Most and least reliable dishwasher brands of 2026, according to Consumer Reports

A dishwasher is a purchase most households make once a decade, which makes repair history a more useful shopping guide than the feature list taped to a showroom door. Consumer Reports asks its members two separate questions about the machines they own. One is how often the dishwasher has needed repair, which feeds a predicted reliability rating. The other is whether they would steer someone else toward the same brand, which becomes an owner satisfaction score. The two numbers move independently more often than shoppers expect. A company can build a machine that rarely needs service and still leave its owners cold. A premium nameplate can also fall short of what its price implies about durability.

Among the most reliable dishwasher brands of 2026, Bosch and Miele stand alone in taking the highest rating on both measures at once. That combination matters for a buyer who wants a machine that lasts and an ownership experience worth repeating. Midea, still unfamiliar to many U.S. shoppers, posts strong numbers on both fronts too, usually at a far lower price than its better-known rivals. Thermador shares a manufacturer with Bosch, and the family resemblance shows up in its repair record, with its owners reporting satisfaction almost as high.

Dependability and affection do not always arrive together. Whirlpool's machines rarely break down, yet the people who own them are not especially eager to recommend the brand to others. Hotpoint holds up about as well mechanically, but its satisfaction score trails every other brand in the survey. Cove, a luxury offshoot of the company that makes Sub-Zero and Wolf refrigerators, wins over its owners even though its repair rating lags behind its premium price tag. A large middle group lands at middling satisfaction: Asko, Beko, Café, Fisher & Paykel, KitchenAid, LG, Maytag, Monogram and SKS, also known as Signature Kitchen Suite. The rest of the field scores lower still.

The four models ahead come from the brands with the strongest combined reliability and performance records. They span a wide price range, from a sub-$1,000 machine to built-in units costing more than $2,400.

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The Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N carries an overall score of 85, the highest of any dishwasher in Consumer Reports' ratings, and Bosch is one of just two brands rated at the top on both measures the member survey tracks: how well the machines are expected to hold up, and how willing owners are to recommend them. It sells for $1,799 to $2,247.63 depending on the retailer.

Balance is what separates it from the rest of the leaderboard. Washing and drying scores are both strong, instead of one carrying the other — the usual compromise in this category is a machine that cleans well and leaves plastics damp. Noise stays low, and energy efficiency lands above par, so operating costs do not chip away at the upfront outlay over an eight- to 10-year ownership window.

The Benchmark sits at the top of Bosch's lineup, and the feature list reflects that. A third rack takes utensils, lids and the small items that crowd a cutlery basket. The upper rack moves up or down to clear tall glasses or deep stockpots below it. Delayed start runs through Bosch's smartphone app, which helps shift a cycle to off-peak electricity hours or keep the noise out of dinner. Those controls together give the model the highest ease-of-use mark in the ratings.

The built-in water softener is the detail least likely to turn up on a competitor's spec sheet at this price. It conditions incoming water to stop the hard-water spotting that leaves a chalky haze on glassware, a recurring frustration in regions with mineral-heavy municipal supplies.

Buyers who want Bosch's repair record without the Benchmark's price can look at the Bosch 300 Series SHE3ADF5N, sold exclusively through Lowe's $LOW. Washing performance is strong and the brand-level reliability record is the same, but drying lands only in the middle of the field. That gap matters less in a household that empties the racks as soon as the cycle ends than in one where dishes sit until morning.

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The Midea MDT24P7CST carries an overall score of 82 and sells for $699 to $898.12, pairing an excellent predicted reliability rating with an above-par owner satisfaction score in Consumer Reports member surveys — a combination that rarely turns up under $1,000.

Midea is a less familiar name in U.S. kitchens than the European brands at the top of the category, but its survey marks sit alongside brands charging two and three times as much.

The machine cleans and dries dishes well while drawing very little energy. Lower electricity and water use narrows the gap between what an appliance costs on day one and what it costs to run over the years it stays in service.

Washing reach comes down to hardware placement. Spray arms sit on the lower rack, the upper rack and the third rack, so water hits dishes from three levels rather than one or two. That layout helps on crowded loads, where items on an upper shelf would otherwise shield what sits beneath them.

The upper rack adjusts to three separate heights rather than the single raised-or-lowered setting common on lower-priced models. That leaves more room to work with when a load mixes tall stemware with a stockpot below.

Two features separate it from typical mid-range units. A bottle-washing zone sends water directly into the interior of bottles, reaching the narrow necks and bases a general spray pattern tends to miss. A separate section is built for reusable straws, which are awkward to clean on a standard rack.

The appeal of the MDT24P7CST lies in what it does not ask buyers to give up. Spending less on a dishwasher often means accepting weaker cleaning or a noisier cycle. This model instead lands on the same reliability and satisfaction measures that put premium brands at the top of the category, at a fraction of their price.

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Miele earns top marks for both brand reliability and owner satisfaction, and the G7196SCVISF is the model that carries those scores into a built-in unit. It posts an overall score of 78 at $2,399, the second-highest price among the four machines here.

Washing performance is strong and the unit runs quietly. Drying is the weak point. The G7196SCVISF clears moisture from dishes only adequately by the end of a cycle. That tradeoff matters at this price for anyone who unloads right away instead of letting a rack air out.

Operating cost is where the machine pulls ahead. Among the four dishwashers covered here, it carries the lowest estimated yearly bill for water and electricity. That offsets part of the purchase price over the decade a built-in unit often spends in a kitchen. For a household running a load most days, that margin adds up.

The hardware matches what the price implies. Adjustable tines in the lower rack let bowls and awkward cookware sit without blocking the spray, the upper rack moves to accommodate taller glassware, and a third rack handles utensils and shallow items. The tub is stainless steel rather than plastic, a construction choice that resists heat and staining better over a long service life. WiFi connectivity allows cycles to be started and monitored from a phone.

The automatic detergent dispenser is the feature most likely to change day-to-day results. It measures the dose for each load instead of leaving the amount to guesswork. Too much detergent leaves film on glassware; too little leaves residue in the tub and on dishes. Removing that variable keeps results consistent from cycle to cycle.

The G7196SCVISF fits a buyer focused on running costs and long-term dependability who is willing to give up some drying power to get Miele's reliability record. Buyers who want dishes dry straight out of the machine will find stronger performers elsewhere in the ratings.