Boston’s Best Donut Shops Ranked (2024)
A local’s guide to Boston’s donut scene.
Boston’s Donut Scene
Boston is home to a thriving donut scene with enough variety to satisfy any donut lover. Boston’s donut shops can be roughly divided into two categories, the “boujee” donut shops and “classic” donut shops. The “boujee” donut shops serve expensive, often outlandish donuts (think fruit loop donuts and donuts topped with Snickers) in modern style shops, appealing to the college crowd. The “classic” donut shops are your no frills mom and pop shops, the ones where you can get two donuts and a coffee for five bucks. Here I will rank eight of Boston’s most well known donut shops.
You may be asking, “Who are you to take on such a monumental task as ranking Boston’s donut shops?” And you are right, I do not claim to be worthy of such an honor, but after indulging in Boston’s donut scene for nine years across Boston proper, Allston, Cambridge, and Somerville, I think I can give it a good shot.
Donut Ranking Metrics
I rank the donut shops using a variation of a Cause and Effect matrix. The features of a donut shop I care most about are donut Taste, donut Price, Shop Vibes, and donut Variety, each given a “Priority Score” between 1–10. The priority score simply reflects how important I think each feature is in a donut shop and is used to weight each shop’s score (also between 1–10) in each feature. A shop’s final score, used for the final ranking, is the sum of the four feature ranks multiplied by each featur’s priority score.
Donut taste (priority score of 10) simply measures if the donut tasted good or not. Was it warm and fresh, or has it been sitting out on the counter all morning? I try to compare each shop’s standard glazed donut so as to measure more of their donut preparation process than any specific flavor.
Donut price (priority score of 8) measures how expensive the donuts are. If a shop scores high in this feature (e.g., a 10), that means the donuts are cheap.
Donut shop vibes (priority score of 5) reflect how comfortable or enjoyable a visit is for a customer. It does not necessarily measure how “nice” the store is. The location(s) is taken into account. Did you leave the donut shop with a smile on your face?
Donut variety (priority score 3) reflects how many flavors are generally available to a customer at any given time. Donut variety also includes gluten free options.
The detailed results are given in the table at the end of the post. Did I miss your favorite donut shop? Do you disagree with my ranking? Comment below! Also feel free to change the list of features, each feature’s priority score, or whatever to come up with your own ranking! Now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for…
What is the Best Donut Shop in Boston?
1) Donuts with a Difference
A true hidden gem, Donuts with a Difference is hands down the best donut shop in the greater Boston area. Located in a tiny storefront on an unassuming street in Medford, it would be easy to miss if it weren’t for its regular line extending down the sidewalk. Their hot, fresh donuts right out of the oven get a 10 for quality for a great price at just a little over a dollar. Paying in cash drives the price down a bit more. It gets a relatively low variety score because customers often pick up dozens of donuts at a time (a testament to their quality), thereby quickly destroying the selection, and their small kitchen space means they can only bring out so many donuts at once.
2) Twin Donuts
Situated right in the middle of busy Brighton Avenue and Cambridge Street in Allston, Twin Donuts has reliably provided early-rising locals with their donuts and coffee for decades. Although they have been forced to raise their prices recently, I believe they still serve the most inexpensive donuts on the list. They sell a decent variety of good quality donuts, and their retro diner vibes make it a great place to hang out on a weekend morning.
3) Kane’s Donuts
Of what I consider the “boujee” donut shops (Kane’s, Union Square, and Blackbird), Kane’s Donuts takes the cake. Their downtown location lets you enjoy your donut inside their nice shop, outside on the patio amidst the high rises, or on the nearby Greenway. Their donuts are more expensive than the previous shops on the list for not as good of quality (but still great), but they offer a great selection of regular and gluten free donuts. Kane’s is one of the more popular donut shops in Boston, often finding its way on conference tables in the surrounding office buildings.
4) Doughboy Donuts
Doughboy Donuts is an iconic Boston donut shop and deli best known for its 24/7 hours. It’s not located in the best or most exciting spot in town, but that only adds to its charm in an odd sort of way. Honestly, the quality of the donuts are just fine and the variety isn’t anything to call home about, but they are cheap. Hitting it up after a late night rock climbing session at nearby Rock Spot is a must. It’s hard to explain, but you just have to give it a visit. Trust me.
5) Union Square Donuts
Tied for fifth place, Union Square Donuts is named after Somerville’s Union Square (my stomping grounds) and has since expanded to other locations throughout greater Boston. I highly recommend checking out Union Square for brunch then grabbing a donut to cap off the morning. The Union Square store has a small footprint, so it’s not great to hang out in, but it’s nice. They have a great variety of regular and gluten free donuts that they rotate through the seasons to keep things interesting. However, the donut quality is just fine and the price is high.
5) Blackbird Doughnuts
Blackbird Doughnuts, tied for fifth place with Union Square Donuts, is also one of the fancy and expensive donut (or doughnut??) shops in Boston. Like the other shops, the donuts are just okay quality sitting at room temperature on a shelf and expensive. Their variety is pretty good, and they have more interesting locations in Fenway, South End, and Beacon Hill. Overall, it’s a fairly meh experience with no big standout features.
7) Donut Villa Diner
Donut Villa Diner is new to the Boston area in the last few years. People usually go there for a full sit-down brunch, but, as the name suggests, they also have a good selection of donuts. They are fairly expensive for their quality, but the retro diner style is a fun throwback and always busy. Its main location is in Central Square, Cambridge, offering lots of fun things to do afterwards.
8) Dunkin’
I hate to be the one to say it, but someone has to. Dunkin’ Donuts may be as synonymous with Boston as Paul Revere, but their donuts are just not good. The taste is the worst on the list, their variety is always lacking, and the stores themselves are what you would expect from a fast food franchise. The only thing they have going for them is their cheap price. Nevertheless, Dunkin’ is a staple of Boston and is always there for you when you need a donut and coffee in a pinch. Thank you Dunkin’.
