Compare the Best MicrowavesNovember 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

The price range of microwaves is from $43 to $3,699 and in total we found prices for 85 microwaves. A new microwave costs on average $298 and 80% of microwaves are priced between $85 and $568. The most expensive microwave that we found is the Miele H6500BM at $3,699, and the cheapest is the Magic Chef MCM1110B at only $43.

Microwave Brands - Price Range

The highest average microwave price out of all brands is Miele microwaves with an average price of $2,949. Miele microwaves range in price from $2,199 to $3,699.

The average price of Bosch microwaves is $783 which is the second highest average price of all microwave brands. Bosch microwaves range in price from $158 to $1,284.

AEG microwaves range in price from $303 to $885, and the average price of AEG microwaves is $594 which is the third highest average price of all microwave brands.

Microwave Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 55 expert reviews and 15,177 user reviews for microwaves and used these reviews to determine the average rating for each brand of microwave. The top rated microwave brand is Panasonic with an average rating of 89%. The second best brand is Samsung with 87% and the third best brand is Hotpoint with 87%.

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 23 current offers for microwaves. The third biggest retailer is Overstock with 11 current microwave offers.

When Are Most New Microwaves Released?

Most new microwaves tend to be released between November and January. That means that most of the latest microwave technology was released in within the last 3 months, and now is good time to buy. 29 new microwaves were released in January 2019 making it the biggest month that year for new microwave releases. In 2018 most new microwaves were released in November, with 43 new microwaves released that month. In April 2017, 67 new microwaves were released making it the biggest month that year for new microwave releases.

How Fast Do Microwave Prices Drop After Release?

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

That means a saving of $18 on a typical $293 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.

Freestanding is the most popular case design amongst new microwaves. We found 764 microwaves that are freestanding microwaves. Integrated is the second most common case design amongst new microwaves. We found 466 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 230W to 3,300W. The microwave powers of the majority of microwaves range from 900W to 1,000W. The Gastroback 42813, which is on sale for $201.52, has the biggest microwave power and is a 1,400W microwave. The Daewoo QT3R, which can be purchased for $172.93, 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).

Across the range of 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 priced at $359.99, has the smallest interior capacity and is a 1.5L capacity microwave.

Available Colours

The most frequently found colour amongst new microwaves is black. We found 501 microwaves that are microwaves that have a black coloured. We found 496 microwaves that are microwaves that have a stainless steel coloured, making stainless steel the second most frequently found 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. 77 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. 89.5% of their microwave prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.