We Tested the Best Cherry Pitters for Effortless Pies and Pastries

Best Overall

OXO Good Grips Cherry and Olive Pitter

View On Amazon $18 View On Wayfair $24 View On Williams-Sonoma $15

Our Ratings

• Performance
  4.5/5
• Design
  4.5/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  5/5
• Overall Value
  5/5

While this cherry pitter looks simple, it’s got features that boost its performance. The clear shroud keeps cherry juice from splattering sideways, so the kitchen counter won’t look like a crime scene. The holder contains large Bing cherries easily, while the recessed area cradles small cherries or olives securely. The curved spike moves easily in an arc to slide through the pitter and the cherry for clean pit removal, and the handle is comfortable to hold, no matter how many cherries need pitting for your pies.

We liked how the grip on this pitter remained comfortable across 12 tests of large cherries with no hand fatigue. We noted the splatter shield completely contained juices while operating, and the flesh of the cherries remained pristine after pitting. Across all tests, the cherries pitted with ease, but when we tried Castelvetrano olives, the pit was a bit large and the pitter tore the flesh two out of four times. When switched to smaller types of olives, we recorded complete success with no marring or tearing of olive flesh. 

The plastic shroud is removable for easier hand washing, and the whole tool is dishwasher safe. Be warned the shroud is small, and best loaded in the utensil caddy when running in the dishwasher. For storage, the pitter locks closed, and we appreciated the compact design.

Dimensions: 5.75 x 1.25 x 4.75 inches | Cherry Capacity: 1 at a time | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best for Large Quantities

Leifheit Cherry Pitter with Stone Catcher Container

View On Amazon $35 View On Wayfair $33 View On Walmart $31

Our Ratings

• Performance
  4.8/5
• Design
  4.3/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  4/5
• Overall Value
  4/5

Great for pitting a lot of cherries for jams, pies, and salads, the Leifheit is designed to make it easy to keep pitting without stopping. The plunger pits the cherries with a simple push. Those pits fall into the large clear container, while the cherries roll out the chute where they can be caught in your favorite bowl. We noted a learning curve when first setting up this cherry pitter. Instructions come in multiple languages, but English is not one. Fortunately, pictures of the process on the box and in the instruction manual walked us through set up and operation.

The highlight of this pitter was the no-mess performance. We pitted all 34 cherries without juice splash, and every pit collected in the large clear container that did not have to be emptied until we finished. We did note that the cherries had to be manually removed from the dowel each time, but the spout design directed them straight into an awaiting bowl we positioned below. We did attempt testing of olives, but after 10 Castelvetranos, we found though pitted, five were mangled from the amount of pressure required. And the nonslip base kept the Leifheit from moving around the counter during testing.

We noted the Leifheit stood out in large batch pitting because of the top shelf where de-stemmed cherries can be loaded to await pitting. Once finished, we took it apart and put it into the dishwasher for cleaning. We advise putting the smaller parts (spring and coil) in the utensil caddy to prevent losing them, but were pleased all components came out completely clean and intact.

Dimensions: 5.5 x 4.5 x 12 inches | Cherry Capacity: 1 at a time | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best Value

Westmark Kernex Cherry Stoner

View On Amazon $20 View On Wayfair $21

Our Ratings

• Performance
  5/5
• Design
  3/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  4.5/5
• Overall Value
  4/5

This lightweight model effortlessly pits cherries at an affordable price. The durable aluminum construction promises long life, and the compact size makes for easy storage. We noted the pitter was quite sturdy in our hands, and felt no fatigue across testing six large cherries. 

Even when cherries were askew during testing, the pit came out cleanly with the simple scissor-action of the pitter. Across all tests, the cherries remained unmarred and pristine, and the operation of the pitter required little pressure. When we switched to olives, we found less success—neither Kalamatas nor Castelvetranos yielded their pits. The olives remained fully intact with pit, or tore apart completely.  But this pitter is worth it for the easy and accurate cherry-pitting capabilities.

The pitter locks with a simple latch on the end of the handles, so it will stay neatly closed in the gadget drawer. It’s not dishwasher safe, but we noted it washed up easily in a basin of hot, soapy water. You'll be cleaning the sink anyway since this model has no splatter shield so all our tests needed to be performed over the sink to contain mess.

Dimensions: 6.5 x 2 x 1 inches | Cherry Capacity: 1 at a time | Dishwasher Safe: No

Best for Manual Pitting

Triangle Germany Cherry Pitter

View On Amazon $10

Our Ratings

• Performance
  4/5
• Design
  3.5/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  5/5
• Overall Value
  4/5

When you’re pitting cherries for snacking, for jam, or for a pie, they don’t need to be pretty—they just need to have the pit removed. But when you want a pretty cherry for a garnish or an elegant dessert, you want a nicer-looking fruit. That requires a bit more manual work. This pitter makes that work a bit easier, since it’s designed to neatly cut out the pit without crushing, bruising, or breaking the fruit, and it leaves a neat hole.

We appreciated the straightforward operation, and level of control this manual pitter afforded. Across 10 large cherries, we appreciated that the pitter was lightweight, caused no hand fatigue, and produced pristine cherries each time. We did note that our hands became quite messy during the process as we had to hold each cherry while digging out the pit—processing over a sink is paramount. We also found equal success when pitting larger olives, except we did have to work harder to separate the pit from the skin, but again, the olives were unmarred when complete.

Whether you plan on stuffing the cherries or leaving them whole, they will look attractive on the plate. When you’re done pitting, this tool is dishwasher safe for easy cleaning and quite compact for easy storage in the gadget drawer.

Dimensions: 5.12 x 0.8 x 0.47 inches | Cherry Capacity: 1 at a time | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best for Small Cherries

Cuisipro Cherry Pitter

View On Amazon $14 View On Walmart $9

Our Ratings

• Performance
  3/5
• Design
  5/5
• Ease of Cleaning
  5/5
• Overall Value
  3.5/5

The Cuisipro pitter features a silicone cup that accommodates cherries of any shape or size, while the scoop front allows one-handed use. Just scoop a cherry from the bowl and tilt it into the cup, squeeze to push the plunger to send the pit out of the bottom, and tip the pitter to drop the pitted cherry into a bowl. The deep bottom and splatter shield keeps cherry juice from splattering for neater pitting. 

After six rounds of trials with cherries, once placed directly below the dowel, cherries pitted cleanly. We did appreciate the size and comfort of the pitter for longer periods of use, though cherries had to be placed exactly below dowel, not askew, for the pitter to operate. When testing it with olives, the Castelvetrano olives were met with no success. It either wouldn't push the pit, even with excessive pressure, or completely tore them. It was also unsuccessful with smaller Kalamata olives, where the flesh of the olives completely tore.

This is dishwasher safe for easy cleaning when the pitting is done. We put it through two dishwasher cycles and noted it came out pristine both times. Once dry, it locked for compact storage.

Dimensions: 8 x 3.25 x 1.5 inches | Cherry Capacity: 1 at a time | Dishwasher Safe: Yes