Compare the Best MicrowavesJuly 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

In total we found 72 microwaves ranging from $57 to $2,200. A new microwave costs on average $291 and 80% of microwaves are priced between $81 and $696. The most expensive microwave that we found is the Miele M7140TC at $2,200, and the cheapest is the Fersay MCO2015 at only $58.

Microwave Brands - Price Range

Miele microwaves start at $2,200 and their most expensive microwave costs $2,200. The average price of Miele microwaves is $2,200 which is the highest average price of all microwave brands.

Bosch microwaves start at $150 and their most expensive microwave costs $1,261. The second highest average microwave price out of all brands is Bosch microwaves with an average price of $715.

AEG microwaves start at $679 and their most expensive microwave costs $713. The average price of AEG microwaves is $696 which is the third highest average price of all microwave brands.

Microwave Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 53 expert reviews and 12,793 user reviews for microwaves and used this information to evaluate 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 Samsung with 88% and the third best brand is Whirlpool with 86%.

Biggest Microwave Retailers

The biggest microwave retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 82 current microwave offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Overstock with 11 offers. That means eBay is over 7 times bigger than Overstock when it comes to microwaves. Walmart is the third biggest retailer with 4 current offers.

When Are Most New Microwaves Released?

The most common period for new microwaves to be released in is between November and January. If you wait until November 2020 then you might be able to get better features on your microwave. Alternatively you might be able to buy one of the current microwaves cheaper in November once the latest models have been released. January was the biggest month in 2019 for new microwaves, with 13 new microwaves released that month. In 2018 most new microwaves were released in November, with 42 new microwaves released that month. In April 2017, 68 new microwaves were released making it the biggest month that year for new microwave releases.

How Fast Do Microwave Prices Drop After Release?

New microwaves drop in price by an average of 7% in the first 6 months after they were first released.

That means that on a typical microwave costing $286 you could save on average $19 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.

We found 732 microwaves that are freestanding microwaves, which makes this the most frequently found case design amongst new microwaves. The second most frequently found case design amongst new microwaves is integrated. We found 451 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 3,300W. 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 sells for $191.85. The Zanussi ZFM15100SA, which is priced at $145.36, 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 67L. The interior capacities of the majority of microwaves range from 20L to 24L. The microwave with the biggest interior capacity is the Panasonic NN-SN936, which is a 62L capacity microwave and sells for $209.99. The Sharp R1514T, which sells for $358.28, has the smallest interior capacity and is a 1.5L capacity microwave.

Available Colours

Black is the most popular colour amongst new microwaves. We found 486 microwaves that are microwaves that have a black coloured. The second most common colour amongst new microwaves is stainless steel. We found 482 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. 78 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. 95.1% of their microwave prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.