You shake a colander over the sink, but water is still clinging to the lettuce. You’d like to get it into the salad bowl and move on with dinner. Then you look at the two OXO spinners and wonder whether the steel one will save enough fuss to justify the extra money.
For everyday greens, I’d start with the large white OXO Good Grips. The Steel is worth considering if you specifically want a stainless steel outer bowl. Both have a listed 4.95-quart basket, and spending more does not give you a promise of drier leaves, easier cleaning, or a longer-lasting spinner.
What are you paying extra for?
The Steel carries a premium, so I’d want a specific reason to choose it. Check the current offers before deciding how much that bowl is worth to you. The recommendation here makes the most sense when there is a meaningful gap between the two prices.
The comparison here is the large white Good Grips, model 32480, and the Steel, model 1071497. OXO sells other spinners, so check the model and selected option before buying. A familiar-looking product photo is not enough to tell you that a different size or version has the same capacity.
I’d consider the Steel if I wanted its stainless steel bowl on the dinner table. You might prefer how it looks beside your plates, or simply enjoy using steel more than clear plastic. If the difference in price feels comfortable, liking that bowl can be enough.
Both outer bowls can hold salad for serving. Once the basket is out, you can bring either bowl to the table. With Steel, you’re choosing the material and the look of that bowl.
Think about the serving bowl you already like. Picture what you would actually do with the new one. Would the steel bowl come to the table, or would you transfer the leaves into your usual bowl anyway? In the second case, I’d give that serving appeal much less weight. The mixing bowls already in your cupboard may cover that part of dinner perfectly well.
Both baskets have the same listed capacity
Capacity is where the product names and listing numbers can send you in the wrong direction. The outer bowl catches the water; the basket holds the greens. OXO lists the following capacities for these two models.
| What you’re comparing | Good Grips 32480 | Steel 1071497 |
|---|---|---|
| Basket capacity | 4.95 qt | 4.95 qt |
| Outer bowl capacity | 6.22 qt | 6.34 qt |
| Outer bowl material | Clear plastic | Stainless steel |
| Outer bowl can serve salad | Yes | Yes |
Capacities are from OXO’s white Good Grips and Steel specifications.
That means the Steel is not a basket-capacity upgrade. If your reason for spending more is to fit a bigger pile of lettuce into each load, the official basket figures do not support that purchase. The slightly larger outer-bowl number should not decide it for you.
Nor would I translate either capacity into a fixed number of family servings. A loose pile of leaves and a tightly packed one do not represent the same load. You still need to follow the loading instructions and leave room for the mechanism to work. Treat the basket as a container with a limit, rather than a promise that dinner for your particular family will fit in one go.
What both spinners already do
The familiar press-down operation is available on both models. Each has a brake button, and each basket can also serve as a colander. You do not need to buy the Steel just to get those features. For the ordinary sequence of preparing greens, spinning them, and taking them out for dinner, the less expensive model already offers that same basic approach.
Drying performance is harder to turn into a clean winner. In its published kitchen testing, Epicurious found the Steel performed at a similar level to the plastic OXO. TechGearLab was less enthusiastic about its Steel sample, including the brake and basket. The older tests do not establish that a Steel bought today will reliably leave your greens drier.
Owners have also described differences between older and newer units. A review of a much older spinner may not describe the one that arrives at your door. I wouldn’t pay the premium expecting it to leave tonight’s lettuce drier.
You may still find moisture on the leaves after spinning. If you’re packing them into glass food-storage containers for later meals, check them before closing the lids. I wouldn’t buy either spinner mainly to keep greens fresh for a set number of extra days.
Steel still leaves you with parts to wash
The part I’d think about before choosing either model is what happens after the salad reaches the table. There is a bowl, a basket, and a lid to deal with. The lid deserves attention as well as the surfaces you can see at a glance. Steel on the outside does not remove those chores.
OXO’s material listing for the Steel includes plastic. The basket and lid mechanism are not replaced by an entirely stainless steel assembly. If avoiding plastic throughout the spinner is the reason you are considering the upgrade, this is the wrong purchase for that goal.
OXO describes lids that come apart for cleaning, but removing the permitted inner lid is different from opening every part of the drive mechanism. Follow the instructions supplied with your model, clean the accessible parts, and let them dry thoroughly before putting the spinner away. Do not assume that a removable cover gives you permission to pry open the mechanism underneath.
Plastic-model owners have reported cracked bowls; Steel owners have reported damaged plastic baskets and parts that no longer fit well. There are also complaints about trapped grime and leaves that remain wet. These accounts don’t tell us how often a problem occurs, but they’re a reason not to buy Steel expecting an end to maintenance or breakage.
OXO lists both models as dishwasher safe. Still, follow the care instructions for the model and its parts, including any rack restrictions. Check the pieces after washing and let them dry.
If you find cracks, warped or loose pieces, or grime you cannot remove through the permitted cleaning steps, stop using the spinner and contact the seller or OXO about a return, replacement, or care advice. I would not glue a damaged food-contact part back together or force apart the spring and drive components.
Which one would I buy for everyday meal prep?
For regular salad preparation, I’d choose the plastic Good Grips when keeping the price down matters and there is a place to store it. You will still have a bulky item to put away and several parts to wash. For someone who regularly prepares a pile of greens and can manage that cleanup, the plastic model is enough to start with.
View the large white Good Grips on Amazon
I’d choose the Steel when I wanted that outer bowl and could comfortably pay more for it. Using a spinner frequently may make either purchase easier to justify, but frequency alone does not make steel necessary. Be clear about what you are paying to enjoy.
View the Steel salad spinner on Amazon
If your plastic spinner already works, keep using it. A different material on the outside is not, by itself, a reason to replace a tool that is doing what you need. And if you rarely wash a substantial pile of greens, you can leave both out of the cart for now. The same goes if washing several pieces afterward sounds more troublesome than your current routine. A spinner needs to earn its place beside the sink.
Before ordering, open the cupboard where the spinner would live. Look at the space beside the sink where you would leave the washed pieces to dry. If both places are already full, it is fine to wait. Notice how often you reach for a big colander of greens over the next week; that will help you decide whether to make room.