the Susi 3 has earned a 4.6 star rating across more than 8,600 reviews, far more than any of our other no-peel picks, and it wears the Amazon's Choice badge too. It is made from lightweight aluminium at just 145 grams, so it is easy to use one-handed, and the angled teeth design is built to extract more of the clove and stop garlic squirting out the sides, a flaw that plagues cheap supermarket presses.

It also has a notable Australian fan base. One verified buyer pointed out that Nagi from RecipeTin Eats recommends this exact press, and several long-term owners describe being on their second unit after years of service. If you want the convenience of the Garject without the premium price, this is the smart buy.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The aluminium body is labelled dishwasher safe, but multiple owners report the coating flaking after a few years in the machine, so hand washing is the safer bet for longevity. The red plastic cleaning tool is the weak point: the little prongs can bend or misalign with rough use, and once one is off, the tool stops working. The good news is you barely need it, as most buyers just peel the skin out in one piece by hand and rinse the press under the tap.

Best budget garlic press: OXO Good Grips

The OXO Good Grips is the budget pick of our headline three, usually selling from around $22, and it is the safest crowd-pleaser on this list. It pairs a sturdy stainless steel head with OXO's signature soft, cushioned handles that absorb pressure, so squeezing takes noticeably less hand strain than a bare metal press. A large hopper takes multiple cloves, and a stainless swing basket flips out for emptying and rinsing.

This is the most reviewed press on the entire page by a wide margin, with a 4.6 star rating across more than 38,000 Amazon Australia reviews, and it sits at number one in the garlic press bestseller rank. It is dishwasher safe and backed by OXO's Better Guarantee, which offers a repair or replacement if something goes wrong. Australian reviewers describe it as solid, easy on the hands, and still going strong after years of regular use, with several buying extras for family members.

It does not do the peel-eject party trick of the pricier presses, but plenty of owners crush unpeeled cloves anyway by slicing the clove lengthwise first to weaken the skin, then lifting the peel out afterward. For a no-fuss, comfortable, genuinely durable press that costs less than a takeaway dinner, it is hard to beat.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The built-in cleaning nub helps clear the holes but does not fully push out every remaining bit, so you will occasionally finish the job with a brush. A couple of owners mention the press can hold a garlic smell and needs a thorough wash, or even a second dishwasher cycle, to clear it. And while it is comfortable, it does still take a firm squeeze, so anyone with significant grip issues may prefer our lever-assisted MANNKITCHEN pick further down.

Best garlic press for easy cleaning: Joseph Joseph CleanForce

If your number one frustration is scrubbing garlic gunk out of the holes, the Joseph Joseph CleanForce is built specifically for you. Its headline feature is a trigger-operated wiper blade: after you crush, you pull a trigger and an integrated blade sweeps the crushed garlic off the plate in one motion. It also comes with a separate cleaning tool for digging skin and trapped garlic out of the crushing plate.

On Amazon Australia it holds a 4.6 star rating across more than 2,400 reviews and carries the Amazon's Choice badge. It is a lightweight plastic press at 152 grams, dishwasher safe, and comes in a bright green that is easy to spot in a drawer. Reviewers single out the easy-squeeze action as friendly for anyone with less grip strength, and the scraper as a genuine time-saver. One buyer who owned a previous twist-style Joseph Joseph model said this conventional lever version extracts more garlic and is more robust.

It is a clever, well-finished press that makes the cleanup step almost disappear, which is exactly what you want on a busy weeknight. The design-led look is a nice bonus if your gadgets live on the bench rather than in a drawer.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It is a plastic-framed press, so there is a touch of flex when you squeeze hard compared with an all-metal model, and that means it may not feel as bombproof over a decade of heavy use. As with most presses, very large cloves are best halved first. The wiper mechanism is brilliant but is one more moving part to keep clean, so give it an occasional proper wash to keep it sweeping smoothly.

Best stainless steel garlic press for the price: KitchenAid Garlic Press

The KitchenAid Garlic Press is the pick if you want an all-metal, rust-resistant press with a recognisable brand and a long warranty, without paying a premium price. It is built from strong stainless steel with a removable basket that lifts out for easier cleaning, glossy soft-grip handles, and chrome-plated bolsters. The hole pattern is designed to maximise how much of the clove actually gets pressed.

It often sells from around $21.84, holds a 4.5 star rating across more than 300 Amazon Australia reviews, and wears the Amazon's Choice badge. The extra-large chamber takes several cloves at once, it is dishwasher safe, and KitchenAid backs it with a lifetime limited warranty, which is unusually generous for a tool this cheap. International reviewers praise the build quality and the look, with several noting it is solid and efficient and presses multiple cloves without much effort.

At 236 grams it has a reassuring heft without being heavy, and the almond cream colourway is a nice change from the usual black or bare steel. If you like the idea of a durable metal press but the Garject and MANNKITCHEN feel like overkill, this hits a sweet spot.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

A couple of reviewers found the handles a little large for smaller hands, which can make the grip feel bulky. The press plate is rigid rather than flexible, so the action feels firm, which some prefer and others do not. And because it is rust-resistant rather than fully no-peel-focused, very tough cloves still press more cleanly if you flick the ends off first.

Best garlic press with a peeler included: ORBLUE Garlic Press

The ORBLUE press is a great shout if you want a heavy-duty stainless steel crusher that also comes with a silicone tube peeler in the set, so you can peel a clove in seconds before pressing if you prefer to work that way. It is a rust-proof, dishwasher safe press with an ergonomic design that minces unpeeled garlic or peeled ginger with minimal effort, and the baskets are left unpainted so the food-contact surface stays bare metal.

It is one of the most reviewed presses on this page, with a 4.5 star rating across more than 21,500 Amazon Australia reviews and the Amazon's Choice badge. At 272 grams it feels solid, and Australian buyers describe it as a strong unit with handles that do not bend to meet each other under pressure, which is a common failure point on cheaper presses. The bundled peeler tube earns regular praise as a no-more-frustration way to skin garlic fast.

It is available in a few handle colours if you want to match your kitchen, and the overall package is excellent value given the build and the included accessory. For a metal press that covers both peeling and crushing, it is a smart all-in-one.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Despite the dishwasher-safe label, a couple of Australian owners recommend hand washing to keep it in top condition, and one early buyer found it did not press perfectly clean in one go, needing a scrape-and-repeat on larger loads. As with every press here, halving big cloves helps. None of these are dealbreakers given the price and the bonus peeler, but they are worth knowing.

Best garlic press for arthritis or weak grip: MANNKITCHEN Double Lever

If hand strength is the issue, whether from arthritis, an injury or just smaller hands, the MANNKITCHEN press is the one engineered to fix it. It uses a double-lever assisted mechanism that multiplies your squeezing force, so you get more crushing power for far less effort. Extra-wide handles spread the load across your palm, and the whole thing is built from solid 304 stainless steel, the same grade used in quality cookware.

It holds a 4.4 star rating across more than 440 Amazon Australia reviews. The cup-less design flips wide open so there is no narrow basket to scrub, it is rust and corrosion resistant, and it is dishwasher safe. Australian reviewers highlight the solid build, the comfortable grip and the fact that the handles do not flex when you apply pressure, which is exactly what you want if pressing garlic normally hurts your hands.

This is a premium tool at around $84.99, the most expensive press on our list, and it is aimed at people who value the assisted leverage and the bombproof metal construction over a bargain price. If a standard press is a struggle for you, the upgrade is genuinely worth it.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It is the priciest press here, so it only makes sense if the assisted grip matters to you. One Australian reviewer felt the reservoir was smaller than advertised and the stainless handles thinner than expected for the money, so manage expectations on capacity and press one to two cloves at a time. For its target buyer, the effortless crushing more than justifies the spend.

Best cheap garlic press: IKEA KONCIS

The IKEA KONCIS is the cheapest press on this entire page, often selling from around $14, and it proves you do not need to spend much for a press that simply works. It is a no-frills stainless steel and zinc press with a brushed nickel-plated finish, a removable insert for easier cleaning, and it handles unpeeled cloves. It is the kind of solid, old-school press that does one job and does it well.

Do not let the low price fool you on quality: it holds a 4.6 star rating across more than 8,400 Amazon Australia reviews, matching the rating of presses costing several times more. Owners describe it as a solid piece of kit, easy to clean thanks to the removable basket, and one long-term user called it the best garlic press they have ever owned. It gives a nice hard press and leaves very little behind.

If you are kitting out a first kitchen on a budget, fitting out a rental, or just want a reliable spare, this is the value champion. It does not have the fancy self-cleaning or eject features, but for the money it is genuinely excellent.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The big caveat is that it is hand wash only, so it is not for anyone who wants to throw everything in the dishwasher. The basket is on the small side, so larger cloves need cutting down to fit. And being an IKEA product, the easiest place to buy it is often IKEA itself or the Amazon listing, so check current availability before you set your heart on it.

How do you choose a garlic press? A quick buyer's guide

The best garlic press for you comes down to a handful of features. Here is what actually matters once you cut through the marketing.

Do you need to peel the garlic first?

The best modern presses, including the Dreamfarm Garject and Zyliss Susi 3, are designed to crush unpeeled cloves: the garlic pushes through the holes and the skin stays behind in the chamber. This is the single biggest convenience upgrade, because it means your fingers never touch raw garlic and never smell of it. If a press requires peeling first, it should at least be cheap enough to justify the extra step.

How important is easy cleaning?

Cleaning is where cheap presses fall apart. Look for a removable basket or insert, a built-in scraper or wiper, or a cleaning tool that clears the holes. Self-scraping designs like the Garject and the trigger wiper on the Joseph Joseph CleanForce make this almost automatic. If you hate fiddly cleanup, prioritise this above almost everything else.

Metal or plastic, and does it matter?

All-metal presses such as the KitchenAid, MANNKITCHEN and IKEA KONCIS tend to last longer and feel sturdier, with no plastic parts to crack. Plastic-framed presses like the Joseph Joseph are lighter and often cheaper, but can flex slightly under hard pressure. Chrome-plated zinc, as used in the Garject, sits in between: heavy and durable, with a few plastic moving parts for the clever features.

What about grip strength?

If pressing garlic hurts your hands, the lever ratio is everything. A double-lever assisted press like the MANNKITCHEN, or a soft-handled press like the OXO Good Grips, dramatically reduces the force you need. Wide, cushioned handles also help spread the load. This is the most important factor for anyone with arthritis or a weaker grip.

Dishwasher safe or hand wash?

Most presses here are dishwasher safe, but several owners across brands report that coatings degrade faster in the machine. If you want a press to last a decade, hand washing is gentler. The IKEA KONCIS is hand wash only, so factor that in if dishwasher convenience is non-negotiable for you.

How do you keep a garlic press clean and lasting?

A garlic press is cheap to buy but easy to ruin if you neglect it. A few simple habits keep yours working for years.

• Rinse it straight away. Garlic dries hard and fast inside the holes. A quick rinse under the tap immediately after use stops residue cementing in place and is the single best maintenance habit.
• Use the cleaning tool while it is wet. If your press came with a brush or pronged cleaner, run it through the holes before the garlic dries. Many presses also clean easily by opening fully and pushing the skin out in one piece.
• Hand wash to extend its life. Even on dishwasher-safe models, owners report coatings and finishes lasting longer with gentle hand washing. Avoid scraping the press plate with sharp metal, which can scratch it.
• Tackle the garlic smell. If odour lingers, wash with a little bicarb soda or rub the press with a cut lemon. A second wash clears most of it. This is normal for any tool that crushes raw garlic.
• Halve tough cloves. Flicking or snipping both ends off, or halving very large cloves, reduces strain on the press and gives a cleaner crush, which matters most for the plastic-framed models.

You will also want these kitchen add-ons

A garlic press is one small piece of a well-equipped prep station. These are the accessories and tools that pair naturally with it, all available on Amazon Australia.

• A silicone garlic peeler tube: roll a clove inside it and the skin slips off in seconds. Search silicone garlic peeler on Amazon AU.
• A good chopping board to prep on. See our guide to the best cutting boards in Australia, or browse chopping boards on Amazon AU.
• Stainless steel soap to rub garlic smell off your hands after prep. Find stainless steel soap bars on Amazon AU.
• Airtight garlic and shallot storage to keep bulbs fresh. Browse garlic keepers on Amazon AU.
• A sharp paring knife for the cloves you would rather slice than press. See paring knives on Amazon AU.
• A small prep bowl set to hold minced garlic until you need it. Browse prep bowls on Amazon AU.
• A microplane or grater as a no-press alternative for very fine garlic. See graters on Amazon AU.

What about the presses that did not make the cut?

A few popular options came close but lost out to our final eight. Rocker presses, the flat metal or steel bars you roll over a clove on a board, are loved by some cooks for how easy they are to clean, but they need a chopping board and can be messier, and the best-known models in Australia tend to sit better through general retailers than Amazon. We point keen rocker fans toward those listings rather than forcing a weaker Amazon match.

Premium boutique presses such as the Williams Sonoma signature models and certain Kuhn Rikon presses are excellent but command a steep price for performance our Garject and MANNKITCHEN picks already match. Ultra-cheap unbranded supermarket presses, the kind sold at Kmart, Coles and Woolworths for a few dollars, are tempting, but they are exactly the bend-and-clog presses that drive people to buy a proper one later, so we would rather steer you to the IKEA KONCIS for not much more. Finally, twist-style presses lost ground to conventional levers after multiple owners reported the small plastic mechanisms failing over time.

Frequently asked questions about garlic presses

What is the best garlic press in Australia?

For most people the Dreamfarm Garject is the best all-round garlic press in Australia, because it crushes unpeeled cloves, scrapes itself clean and ejects the skin, so your fingers never touch garlic. If you want the same no-peel convenience for less, the Zyliss Susi 3 is the value pick, and the OXO Good Grips is the budget choice of our top three at around $22.

Do you have to peel garlic before using a garlic press?

Not with the better presses. Designs like the Dreamfarm Garject and Zyliss Susi 3 are made to crush unpeeled cloves: the garlic pushes through the holes while the skin stays behind in the chamber. Cheaper or older presses may work more cleanly if you peel first, but the no-peel models are the whole reason a good press is worth buying.

Are garlic presses worth buying?

Yes, if you cook with garlic regularly. A good press is faster than mincing by hand, keeps your fingers from smelling of garlic, and produces a consistent fine crush that releases plenty of flavour. The key is buying a sturdy one with good leverage and easy cleaning, rather than a flimsy supermarket press that bends and clogs.

Why do some chefs avoid garlic presses?

Some professional chefs prefer a knife because pressing ruptures more of the garlic's cells, which can give a sharper, more pungent flavour than finely chopped garlic, and because a knife means one less tool to clean. For home cooks, that flavour difference is minor and the speed and convenience of a press usually win, especially on a busy weeknight.

What is the easiest garlic press to clean?

Self-cleaning designs are easiest. The Dreamfarm Garject scrapes itself clean and ejects the skin with a button, while the Joseph Joseph CleanForce has a trigger-operated wiper blade that sweeps the plate. Presses with a removable basket, like the OXO Good Grips and IKEA KONCIS, are also simple to rinse out. Rinsing straight after use is the biggest factor in keeping any press clean.

How much should you spend on a garlic press?

You can get an excellent press for very little. The IKEA KONCIS performs strongly from around $14, and the OXO Good Grips from around $22 is a lifelong workhorse. Spending more, up to around $70 for the Dreamfarm Garject or $85 for the MANNKITCHEN, buys convenience features like self-cleaning, skin ejection or assisted leverage, which are worth it if you press garlic often or have grip issues.

Complete your kitchen prep kit

A garlic press works best alongside the rest of a sharp, well-stocked prep station. If you are building out your kitchen, these NestPath guides pair naturally with this one:

• The best knife sets in Australia for the chopping a press cannot do.
• The best cutting boards in Australia to prep and crush on.
• The best knife sharpeners in Australia to keep your blades prep-ready.
• The best mortar and pestle sets in Australia for garlic pastes and spice blends.
• The best kitchen shears in Australia for the snipping jobs in between.
• The best mandoline slicers in Australia for fast, even slicing.
• The best salad spinners in Australia to round out your fresh-prep tools.

About the author

Anish Puri founded NestPath in 2026 after going through the Australian first-home-buyer process himself. NestPath focuses on Australian first-home buyers because the existing review sites are American, generic, or both. Anish handles editorial selection across the homeowner hub. Reach out: hello@nestpath.com.au