Compare the Best MicrowavesOctober 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.

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 $50 to $3,699 and in total we found prices for 92 microwaves. A new microwave costs on average $320 and 80% of microwaves are priced between $85 and $708. The most expensive microwave that we found is the Miele H6500BM at $3,699, and the cheapest is the Magic Chef MCM770B at only $50.

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.

AEG microwaves range in price from $886 to $886, and the second highest average microwave price out of all brands is AEG microwaves with an average price of $886.

The third highest average microwave price out of all brands is Bosch microwaves with an average price of $662. Bosch microwaves start at $156 and their most expensive microwave costs $1,280.

Microwave Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 19 expert reviews and 2,447 user reviews for microwaves and used this data to evaluate the average rating for each brand of microwave. Panasonic is the top rated microwave brand with an average rating of 90%. Whirlpool is the second best brand with 89% and Samsung is the third best brand with 88%.

Biggest Microwave Retailers

We found 86 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?

November to January is the most common period for new microwaves to be released in. If you want the latest microwave technology you may be best waiting until November 2020. Also the price of the current microwaves may drop off just before the latest models are released in November. Last year most new microwaves were released in January, 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. The biggest month in 2017 for new microwave releases was April, with 67 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 7% on average.

That means a saving of $21 on a typical $316 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.

The most frequently found case design amongst new microwaves is freestanding. We found 765 microwaves that are freestanding microwaves. We found 460 microwaves that are integrated microwaves, making this the second most popular 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 sells for $200.33. The Daewoo QT3R, which can be purchased for $170.21, 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 available at $139.99, has the biggest interior capacity and is a 62L capacity microwave. The Sharp R-1514, which is available at $359.99, has the smallest interior capacity and is a 1.5L capacity microwave.

Available Colours

Amongst new microwaves, the most popular colour is black. We found 500 microwaves that are microwaves that have a black coloured. The second most popular colour amongst new microwaves is stainless steel. We found 492 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. 75 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. 87.2% of their microwave prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.