Compare the Best MicrowavesMarch 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

Microwaves range in price from $46 to $3,699 and in total we found prices for 89 microwaves. A new microwave costs on average $390 and 80% of microwaves are priced between $90 and $1,100. The Magic Chef MCM770W is the cheapest microwave at only $46, and Miele H6500BM is the most expensive at $3,699.

Microwave Brands - Price Range

Miele microwaves start at $2,199 and their most expensive microwave costs $3,699. The highest average microwave price out of all brands is Miele microwaves with an average price of $2,733.

The second highest average microwave price out of all brands is Siemens microwaves with an average price of $944. Siemens microwaves range in price from $288 to $1,636.

Bosch microwaves start at $167 and their most expensive microwave costs $1,857. The third highest average microwave price out of all brands is Bosch microwaves with an average price of $820.

Microwave Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 60 expert reviews and 15,142 user reviews for microwaves and used this information to calculate the average rating for each brand of microwave. The top three microwave brands are Panasonic, Samsung and Whirlpool. Panasonic has an average rating of 89%, Samsung has an average rating of 87% and Whirlpool has an average rating of 87%.

Biggest Microwave Retailers

We found 90 current offers for microwaves from eBay making it the biggest microwave retailer. That is over 3 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, Walmart for whom we found 24 current offers for microwaves. The third biggest retailer is Overstock with 11 current microwave offers.

When Are Most New Microwaves Released?

Over the last 3 years we couldn't see any clear pattern in the release month for new microwaves. 26 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 29 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?

In the first 6 months after release, microwaves drop in price by 6% on average.

That means a saving of $23 on a typical $384 new microwave if you wait 6 months before buying.

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.

Amongst new microwaves, the most common case design is freestanding. We found 773 microwaves that are freestanding microwaves. We found 480 microwaves that are integrated microwaves, making integrated the second most common case design amongst new 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 230W to 3,300W. The microwave powers of most microwaves range from 900W to 1,000W. The microwave with the biggest microwave power is the Gastroback 42813, which is a 1,400W microwave and can be purchased for $206.47. The Daewoo QT3R, which is on sale for $183.71, 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 microwave with the biggest interior capacity is the Panasonic NNSN966SR, which is a 62L capacity microwave and is available at $215.20. The Sharp R-1514, which is available at $359.99, has the smallest interior capacity and is a 1.5L capacity microwave.

Available Colours

We found 513 microwaves that are microwaves that have a black coloured, which makes this the most popular colour amongst new microwaves. The second most common colour amongst new microwaves is stainless steel. We found 506 microwaves that are microwaves that have a stainless steel 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. 84 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. 93.3% of their microwave prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.