Compare the Best MicrowavesMay 2021

A microwave is a necessity of any modern kitchen. It is a versatile tool that can be used for far more than just reheating leftovers - it can be used for all manner of cooking, from poaching salmon to baking potatoes.

Oven & Grill Functions

Some microwaves have the ability to function as ovens and grills in addition to standard microwave cooking. Microwaves that have an added grill function combine the normal microwave cooking with a heated element either on the top or the sides of the machine - this allows it to function similar to a standard grill. Microwave ovens, on the other hand, can cook and roast food exactly like a convection oven. Whichever model you pick, these types of microwaves greatly increase the types of food you can cook, and turn your microwave into the central cooking tool in your kitchen - you can roast fish and beef, roast vegetables and grill cheese toasties!

This automatic cooking function can also extend to defrosting and reheating leftovers, making the microwave an invaluable tool for easy food heating and prep. Some advanced models of microwave also offer a 'power defrost' setting, which can defrost frozen meat far quickly than usual defrost programs. However because this defrost cycle is far more powerful, care has to be given to make sure that you don't accidentally part cook the food while it's being defrosted.

Extra Features

Finally, some microwaves comes with a collection of extra features, to make cooking easier or more convenient. These can include recipe books detailing how to cook different types of food, baking trays designed to fit comfortably into the machine, or racks to allow multiple dishes to be cooked at once. Some microwave ovens even include a rotisserie spit, allowing you to cook spit-roasted chicken or pork.

Microwave Prices

The price range of microwaves is from $40 to $3,699 and in total we found prices for 68 microwaves. The average price of a new microwave is $428 and the 80% of microwaves are priced between $84 and $1,195. The Miele H6500BM is the most expensive microwave that we found at $3,699, and the Haden Perth is the cheapest at only $40.

Microwave Brands - Price Range

The average price of Miele microwaves is $2,733 which is the highest average price of all microwave brands. Miele microwaves range in price from $2,199 to $3,699.

The second highest average microwave price out of all brands is Siemens microwaves with an average price of $1,284. Siemens microwaves range in price from $987 to $1,581.

The third highest average microwave price out of all brands is Bosch microwaves with an average price of $869. Bosch microwaves range in price from $165 to $1,856.

Microwave Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 75 expert reviews and 19,675 user reviews for microwaves and used these reviews to evaluate the average rating for each brand of microwave. The top three microwave brands are Panasonic, Hotpoint and Samsung. Panasonic has an average rating of 89%, Hotpoint has an average rating of 88% and Samsung has an average rating of 86%.

Biggest Microwave Retailers

The biggest microwave retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 72 current microwave offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Overstock with 11 offers. That means eBay is over 6 times bigger than Overstock when it comes to microwaves. Factory Outlet Store is the third biggest retailer with 7 current offers.

When Are Most New Microwaves Released?

We couldn't see any prominent pattern in the release dates for new microwaves over the last 3 years. 27 new microwaves were released in June 2020 making it the biggest month that year for new microwave releases. January was the biggest month in 2019 for new microwaves, with 28 new microwaves released that month. In November 2018, 43 new microwaves were released making it the biggest month that year for new microwave releases.

How Fast Do Microwave Prices Drop After Release?

New microwaves drop in price by an average of 6% in the first 6 months after they were first released.

A typical new microwave costs on average $419. By waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average $25.

Case Designs

The case design of the microwave shows whether it is meant to be free standing, or designed to be built into fixtures unobtrusively.

We found 780 microwaves that are freestanding microwaves, which makes this the most common case design amongst new microwaves. Integrated is the second most popular case design amongst new microwaves. We found 482 microwaves that are integrated microwaves.

Microwave Powers

'Microwave Power' denotes how strong the cooking power of the microwave is, measured in watts (W).

The microwave powers of microwaves range from 500W to 3,300W. The microwave powers of most microwaves range from 800W to 950W. The microwave with the biggest microwave power is the Gastroback 42813, which is a 1,400W microwave and is on sale for $204.58. The Daewoo QT3R, which currently retails for $180.76, has the smallest microwave power and is a 600W microwave.

Interior Capacities

'Interior Capacity' is how much the microwave can hold, measured in litres (L).

Comparing all microwaves, the interior capacities range from 1.5L to 67L. The interior capacities of the majority of microwaves range from 20L to 24L. The Panasonic NN-SN936, which is on sale for $159.95, has the biggest interior capacity and is a 62L capacity microwave. The microwave with the smallest interior capacity is the Sharp R-1514, which is a 1.5L capacity microwave and is on sale for $359.99.

Available Colours

The most common colour amongst new microwaves is stainless steel. We found 502 microwaves that are microwaves that have a stainless steel coloured. Black is the second most common colour amongst new microwaves. We found 491 microwaves that are microwaves that have a black coloured.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Microwaves?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying microwaves. For each retailer it shows the total number of microwaves where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying microwaves. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 68 of their microwave prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Microwaves for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for microwaves by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of microwave prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's microwave prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 94.4% of their microwave prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.