There are hundreds of home appliance brands to choose from in 2021, but which home appliance brands are considered the best. We took a look at the awards and customer satisfaction surveys to bring you a list of the 10 best home appliance brands in 2021.
We take a look at some of the biggest home appliance brands in the world and their range of ovens, dishwashers, fridges and more to determine which of these brands delivers the most useful, best value for money and most reliable home appliances.
What is a home appliance?
A home appliance, or domestic appliance as they are also known, is a device that helps with household jobs like cooking, cleaning, storing food, managing home temperature and more. Home appliance come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from small aroma diffusers to large double-door fridges.
Within the broad category of home appliances there are sub-categories defined by the type of maintenance and repair they require:
Small appliances (juicers, coffee grinders, food processors)
Major appliances (white goods): need more practical skills and heavy tools
Consumer electronics (brown goods): require high technical knowledge
What are the best home appliance brands?
Below is a list of the 10 best home appliance brands based on customer satisfaction and awards. They are in no particular order but they all share excellent track records in reliability, customer satisfaction and design awards. If you feel missed any brands, please let us know in the comments.
Whirlpool
Whirpool is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances since 1911. It has been around for a century and a decade; this year marks its 110th year in the appliance business.
The brand is popular when it comes to large kitchen appliances. It has a great rep when it comes to oven ranges and refrigerators too. Its effective market appeal comes from the in-depth researches it makes to make sure the brand stays on top of everyone’s needs.
In fact, very recently Whirlpool won awards in the categories of Best Refrigerators, Best Washing Machines and Best Dryers of 2021 from the U.S. News & World Report.
According to Yale, Whirlpool is the leader in reliability. The brand is pegged as the most reliable and with a low service rate due to its reliability. That means there’s less call for technicians to come to houses to fix Whirlpool appliances and makes it one of the best home appliance brands in 2021.
View all of Whirlpool’s awards here.
KitchenAid
KitchenAid is a home appliance brand that is still owned by Whirpool. Which explains why its appliances are as durable and are as sought after. However, KitchenAid products are priced a bit higher than the average appliance brand.
It’s quite popular when it comes to countertop appliances, like stand mixers and other kitchenware appliances. But they do have cooktops, wall ovens, and refrigerators that are not necessarily high-end (for some) but have unique features or award-winning designs.
For others, especially for bakers, owning a KitchenAid mixer is a dream board item becoming a reality. Others say owning one (for passionate bakers) is a right of passage.
What makes KitchenAid a must-have appliance brand, as its mother company, is that its build to last for years, making it a worthy purchase.
View KitchenAid’s recent awards here.
Samsung
Samsung is one of the largest tech brands in the world. It not only produces high-quality smartphones and smart TVs, but it also manufactures home appliances.
Originating from South Korea, Samsung made it a point that they’d make everything smart, even your vacuum. It’s one of the top luxury appliance brands available in the market right now.
Recently Samsung home appliance products were recognised by Good Design Awards for “products of outstanding design and innovation that improve the lives of Australians”. The overall quality, reliability and style makes LG one of the best home appliance brands in 2021.
More awards can be seen here.
LG
LG, like Samsung, is also from South Korea. It also manufactures smartphones, TVs, and home appliances.
Of course, with such innovations, LG appliances are considered high-end as it is a luxury to have. Therefore, these appliances are sitting towards the top end of most peoples’ budgets.
Nevertheless, LG lives up to its quality and price as it has quite the collection of awards for its kitchen appliances. It has quite the rep for infusing its sleek designs, innovative features, and easy to use functions.
Famously known for its refrigerators and dishwashers, LG has received more J.D. Power Awards for Home Appliances than any other manufacturers (for 3 years in a row).
Bosch
Bosch, a home appliance brand from Germany, is best known for its cooktops, wall ovens, and most especially for its range microwaves. The brand also takes pride in manufacturing the best dishwashers in the market.
Recently, the company has made it a point to infuse home appliance control through your smartphones. It has been branded as one of the safest, and family-friendly kitchen appliance brand so far.
Not only is Bosch quite innovative with its products it has also made sure that its products are environmentally aware. That means their researches are up-to-date with the recent global issues and incorporate sustainable features into their latest releases.
You can view their awards here.
Frigidaire
Frigidaire has been voted as one of the best appliance brands by consumers, according to Ranker. Its side-by-side refrigerators have been a fan-favourite for a while. It has been tagged as one of the reliable and with great owner satisfactory rating brands for refrigerators in 2020 (based on Consumer Reports’ survey).
But of course, they do cater to a wide range of home appliance category, aside from fridges, such as ranges, cooktops, wall ovens, microwaves, and dishwashers.
Jumping in with the hype on air fryers, Frigidaire has released an air fry product line for its ranges and wall oven. Basically, you won’t need an air fryer with their traditional ranges and ovens.
So how is it more appealing? Well, you can only do so much with an air fryer. But an oven or a range with an air fry feature? The cooking possibilities are endless.
GE Appliance
Located in Louisville, Kentucky, GE Appliance is a brand that’s been around for more than a century—since 1905.
GE is actually deemed to be this year’s (2020-2021) most reliable brand, according to Yale. But, in the past years, specifically in 2018, J.D. Power did find GE appliance for Kitchen and Laundry Satisfaction Study to be one of the least reliable.
This year is looking different, nevertheless, as its has already been voted as 2021’s Best Side-by-Side Refrigerator. While their French Door Refrigerator, , also received a Best Refrigerator of 2021 award.
View their awards here.
Miele
Miele, like Bosch, is a manufacturer from Germany. The Miele brand creates top-of-the-line home appliances, even coffee machines and vacuum cleaners, but it’s best known for its dishwashers, laundry, and wall oven products.
Although some might think this brand is new, it has been around since 1899 and has an impressive collection of awards.
Miele is noted as having one of the highest satisfaction ratings of any appliance brand, particularly in Australia and was rated as having a five-star product rating across its Dishwasher, Vacuum Cleaners & Front-load Washing Machine categories.
It’s not as often heard of, unlike Whirpool or Bosch, because it’s more focused on the European sector and also because of its higher average price point compared to brands like. Bosch or LG.
Based on the number of awards this brand receives in the customer satisfaction department it’s clear to see that consumers consider Miele to be one fo the best home appliance brands in 2021
View a list of their awards here.
Beko
Beko caters globally but is a Turkish manufacturer popularly known to be a European home appliance brand. It is quite new to the U.S. market.
One of its best-sellers were its French door refrigerators with “Blue Light” technology. It is ranked as the 5th best fridge freezer brand out there, according to Kagoo’s survey.
But it also takes pride in its competitive dishwashers and compact laundry.
View all of their awards here.
Electrolux
Last on our list is the Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, Electrolux. It is a runner up to Whirpool when it comes to being the largest appliance maker.
It’s not actually one of the high-end brands, compared to the others, but it does provide a sophisticated design to its appliance. It gives consumers that high-end feel without actually paying a hefty price.
Electrolux offers mid-range appliances with designs competitively pleasing against luxury brands.
In fact, compared to Bosch products, there are features wherein Electrolux may be a better choice. Take for example ranges, for a starting price, Electrolux offers a modern model with automatic features while Bosch may only offer its basic freestanding gas ranges.
For wall ovens and cooktops, however, Bosch appliances are a better pick, but that’s because they feature better power and simmer control (for cooktops).
In terms of washers though (compared to LG washers), Electrolux appliances offer faster cycles position (15-18 minutes, while LG is more than 25 minutes) and has steam cycles. Not to mention, it has cleaning features like StainTreat, StainSoak, LuxCare, and even Perfect Steam, to assure optimum removal of stains on your clothes.
In the grand scheme of things, Electrolux offers more and varied products compared to a luxurious brand like Bosch or LG. But, of course, its other appliances are not as feature-riched, which is why it’s less expensive.
View Electrolux awards here.
Best Appliance Brands Buyer’s Guides
There are many considerations required when buying a home appliance, even when you are buying from one of the best home appliance brands. Here is our best home appliance buyer’s guide: Size and weight The dimensions of a home appliance are of utmost importance. There’s nothing worse than buying a home appliance only to find out it doesn’t actually fit where you want it to. Also, consider the width/height of your doorways to ensure they can actually fit through your house while moving the appliance into position. Weight also needs to be considered if you are planning on putting your home appliance on a shelf or on top of another home appliance. Some devices are surprisingly heavy so make sure you know the weight and that the shelf can easily support that weight. Capacity It’s important to consider the capacity of the home appliances like washing machines, dryers, dishwashers and more. If you live alone or with your partner, you can get away with smaller capacity units, which are generally cheaper. However, if you have a family or live with multiple people you should opt for a larger capacity unit to avoid frustration. Energy Rating Consider energy ratings when buying a home appliance. Not only is it better for the environment but can also help you save money on your bills. Make sure you understand the tradeoffs between energy-saving devices and lower power output. The best hoe appliance brands should have a wide range of different appliances with different ratings. Check Warranties & Customer Service Standards Most home appliances are not cheap and require some level of maintenance. Consider the standard and costs associate with maintaining, preparing and replacing your home appliance. Some brands offer far superior standards than other brands. Appliance door and access hatches Consider the direction that door opens when buying a home appliance. Some spaces are only suitable for doors opening a certain way. Also, consider how you will access and reach into home appliances like washing machines. You don’t want to have to awkwardly reach round to wash your clothes. Marketing Buzzwords Home appliance brands are known to rely on marketing buzzwords to help sell their products. Make sure you are cognizant of this and that you understand the true meaning behind the bold claims. Only buy what you need It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and upsell yourself into buying an internet-connected washing machine, but do you actually need it and will you use that feature. An internet-connected washing machine that sends notifications to your phones may be a nice feature but is it worth the extra money? Aesthetics A good looking home appliance can make it more enjoyable to use and appreciate. Home appliances are functional machines that help save time, but there’s no reason you cannot choose an aesthetically pleasing one that compliments the look and feel of your home.
How To Save Money On Home Appliances Home appliance are not cheap but there are ways to save money and still get a fantastic home appliance from one of the best home appliance brands Buy second hand or discontinued model Check Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, eBay and others for a second-hand version of the home appliance you’re looking to buy. Also ask your friends, family and colleagues if they are planning on selling the home appliance. Rebates Many states offer rebates on energy-efficient home appliances. Some power suppliers will also offer similar schemes, so make sure you check your local authority and energy providers for any rebates. Extended Warranties Generally speaking, it is best to ignore extended warrantees if you want to save money. There is of course the risk of it breaking and having to pay to have it fixed or replaced when it could have been covered but these instances are rare, especially if you buy from the best home appliance brands. Buy an older model The technology involved with the core function of most appliances changes very little from year to year, so buying a model from a year or two ago will not make much difference to the overall experience. It’s mainly the bells and whistles which are improved upon, so don’t worry about not getting a 2021 home appliance if you want to save money Home Appliances FAQs A What are the basic home appliances? Here is a list of the basic home appliances: Fridge
Freezer
Washing Machine
Microwave
Dishwasher
Oven Last update on 2022-03-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API A What is the best month to buy a home appliance? The best time to buy a home appliance is in the months of September, October and January. This is because manufactures usually release new models at this time and retailers are trying harder to sell their existing stock to make rooms for the newer models. It’s also worth looking during well-know sale periods like Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Amazon Prime day to see if there are any worthwhile sales during these periods. Last update on 2022-03-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API A Is it better to buy appliances in a bundle? It depends on what your specific needs are but if you are looking to redo your entire kitchen then yes there is money to be saved by buying a bundle of appliances at once. It gives you greater bargaining power on top of the preexisting discounts offered by many retailers when buying a bundle. Last update on 2022-03-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Last update on 2022-03-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API