Compare the Best MicrowavesApril 2020

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

The price range of microwaves is from $55 to $952 and in total we found prices for 92 microwaves. A new microwave costs on average $216 and 80% of microwaves are priced between $80 and $494. The cheapest microwave that we found is the Magic Chef MCM990ST at only $55, and the most expensive is the Bosch CFA634GS1 at $952.

Microwave Brands - Price Range

The highest average microwave price out of all brands is AEG microwaves with an average price of $665. AEG microwaves range in price from $653 to $678.

The average price of Bosch microwaves is $389 which is the second highest average price of all microwave brands. Bosch microwaves start at $134 and their most expensive microwave costs $952.

The third highest average microwave price out of all brands is Candy microwaves with an average price of $382. Candy microwaves start at $323 and their most expensive microwave costs $418.

Microwave Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 50 expert reviews and 12,491 user reviews for microwaves and used this data to calculate the average rating for each brand of microwave. The top three microwave brands are Panasonic, Samsung and Hotpoint. Panasonic has an average rating of 90%, Samsung has an average rating of 88% and Hotpoint has an average rating of 87%.

Biggest Microwave Retailers

The biggest microwave retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 111 current microwave offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Walmart with 29 offers. That means eBay is over 3 times bigger than Walmart when it comes to microwaves. Overstock is the third biggest retailer with 11 current offers.

When Are Most New Microwaves Released?

We looked at the release dates for new microwaves over the last 3 years, but couldn't see any obvious trend. In January 2019, nine new microwaves were released making it the biggest month that year for new microwave releases. 40 new microwaves were released in May 2018 making it the biggest month that year for new microwave releases. April was the biggest month in 2017 for new microwaves, with 68 new microwaves released that month.

How Fast Do Microwave Prices Drop After Release?

On average microwaves drop in price by 8% in the first 6 months after release.

If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of $16 on a typical $213 new microwave by waiting 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.

The most frequently found case design amongst new microwaves is freestanding. We found 720 microwaves that are freestanding microwaves. The second most frequently found case design amongst new microwaves is integrated. We found 79 microwaves that are integrated microwaves.

Microwave Powers

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

Across the range of microwaves, the microwave powers range from 220W to 3,300W. The microwave powers of most microwaves range from 900W to 1,000W. The Samsung MC28H5013AS, which currently retails for $170.40, has the biggest microwave power and is a 1,400W microwave. The microwave with the smallest microwave power is the Zanussi ZFM15100SA, which is a 500W microwave and sells for $138.91.

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 22L to 26L. The Panasonic NNSN966S, which can be purchased for $215.20, has the biggest interior capacity and is a 62L capacity microwave. The microwave with the smallest interior capacity is the Sharp R1514T, which is a 1.5L capacity microwave and sells for $320.00.

Available Colours

We found 464 microwaves that are microwaves that have a black coloured, which makes black the most common colour amongst new microwaves. The second most frequently found colour amongst new microwaves is stainless steel. We found 455 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. 102 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. 91.9% of their microwave prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.