Best Dishwashers of 2024

People prioritize different features in a dishwasher, including a third rack, a short wash-cycle time, or a fingerprint-resistant surface. We note these kinds of options on each model page from our comprehensive dishwasher ratings and provide the details you need to know about them in our dishwasher buying guide. But there are a few performance aspects that everyone can appreciate, and we test them rigorously in our labs. These aspects include the following.

Cleaning: The top performers can reliably wash away starchy, crusted-on messes and produce great results even with lower-cost (or more eco-friendly) detergents or in hard water, which tends to reduce a detergent’s cleaning ability. Certain extras like additional wash arms and specialty wash zones touted by manufacturers may suggest better cleaning power, but that’s not always the case, as our washing tests have found.

Drying: In general, CR’s testers have found that dishwashers with heated-dry cycles (which essentially bake moisture off the dishes) tend to do a better job at getting your dishes bone-dry than models that rely on residual heat, but it’s not a guarantee. Larry Ciufo, CR’s head of dishwasher testing, has also noted that dishwashers that automatically open their doors at the end of a cycle to release steam tend to be particularly effective.

Noise: Certain “quiet” models actually have jarring spikes in volume from time to time while they run, like the sound of the detergent door thwacking against the tub or the churn of a loud drain pump. Our noise ratings take those random spikes into account.

Efficiency: Our tests have discovered that dishwashers often use slightly more water and energy than advertised, but the difference adds up to only a few dollars in extra utility costs per year. If efficiency and sustainability are especially important to you, opt for a CR Green Choice dishwasher, which we believe to be among the most efficient. They also have the least negative environmental impact compared with other models on the market.

The dishwashers in our ratings can cost as little as $325 or more than $2,000. Here’s what our testers found in each category.

Less than $500: It’s possible to find a pretty decent machine on a tight budget, but dishwashers under $500 are rarer than they used to be. Those that are still available typically have plastic tubs, which don’t resist stains as well as stainless steel tubs. Consumer Reports’ tests have also found that these dishwashers are relatively noisy.

$500 to $1,000: Many models in this price range earn our top ratings for cleaning performance as well as predicted reliability, which are two factors we weigh heavily in our ratings overall. They also often have at least a few convenient features, like adjustable racks, a third rack, and quiet operation.

More than $1,000: Dishwashers in this price range have elevated style and are fully loaded with special features, so you don’t have to pick and choose.

When a dishwasher enters Consumer Reports’ labs, we put it through at least 28 hours’ worth of tough trials. More than 100 dishwasher models have gone through our labs, and we test new ones regularly.

To evaluate each model’s cleaning prowess, our testers apply a consistent amount of starchy goop to 10 white ceramic plates. (The recipe is a secret, but cocoa is involved.) Then they bake each plate until it’s crusty, load the plates into the dishwasher without prerinsing, and run the default cleaning cycle. Afterward, our imaging software compares before and after photos of each plate to precisely analyze how much gunk is left over.

Our experts also assess how well each model can dry dishes—and they take an especially close look at plastic items, which dishwashers tend to have more trouble drying.

For noise, a panel of judges listens to an entire dishwasher cycle to identify “any annoying noises,” as Ciufo puts it. The dishwashers that make the least amount of racket throughout the cycle receive the highest scores for noise.

We also incorporate feedback from the tens of thousands of Consumer Reports members who take our annual dishwasher survey. This data helps us predict which brands may be the most reliable and which ones tend to make their owners the happiest.