16 Best Washing Machines of 2026, Lab-Tested and Reviewed

Full-sized and compact front-loaders perform best in our comprehensive tests. They tangle clothes less than top-loaders and generally have higher performance scores. But these washers can be more prone to mold and mildew if not cleaned and aired out regularly.

Top-load washers with agitators clean clothes through friction (by shifting them back and forth in the drum) and generally don’t perform as well as other types of washers. But they remain popular, in part because they’re less expensive.

High-efficiency top-loaders generally perform well in our tests. Like front-loaders, the absence of a center agitator allows clothes to move more freely about the drum. But top-load HEs tend to tangle clothes more, which can result in residue or some clothes not being cleaned thoroughly.

A compact washer paired with a compact dryer may be your only choice if your laundry area can’t accommodate full-sized machines. These space-saving appliances represent a tiny market share, but they’re gaining in popularity among downsizing retirees and younger urban/suburban dwellers living in townhouses and condos. 

An all-in-one washer-dryer combo is a single front-load machine that washes and dries clothes in the same sealed drum, featuring programmed controls that perform both functions in tandem or individually. These dual-function machines take a load off on laundry day by eliminating the hassle of transferring wet clothes from the washer to the dryer. But our tests reveal that these machines tend to wash better than they dry, and they take much more time to dry clothes than a stand-alone dryer. 

Washing machines typically last a decade or longer. No matter how good its cleaning capability is, a washer that doesn’t stand the test of time is no winner. We incorporate survey data on predicted reliability and owner satisfaction into our washer ratings (and our dryer ratings). Our surveys indicate that LG is the most reliable brand for front-load and top-load HE washers, while Speed Queen and LG are the most reliable brands for top-load agitators. Electrolux, LG, and Miele shine among compact front-load washers. Find more details in our separate article about the most reliable washing machines.

If you’re wondering whether you should repair or replace your current washer, we have you covered there, too, with our interactive repair or replace calculator. It takes the guesswork out of that decision based on how much you paid for your washer, how old it is, and how expensive it’s going to be to fix.

To evaluate how well a washing machine cleans clothes, we use fabric swatches stained with red wine, cocoa, carbon (similar to soot), and other hard-to-remove stains. We analyze each swatch with a spectrocolorimeter before and after washing. The lighter the stain after laundering, the higher the machine’s washing performance score.

We also evaluate how gentle a washer is on fabric and record how much water and energy each machine uses. And we record the energy needed to dry the laundry we just washed. Washers that extract more water shorten dryer time and score higher in our energy-efficiency tests. We also calculate the annual cost to use each washer.

Finally, we measure the amount of vibration the washer transmits to a wood floor and evaluate the washer’s noise levels during the fill, agitate/tumble, drain, and spin cycles.

We test top-loaders with agitators, high-efficiency (HE) top-loaders (the type without a vertical spindle), and front-loaders, including compact front-loaders. We also test all-in-one washer-dryers, a relatively recent market option. The machines we test are from familiar brands such as Amana, Electrolux, Frigidaire, GE, LG, Maytag, Samsung, and Whirlpool, as well as lesser-known brands like Asko, Blomberg, Midea, and Miele. For more details on how we test washing machines, check out the testing section in our washing machine buying guide.