Compare the Best MicrowavesAugust 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

We currently list 84 microwaves ranging from $47 to $2,200. On average, a new microwave costs $260 and 80% of microwaves are priced between $79 and $563. The most expensive microwave that we found is the Miele M7140TC at $2,200, and the cheapest is the RCA RMW733-BLACK at only $48.

Microwave Brands - Price Range

Miele microwaves range in price from $2,200 to $2,200, and the average price of Miele microwaves is $2,200 which is the highest average price of all microwave brands.

Neff microwaves start at $1,395 and their most expensive microwave costs $1,395. The second highest average microwave price out of all brands is Neff microwaves with an average price of $1,395.

The average price of AEG microwaves is $710 which is the third highest average price of all microwave brands. AEG microwaves range in price from $710 to $710.

Microwave Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 55 expert reviews and 12,816 user reviews for microwaves and used these reviews 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 90%, Samsung has an average rating of 88% and Whirlpool has an average rating of 86%.

Biggest Microwave Retailers

The biggest microwave retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 96 current microwave offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Overstock with 11 offers. That means eBay is over 8 times bigger than Overstock when it comes to microwaves. Factory Outlet Store is the third biggest retailer with 9 current offers.

When Are Most New Microwaves Released?

November to January is the most common period for new microwaves to be released in. For the latest microwave features you may want to think about waiting until November 2020. It's also worth keeping in mind that the price of the current microwaves tend to drop off when the next models are released. 29 new microwaves were released in January 2019 making it the biggest month that year for new microwave releases. November was the biggest month in 2018 for new microwaves, with 42 new microwaves released that month. In 2017 most new microwaves were released in April, with 67 new microwaves released that month.

How Fast Do Microwave Prices Drop After Release?

On average, in the first 6 months after release, microwaves drop in price by 7%.

That means a saving of $17 on a typical $257 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.

We found 750 microwaves that are freestanding microwaves, which makes freestanding the most popular case design amongst new microwaves. We found 455 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).

Across the range of microwaves, the microwave powers 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 $199.91. The microwave with the smallest microwave power is the Zanussi ZFM15100SA, which is a 500W microwave and is available at $149.12.

Interior Capacities

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

The interior capacities of microwaves range from 1.5L to 67L. The interior capacities of most microwaves range from 20L to 24L. The Panasonic NN-SN936, which sells for $209.99, 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 currently retails for $361.97.

Available Colours

Black is the most frequently found colour amongst new microwaves. We found 492 microwaves that are microwaves that have a black coloured. The second most common colour amongst new microwaves is stainless steel. We found 484 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. 90 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. 93.8% of their microwave prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.