Best High-End Dishwashers

These premium dishwashers from five different companies have just about all the features a dishwasher can offer. They also gained favorable scores in our ratings for their washing and drying performance, and most of them scored highly for how easy they are to 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 a stainless steel tub 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 and 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 allow you to use an app on your phone to program the color of the lighting 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 your phone to check the time remaining on a cycle and, in some cases, select a cycle and start the dishwasher, whether you’re away from your kitchen or even your home. Many dishwashers with WiFi can also send an alert to your phone if a problem arises, like a leak, and help put you in touch with customer service.
• More style choices: High-end dishwashers provide more options when it comes to exterior finishes and handle styles. Some models are built to accommodate your choice of cabinetry so that the exterior of your dishwasher can match.

Consumer Reports’ test engineers spend about 30 hours testing each dishwasher. To evaluate cleaning performance, dishes are put through a proprietary test that uses photo imaging to determine precisely how clean they are after a standard cycle full of dishes with baked-on food. While previously we only evaluated how well dishwashers cleaned dishes on the lower rack, we’ve now expanded our testing to include the cleaning performance of dishes loaded in the upper rack as well.

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, a newly added category in our testing, is evaluated based on how accessible the control panel of the dishwasher is 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 more.