4 Best High-End Dishwashers, Lab-Tested and Reviewed

These premium dishwashers from four brands have just about all the features a dishwasher can offer. They also earn favorable ratings for their washing and drying performance, and score well for their quietness, energy efficiency, and ease of use. For more options, take a look at our complete dishwasher ratings. And you can consult our buying guide for more information on choosing the right dishwasher for your kitchen.

Most perks in more expensive dishwashers, like those detailed below, aren’t essential. But if they excite you, and you have a bigger budget, it may be worth looking at models that offer them.

• Stainless steel tub: Dishwashers with a stainless steel interior don’t stain as easily. Stainless steel also contributes to better drying performance. “First, it heats up and radiates that heat to the dishes,” says Larry Ciufo, CR’s lead dishwasher test engineer. “Then it actually cools down faster than the dishes, and the moisture from the dishes is drawn to the cooler stainless steel walls.” You can find stainless steel tubs in lower-priced dishwashers, too, but high-end dishwashers are pretty much guaranteed to have them.
• Hidden controls: The controls are across the top of the door and can’t be seen when the door is closed, giving high-end machines a sleek, clean look. Some models have a small light on the front of the door that glows when the machine is running or a light that shines on the floor.
• LED lights: Many high-end dishwashers have interior lighting that illuminates when you open the door, making it easier to see your dishes when you’re loading and unloading them. Some let you use an app on your phone to program the lighting color to your taste.
• WiFi connectivity: A growing number of new dishwashers are equipped with WiFi, which allows you to monitor your dishwasher from an app on your phone. You can use the app to check the time remaining on a cycle and, in some cases, remote-start your dishwasher or download cycle options. Many dishwashers with WiFi can also send an alert to your phone if a problem arises, such as a leak, and help you contact customer service.
• More style choices: High-end dishwashers provide more options for exterior finishes and handle styles. Some models are built to accommodate your choice of cabinetry so that the exterior of your dishwasher matches.

Consumer Reports’ test engineers spend about 30 hours testing each dishwasher. To evaluate cleaning performance, dishes with baked-on food are put through a proprietary test that uses photo imaging to determine precisely how clean they are after a standard cycle. For cleaning performance, we consider how well dishwashers clean dishes on both lower and upper racks.

Testers also measure energy use and water consumption throughout the process, and they assess how well the dishwasher dries by checking the remaining moisture on plastic items, which are more difficult to dry than glass and ceramic. A listening panel evaluates noise levels throughout. Even if a dishwasher’s cycle runs mostly quietly, any intermittent loud noises (like churning or rattling) are taken into consideration in our noise score. Ease of use is evaluated based on the accessibility of the dishwasher’s control panel, as well as the number of convenient features the model has, such as an adjustable upper rack, a third rack, adjustable tines, ample flatware slots, a delay-start feature, a display that shows remaining time in the cycle, and others.