Are you looking to outfit a new kitchen but are dismayed at the huge range of items available? How do

you choose home appliances? Is price more important than quality? What about variety and customer service? In this article, we compare kitchen appliances to help you make the best decision for your home.

Top 5 Kitchen Appliance Sets

 

1. Bosch

 

 

Bosch is one of the most reliable names in home appliances and offers some of the best customer service you’ll find anywhere. That said, they are also quite expensive, particularly Bosch’s new Benchmark line of products. If you’re Benchmark to “ordinary” appliances, they’re expensive. If you’re looking at them as luxury appliances, which is Bosch’s intention, they’re a steal. The Benchmark series packages offer a microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator, and oven. Everything in this line is made in Germany.

What’s to Love

Digital Trends gives the oven 4 out of 5 stars as a premium oven available for the home at a reasonable price. The newest Bosch Benchmark dishwashers offer some great features based on recent customer feedback, including nearly inaudible noise levels at just 38-42db, gliding racks, and a clear, full-color display that’s easy to understand at a glance.

Many French door fridge designs leave you with a huge freezer where food gets lost, but that’s not the case with the Bosch’s two-drawer design. The fridge has plenty of space, retractable shelves with room for 2-liter bottles, and whisper-quiet running. Microwaves are relatively new for Bosch, but reviewers are raving about the sideways opening door on this model.

What’s Not to Love

The only serious downside we noted as we compare kitchen appliances comes with the refrigerator in this Bosch line. It lacks a water/ice dispenser, and there’s no filter for the internal ice maker. Other than that, there’s really not much to complain about with this series other than the price.

2. Frigidaire

 

Frigidaire is a solid name in American home appliances and a brand to consider any time you compare kitchen appliances. Overall, Frigidaire offers decent design, capable function, and excellent prices. You won’t get all the bells and whistles you’ll see on the Bosch, but you also won’t pay nearly as much. Where Frigidaire falls flat is in customer service.

Sets from Frigidaire are available with oven, microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator. There are many packages available, but one of the best is the Gallery Series.

What’s to Love

The oven has a clean look and performs very well, with plenty of power in the burners and a temp probe in the oven that makes cooking simple. The fridge is a French-door style that looks and feels high-end and offers plenty of space, with a deli drawer you can use as a wine cooler.

The dishwasher is a solid performer that’s truly smudge-free, looks great, and is surprisingly quiet for the price. The microwave is quiet, functional, and looks great when combined with the rest of the series.

What’s Not to Love

All these appliances are a bit on the noisy side. The oven’s factory warranty specifically excludes rust, which is unfortunate, as the stainless steel coating is prone to rust without care. The fridge offers very consistent temps, but the freezer doesn’t.

The dishwasher does collect food at the bottom, and you’ll have a hard time telling when it’s running by sound alone. The microwave is the weak point in this series. It feels cheaper than the rest of the line—though, when new, it performs beautifully.

3. Whirlpool

 

The Whirlpool Fingerprint-Resistant Stainless Steel Suite is popular for obvious reasons: we all want a kitchen that looks sleek. The appliances in this line are all solid performers at reasonable prices. Everything in here is good, if not a game-changer.

What’s to Love

It doesn’t get any better than the “pantry-inspired” French door refrigerator, which at 36-in wide is possibly the biggest fridge you’ll find for the price. And Whirlpool have made the most of that space: reviewers all comment lovingly on how many spacing solutions are packed in there.

The dishwasher has a Sensor cycle that does a great job of deciding how dirty dishes really are. The microwave comes with useful smart features, including Scan-to-Cook tech that really works, and can function as a vent hood to the oven. The oven is available in gas or electric and is smart enough to cook your food from frozen.

What’s Not to Love

The dishwasher does have trouble getting things thoroughly dry, even when you use the special extended drying option. The fridge is awesome, but it does require some upkeep if you want it to stay in tip-top shape. That includes replacing the filter every six months. Our only other complaint is the cast iron grates and knobs on the range: they dirty fast and look worn quickly as you clean them.

The best places to find Whirlpool is at:

 

4. GE

 

The GE Profile series includes an extra bonus: a 36-inch hood. Available in black or stainless steel, these appliances are a solid pick for a no-frills, modern kitchen. With GE, expect reliable performance, reasonable prices, and good customer service.

What’s to Love

Perhaps the best thing about these appliances is their looks. GE went all out in design, and it shows. It will look like you paid a lot more for them than you actually did. The touch-screen panels function beautifully on all the home appliances in this line.

This line also offers a double wall oven with features you don’t expect for the price, like compatibility with the GE Brillion app, an LED status bar, and a Steam Clean function that really does the job.

What’s Not to Love

The fridge looks amazing and performs well, but it is a little on the snug size. The temperature control inside also isn’t as perfect as Frigidaire or Bosch. The microwave is also a weak point in this set, with a short warranty, few features, and pretty low power.

5. KitchenAid

 

KitchenAid is an upscale brand belonging to Whirlpool, and they’re known for their dishwashers and ranges in particular. Prices are a little higher than with some of the others on our list, but performance is excellent and customer service reliable. The KB3 package includes a fridge, microwave, electric or gas range, dishwasher, and electric oven.

What’s to Love

The design is our favorite element here. These pieces look like they were built into the kitchen rather than added after the fact, which gives you a high-end feel. The fridge’s temperature management system and humidity control are great. The cooktop performs as well as it looks, and the Ultra Heat feature can get a big pot of water to the boil in less than five minutes. We also love the Cookshield finish on the microwave, which makes cleaning a breeze.

What’s Not to Love

The microwave doesn’t heat the food as consistently as some other models but isn’t a big downside.

 

The best place to find KitchenAid is at:

Save $200-$800 On Three Or More KitchenAid Appliances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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