The Best Countertop Microwaves Do More Than Reheat Food

Best Overall

Panasonic Countertop/Built-In Microwave with Inverter Technology

$529 at Amazon $300 at Walmart $354 at Wayfair

With 2.2 cubic feet of cooking space and 1,250 watts of cooking power, this microwave has the space to heat food for the family and the power to get the job done quickly. The turntable is a whopping 16.5 inches in diameter, so it will hold several plates, big serving dishes, or a large casserole. In fact, during testing, we were able to heat up two plates of pizza rolls at once. That said, it may be a bit too big for those with smaller kitchens, so take note. There are 14 presets including essentials like popcorn, pizza, soup, oatmeal, pasta, and frozen foods as well as 10 power levels, with options for sensor reheating and cooking.

Proprietary technology heats food evenly and speeds up defrosting time, so you’ll spend less time waiting no matter what’s for dinner. The "genius sensor" adjusts the power and cooking time for different foods, the keep-warm feature holds your food at serving temperature without further cooking it, and the delay start lets you prep food, put it in the oven, and start cooking at just the right time so it’s ready for dinner. After zapping a range of foods from Indian curry to grains to leftovers, we couldn't find any cool spots, everything was heated evenly; the finished food came out just as intended.

Capacity: 2.2 cubic feet | Turntable Diameter: 16.5 inches | Cooking Power: 1,250 watts | Dimensions: 26.5 x 16.75 x 21.5 inches

Best for Small Spaces

Black+Decker 0.7 Cu. Ft. Digital Microwave Oven

Orig. $100 $85 at Amazon Orig. $90 $55 at Target $76 at Home Depot

At just under 1.5 feet wide, this compact model is ideal for smaller spaces. Whether you wish to reheat leftovers in a dorm, coffee at work, or for occasional use in a small apartment kitchen, this 0.7-cubic foot microwave has enough power to handle basic microwave tasks without taking up valuable space. It can easily fit under a cabinet when not in use if you don't have a lot of counterspace. Instead of a handle, the door is operated with a push button, which saves even more space (though it can be finnicky at times). The glass turntable is round and can be removed to clean spills and splatters.

We found that 11-inch dinner plates didn't fit inside this microwave, so it's recommended that you use smaller, salad-sized plates. As for power, we were impressed with how the appliance's power. We found most dishes were sufficiently reheated in the same amount of time as they would have been in an over-the-range microwave despite the small size and lower wattage.

Capacity: 0.7 cubic feet | Turntable Diameter: 10 inches | Cooking Power: 700 watts | Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.2 x 13 inches

Best Convection Cooking

Toshiba Convection Microwave Oven

$290 at Amazon $324 at Walmart $229 at Home Depot

Microwave ovens are great for steaming and reheating, but they’re not good at browning foods. This combination of microwave and convection oven takes care of that problem. You can microwave or convection cook the food separately, or you can use them in combination for super-fast cooking and perfect browning at the same time. Many reviewers highlighted this oven's convection performance, with one praising how well it crisped a range of foods, from potatoes to frozen pizzas.

This doesn’t have as many specific food presets, with just popcorn named, but it has buttons for auto bake, auto roast, sensor cook, sensor reheat, auto defrost, timed defrost, and for keeping food warm. You can also set up three favorite combinations of time and power so your hot chocolate is always perfect and your butter melts just right. Convection cooking can be set from 170 to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and there are 10 microwave power levels using 1,000 watts of power.

Capacity: 1.5 cubic feet | Turntable Diameter: 13.6 inches | Cooking Power: 1,000 watts | Dimensions: 24.98 x 23.52 x 16.19 inches

Best Basic

Toshiba Countertop Microwave Oven

Orig. $115 $100 at Amazon $100 at Walmart $105 at Wayfair

This microwave has everything you need for basic tasks, plus a little more. It’s not the largest microwave you’ll find, but it’s not the smallest, either. It’s great for reheating dinner for one or steaming frozen broccoli for a side dish. The inside capacity is 0.9 cubic feet, and it has a 10.6-inch diameter turntable that’s large enough for a dinner plate or rounded casserole dish, though rectangular dishes may not fit.

This has 900 watts of cooking power, 10 power settings, and a digital control panel. The defrost setting lets you choose a defrosting time or you can enter a weight to let the oven do the thinking. Presets for popcorn, potato, pizza, frozen vegetables, and a dinner plate give you one-button cooking, so you don’t have to guess how long you’ll need to cook those items. If the oven beeping annoys you, you can turn off the sound.

Capacity: 0.9 cubic feet | Turntable Diameter: 10.6 inches | Cooking Power: 900 watts | Dimensions: 19.1 x 16.1 x 11.5 inches

Best Commercial Quality

Panasonic Countertop Commercial Microwave Oven

$320 at Amazon $376 at Wayfair $381 at Office Depot

If your microwave is constantly working, particularly for reheating single dishes of food for family members who operate on different schedules, a commercial microwave might be a great choice. This isn’t a huge machine at just 0.8 cubic feet of space, but it is built for quick cooking and long life despite heavy use.

This has 1,000 watts of power that it uses efficiently, feeding the energy from the bottom so it travels less than typical microwaves that produce the energy at the top of the cooking chamber. This doesn’t have a turntable, so your cooking space isn’t limited by that disk area and you can fit larger casseroles or arrange more plates and bowls without them tipping or wobbling. Many customers were pleasantly surprised with how quickly and evenly this microwave heated their food despite the lack of a turntable.

The keypad includes braille, with 10 buttons that are shortcuts for a variety of cooking times. You can also program multiple-stage cooking, with different times and power levels at each stage. Since this is designed for commercial use, the design is more stark than friendly, but the stainless steel exterior would blend well with a modern kitchen’s décor.

Capacity: 0.8 cubic feet | Turntable Diameter: N/A | Cooking Power: 1,000 watts | Dimensions: 20.125 x 16.5 x 12 inches

Best With Grill Function

Farberware Microwave Oven with Grill Function

Orig. $140 $123 at Amazon $130 at Walmart $137 at Wayfair

The grilling function on this microwave sets it apart from the rest of the pack, while its standard microwave functions are everything you’d expect from a quality microwave. It has 1.2 cubic feet of cooking space, 1,100 watts of cooking power, a 12.4-inch turntable, and 10 levels of microwave power.

Cooking presets include popcorn, potato, frozen pizza, frozen vegetable, beverages, meat, and dinner plate. You can defrost by time or weight, set your own cooking time and temperature, and set multi-stage cooking to change the cooking power during the cooking time.

The grilling function can be used alone or in combination with microwave cooking so you can cook quickly while also browning and crisping the food. The grill function works well on a variety of foods, from toast to steaks. A grilling rack is included, which is a nice bonus. One thing to note, however, is that the microwave can be on the louder side.

Capacity: 1.2 cubic feet | Turntable Diameter: 12.4 inches | Cooking Power: 1,100 watts | Dimensions: 20.5 x 17.3 x 12.8 inches

Best White

GE 950-Watt Countertop Microwave

$144 at Walmart $144 at Wayfair $139 at Wayfair

If you have a vision for the perfect kitchen, you’ll want to find appliances that match the overall décor. White microwaves are popular since the color goes with just about everything, and this 1.1 cubic-foot model from GE has a simple appearance that won’t dominate the kitchen while still looking nice and neat. 

The 950-watt machine has a number of helpful functions, including defrost settings, a timer, dedicated popcorn and potato buttons, a pause feature, and a handy button to add 30 seconds to the cook time. The white model doesn’t come with a handle and instead opens with the push of a button. 

This microwave is simple, as the buttons are easy to use and clearly labeled, though they can be tough to read without any LED-backed lighting. Though white is certainly a popular color for this model, it also comes in stainless steel or black. 

Capacity: 1.1 cubic feet | Turntable Diameter: 12 inches | Cooking Power: 950 watts | Dimensions: 12 x 20 x 15.5 inches