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Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
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A gorgeous upmarket look compliments this dishwasher's excellent cleaning skills and quiet, 39-decibel operation. Read More
The Miele G 7566 SCVi SF is a marvel of German engineering. It combines robust power with a subtle touch of convenience. Read More
The Bosch 800 Series SHP78CM5N is a near-perfect dishwasher. It scrubbed out every stain we threw at it, in record time, and has great smart features. Read More
The G 5266 blows most other dishwashers out of the water. If your budget can accommodate its premium price, it's one of the best models you can buy. Read More
A high-performing dishwasher with extra features that make it easy to use. Read More
In a world of chiming phone notifications and loud TV commercials, silence is golden. When you finally put your feet up at the end of the day, the last thing you want is a noisy dishwasher disrupting your evening.
There are plenty of great dishwashers that excel at overall performance, but your particular home situation—particularly those suffering from the acoustic side effects of an open-concept living space—may want to prioritize a dishwasher that runs quietly.
While we think the Bosch 800 Series SHP78CM5N dishwasher offers the best balance of noise versus performance, the true library-quiet champion is the GE Café CDT875M5NS5 (available at Lowe's for $1,899.00) , operating at a mere 39 decibels.
Powerful cleaning
Automatic detergent dispenser
Efficient
Expensive
Niche interior
Impressive cleaning power
Third rack and adjustable upper rack
Nothing significant that we could find
Effective Heavy Duty cycle
Dries dishes completely
Foldable tines and repositionable racks
Dishes got less clean towards the center of the bottom rack
A lot has changed over the past few decades. Dishwashers of the past were incredibly loud, but more modern models have been in a race towards reducing that noise to basically zero.
Whether it's been a while since you last bought a dishwasher or if this is your first time shopping, you're likely to have some questions. We can help answer them.
To put decibels in context, 0 decibels is the threshold of human hearing. A whisper is 30 decibels, a vacuum cleaner is 75 decibels, and gunshots hit 140-150 decibels.
From these examples, you can imagine what decibels may sound like, but the bigger question may actually be “what is a decibel”? The CDC defines the term decibel as the intensity of a sound or the amount of sound energy in a confined space.
On its website, it states, “The decibel scale is logarithmic, which means that loudness is not directly proportional to sound intensity. Instead, the intensity of a sound grows very fast. This means that a sound at 20 dB is 10 times more intense than a sound at 10 dB. Also, the intensity of a sound at 100 dB is one billion times more powerful compared to a sound at 10 dB.”
Persistent noise over a period of time above 70 decibels can damage your hearing over time, whereas levels of noise higher than 120 decibels can cause damage immediately, according to the CDC.
The CDC also pegs a dishwasher at about 70 decibels, but these days, appliance manufacturers like Bosch and Samsung are building machines that make about 40% of that amount of noise.
Currently on the market, the quietest dishwashers tend to be under 40dBA and the loudest are around 62dBA. However, as dishwashers tend to have a lifespan of 10 years or so, you may currently own a dishwasher that’s louder.
For the purpose of this guide, we consider dishwashers that fall between 38dBA and 45dBA. This ranges from ultra-quiet to soft.
The noises made by appliances are complicated. Unlike a pure musical note, they contain a mixture of high and low sound frequencies.
Decibels (dB) tell you the total noise level and include all the sound frequencies that happen to be present in the mix. This is helpful, but it doesn’t account for human ears working better at some frequencies than others. Some sounds have frequencies outside the range our ears can detect.
The dBA scale tells you how noisy things are within the sound frequency range our ears can pick up. This means that dBA is the best measure of the noise levels you’ll actually experience from a sound source.
Yes, it’s likely. The trend seems to be that the higher the MSRP is for a dishwasher, the quieter it will be.
Now, does that mean you’ll pay more? Maybe. You can always shop the lower-end models of higher-end brands, like Bosch, for quieter operation. In fact, Bosch was the first brand to introduce a quiet dishwasher operation. You can also keep an eye on more expensive brands and shop them when there’s a price drop, like over President’s Day weekend or Black Friday.
Dishwashers can cost anywhere from around $500 to more than $2,000—there can be huge gulfs of performance and features between any two models. Here are some key aspects to keep in mind when shopping for a new dishwasher.
Just like refrigerators and ranges, dishwashers are often available in different finishes and colors.
Stainless steel is a timeless classic and one of the most common finish options. More recently, different variations of stainless steel have started rising in popularity, such as black stainless and fingerprint-resistant stainless steel.
There are often a few matte color finishes as well, like white and black. Some of our favorite models feature novel and bold finish choices, such as navy steel, Tuscan steel, and platinum glass.
When shopping for a new dishwasher, keep in mind what finishes the rest of your kitchen appliances have, so you can make sure they match or play off each other's aesthetics. The rest is up to personal preferences.
During our testing, we focus on a dishwasher's normal, heavy, and quick wash cycles. While budget dishwashers may only have those three available, more expensive models will often have a lot of additional cycles available.
In our experience, most of the additional wash cycles beyond those core three are of niche usefulness. Still, there are some that are particularly helpful. Sanitize, for example, can be a boon for new families who want to ensure bottles are sterilized. Some high-end dishwashers also have gentler cycles available for washing porcelain or china.
While cleaning performance is the most important quality in a dishwasher, great features can really add to a user's overall experience, or provide helpful functionality you may not find on other models.
Adjustable upper racks are helpful when dealing with oddly shaped cups, bowls, and cookware. Third racks are great for larger utensils that don’t neatly fit into the utility basket. If you rely on thermoses or other tall vessels, a bottle jet can help keep their interiors clean.
Most of the dishwashers we test have the option for a delayed start. Almost all of them feature stainless steel tubs, which are quieter than dishwashers lined with plastic. Higher-end dishwashers sometimes have a turbidity sensor, which can detect the soil levels of your dishes and adjust the cleaning cycle accordingly.
More expensive dishwashers will sometimes have smart features via a companion app. These apps can allow you to remote control your dishwasher, and receive notifications when a cycle is complete. More complex smart features allow you to set up higher-intensity wash zones, for when you have really stubborn stains to scour.
As a general rule, the more features a dishwasher has, the more it costs.
According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, the average dishwasher lasts about nine years. This InterNACHI chart on standard estimated life expectancies for all types of home products is incredibly helpful, whether you're researching dishwashers or any other major appliance.
When we spoke to appliance repair experts, they claimed a good dishwasher should last 10-to-13 years.
While we test dishwashers for cleaning performance and overall build quality, we don’t have any long-term tests for durability or longevity. The lifespan of a dishwasher will vary by brand and by model.
It depends.
As explained above, you should expect a dishwasher to last about 10 years. A replacement will cost anywhere from $500 to $1,000, depending on if you're shopping on a budget or trying to get the best, most durable model for your money.
If your dishwasher is towards the end of its lifespan and something breaks, then yes, it's probably cheaper to buy a new dishwasher. This will prevent you from constantly trying to fix an older, likely less efficient model as more and more parts begin to break down.
One perk of buying a newer model is that, due to technological improvements, they often use less electricity and water than older models. This can save you some money on your utility bills going forward.
Remember: If you do decide to buy a new dishwasher, have a plan for how to dispose of your old appliance.
While budget models can sometimes have comparable cleaning strength to higher-end models, they're often less consistent. Higher-end machines are able to power through just about any stain you can throw at them. If a budget model doesn’t perform as well, you may need to run some dishes through multiple wash cycles, or hand-wash particularly stubborn stains.
High-end models often have more robust feature sets. Whether or not they're useful for you will depend on personal habits and preferences. If you use bulky cookware or ceramics, foldable tines can accommodate them more easily than a dishwasher with fixed tines. If you put large pots in your dishwasher, an adjustable rack may be necessary. Smart features, like remote control, are a great accessibility feature for some, but an unnecessary add-on for others.
Another difference between higher-end and budget models is their overall build quality. In this regard, a higher-end machine has an advantage over time. Dishwashers generally last about 10 years, but budget models may fail before then and high-end models may last longer. If you spend half as much on a dishwasher and need to replace it twice as often, it probably makes more sense to buy the higher-end model.
The experts seem torn on what the quietest dishwasher is. To save you some time and trouble, we’ve checked the dishwasher guides and done the research for you.
Wirecutter: Wirecutter doesn’t have a separate list of their favorite quiet dishwashers, but they call out the 44dBA Miele G7216—their Upgrade pick—as ultra-quiet.
Consumer Reports: The Consumer Reports team extends their Best Overall recommendation of the Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N as their pick for quietest dishwasher as well. The Benchmark is the step-up series from our favorite Bosch 800 Series. For around $400 extra, the Benchmark buys you quieter cycles, a different rack configuration, and interior lights.
User comments around the quietest dishwashers seem to display the typical amount of appliance infighting. We’re pulling these user reviews from sources other than Amazon because Amazon is not a great retailer for large appliances.
Reddit /BuyItForLife: Over at Reddit’s BIFL, the top comments recommend Bosch or Miele, which also happen to be two of the quietest dishwasher brands we’ve tested.
AJ Madison: Regarding our top-pick Café CDT875M5NS5, it receives greater than four stars across customer reviews, including AJ Madison, and is frequently praised in the reviews for its extremely quiet operation.
Our hands-on, standardized testing and review process was developed by appliance experts and iterated on for almost a decade.
When testing, we assess each dishwasher based on its cleaning performance, feature set, and overall user experience.
Learn more about how we test dishwashers at Reviewed.
For more tips, product reviews, and ideas related to dishwashers, check out these articles on Reviewed.com and beyond:
Some dishwashers dry better than others—here's why: This feature explains the different methods dishwashers use to dry dishes, and what to look for in a dishwasher if drying ability is high on your list of must-haves.
Your dishwasher is gross—here's how to clean it: In this article, you’ll learn what components of a dishwasher need to be cleaned, why it’s important, and how to do it easily.
The Best Bosch Dishwashers: Bosch makes dishwashers that clean well and do it quietly. We curated a list of just our favorite Bosch dishwashers.
A dishwasher is the easiest appliance to buy online—here's why: Buying an appliance online isn’t always an easy thing to do, but with dishwashers it can be. This feature explains the different types of dishwashers you may consider, and why making that choice online makes sense.
The Best Third Rack Dishwashers We've Tested: The third rack has become a differentiating feature to look for when buying a dishwasher, and this list bubbles up the top dishwashers we’ve tested with excellent third rack features.
How Do Dishwashers Work? Everything You Want To Know: An in-depth breakdown of dishwasher mechanics—from spray arms and filtration systems to drying technologies like CrystalDry with zeolite. This article also offers expert tips on cycle choices and maximizing performance.
What Actually Happens Inside a Dishwasher: A similarly foundational piece that demystifies the internal functions of a dishwasher—highlighting its tub, spray systems, heating elements, and how these parts work together to get dishes clean and dry.
Mark Brezinski works on the Home Team, reviewing refrigerators, minifridges, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, air purifiers, and fans.
Leigh Harrington has 25 years experience as a writer and editor for myriad print and digital publications.
At Reviewed, Harrington manages Reviewed's overall content, including areas of focus like home improvement, cleaning, gardening, cooking, smart home, organization, and parenting. She focuses on developing and editing consumer ed content, product reviews and buying guides, but she also writes, too.
Harrington is also an experienced travel writer, and has authored books including Fodor's Boston, 100 Things to Do in Boston Before You Die, and Colorful Cities Boston, an adult coloring book. She was a respected, longtime regional editorial director at Where travel guide, and has written for other publications including the US News & World Report, USA Today, Boston Herald, Newport Life, Exhale magazine, Huffington Post, and many more. www.leighharrington.com
Freelance Editor, Kitchen & Appliances. Danielle has a B.S. from Syracuse University and a AAS in Culinary Arts from Newbury College. Previously, Danielle was a Test Cook and Associate Editor at America's Test Kitchen, as well as a freelance recipe developer and food writer. She’s the mom of two boys and loves making pizza on Friday nights.
Our team is here to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and experts obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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