Best Eco-Friendly Dishwashers of 2026
Our Green Choice designation will help you find a great dishwasher that's also easier on the environment
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Modern dishwashers are impressively efficient: Unless you’re employing the most scrupulous hand-washing technique, machine-washing your dishes generally saves both water and energy. Some dishwashers use as little as 4 gallons of water per cycle, whereas hand-washing can require up to 27 gallons.
But there’s more to environmental protection than energy and water use. Consumer Reports’ Green Choice label identifies dishwasher models that not only use less energy and water during operation but also have a lower environmental impact based on the resources used in their manufacture and transportation to market. The Green Choice designation also takes into account how reliable these dishwashers are and how effectively they clean dishes. (We’ll go into further detail on what goes into our Green Choice dishwasher scoring below.)
If you’re looking for an eco-friendly dishwasher model, here are six of the highest-performing dishwashers in our ratings that have also earned CR’s Green Choice leaf. For a wider selection of options, CR members can view all of the Green Choice models in our complete dishwasher ratings. And if you’re interested in pursuing a green lifestyle beyond dishwashers, check out CR’s Guide to Sustainable Living.
Best Eco-Friendly Dishwashers
Here are six of the most noteworthy Green Choice dishwashers, which received strong scores in our performance tests and are sold by brands that received great feedback in our member surveys.
What Makes a Dishwasher Eco-Friendly?
Over 900 dishwashers on the market have earned Energy Star certification from the Environmental Protection Agency, indicating that they meet a federal benchmark for energy efficiency. Thanks to features like soil sensors and efficient jet and rack design, a dishwasher with the certification costs around $50 a year to run and can save up to 5,800 gallons of water over its lifespan.
What Makes a Dishwasher a Green Choice?
To earn CR’s Green Choice designation, dishwashers must stand out in a variety of key environmental assessments, some of which affect a dishwasher’s Green Choice score more heavily than others. Here are the key factors that contribute to a dishwasher’s Green Choice score.
Product Design
We examine the weight, dimensions, and materials used in manufacturing the product to assess the amount of resources utilized, and in some cases, the durability and recyclability of the product.
Resource Usage
We measure how much water a dishwasher uses to assess resource (water) consumption, as well as the energy needed to heat that water. (Energy required to heat water is one of the largest contributors to a dishwasher’s overall environmental footprint.)
Performance
A dishwasher that fails to clean dishes effectively can lead to the need for rewashing, resulting in increased water and energy consumption. "A dishwasher isn’t very ‘eco-friendly’ if its cleaning performance is subpar and you have to constantly rewash or hand-wash dishes after you put them through the dishwasher," Whitehurst says.
Reliability
We base our reliability scores on annual surveys of dishwasher owners, enabling us to calculate the likelihood that a particular brand of dishwasher will experience issues or breakdowns within the first five years of ownership. “Poor reliability can lead to the premature removal of an appliance from the home,” says Whitehurst, increasing its chances of ending up in a landfill.
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