Best Wall Oven-Microwave Combos of 2024

The best wall oven-microwave combos are great at baking and broiling—plus, they offer plenty of space.

Our test engineers use a combination of scientific measurements and real-world baking to assess wall ovens. First, we bake cakes and cookies on multiple racks to look for even browning. Next, we use specialized high-heat thermometers, called thermocouples, mounted to a broiler pan, looking for broilers that heat evenly while still getting the heating element hot enough to sear. We measure the usable space of every oven to assess oven capacity because some manufacturers count space that you can’t actually use, below the lowest rack position. Last, we bake a foul mixture of foods, including tapioca, egg, and pie filling, onto the walls of every oven, then run the self-clean cycle to gauge how well it works. 

For microwaves, we assess how fast and how evenly the ovens heat. The speed score in our microwave ratings is based on how fast a microwave heats 1 liter of room-temperature water. For heating evenness, we heat a bowl of cold mashed potatoes for 10 minutes, then take temperature readings in 20 spots.

The performance of wall oven-microwave combos varies considerably, with the best model scoring around 50 points higher than the worst on our 100-point scale. Our top picks have the following in common:

• They’re good at baking. Every model we recommend earns a satisfactory score or better for baking. That’s arguably the most important function of a combo wall oven. 
• They’re strong broilers. The top combo wall ovens broil evenly and get hot enough to sear foods at high temperatures. 
• There’s plenty of usable space. The best wall oven-microwave combos featured here have generously sized primary ovens for baking or roasting on multiple racks at once. 
• The wall ovens are easy to clean. The models we’ve selected here have effective self-clean cycles that don’t require excessive scrubbing to get the job done.
•  They defrost evenly. The microwave component of each of these top models can evenly defrost frozen foods.

Wall oven-microwave combos offer an upscale look while preserving precious counter space, making them a reasonable choice if you want that streamlined design—and happen to have a flexible budget.

After all, the models we’ve tested start at around $1,800, significantly more than what you might pay for an entry-level single wall oven and a freestanding microwave. If you’re really looking for a cost-effective kitchen, a range paired with a freestanding microwave is the most affordable option of all. The ranges in our ratings start around $650, and you can snag many microwaves for under $150.

Nevertheless, a combo appliance may make sense if your kitchen already has a separate cooktop and wall oven, and you’re looking to replace the latter while also adding a built-in microwave into the mix. But if you bake frequently—and often tackle different items at once—it may be more helpful to opt for a double wall oven and buy a separate microwave instead.

Already have a range in your kitchen? You can certainly install a separate combo wall oven microwave, too, but only if you’re an avid cook who’ll make use of both ovens at the same time. Otherwise, it’s a waste of space and money.

We also don’t recommend wall oven-microwave combos if you depend on the microwave for a lot of your meals. Our freestanding microwave ratings include options that offer far better performance (such as more-even heating) than those you’ll typically find built into a wall oven-microwave combo—and they all cost much, much less.