I Tested 7 Countertop Dishwashers to Find Ones That Got Dishes Sparkling Clean

If you have a built-in dishwasher, you might take the appliance for granted. But for those without one, hand-washing and drying dishes can be both annoying and time-consuming. Scalding hot water, dirty dishwater…you get the picture. If you have the space, a countertop dishwasher offers a solution. This mini appliance functions much the same way as its larger sibling: water comes in, dishes are washed, and dirty water drains out. 

To find the best countertop dishwashers, I put seven models to the test—evaluating their cleaning abilities, capacities, and more.

The Winners, at a Glance

The Comfee countertop dishwasher can deliver sparklingly clean and bone-dry dishes in no time. (It took 130 minutes per cycle during my tests.) There’s a built-in UV light for extra sanitization and a variety of specialized settings for glassware, baby bottles, and more.

This is not a bad alternative to our winner. It doesn’t have a UV light or an automatically opening door but it performed similarly and all the dishes came out clean and dry.

This larger pick is great for anyone needing more dishes cleaned at once. It’s quiet, sleek, and cleans dishes as well as any full-sized dishwasher I’ve had.

The Tests

• Setup Test: I set a stopwatch and timed how long it took me to unbox and set up each dishwasher.
• Maximum Capacity Test: I filled each model to determine its maximum capacity and noted how many dishes fit and if there were any areas that were difficult to load.
• Cleaning Test: For each machine, I coated several plates and sets of flatware with barbecue sauce and loaded them. I filled a few glasses with milk, dumped the milk out, and added the glasses to the dishwasher. I ran a standard cycle and looked for any residue left behind.
• Real-World Test (Winners Only): For machines that passed the first three tests, I ran a cycle using dishes from a typical meal in my household, noting ease of use and how clean the dishes were.

What I Learned

Many of the Countertop Dishwashers Performed Really Well

I thought countertop dishwashers would be comparatively low-powered, but I was pleasantly surprised that these small but mighty appliances could really hold their own. Despite their compact size, many of the countertop dishwashers I tested delivered impressive cleaning power. They handled stubborn, sticky substances, oily tomato-based residue, and delicate glassware with ease. 

Built-In Water Tanks Streamlined Setup

Some of the countertop dishwashers required a water hookup to run. Unfortunately, my sink has a pull-down kitchen hose that has no threading and, thus, nowhere for me to attach a dishwasher’s intake hose. After calls to customer service, a few trips to the hardware store, and some purchases from Amazon, I was able to finally attach these hoses. Despite this, I still had problems with leaking. It’s also worth noting that when the machine is plugged into your kitchen faucet, you cannot use the sink to, say, wash your hands or fill up a glass. 

For this reason, I liked countertop dishwashers with built-in water tanks, as they were self-sufficient. The trade-off is that dishwashers without built-in tanks can hold more dishes. However, my top pick from Comfee was still able to accommodate two large dinner plates, three small salad plates, one juice glass, two cereal/soup bowls, two coffee mugs, two forks, two spoons, and two knives.

Beware of White Labeling

White labeling refers to the practice of a manufacturer selling the same product under a different brand name. Several of the dishwashers I tested were the exact same machine, with the only real difference being the price.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Countertop Dishwasher

Before you even consider buying a countertop dishwasher, think about how many dishes you need cleaned and how much storage and countertop space you have. Smaller models can hold about two place settings while larger versions can accommodate as many as six (or two plus some pots and pans). Your dishwasher will need to be situated fairly close to the sink so the wastewater hose has somewhere to drain. If attaching a hose to your faucet isn’t practical, several of the models I tested came with built-in water tanks that you fill before running. Smaller factors to consider are things like noise level or fancy features like a setting with high-heat sterilization for baby bottles. 

Our Favorite Countertop Dishwashers

What we liked: Each of the machines I tested had its mix of strengths and weaknesses. The Comfee stood out as a gem, seamlessly combining all the best features into one impressive appliance. It delivered a perfect balance of performance, convenience, and reliability. The Comfee left dishes sparklingly clean and bone-dry, a feat not many dishwashers were able to pull off. In particular, I was impressed with the Comfee’s drying, as it allows you to put dishes away immediately after the cycle concludes. This model pops open the front door when it’s close to the end of drying to speed up the process and allow for more airflow. The inside was roomy and fit 10 dishes plus silverware. The dish rack has multiple configurations and I noted the noise level to be a quiet 67 decibels (not loud enough to interrupt a conversation or the television).

This model also comes with a few upgrades. There’s an interior light as well as a UV light that can kill germs, ostensibly. It has high-heat cycles to sanitize items, a no-heat option for cleaning fruit and vegetables, and a gentle glass setting. When it comes to water hookup, you can attach a hardline to your sink or fill the built-in reservoir.

What we didn’t like: This dishwasher is on the small side. 

Key Specs

• Materials: Plastic and stainless steel
• Size: 16.5 x 17.3 x 18.43 inches
• Weight: 41.3 pounds
• Capacity: 2 place settings
• Tank or hard line?: Both

What we liked: The Hermitlux has many of the same features as our winner. You can hook up the water intake to your sink or fill the built-in tank. The Hermitlux holds a surprising amount of dishes. (I was able to fit two large dinner plates, three salad plates, two bowls, two glasses, and two coffee mugs, plus silverware.) The standard wash cycle has a 69-minute run time and was able to clear dried-on barbecue sauce and milk residue without issue. Greasy tomato sauce also came right off with no pre-rinsing.

What we didn’t like: The Hermitlux has a smaller water intake than the Comfee (five liters instead of six). The holes in its silverware rack are shaped fairly small, so your silverware might not fit, depending on its design. The run time was much shorter than my winner, but that left me with dishes that were still wet and needed to be dried before being put away.

Key Specs

• Materials: Plastic and stainless steel
• Size: 16.85 x 16.73 x 18 inches
• Weight: 26.5 pounds
• Capacity: 2 place settings
• Tank or hard line?: Both
  

What we liked: The Danby is larger than my other winners and functions more like a built-in model dishwasher. It connects to water via a hard line and is larger than an air fryer toaster oven, so it can fit up to six place settings and larger items like pots and pans. It’s water efficient and uses only 3.1 liters of water to get dishes very clean. While the run time on a standard cycle is long (two-and-a-half hours), it’s also much quieter than other models I tested. I liked its LED screen, too, which tracks how long is left in the dishwashing cycle.

What we didn’t like: At just under 20 inches tall, it may not fit under all upper kitchen cabinets. The water hookup process was tricky, especially if you don’t have the right kind of kitchen faucet. If you do, you’ll still have to keep this dishwasher within 30 inches of your sink. At 44 pounds, it’s not an appliance you’ll enjoy moving.

Key Specs

• Materials: Plastic and stainless steel
• Size: 21.5 x 19.5 x 17 inches
• Weight: 44 pounds
• Capacity: 6 place settings
• Tank or hard line?: Hard line only
  

The Competition

• Danby DDW621WDB: This is similar to our winner from the brand, but is cheaper and doesn’t have an LED screen that counts down the time remaining in a cycle. Its housing is white instead of chrome, but it otherwise cleaned the dishes just as well and in the same amount of time.
• Comfee Countertop Dishwasher: This dishwasher is fairly identical to the Danby 631 (but in a black finish)—down to the buttons, rack, and water hookup line. If our favorite isn’t available, this is a good pick. 
• Novete Portable Countertop Dishwasher: This model failed to fully clean the barbecue sauce off of dishes during a normal cleaning cycle.
• Farberware Portable Countertop Dishwasher: The silverware rack warped after running one of the higher temperature settings.

FAQs

Does a countertop dishwasher use a lot of water? 

Water usage is going to vary among machines. The smaller models I tested used about five liters of water to wash and rinse.

How do you clean a countertop dishwasher?

The answer to this question will depend on the dishwasher but all of the models I tested did not need much in the way of cleaning. Over time, the filters and spray arms can get clogged with gunk. In this case, you’ll need to remove and rinse them with hot water.

Why We’re the Experts

• Taylor Murray has worked in food and food media for over 10 years, including in award-winning restaurants like Eleven Madison Park. She has written extensively for Serious Eats. (Check out her reviews of carbon steel pans and carving boards.)
• Taylor tested seven countertop dishwashers, using each to clean various dishes and silverware. During testing, she evaluated each machine’s performance, usability, and design.