Staff writer Andrea Barnes covers large cleaning appliances, and she conducted our most recent round of dishwasher testing. She also provides tips for getting the most out of your dishwasher and laundry appliances, and she’s convinced multiple people to stop prerinsing their dishes.

For this guide:

• We have researched hundreds of dishwashers and tested several dozen since 2013.
• We’ve interviewed experts, including a former dishwasher designer, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, service repair technicians, and product designers and managers at several dishwasher companies.
• We’ve analyzed thousands of customer reviews, using FindOurView, an AI-driven tool.
• We have evaluated reliability data from the Yale Appliance Blog and the J.D. Power 2022 Kitchen Appliance Satisfaction Study.
• We’ve read dozens of dishwasher warranties.

In our most recent round of testing, we tried 12 standard-size, 24-inch built-in dishwashers. (We did not test smaller, 18-inch built-in dishwashers. But the companies that make our picks do offer models in that size. If you need a portable dishwasher, we have a guide to those.) In this guide, we focused on traditional dishwashers, but newer designs, including built-in-drawer-style dishwashers, are becoming more widely available.

You can read our full testing protocol.

Here’s a summary of what we evaluated:

Cleaning performance

If you use a good detergent and rinse aid, most dishwashers will clean well. Great cleaning performance stems from hard-to-measure factors like spray-arm geometry, energy management, cycle programming, soil-sensor algorithms, and filtration quality.

We take these things into account while conducting our in-depth stress-testing. Replicating the daily dish usage of a five-person household, we washed more than 100 dishes for each load, including bowls slicked with oatmeal, plates painted with a patchwork of dried-on foods, and glassware smeared with lipstick.

Filtration systems

Modern dishwashers reuse the same few gallons of water during a cycle, so they have fine filters that trap and eventually flush away food debris, to prevent it from being redistributed onto your dishes. (Our testing showed that newer, eco-friendly cycles that use less water require even better filtration.)

Filtration is tied to cleaning performance. If a dishwasher doesn’t have an effective filtration system, dishes will have a gritty residue at the end of a cycle. We conduct tests using foods in a variety of colors and textures, to help us measure how well a filter prevents food from splashing back onto dishes during the cycle. We noted how often filters needed to be cleaned.

Some dishwashers also have a food grinder, to further pulverize excess waste. We did not find that a grinder necessarily improved performance (none of our picks have one). And, depending on the dishwasher, it can make a cycle much louder.

Cycle speeds and types

Many dishwashers we tested have a dizzying number of cleaning-cycle options with perplexing names, like “Aquaflex.” Our testing showed that there wasn’t much difference among them, and most people will be better off using time- or sensor-based cycles, like “Quick” or “Pots and Pans.”

Cleaning cycles can run from around one hour to three and a half hours or longer. Modern dishwashers use sensors to adjust cleaning duration in real time, often adding an hour or more if dishes are particularly dirty. We paid close attention to cycle length and gave special consideration to dishwashers that efficiently cleaned everything in less than 90 minutes.

Drying

Dishwashers tend to dry metal, glass, and ceramic thoroughly. But few models are particularly good at drying plastic cups and containers. In each of our test loads, we included multiple plastic items, to determine how each machine handled the task.

Racks

We assessed the flexibility of rack layouts and how well they accommodated dishes both big (a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish, a 2-liter pitcher) and small (ramekins, chopsticks). We took note of how smoothly the racks operated. A height-adjustable upper (or middle) rack helps make space for tall items, like long-stemmed wine glasses, or large cookware. We made sure that these racks lock easily into place, so they don’t collapse mid-cycle (we’ve had this happen during testing).

Dishwasher manuals include advice on how to most efficiently load specific layouts, which we followed during testing.

Service and reliability

We considered the warranties of all the dishwashers we tested. A one-year warranty is standard. We gave extra points to models with longer warranties. To get a sense of reliability, we analyzed thousands of customer reviews using FindOurView, an AI-driven tool, and we referenced the Yale Appliance blog and J.D. Power appliance research. We spoke with service repair technicians and owners of independent appliance stores, and we also dove into online appliance forums, including Reddit.

Noise

In our experience, dishwashers that fall around 45 decibels on average are practically silent (unless you’re standing right next to them). Noise starts to get bothersome at around 55 decibels. Dishwashers with stainless steel tubs are typically quieter than those with plastic or hybrid (plastic and stainless steel) tubs. Noise levels can also differ between cycles, such as gentle or heavy-duty. Using an app, we measured decibels at various points in a cycle. While the measurements didn’t always match the advertised decibel level, nothing went over 55 decibels.

Remember to take manufacturer-reported decibel ratings with a grain of salt. Though a rating is measured by the industry’s standardized noise test, it’s an average of the entire cycle, which alternates between louder periods (when the dishwasher is draining water) and quieter periods (when it’s drying dishes).

Energy efficiency

Modern dishwashers tend to be very efficient. Until recently, many dishwashers qualified as Energy Star certified, which means that, on average, they use 12% less energy and 30% less water than standard dishwashers. New qualification criteria for dishwashers were released in July 2023, and many dishwashers no longer qualify for Energy Star certification. (Only our upgrade pick, the Miele G7106, is currently Energy Star certified.)

In almost any scenario, dishwashers save significant amounts of water and energy compared with hand-washing dishes, which guzzles between 9 and 27 gallons of water (depending on your wash style) and up to double the water-heating energy.

Top pick

Bosch 300 Series SHE53C85N

Excellent cleaner, versatile racks

With its third rack and quiet performance, this reliable, efficient, and effective dishwasher is a great choice. But it doesn’t fully dry plastic.

Buying Options

$894 from Home Depot

$900 from Best Buy

$899 from Lowe's

The Bosch 300 Series SHE53C85N offers a great combination of cleaning performance, user friendliness, and reliability. Though the company has weathered supply-chain issues due to the pandemic, Bosch’s service and reliability ratings remain strong. We’ve recommended Bosch dishwashers since 2015, and you’ll have a hard time finding a better dishwasher without spending significantly more. (We still think that the SHE53C85N’s predecessor, the 300 Series SHEM63W55N, is a great choice, but it’s becoming increasingly harder to find.)

The Bosch 300 Series is an excellent cleaner. Regardless of which detergent we used in our test loads, the dishwasher consistently delivered clean dishes. It handled our hardest stress tests with ease, including guacamole-laden forks and cheesy casserole dishes. Just a handful of machines we tested performed similarly, and only our upgrade pick cleaned better.

Also notable is how clean the filter remained throughout testing. That means you shouldn’t have to clean it more than once a month or so. (Lower-maintenance filters are typically the product of a well-designed filtration system and excellent water-jet technology.)

It cleans quickly, and its express cycle is notable. The 300 Series dishwasher takes two to two and a half hours to wash and dry a load of dishes on its default “auto” setting. This may seem long, but it’s at least an hour shorter than it took most of the “auto” and/or sensor-based cycles on other machines we tested.

But what really stands out on the 300 Series dishwasher (and other Bosch dishwashers, including the Bosch 100 Series) is the 60-minute wash-and-dry Speed60 cycle. It cleaned almost as well as the auto wash, in less than half the time. And despite Bosch’s recommending the Speed60 cycle only for fresh soils, in our tests it did a good job of cleaning baked- and burned-on foods. (Only our upgrade pick cleaned better on a quick cycle.)

It has intuitive, versatile racks. The roomy racks on the 300 Series can be adjusted vertically and horizontally, so you can fit everything from unusually shaped dishes to taller pots and pans in one load. In our testing, this allowed us to fit more items into a single load than we could into other dishwashers. Along with its compact removable utensil basket (a change from the larger basket of previous models), its spacious third rack makes this even easier.

It’s well designed, with easy-to-use smart features. This model has a recessed handle with a sensitive touch-control panel that worked well in our testing even when wet. The panel, however, goes dark during a cycle; a light turns on to show that the dishwasher is in use.

The 300 Series is Wi-Fi–enabled. You can use Bosch’s Home Connect app (which we had no trouble connecting to) to track the timing of a cycle or to save your most frequently used dishwasher settings if you desire.

It has an average warranty but a strong reliability track record. We’ve been recommending Bosch dishwashers since 2015. The 300 Series has a one-year warranty covering parts and labor, which is standard. Replacement parts (but not labor) for defective racks and motherboards are covered for up to five years. The stainless steel tub is covered for up to 10 years for rust. Optional one-, two-, or four-year extended warranties are available.

Despite Bosch’s stock and quality-control issues over the past couple of years, the service and reliability ratings for Bosch dishwashers continue to be strong. Data we collected using FindOurView showed that Bosch dishwashers traditionally have high customer-satisfaction ratings; the previous version of this model (the Bosch 300 Series SHEM63W55N) had an average of 4.5 stars among user reviews—placing it among the highest-ranked dishwashers.

It’s very quiet. At 46 decibels, the 300 Series is one of the quietest dishwashers we tested. When it’s running, it will go unnoticed unless you’re standing next to it.

It has several handle styles. We link to one popular handle style in this guide. But the 300 Series can be ordered with other handles, and you can choose either front-panel or hidden top controls. So it’s one of the easiest dishwashers to coordinate with your kitchen decor.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Touch-sensitive controls are your only options. The Bosch 300 Series SHE53C85N is available only with a touch-sensitive control panel (traditional button controls are not offered). Touch-sensitive controls may take some getting used to, though they worked fine for us.

It doesn’t dry plastic very well. Drying performance, particularly during a Speed60 cycle, was not the best. This is true with most dishwashers, and not one model in our most recent round of testing dried plastic dishes well on its fastest cycle. Using a rinse aid will help. But if extra-dry plastic is important to you, consider our also-great pick (which has effective heated-dry cycles).

Its zoned bottom rack can feel limiting. We’ve noted over the years that some people find the bottom rack of the 300 Series to be inflexible. This hasn’t been our experience, but because of the racks’ more-specific layouts, it can take more effort to arrange larger items. If this is a concern, we recommend visiting a showroom and seeing the dishwasher in person to get a feel for its layout.

In July 2024, Bosch added a less expensive model to the 300 Series family of dishwashers, the SHE41CM5N. Though this dishwasher is similar to the model we currently recommend, the Bosch 300 Series SHE53C85N, it has some key differences: It doesn’t have a third rack, its racks are not adjustable, and it is slightly louder at 48 decibels (our pick registers 46 decibels). Priced at $700, it costs significantly less than our current pick, which starts at $1,000. We have not tested this model yet, but we expect it to clean as well as previously tested models—it features the same wash technology.

We tested the previous version of the Bosch 100 Series (which is still available) and found little difference between its cleaning performance and that of the 300 Series. We have not tested the new Bosch 100 Series Plus or Premium lines; they lack the full third rack the 300 Series has, and they have a plastic and stainless steel tub that’s louder than the stainless steel tub of the 300 Series. (We’ve also noticed lower reliability ratings on the previous versions of the 100 Series.)

Several Wirecutter staffers own the Bosch 500 Series dishwasher and swear by it. We are currently testing the newest model from this series.

We tested the updated Bosch 800 Series, featuring the company’s Crystal Dry technology, which uses the mineral zeolite to expedite the drying process. (Our also-great pick still does a better job of drying.) The 800 Series also has Bosch’s latest dishwasher technology, called PowerControl; it is designed to clean the dirtiest pans and casserole dishes, by enabling users to program the path of the dishwasher’s spray arm using the machine’s manual control panel or the Home Connect app.

We ran many customized PowerControl cycles using both the app and the control panel, placing dirty casserole dishes in different quadrants of the machine and customizing the spray arm’s target accordingly. We did not notice significant improvements in cleaning. In some cases, it was actually worse. Running similarly dirty casserole dishes on a “Normal” cleaning cycle proved to be just as effective as using the customized cycles.

Like previous iterations of the Bosch 800 Series, this model is still an above-average choice with a good warranty. Its cleaning cycles are excellent, it cleaned well in our tests, and it dried plastic items pretty thoroughly—all of which may outweigh the potential quirks of its new programmable features.

Also great

Maytag MDB8959SKZ

Strong cleaner, better dryer

This model cleans almost as well as our top pick, and it’s better at drying. But the heated-dry cycles run long, and its racks aren’t quite as user-friendly.

Buying Options

$825 $748 from Home Depot

With delayed shipping (deal on stainless steel)

$768 from Lowe's

$770 from Best Buy

If you want your dishes to emerge both clean and bone-dry—especially plastics—we recommend the solid Maytag MDB8959SKZ. But with this machine, you’ll sacrifice a little cleaning performance and usability in comparison with our pick.

The Maytag MDB8959SKZ cleans well. In our tests, on its default wash cycle, the Maytag MDB8959SKZ performed about as well as the Bosch 300 Series (and the Bosch 100 Series). The Maytag washed away almost every tough mess—even baked-on eggs. It also consistently delivered clear glassware, making short work of stains like red lipstick and tomato juice.

It dries plastic better than our other picks. The MDB8959SKZ’s heated-dry cycles dry plastic dishes thoroughly—a rarity among dishwashers. We routinely marveled at how well plastic containers and sippy cups dried in our test loads, instead of emerging damp and drippy, like they did from other dishwashers. The heated-dry settings tack on anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes to a cleaning cycle, so we recommend using them at night, when cycle duration is less of an issue.

Its racks are well designed. If you find the racks on our pick to be more frustrating to load (some people do), the MDB8959SKZ’s are more flexibly designed in a large grid layout. Though the tines on the bottom rack are not foldable, they are widely spaced and angled in a way that better accommodates deeper dishes and bowls than those of the Bosch 300 Series.

The third rack is deep enough to nest coffee cups and bowls, and it has large icons that indicate where to correctly place coffee cups. It has a removable tray for large spatulas and other oddly shaped utensils. The third rack also has jets that are positioned specifically for the hard-to-reach bottoms of cups and bowls; they cleaned burned-on mug cake with ease, something many machines struggled with.

But they aren’t quite as user-friendly as those of our top pick. The Maytag’s racks are sturdy, but they don’t move as smoothly as those on our top pick. Unlike our other two picks, they lack designated stemware holders and don’t have as much space for utensils.

It has an efficient filter. Despite the copious amounts of pasta chunks and oatmeal globs that ran through this dishwasher cycle after cycle, the MDB8959SKZ’s filter rarely needed to be rinsed during testing (less often than that of the Bosch 300 Series machine).

It has a strong reliability track record. The MDB8959SKZ is manufactured by Whirlpool Corporation, which makes a range of reliable dishwashers (including the KitchenAid and JennAir brands). The FindOurView data showed strong customer reviews for the Maytag MDB8959SKZ. Replacement parts should be readily and widely available. The MDB8959SKZ has a one-year warranty for parts and labor and a 10-year warranty for its racks and stainless steel tub.

Another Whirlpool Corporation dishwasher worth considering: KitchenAid KDTM704

Whirlpool Corporation sells a few dozen dishwasher models under the Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Amana, and JennAir brands.

Jason Mathew, global director of laundry at Whirlpool Corporation, told us that there are some significant differences among the models in the company’s lineup, even if they seem similar. This differs from Bosch, whose machines are all built around the same chassis and cleaning system. (If you’d like to explore the differences among all the Whirlpool Corporation dishwashers, the PDF brochures for Whirlpool, Maytag, and KitchenAid are a good place to start.)

We tested the KitchenAid KDTM704 and recommend it if you don’t want a Bosch or a Miele. The KDTM704 cleaned well. It has versatile racks, easy-to-use wine-glass holders (which include tabs to secure stems in place), and a large third rack that fits both tall glasses and mugs. Like our also-great pick, the Maytag MDB8959SKZ, the KDTM704 has a third rack that includes visual cues to guide loading, which we found helpful. It’s also one of the only models we tested that has interior lighting (a nice touch, but not a necessity).

We didn’t make the KDTM704 a pick because it’s expensive and didn’t clean quite as thoroughly as our ultra-reliable upgrade pick (though it was close). But it’s still a great choice.

Upgrade pick

Miele G7106

Exceptional cleaner, reliable

This ultra-quiet model is an exceptional, speedy cleaner with upgraded features. Miele is known for its reliability and durability.

Buying Options

$1,749 from Abt

May be out of stock

$1,749 from AJ Madison

Miele G7000 Series dishwashers are superior to our other picks in almost every way. There are several models in this series that provide identical cleaning performance but different extra features. And we think the Miele G7106 is the one to consider first.

Its cleaning performance is top-notch and fast. The Miele G7106 was hands-down the most effective cleaner we tested. The G7106 consistently turned out spotless dishes on a variety of cycles, entirely washing away dried-on oatmeal and microwaved-on foods like creamed spinach and beans, rice, and cheese. No other machine, including our top pick, was able to do that as regularly.

The 58-minute QuickIntenseWash cycle is the best quick-cleaning cycle we’ve tested—particularly when used with Miele’s Deep Clean option. It’s the only hour-long cycle we tested that consistently delivered a pristine load.

The racks are easy to load and intuitive to use. The bottom rack of the G7106 has slots that face dinner plates forward instead of to the side. This can make loading and unloading easier, and it’s also more obvious when plates are too close together. The racks are sturdy and prevent dishes from inadvertently leaning against each other—a detail we appreciated during testing.

The racks don’t hold oddly shaped dishes—like large or wide-brimmed bowls or curved plates—as well as our other picks, but we were still able to fit everything from water pitchers to mixing bowls. The upper rack has drop-down placeholders for stemware (our pick does too). And the third rack (more of a flat utensil tray) is deep enough to accommodate harder-to-wash items like ladles and larger spatulas (though it isn’t quite as deep as the third rack on our also-great pick).

It has a strong warranty, and it will last. The G7106 has a two-year warranty for parts and labor, which is the longest initial warranty of our picks. An optional five-year extended warranty is available. Miele also has high user-satisfaction and reliability ratings, and it has a reputation for durability. We routinely hear from our experts that Miele is a dependable brand, and we recommend other Miele appliances, including vacuum cleaners.

It’s very quiet. At 43 decibels, the G7106 is the quietest model we tested—we could barely tell it was on.

It has some convenient extra features. Its door can open automatically at the end of a cycle. Though this is not a critical feature, it can expedite drying (plastic items included) and visually alert you that a cycle has ended—which is helpful if a typical beep or light isn’t sufficient. (You can disable the feature if it’s not for you.) Our other picks do not have this feature. Some 7000 Series dishwashers also have a feature called AutoDos, which automatically dispenses detergent—a convenient extra, but not a necessity. (We tested a model that has it.)

But it’s expensive. The G7106 typically costs about $750 more than our top pick.

Other Miele dishwashers worth considering

We tested the Miele G7316, which is nearly identical to the G7106 we recommend (but it normally costs about $400 more). It has a feature called AutoDos, which automatically dispenses detergent via a Miele PowerDisk, placed inside the dishwasher door. The convenience of automatically dispensing detergent was enticing, but the AutoDos detergent did not perform better than other high-quality detergents in our testing. There is a dispenser for traditional detergent.

The Miele G5006SCUSS, our former upgrade pick, is still a solid choice, though it does not clean stubborn messes quite as thoroughly as our current upgrade pick. It has many of the same features as the Bosch 300 Series dishwasher, including a third rack (though in this model, that component is actually a flat utensil tray). And all Miele models have an excellent quick-wash cycle, as well as some standout racking features.

If you have a smaller household and like the look of a drawer-style dishwasher: You might like the Café 2 Double Drawer Dishwasher. It’s designed as two separate pull-out drawers: You can run a full load in both drawers or a half-load in a single drawer. It cleaned well in our testing, and having the option to run a smaller load in one of its two drawers was convenient (though the cycle times aren’t any shorter than a typical wash cycle).

This model has an elevated look and some unique features, including that the owner can stop a cycle simply by knocking on either drawer. But we had to take a beat to figure out how to fit dishes in the two drawers when running a full load. You also have to add two separate doses of dishwasher detergent in each drawer. But if this style appeals to you, it’s a fine choice.

If you already own GE Profile appliances and want your dishwasher to coordinate: The GE Profile PDP715SYVFS might fit the bill. Its “Normal” cleaning cycle wiped out plenty of gunk, and its antimicrobial Microban-treated handles and filter managed odors well. (This is something we really appreciated while testing machines in summer heat.) Unlike on our pick, a display on the control panel lets you monitor a cycle. This model is a bit pricey, but it’s getting trickier to find a dishwasher for less.

This is not a comprehensive list of everything we tested in previous iterations of this guide—only what is currently available.

The Beko DDT38532X was too high-maintenance to recommend; it had a filter that required frequent cleaning (despite being self-rinsing), which was a pain. And Beko, a European brand, is still new to the United States, so service is a potential issue, depending on your location.

The now-discontinued LG LSDTS9882S was a fine dishwasher with great drying power, but we concluded that there are higher-performing machines available for less. Its replacement is the LG LDTH7972S, which we have not tested.

Despite the IKEA Essentiell’s excellent five-year warranty, nothing in particular about the machine stood out to us. It struggled to clean many items and developed a strong stench faster than other machines we tested. For the price, there are better options.

The GE Profile UltraFresh is a decent machine, but it didn’t clean as well as our picks, and there are better dishwashers out there, including by GE Profile, for the same price.

We tested the Whirlpool WDT740 SALZ, and though it cleaned very well, its two-rack design limits loading space compared with our picks (which all have a third rack).

We tested the super-basic Frigidaire FFID2426TS, which did a decent—but not great—job of cleaning the toughest soils (forgivable, considering how cheap it is).

The Samsung DW80R5060US/AA was a very good cleaner, but its racks were some of our least favorite (the bottom rack felt heavy, and the third rack was wobbly and didn’t hold much). And its owner ratings are middling.

To learn more about dishwasher maintenance, read our articles on how to clean a dishwasher, how to clean a dishwasher filter, and how to clean a dishwasher of mold. We also have advice on how to better use your dishwasher.

Liam McCabe wrote previous versions of this guide, which first published in 2013, and Sarah Bogdan conducted earlier rounds of testing. This guide was edited by Ingrid Skjong and Courtney Schley.