If there’s one thing we’ve all been doing in 2020 it’s cooking – and a lot of it. Whether stuck in lockdown or limiting our socialising, we’re all spending a lot more time at home. And with cooking comes washing up. A whole lot of washing up. Which is why it’s never been more important to have a really great dishwasher - preferably on a budget.
Whether you’re looking for a budget dishwasher, something super-quiet so it doesn’t disturb those endless zoom calls or a top-of-the-range machine with a program for every conceivable situation, we’ve tried, tested and researched a huge range of models to pull together a round-up of the best dishwashers!
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What should I look for when buying a budget dishwasher?
1. Dishwasher size
How many place settings do you need? 12-14 place settings is usually the requirement for a medium-sized family of 4. Smaller compact dishwashers (either slim or countertop) are good for small kitchens or couples.
2. Integrated, standalone or half?
Do you want your dishwasher hidden behind a cupboard front (sleeker, but harder to control or observe), completely standalone or a mix of two with a half cupboard door.
3. Do you want a dishwasher with washing programmes?
How many options do you need for the washing you're likely to be doing? Some dishwashers allow for completely customisable programmes.
4. Are you after a dishwasher with a cutlery tray or a basket?
This can be pure user preference, but trays tend to allow for more place settings in a dishwasher
5. Eco credentials
How does your dishwasher stack up on energy efficiency and water usage?
6. Cost of dishwashers
You can pay from around £200 to £2000. If you're looking for a budget dishwasher, it might be a good option to wait for Black Friday sales or check Amazon deals or eBay.
Keep reading for our edit of the best dishwasher brands in 2020...
Best dishwasher for a medium-sized family: Samsung Series 6 DW60M6050FW
HELLO! rating: 4/5
Samsung Series 6, £460 (currently reduced to £359), AO.com
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With space for 14 place settings, this is a perfect dishwasher for medium-sized households. The cutlery tray at the top is height-adjustable making space for taller glasses or cups in the top rack. It’s easy to load, the trays glide in and out very effortlessly and the controls are simple to use. It has 7 wash programmes, including a quick wash which allows you to have clean dishes within half an hour, and an auto setting if you can’t quite figure out what to choose.
It also has a hygiene rinse option – which increases the temperature of the wash to 70 degrees for the last 10 minutes of the cycle destroying bacteria and germs. Perfect for a pandemic! The most impressive function for us was its lack of noise. Open-plan homes and home working can be a challenge, but this Samsung Series 6 is almost silent and never interrupts a busy workday. There is a timer delay option for this dishwasher too, but we’ve found it such an inobtrusive machine that we’ve never had to use it.
Best budget dishwasher: Beko DFN05R11W
HELLO! rating: 3/5
Beko DFN05R11W, £229, Ebay
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At just over £200 this dishwasher comes in at a very impressive price point and while you won’t be seeing any bells and whistles on this machine it does what it needs to do very effectively. It fits 13 place settings using a cutlery basket rather than tray, and has a couple of short wash functions which allow for family flexibility. It gets a good write up by WHICH and customer reviews on AO.com are positive – with great value for money, quietness and effective half-hour and hour-long functions getting highest praise.
One fish and chip shop owner puts the machine through its pace nightly: "The quick 35 wash is good for light soiled products and the quick 65 wash ok for general pots." Only criticism is that there’s no countdown function to show how long the cycle has left to run.
Best Smart Dishwasher: Miele G7310 Sci
HELLO! Rating: 4/5
Miele G7310 Sci, £1,399, John Lewis
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I mean, we’d all love to have a butler, and although the Miele doesn’t quite go that far, when you can ask Alexa to turn on the dishwasher you’re definitely almost there. This dishwasher is top of the range, and while the cost is a significant investment, there’s no doubt the product looks and feels superior. BBC Good Food rates this machine as its top semi-integrated model, citing its eco-friendly A+++ energy rating as a key feature, resulting in an efficient machine which uses less power and water than many of its competitors. It comes with 10 pre-set programmes and 4 extras you can personalise.
This model is available as a semi-integrated or freestanding dishwasher. The cutlery tray is ingenious and adaptable, overlapping on itself to allow wine or champagne glasses to fit in the tray below, and with an option to be deep enough for bowls. It’s cleaning power won it an impressive 90/100 score at from Good Housekeeping, reflecting its ability to bring plates and glasses to a shine even on speedy settings.
Best Mid-Priced Dishwasher: BOSCH SMS67MW00G
HELLO! rating: 4/5
BOSCH SMS67MW00G, £649, Argos
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This dishwasher is the perfect balance between spending a little more and getting a premium experience. This Bosch machine looks sleek in any modern kitchen and gets dishes perfectly clean without using extra energy thanks to a special mineral which converts moisture into heat. T3 calls this dishwasher the ‘best you can buy’ and reviewers over at AO (where the dishwasher is sold out currently) report the Extra Dry button really does what it says – leaving even plastics ‘bone dry’. And it’s so quiet you often think it hasn’t even turned on.
This is another machine with a good capacity – 14 place settings thanks to the minimalist cutlery drawer. Only downsides were that the prongs in the bottom rack don’t collapse for bigger dishes, and that the 5-year warranty – while very popular – comes at an extra cost.
Best Eco Dishwasher: Siemens SN258I06TG
HELLO! rating: 3/5
Siemens SN258I06TG, £739, Donaghy Bros
It might be surprising to know that you use way less water with a dishwasher than washing by hand – around 12L per cycle for a dishwasher and sometimes nearly 10 times as much for a hand wash. But if you’re wanting to be truly eco-friendly there’s the energy rating to be considered too. Good Housekeeping ranks this Siemens model as a top performer for eco-friendly requirements, giving it an impressive 92/100 review score. With 14 place settings and great performance even on eco settings, buyers are also giving this machine a thumbs up.
The AO reviews are all 4 or 5 star, citing great flexibility with the adjustable trays and very quiet running as key pros. And while some said the WiFi connectivity isn’t a function that’s often used, it does mean you can turn your dishwasher on from your smartphone if you want to look flash! Perhaps it will entice the kids to get involved with chores. And others said the ability to be alerted to the end of a cycle, or a low level of salt wherever you are in the house was a useful feature.
Best Performance on Eco Setting: Whirlpool WFF 4O33 DLTG
HELLO! rating: 4/5
Whirlpool WFF 4O33, £679, Hughes
This full-sized dishwasher is a top of the range Whirlpool at a higher price point, but you get more bang for your buck. With 14 place settings, and an A+++ energy rating, it can be controlled remotely and has a display on the front which clearly shows you the status of your wash. Expert reviews ranks its performance on the low-energy eco setting as "very, very good", although what you save in energy and water, you lose in time - as it's a programme that takes over 3 hours to run. And one very popular feature is the ability to set the machine to run in just one area - so if the cutlery drawer needs a fast clean, it just does that. Or you can select top of bottom rack.
Steam-free washing promises completely dry dishes at the end of a cycle. It's also very quiet.
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