If you don’t have the budget or space for a full-size dishwasher, but still don’t want to spend a lot of time scrubbing dirty dishes, you may want to buy a countertop dishwasher. While they look tiny, they can actually fit up to six place settings (where one place setting includes a plate, a bowl, a glass, a fork, a knife, and a spoon), and generally don’t require any additional plumbing other than access to your kitchen faucet.
We tested a bunch of countertop dishwashers to find out which one is the best; however, with the knowledge that most countertop dishwashers are made by a single company and rebranded later (more on that later), we weren’t expecting much. While we did end up having a favorite countertop dishwasher, the Danby DDW631SDB (available at Amazon for $369.99), most of the products on this list are very similar to one another, and will work just fine in your kitchen.
Here are the ranks for the countertop dishwashers we tested, in order:
Danby DDW631SDB
How We Tested
What You Should Know About Countertop Dishwashers
Other Countertop Dishwashers We Tested
More Articles You Might Enjoy
The Danby DDW631SDB is our top countertop dishwasher because of its cleaning power and numerous cycle options.
Hi there! We’re Reviewed’s appliance testing team. Between the three of us (Jon Chan, Kyle Hamilton, and Julia MacDougall), we’ve spent many years testing major appliances including washers, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, and robot vacuum cleaners.
We have plenty of experience testing these products in the lab, but we’ve also used them like normal people would in the course of their daily lives, which means that we have a great sense for what appliances are bargains at their price points, and which appliances have really useful extra features (as opposed to the kitchen-sink approach to features).
With all this in mind, you can feel confident that when we recommend a product, we’re giving it our Reviewed stamp of approval, which means two things: firstly, this appliance performs well, and secondly, this appliance is easy to use.
Dirty dish testing. These Corelle plates are coated with sausage patty residue and baked dry.
We have already evaluated hundreds of dishwashers in our appliance test facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We assessed these countertops the same way we assess full-size dishwashers: cleaning performance, features, and usability. Because these countertop dishwashers are much smaller than a regular dishwasher, however, we reduced the number of stained dishes, and only tested the Normal cycle.
Countertop dishwashers look a lot like full-sized models on the inside—including full-sized filters, stainless interiors, and washarms.
It depends. If you’re concerned about wasting water, a countertop dishwasher uses less water than hand washing. This makes it an especially attractive option for an RV or somewhere else where you don't have the space for a fully-installed or portable dishwasher.
Using a countertop dishwasher also requires a lot less effort than it does to wash dishes by hand, and our tests show that it does a much better job cleaning. If you’re a clean freak, buying a countertop dishwasher is a small price to pay to ensure that your dishes don’t just look clean.
However, you’ll still have to wash larger items in the sink; additionally, a countertop dishwasher can take up valuable space on your counter when it’s not in use.
Larger portable dishwashers, which also hook up to kitchen faucets and wheel out of the way when they’re not in use, can cost twice as much, but can also accommodate more, larger dishes.
Countertop dishwashers can usually fit up to six place settings, which includes one plate, one bowl, one glass, one fork, one spoon, and one knife.
Nearly every countertop dishwasher works the same way: There are two hoses that join a “quick connect” mount that should attach to almost any faucet. One hose takes in fresh water, the other drains dirty water into the sink.
Inside, there's room for four full place settings in a single rack, a cutlery basket, a removable filter, and a stainless tub.
This faucet likely won't work with a countertop dishwasher
You can keep the dishwasher attached to your sink and press a bypass button to get fresh water, or you can disconnect it after use.
Be aware: Not every faucet works with a portable dishwasher. We had to purchase a small 15/16 inch to 55/64 inch faucet adapter at a hardware store. Stylish faucets with hidden “Cache” aerators may not fit a portable dishwasher at all.
It’s possible to hook up a sprayer faucet to a dishwasher—several online guides exist that explain how to do so—but it’s not recommended.
Two hoses hook up to the rear of the dishwasher, and then attach to a single connector that hangs from a kitchen faucet.
A hOmeLabs portable dishwasher—made by Midea.
After looking at bills of lading and other import data, we learned that nearly every countertop dishwasher sold in the U.S. is made by Midea.
Midea, based in Guangdong, China, is one of the largest appliance companies in the world. It owns vacuum-maker Eureka, has the rights to use the Toshiba name on small appliances, and manufactures hundreds of products for companies like GE Appliances and even the Instant Pot.
Midea now sells appliances under its own name, and recently opened several research and development centers in the U.S.
It makes sense that these products are imported from China, and not just because of lower manufacturing costs. Countertop dishwashers are much more popular in China, and it’s a lot easier to import these rectangular, easy-to-ship boxes from an existing factory than to set up production in countries where they’re more of a niche product.
Great performance
Dries dishes
Has a fruit cleaning cycle
Minor issues with redeposit
Big capacity for a 22-inch countertop dishwasher
Controls were a bit confusing at first
Very small capacity compared to full-size models
Sleek look
Intuitive controls
A little expensive for its cleaning ability
Very small capacity compared to full-size models
Has 6 cleaning cycles
1-24 hour delay option
Struggles with tough stains
Stainless steel finish
1-24 hour delay option
Has issues with spinach redeposit
Julia is the Senior Scientist at Reviewed, which means that she oversees (and continually updates) the testing of products in Reviewed's core categories such as televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, and more. She also determines the testing methods and standards for Reviewed's "The Best Right Now" articles.
Kyle Hamilton
Product Tester
Kyle Hamilton is a product tester at Reviewed, specializing in home appliances and technology.
We use standardized and scientific testing methods to scrutinize every product and provide you with objectively accurate results. If you’ve found different results in your own research, email us and we’ll compare notes. If it looks substantial, we’ll gladly re-test a product to try and reproduce these results. After all, peer reviews are a critical part of any scientific process.
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