6 Best Countertop Dishwashers of 2024, According to Experts

With its silver tone finish and electronic control panel, the Danby will be a nice-looking addition to your kitchen countertop. It can handle a half dozen place settings and gives you a choice of 6 cleaning options from short energy-saving cycles for lightly soiled dishes to an intensive setting for heavily soiled loads; it includes a baby care program for steam cleaning, but not sanitizing, bottles. You can set it to turn on anywhere from 2 to 8 hours later so it will run when energy costs are lowest and the noise is least likely to disturb you.

The cavity is stainless steel which makes it resistant to rusting and cracking. In addition to a detergent dispenser, it has a compartment for rinse aid which helps prevent water spots. As this is one of the heavier dishwashers among our picks, it’s a good choice if you plan to give it a permanent place on your counter and use it every day. Just make sure there’s room for it under your cabinets as it’s tall. The Danby is Energy Star certified which means it will be easier on your electric bill.

Although this is just about the least expensive model with an established brand name, it is in no ways lacking in features. It’s large enough for a half dozen place settings and has electronic controls and a stainless-steel tub with a compartment to hold rinse aid. What you don’t get at this price are a myriad of settings. Speed, Normal, and Heavy are the only cycles but (on the plus side) that means fewer decisions to make.

At just 35 pounds, the RCA is relatively lightweight and easy to stow away between uses but it is tall so be sure it fits below the cabinet next to your sink.

This Black + Decker countertop dishwasher is chic with a with a black window, a curved stainless-steel handle, an LED display above the handle, and a stainless steel interior. It’s loaded with seven cycles ranging from a quick Rinse to a rigorous Heavy and has 24-hour delay start and child lock options. While it’s large enough to hold 6 complete place settings, the manufacturer cautions that it can’t accommodate dinner plates larger than 10 inches. You can set it for extra drying time and there’s a compartment for rinse aid.

In addition to being among the quietest models you can buy, the Black + Decker is Energy Star rated.

The advantage of this compact model is its 5-liter water tank which means you don’t have to hook it up to your sink, giving you more flexibility as to where to set it up. To use it, you fill a reservoir as you would on a coffeemaker; if the drain hose doesn’t reach to the sink, you can place it in a bucket (make sure that bucket holds 5 liters of water). You do have the option of hooking the unit up to the sink, too. As it only cleans two place settings at a time, it’s strictly for a household of just one or two or for outfitting an RV. Farberware claims that it can accommodate 12-inch plates if you angle them in the racks.

Not only is this one of the smallest models you can find, it’s also one of the most lightweight. On the control panel, there’s an LED display and 5 cycles including a 40-minute Rapid setting, a Baby Care one that uses steam, and a Fruit one for rinsing off produce (though we’re not sure how useful that would be on its own). It has a child lock feature to prevent little ones from tinkering with the controls. The Air Refresh cycle helps with drying but there’s no rinse-aid compartment.

Even a small kitchen can be a center of activity. Thanks to its quite operation, the Comfee won’t add to the hubbub. It’s large enough to hold 6 place settings and with 8 programs, can do everything from a quick 20-minute rinse to a heavy clean for greasy, gunky dishes. So that it isn’t distracting visually either, you can choose an exterior color to match your kitchen; it’s offered in white, black, or white with black digital display.

It has lots of other plusses, including a rinse aid compartment and an up to 8-hour delay start function. With its Energy Star rating, it’s among the most efficient models you can buy. Comfee includes an adapter to make it easy to connect to your faucet.

If washing baby bottles is one of your daily challenges, consider this model which uses steam to get them thoroughly clean and sparkling. (You should be aware though that the water temperature will not get hot enough to sanitize or sterilize them.) You’ll also like the 24- minute Self Clean cycle that freshens the cavity or quickly rinses dishes that you want to wash later — perfect for plates that held lunchtime tuna fish salads.

This Farberware has a delay start feature and a compartment for rinse aid. All of the programs are displayed on an LED panel. You have a choice of 3 colors for the exterior, black, white, or white with a glass door and black towel-bar handle; the tub is stainless steel. Although this model is large enough to hold six place settings, it should easily fit under your cabinets — but of course, measure to be certain. Farberware includes accessories and adapters so you shouldn’t have a problem connecting it to your faucet.