The 3 Best Microwaves, According to Our Tests

Our Favorite Microwave

Our top pick, the Panasonic Microwave Oven with Cyclonic Wave Inverter Technology, excelled in both power and heating, with a huge cooking space that heats up quickly and evenly. If counter space or budget is a concern, we love the Toshiba Microwave Oven. It delivers solid performance and a more compact footprint at a great price.

How We Tested Microwaves

We chose 23 countertop microwave models to test head-to-head for this story. We made general observations about design and ease of use while putting each one through five identical tests.

• Water test: As a test of pure power, we cooked a cup of room-temperature water for 2 minutes in each machine, and then we measured the final temperature. The best models brought the water to nearly a full boil, while one couldn't even break 170°F.
• Marshmallow test: To look for hot and cold spots inside the microwaves, we spread mini-marshmallows across a glass baking dish lined with parchment paper and cooked for 2 minutes. We noted whether each marshmallow browned equally, or if the heat was distributed unevenly.
• Frozen mac and cheese test: We cooked a single-serving frozen mac and cheese in each microwave to test its real-world prowess. To check even heating, we measured the temperature of each corner and the middle of the dish, halfway through cooking and again at the end.
• Chocolate test: To test the microwaves' lower-power modes, we microwaved 8 ounces of chocolate at 50 percent power for 30 seconds, then stirred and repeated the process three more times. We rated how smoothly the chocolate melted, looking for any batches that seized or burned due to uneven or too-powerful heat.
• Popcorn test: Popcorn is probably the single most popular food to make in the microwave, and nearly all modern models have a popcorn-specific mode. To test that, we cooked a single bag of popcorn using each machine's popcorn setting, then separated and weighed the unpopped kernels, and examined the popped ones for scorching.

After completing the cooking tests, we revealed the retail prices of the microwaves to compare and consider value. At the time of testing, prices ranged from $60 to $530, with an average of $191.

Following our initial round of testing, we continued to use the top-rated models in everyday cooking in our test kitchens and at home. We checked in after 2 months and again after 6 months to record any issues that came up in the long term.

Factors to Consider

Size and Capacity

A microwave can take up a good bit of countertop real estate, especially if it can cook a lot of food at once. There's not a set of standard sizes for microwaves, but a little over a cubic foot of interior space is probably what you think of as a "normal" model. This can fit a full dinner plate or family-size frozen meal no problem. The largest microwaves hold more than 2 cubic feet — that can hold a whole turkey or large roast with ease. Compact microwaves can be as small as half a cubic foot, and can't fit more than a small plate or large coffee mug.

Smaller-capacity microwaves take up less space in general, but there are different shapes available that fit better in different situations. If you have low cabinets, you might want a short-and-wide microwave to fit underneath them, while a taller model won't be as deep and can sit further back on the counter. Make sure to check the instructions about microwave placement, as well: Some units need clearance above, behind, or on the sides for proper ventilation.

Wattage

A microwave's power level is measured in watts; higher wattage can get food hotter, quicker. Many microwaveable foods even include separate directions for different wattage levels. But that's not the whole story: Different machines generate microwaves in different ways, which can heat food more or less efficiently. Plus, a larger-capacity microwave needs more power than a small one to get the same results. In our tests, we found at least 1,000 watts to be a sufficient power level for most purposes, with not much advantage for extra-high-powered units.

Features and Cooking Functions

The simplest microwaves can, well, microwave food. But most models, even inexpensive ones, have at least a few special modes suited to specific foods. A popcorn setting is quite common, as are ones for defrosting meats or reheating leftovers. For gentler cooking, you may be able to set the power to varying lower levels, and some microwaves even have long lists of specific dishes with their own preset time and power programs. There are also models with built-in weight, temperature, and humidity sensors that automatically adjust the time and power of the contents.

High-end microwaves often aren't just microwaves, either: Some incorporate the heating elements you'd find in a toaster or electric oven alongside a microwave generator. This combines multiple appliances in one, letting you bake, broil, toast, air-fry, and more by running the heat sources separately or together.

In general, the more features a microwave offers, the more expensive it will be. (That's especially true with hybrid microwave/toaster/air fryer machines.) If you're the kind of cook who only ever uses the "add 30 seconds" button, all these extras might not be worth the increased cost.

Care and Cleaning

Most microwaves require little maintenance; however, a thorough cleaning is absolutely necessary from time to time. As food heats, it can often leave splatters of liquid and other bits on the interior walls of your microwave. And, apart from being unsightly, these messes can also hold onto harmful heat-resistant bacteria. But don't worry, most microwave models are pretty simple to keep clean.

The easiest way to keep your microwave pristine is by avoiding messes in the first place, using something like a dedicated microwave splatter cover. The beauty of a splatter cover is that it contains all the mess, keeping it off your microwave walls, and then you can throw the cover in the dishwasher or wash it by hand in the sink. However, if the walls of your microwave still need some scrubbing, the easiest way to get them sparkling is by using steam to release stuck-on messes. There are special steam-cleaning gadgets made specifically for the microwave, but when all else fails, you can simply heat up a bowl of water. (Pro tip: Add a bit of white vinegar or lemon juice to the water to get rid of any lingering smells.)

However, it's also important to make sure you refer to the manufacturer's instructions for any additional care requirements specific to your model. This is especially true for models with added convection, grilling, or air-fry functions, as they may have additional components or heating elements that require a different cleaning approach.

Other Microwaves We Tested

Strong Contenders

Magic Chef 1.1-Cubic Foot Countertop Microwave ($110 at Amazon)

This ultra-affordable model has lots of power and transmitted it quite evenly across both the marshmallows and mac and cheese in tests. It's a perfectly good choice and a great value; we picked the Toshiba above over this one for its bigger capacity and more extensive set of features for a small price increase.

Midea Equipment Countertop Commercial Microwave Oven ($290 at Amazon)

This heavy-duty appliance is the kind of microwave you'd find in a restaurant kitchen. It's incredibly powerful, bringing water up to 212°F in 2 minutes in our test. And it's incredibly simple, with only a dial timer to worry about. But that timer is its only feature: There are no lower-power modes, cooking programs, or anything similar, and it's more expensive than other basic models.

Breville Combi Wave 3-in-1 Microwave ($500 at Amazon)

This futuristic machine has both microwave and convection oven capabilities, and it can use both at the same time. Its settings use microwaves to accelerate overall cooking while the convection cooking browns and crisps. As a straight microwave, it didn't stand out all that much though, and it cooked the mac and cheese quite unevenly. That paired with its sky-high price tag made it difficult for us to recommend this Breville.

What Didn't Make the List

In general, the other microwaves that failed to impress us had problems with the cooking process — they either weren't powerful enough to heat things quickly or caused scorching in one part of the oven while leaving other areas ice-cold. Other mediocre models from big brands that placed well on our list, such as Pansanoic and Breville, performed worse than their competing models in our test. The exclusion of the remaining models had to do with the value proposition as they were too expensive for the performance or too cheaply made for a busy home.

Our Expertise

• Liz Mundle is a writer, editor, and chef in New York City with over a decade of experience in kitchens and magazines. Her writing has appeared in Food & Wine, Saveur, and Domino, among others. For this piece, she combed through lab testing results for more than 20 microwaves.
• Food & Wine Associate Editor Arnesia Young also contributed to this piece. She updated key specs and details related to our favorite tested models and added additional information on factors to consider when shopping for a microwave. She herself is an avid microwave cook and owns her own set of Anyday dishes that she uses regularly.