Best Dishwashers for $500 or Less
These Consumer Reports-tested models skimp on price but not on performance, earning good scores for washing and drying
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It may be hard for many to justify spending a premium on appliances, but Consumer Reports has got you covered. We’ve tested dozens of dishwashers that cost $500 or less, which typically lack premium features like a stainless steel tub and adjustable upper racks. Many top-rated dishwashers have moved out of reach in this price range, but some strong gems remain. For example, only one of the CR Recommended picks in this price range has a stainless steel interior, an adjustable upper rack, adjustable tines, and a time-remaining display.
Best Dishwashers for $500 or Less
These dishwashers are the least expensive models that still perform reasonably well in our lab tests. They’re slim on features and far from quiet, but some have strong points that may suit your needs.
How CR Tests Dishwashers
CR purchases all the dishwashers we test. These include lower-priced dishwashers (like those in this article) and expensive ones (such as those from Miele, Thermador, and Viking), plus many in between. This breadth of price enables us to track whether the priciest dishwashers are, in fact, the best dishwashers.
We spend 28 hours evaluating each dishwasher in our lab. Our testers load each model with 10 place settings of white ceramic dishes with baked-on food, then run it on the normal cycle or its equivalent. When the cycle is complete, we use a photo-imaging machine to determine precisely how clean each dish is.
We also test how well each machine dries plastic. (Plastic is more difficult to dry than metal, glass, and ceramic materials because it cools faster and doesn’t allow water to evaporate as easily.) We record cycle time and energy and water use. And we judge noise levels.
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