An over-the-range microwave oven is a good choice if you have limited counter space or prefer a built-in appliance that matches the rest of your kitchen aesthetic.
You can get a new OTR microwave for as little as $180, not including the installation cost, which can vary. Some retailers, such as Home Depot, offer free installation if the purchase price of your new microwave exceeds a certain amount.
In This Article
- Café CVM721M2NS5
- Ikea Lagan 704.621.63
- Ikea Medelniva 504.621.64
- KitchenAid KMHS120ESS
- LG MHEC1737F
- LG MVEL2033F
- LG MVEL2125F
- Thermador MU30WSU
- Whirlpool WMH78519LZ
There are some drawbacks worth noting, however. Although over-the-range microwaves have a built-in exhaust fan, they don’t vent cooking gases as well as a dedicated range hood. Plus, we found through our tests that over-the-range microwaves often only have 40 to 50 percent of their advertised capacity. And if you’re short, you might also find it challenging to remove a piping-hot bowl of soup from a microwave mounted at least 18 inches above your stovetop.
“Some newer over-the-range microwaves are very squat and might be difficult to reach when you open the door or press buttons,” says Ginny Lui, who leads microwave testing at Consumer Reports. “Make sure to consider the size of the current microwave in your kitchen before you buy one.”
Debating whether you should repair or replace your broken OTR microwave? CR’s interactive tool leverages product costs, depreciation rates, and survey data to help you make the right choice. There are more than 70 over-the-range microwave ovens (and even more countertop models) in our ratings, too.
Here, listed in alphabetical order, are nine over-the-range microwaves that deliver outstanding performance in our lab tests. For more information on choosing a microwave, see our microwave buying guide.
The snazzy Café CVM721M2NS5 has a recessed handle and hidden digital controls that run along the bottom. When you tap on the glass touchscreen, the options for time and cooking modes pop into view. In addition to looking good, it cooks well, earning an excellent rating in our heating evenness test. It’s also first-rate at defrosting, and it operates quietly. A sensor prevents you from overheating your food. In our latest member survey, Café over-the-range microwaves earned middling scores for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.
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The Ikea Lagan is a very quiet microwave, and it’s top-notch at defrosting, so you don’t have to worry about last-minute meals. It’s very good at evenly heating a dish of mashed potatoes but could be a bit faster. Our testers also found it easy to use without reading the manual. Ikea’s over-the-range microwaves got an excellent rating for predicted reliability but a subpar grade for owner satisfaction in our member surveys.
The Ikea Medelniva performs its duties nicely in our tests, earning an excellent rating for defrosting a pound of frozen ground chuck evenly. It operates quietly, so you can have a conversation in the kitchen when it’s on, too. And its venting, while middling, is on a par with most of the OTR microwaves we test. If you want to reheat a dish of Swedish meatballs, however, you may find this model lacking—it earns only a so-so score on our heating evenness test.
If you often find yourself taking something out of the freezer to make for dinner when you get home from the office, the KitchenAid KMHS120ESS is a solid choice. It earns an excellent rating on our defrosting test, in which we defrost 1 pound of ground chuck. This KitchenAid also performs well in our heating evenness test and is extremely quiet. It has a cooking sensor and comes with a rack in case you want to cook two dishes at once. KitchenAid’s over-the-range microwaves received a very good rating for predicted reliability and a moderate score for owner satisfaction in our latest member survey.
The top-performing LG MHEC1737F showcases excellent defrosting capabilities in our tests. It earns a middling heating speed rating, so it may take a while to heat up food, but it delivers evenly heated mashed potatoes. The model also comes with a convection mode, which circulates heat around your food to warm it up. LG over-the-range microwaves garnered a top-notch rating for reliability but only a middling rating for owner satisfaction in our member surveys.
The sleek LG MVEL2033F has top-notch heating evenness and defrosting abilities. Plus, it’s a cinch to use without reading the owner’s manual. The controls light up when you touch the screen. It operates quietly and vents fairly well for an OTR. A sensor prevents you from overcooking your food. One small drawback is its so-so speed of heating performance, but if you have a little patience, it’s not a deal-breaker.
The LG MVEL2125F tops our ratings with stellar performances in our heating and defrosting evenness tests. While fairly quiet, the microwave falls in the middle of the pack in terms of heating speed and venting. Its touchpad controls make it easy to use, and the microwave comes with a sensor that prevents overcooking.
The Thermador MU30WSU earns top marks for heating evenness and very good ratings for speed of heating and defrosting evenness in our tests. This model comes with a sensor that prevents overcooking and a wire rack for bi-level cooking. In our surveys, Thermador over-the-range microwaves receive strong ratings for predicted reliability and midlevel marks for owner satisfaction.
The Whirlpool WMH78519LZ earns excellent ratings in our defrosting and noise tests. It also does very well in our heating evenness assessment, meaning a dish of cold mashed potatoes has few cold spots after microwaving. It doesn’t have a sensor to stop the appliance when your meal is done, but it does fit a 9x15-inch dish, meaning you can cook a casserole in it. Our testers also found it very easy to use. In our members survey, Whirlpool over-the-range microwaves received a very good rating for predicted reliability and a midrange score for owner satisfaction.
How CR Tests Over-the-Range Microwaves
In our lab, we assess how fast and how evenly microwaves heat. A microwave’s speed score is based on how quickly it heats a 1-liter bowl of room-temperature water. To test how evenly a microwave heats, we put a bowl of cold mashed potatoes inside, heat it for 10 minutes, and take temperature readings of 20 spots in the food. We also judge how quietly a microwave operates and how easy it is to use without consulting the manual. Finally, we perform a venting test—or the volume of air drawn in by the OTR’s internal fan on its highest setting—to see how well the microwave regulates airflow.
In addition to these performance tests, we incorporate ratings for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction using survey results from Consumer Reports members who purchased more than 43,000 new over-the-range microwaves between 2013 and 2023.
Mary H.J. Farrell
As a senior editor at Consumer Reports for more than 15 years, Mary H.J. Farrell reported on all manner of vacuums and cookware, as well as microwaves, mixers, freezers, and fans. Starting in the mid-1990s, she held senior positions at People.com, MSNBC, and Ladies’ Home Journal. One of her earliest jobs was at Good Housekeeping.
