Compare the Best MicrowavesJuly 2018

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

In total we found 91 microwaves ranging from $62 to $2,897. The average price of a new microwave is $388 and the 80% of microwaves are priced between $85 and $750. The most expensive microwave that we found is the Smeg MI20XU at $2,897, and the cheapest is the Magic Chef MCM990B at only $63.

Microwave Brands - Price Range

The highest average microwave price out of all brands is Smeg microwaves with an average price of $2,897. Smeg microwaves range in price from $2,897 to $2,897.

The second highest average microwave price out of all brands is Siemens microwaves with an average price of $2,219. Siemens microwaves range in price from $2,219 to $2,219.

Miele microwaves start at $1,699 and their most expensive microwave costs $1,699. The average price of Miele microwaves is $1,699 which is the third highest average price of all microwave brands.

Microwave Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 23 expert reviews and 17,412 user reviews for microwaves from across the internet and used this information to calculate the average rating for each brand of microwave. Bosch is the top rated microwave brand with an average rating of 90%. Neff is the second best brand with 90% and Russell Hobbs is the third best brand with 88%.

Biggest Microwave Retailers

The biggest microwave retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 66 current microwave offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Amazon US with 33 offers. That means eBay is much bigger than Amazon US when it comes to microwaves. Walmart is the third biggest retailer with 16 current offers.

When Are Most New Microwaves Released?

We couldn't see any noticeable pattern in the release dates for new microwaves over the last 3 years. The biggest month last year for new microwave releases was April, with 56 new microwaves released that month. 128 new microwaves were released in October 2016 making it the biggest month that year for new microwave releases. July was the biggest month in 2015 for new microwaves, with 106 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 6%. If you are prepared to wait then you could save an average of $22 on a typical $388 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 558 microwaves that are freestanding microwaves. Integrated is the second most common case design amongst new microwaves. We found 306 microwaves that are integrated microwaves.

Microwave Powers

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

Comparing all microwaves, the microwave powers range from 500W to 3,600W. The microwave powers of the majority of microwaves range from 900W to 950W. The microwave with the biggest microwave power is the Sharp RE-SS8C-B, which is a 1,430W microwave and currently retails for $316.65. The microwave with the smallest microwave power is the Zanussi ZFM15100SA, which is a 500W microwave and currently retails for $144.99.

Interior Capacities

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

Across the range of microwaves, the interior capacities range from 13L to 62L. The interior capacities of most 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 available at $198.00. The Sharp RE-S5E, which is on sale for $364.95, has the smallest interior capacity and is a 15L capacity microwave.

Available Colours

We found 368 microwaves that are microwaves that have a black coloured, which makes this the most common colour amongst new microwaves. We found 362 microwaves that are microwaves that have a stainless steel coloured, making this the second most popular 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. 57 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. 86.4% of their microwave prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.