Microwaves: How to buy the best microwave Solo microwaves

Solo microwaves are great for simple microwaving tasks

How solo microwaves work

A solo or basic microwave uses microwave energy to heat and cook food. It's a good option if you're looking for a microwave to complete simple heating tasks more quickly than a conventional gas or electric oven.

Solo microwaves are one of three different types of microwaves you'll find in the shops - use our microwave chooser tool to find out which offers the features that best suit your needs.

Solo microwaves

Pros

• Cheapest type of microwave, and widely available.
• Good for simple defrosting, heating and reheating tasks.
• Can offer a quick baking alternative to conventional ovens.

Cons

• Limited functionality compared with combi microwaves.
• You can't roast or brown food in a solo microwave.

What you can do with a solo microwave

Basic microwaves are great for completing simple tasks such as heating soup, cooking jacket potatoes, heating up a ready meal or defrosting or reheating food. You might be surprised to know that it's also possible to use a solo microwave for other cooking tasks such as baking cakes. 

Most microwave instruction manuals will include a few baking recipes for you to try. We put this to the test by baking chocolate sponge cakes in a solo microwave and an electric oven using the same recipe and ingredients and asking members of Thundridge and High Cross Women’s Institute (WI) to taste both chocolate cakes and tell us which one they preferred. Find out how our microwave cake fared.

We also give each microwave we test a 'jacket potato' rating to tell you how well the microwave cooks a jacket potato.

Cheap microwaves

Compared with pricier contenders, budget microwaves from the likes of Tesco or Asda can seem positively spartan. Forget about shiny silver finishes and rows of buttons and program choices and think white boxes and minimal dials. But for simple reheat and defrost tasks cheaper microwave brands can be as good as more expensive microwaves – just don't expect auto programs or other advanced features.

Solo microwave prices

Solo microwaves are generally cheaper than combination or grill models because of their simpler design and functionality. You can pick a basic microwave up from around £30, going up to more than £400 for models from premium brands such as Bosch.