Microwaves: cubic feet, watts, and where it goes

A microwave is bought by two numbers, cubic feet and watts, and installed by a third the listing puts last: where it goes. The specification sheet has all three and a few that matter more than the presets.

What the category is

Countertop microwaves from 0.7 to 2.2 cubic feet; over-the-range models that replace a range hood and vent, or recirculate, above the cooktop; built-in models with a trim kit for a cabinet; drawer microwaves under a counter. Some add convection or an air-fry mode and become small ovens.

How to read the spec sheet

Capacity in cubic feet: 0.7 to 0.9 is a dorm or a mug; 1.1 to 1.4 is a household countertop; 1.6 to 2.2 is a family or an over-the-range. The turntable diameter is the more honest figure — a 12-inch dinner plate needs a 12.4-inch turntable — and a review quotes it.

Wattage: 700 watts is slow and reheats; 900 to 1,000 is the ordinary household figure; 1,100 to 1,250 is fast. Recipe times assume about 1,000.

Sensor cooking measures steam and stops the cycle; inverter power delivers real low power instead of pulsing full power. Both are on the sheet by name and both change how the machine cooks.

Over-the-range adds the vent: cubic feet per minute of exhaust, external or recirculating, and the width (30 inches standard) and the mounting height it needs above the cooktop.

Exterior dimensions and door swing: a 1.1-cubic-foot countertop is about 20 inches wide; anything over 1.6 is 24 and needs a deep counter.

Noise, child lock, eco mode appear by name and are worth confirming.

Who it suits

A 1.1 to 1.4-cubic-foot, 1,000-watt countertop for most kitchens; an over-the-range for a kitchen that needs the counter and has the wall; a compact 0.7 for a dorm, an office or a caravan; an inverter model for anyone who defrosts and melts more than they reheat.

Who should skip it

Anyone hoping a convection microwave replaces an oven: a toaster oven roasts and toasts better. And anyone with 18 inches of counter and a 24-inch microwave in the basket.

Where to start

Six of the 74 microwaves appliances reviewed on this site, one per model, across manufacturers. Every review is written from the manufacturer’s published specifications — how, and what that leaves out.

• Breville Combi Wave 3-in-1 Microwave
• TOSHIBA 4-in-1 Countertop Microwave Oven
• Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1 Microwave Oven
• SAMSUNG 1.1 Cu. Ft. Low Profile Over the Range Microwave
• GE Appliances JES1460DSBB Countertop Microwave
• Frigidaire 1.4 Cu. Ft. Over-the-Range Microwave

All 74 microwaves appliance reviews

Newest first. Consumables, accessories and parts that were once filed here are excluded.