Compare the Best MicrowavesFebruary 2019

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.

Capacity

Microwaves come in all different shores and sizes, and are primarily differentiated by their capacity, measured in litres (L). The bigger the capacity of your microwave, the larger the food you can cook in it. Some microwaves just fit single plates or bowls, while other models are large enough to fit an entire chicken or soup pot in.

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!

Power Levels/Cooking Programs

Microwaves are all given a power level, rated in Watts. The higher the power level, the faster your food will be cooked. Most modern microwaves come with a range of power levels, allowing you great flexibility when preparing your food. They also come with specific setting for warming, reheating or defrosting food - extremely useful in speeding up cooking times, or reheating food previously cooked. Defrosting is an especially useful setting, meaning that joints of meat and frozen food can be brought up to room temperature in a matter of minutes.

Many microwaves now have a selection of automatic cooking functions as well. These allow you to input a type of food to cook (potatoes, chicken, soups, etc) and a weight, and the microwave will automatically calculate the power level and time needed to cook it perfectly. Conveniences like this can make preparing dinner hassle-free, and remove the guesswork and constant checking to see if your food is ready.

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

We currently list 80 microwaves ranging from $50 to $1,899. A new microwave costs on average $302 and 80% of microwaves are priced between $87 and $636. The Avanti MO7103SST is the cheapest microwave at only $51, and Miele M6160TC is the most expensive at $1,899.

Microwave Brands - Price Range

The average price of Miele microwaves is $1,899 which is the highest average price of all microwave brands. Miele microwaves start at $1,899 and their most expensive microwave costs $1,899.

The second highest average microwave price out of all brands is Neff microwaves with an average price of $1,266. Neff microwaves range in price from $1,266 to $1,266.

The average price of Bosch microwaves is $683 which is the third highest average price of all microwave brands. Bosch microwaves start at $211 and their most expensive microwave costs $1,027.

Microwave Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 27 expert reviews and 9,830 user reviews for microwaves and used this data to determine the average rating for each brand of microwave. The top rated microwave brand is Panasonic with an average rating of 90%. The second best brand is Sharp with 88% and the third best brand is Whirlpool with 88%.

Biggest Microwave Retailers

We found 75 current offers for microwaves from eBay making it the biggest microwave retailer. That is more than twice as big as the second biggest retailer, Walmart for whom we found 36 current offers for microwaves. The third biggest retailer is Appliances Connection with 24 current microwave offers.

When Are Most New Microwaves Released?

The most common period for new microwaves to be released in is between March and April. For the latest microwave technology you may be best waiting until March 2019. It's also worth keeping in mind that the price of the current microwaves tend to drop off when the next models are released. In March 2018, 32 new microwaves were released making it the biggest month that year for new microwave releases. The biggest month in 2017 for new microwave releases was April, with 68 new microwaves released that month. In 2016 most new microwaves were released in October, with 123 new microwaves released that month.

How Fast Do Microwave Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, microwaves drop in price by 8% on average. On a typical new microwave costing $302, by waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average $24.

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.

The most popular case design amongst new microwaves is freestanding. We found 664 microwaves that are freestanding microwaves. We found 371 microwaves that are integrated microwaves, making this 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 500W to 3,600W. The microwave powers of most microwaves range from 900W to 950W. The microwave with the biggest microwave power is the Panasonic NN-SD745S, which is a 1,250W microwave and is priced at $175.37. The Zanussi ZFM15100SA, which can be purchased for $146.76, has the smallest microwave power and is a 500W 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 62L. The interior capacities of the majority of microwaves range from 18L to 22L. The microwave with the biggest interior capacity is the Panasonic NN-SN966S, which is a 62L capacity microwave and is priced at $186.13. The microwave with the smallest interior capacity is the Sharp R-1514, which is a 1.5L capacity microwave and is priced at $318.77.

Available Colours

The most common colour amongst new microwaves is black. We found 412 microwaves that are microwaves that have a black coloured. We found 410 microwaves that are microwaves that have a stainless steel coloured, making this the second most common colour amongst new microwaves.

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. 67 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. 89.3% of their microwave prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.