So you know you need a new oven, but how do you know which functions and features are essential? If you’ve got the kitchen space, is a bigger oven better? Are self-cleaning ovens worth it? And how much does a good oven cost anyway?
To help you make sense of your options, we’ve put together this easy guide featuring expert advice and tips on how to use your oven efficiently.
Most wall ovens sold these days are electric – they make up well over 85% of sales, and these are the type we review at CHOICE.
Most are multifunction, so you can do more with a variety of cooking modes. You can use a combination of top, bottom and grill plus fan to optimise different cooking, baking and grilling needs.
Some of the reasons people may have preferred gas ovens over electric in the past are no longer as compelling. Gas is not the cheaper power option it used to be, and many people are looking to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Additionally, gas cooking produces harmful gases and particulates.
Gas is not the cheaper power option it used to be, and many people are looking to reduce reliance on fossil fuels
Traditionally, gas ovens were considered ideal for roasts, casseroles and heavy cakes as they tended not to dry out food as much as regular electric ovens. But new-generation electric ovens, such as the combination steam convection types, will give gas ovens a run for their money in this aspect.
Gas ovens are also hotter at the top and cooler at the bottom, so foods need to be rotated for even cooking and browning. And unless there’s an internal grill, they won’t be as good for browning or crisping, and if there’s no fan, they won’t distribute the heat as evenly as electric.
Wall ovens are built into your kitchen layout, which means they can be installed at the perfect height for you. Or if space is an issue, they can be placed under kitchen counters (including under standalone cooktops).
Your options include a standard 60cm-wide oven; extra-wide models ranging from about 70 to 90cm; or a double oven configuration.
60cm ovens
This is the most common oven size.
Usually big enough for most people’s cooking needs.
Ideal if space is restricted.
70–90cm ovens
A good option if you’re not restricted by space or an existing cavity in your joinery.
Can fit wider dishes or two smaller ones side by side.
You can bake larger cuts of meat or seafood, such as a whole fish.
Very convenient for large batch baking.
Although they’re wider, you may not get as much usable space as you think – some of the extra width is taken up by the control panel that’s often located on the side of the oven.
More internal surface area means more cleaning.
Baking trays can be heavy when fully loaded and they don’t fit in an average sink for cleaning.
Extra-wide models may also take a little longer to pre-heat than a good standard oven.
How much do wall ovens cost?
The wall ovens we’ve tested range in price from $699 up to $9999.
What to check before buying a wall oven
When choosing an oven, think about what foods you like to cook and how you like to cook – do you prefer to grill, steam, bake or roast? Basing your choice on your needs means you’ll get more out of your oven and not pay for any unnecessary features.
Shelving
At least two oven shelves and one baking tray should be included as standard, and three or more shelves are even better. Shelves should have safety stops to prevent them being pulled out accidentally, and feature a good range of shelf positions.
The shelves and grill tray should not slope down when pulled out with the weight of a heavy dish on them – your food may slide off. If they do, a guard at the front can help but it also makes it harder to slide heavy baking dishes in and out.
Telescopic shelf runners help keep the shelf stable and make it smoother to slide shelves in and out.
Smokeless grill tray
Also called an anti-spatter grill tray, this has a perforated cooking plate (rather than a simple wire rack) to help stop the collected fat from spitting and flaring up. You’ll appreciate this if you often grill high-fat foods like sausages.
Controls
Controls should be self-explanatory to use and clearly labelled.
Internal space
Take your largest baking dish into the store to check the actual baking space rather than going by the stated size or usable capacity.
Many manufacturers use an international standard to measure usable capacity, but differing interpretations mean claimed usable volumes between manufacturers are not comparable.
It’s worth noting that in many ovens you can slide a wide dish in between the shelf supports and, providing the bottom element isn’t on, you may be able to use the oven floor for warming or proving dough – but some manufacturers advise against this.
Door
The door should be light and easy to open, and able to stay open in any position (without falling fully open or slamming shut).
Window
The window should allow a clear view inside the oven.
Interior
Check that the interior light bulb is easy to replace – we’ve come across some that require a technician. Moulded runners rather than metal pull-out ones are easier to clean.
The grill element should be set high into the ceiling or have a shield in front, so that it can’t easily come into contact with your fingers.
The grill tray should be easy to slide in and out, and should come out far enough to let you easily reach food at the back of the tray. It should also have a safety stop mechanism to prevent it from falling out.
Exterior
A fingerprint-resistant stainless steel exterior saves valuable time when it comes to cleaning.
Instruction manual
A detailed instruction manual is essential to make sure you have the information you need to use the oven to its full potential.
The instruction manual should include safety instructions, installation instructions, warranty, a troubleshooting guide and the manufacturer’s contact details for service.
It should also describe the oven’s functions and what they’re used for, and include a guide to oven functions, temperatures, shelf position and cooking duration for a list of basic foods.
The most commonly used function is the fan-forced setting, but while it’s a good go-to for many dishes, there are some other useful functions that are worth looking for when buying an oven.
Fan-forced mode
Uses the fan and a heating element around it. It’s ideal for multi-shelf baking, reheating and for cooking pastries and roasts.
Conventional mode
Uses the top and bottom element (no fan) and is perfect for baking single trays of biscuits, scones, muffins, slices and egg dishes like quiche or baked custard.
Fan assist
Uses the top and bottom element with the fan. It’s useful for dishes that require short cooking time and only use a maximum of two shelves.
Pizza mode
Uses the bottom element as well as the fan, and is the perfect function when you need to brown the base of foods like pizzas, meat pies, fruit pies, focaccia and bread.
Bottom heat
Uses the bottom element only and can also be used for foods that require a crisp base without burning the top. It’s a good alternative to pizza mode if your oven only has one of these features.
Fan grill
Uses the grill element and fan. Use this function for cooking larger cuts of meat like roasts, or meats that require longer cooking times like chicken legs and sausages. It’s also good for browning the top of baked vegetables or potato bakes.
Grill
Only uses the grill element and is ideal for smaller cuts of meat or toasties and melts.
Some ovens can now connect to your Wi-Fi to allow you to control and monitor cooking progress remotely via an app.
This feature is usually available on high-end ovens – we’ve tested models from Miele, Neff, Samsung, Siemens, Bosch and Fisher & Paykel with Wi-Fi connectivity.
Air-frying ovens
While ovens are essentially air fryers on a large scale, manufacturers are including dedicated air fryer functionality into their models to capitalise on all the hype around air fryers.
These come with special air-frying accessories and a dedicated air-frying mode (which is essentially the top heating element and fan-forced mode).
We’ve tested ovens from Bosch, Siemens, Smeg, Fisher & Paykel and Westinghouse with this feature.
Adjustable pre-set temperatures
These give you a useful indication of what temperature is best for the food type and function being used.
Automatic cooking functions
Also known as assisted cooking functions, these include recipes that correspond with the information programmed in the oven. Simply follow the recipe and the oven will take care of the operating mode, cooking time and temperature.
Self-cleaning features can make cleaning your oven a much easier task, but some work better than others. There are two main types of self-cleaning oven: pyrolytic and catalytic.
Pyrolytic ovens
When set on the pyrolytic cleaning mode, the oven heats up to about 500°C, converting food residues into ash, which you then wipe away.
It’s worth noting that before using a self-cleaning mode, you have to remove all stainless-steel shelves and side runners and clean them yourself as well as cleaning the inside of the glass door.
With some models, pyrolytic-proof baking trays can be left in the oven, but only with suitable shelf supports – both may need to be bought separately.
Good to know
For safety reasons, the door automatically locks during the pyrolytic clean and is released only when the oven temperature falls below about 280°C.
The outside of the oven gets hotter than usual while cleaning, so it’s advisable to keep children out of the kitchen during this process to prevent burns.
Most of the ovens have a light-soil clean that takes 1.5–2 hours, and a heavy-soil clean, which takes 2.5–3 hours.
So while you still have to get your hands dirty, the upside is that the pyrolytic function is chemical-free and does thoroughly clean your oven, particularly in hard-to-reach places.
Catalytic liners
Often referred to as ‘self-cleaning’ surfaces, catalytic liners work by absorbing fat splatters. If the surface stops cleaning itself efficiently, it can be regenerated by heating the empty oven for an hour, using the hot-air function.
If you opt for an oven with catalytic liners, make sure there’s good coverage over the oven’s surfaces. Catalytic liners should last a long time if they’re properly cared for, but may eventually need replacing (at an additional cost).
Steam-clean function
Some ovens use a steam-clean cycle to loosen baked-on grease and food. Simply fill the baking tray with water and select the automatic one-hour cycle that heats the oven to 90°C.
Once the cycle is finished, all you should need to do is wipe the oven clean with a soapy cloth. A chemical oven cleaner might be needed to thoroughly remove stubborn grease marks.
So which brand of oven should you buy? We’ve identified the best oven brand in Australia based on our test results for wall and freestanding ovens, plus feedback from our members.
In addition to testing over 120 ovens since 2019, we survey our members about the ovens they own. We use this data to determine which brands are the most reliable, and which have the best customer satisfaction. This feedback, and our test results, are combined to determine the best oven brand of 2025.
Best oven brand for 2025: Westinghouse
Westinghouse is the best oven brand for 2025, based on CHOICE data collected over the past six years.
This is the first time in seven years Westinghouse has managed to topple Miele from the top spot in our Best Brand category, with strong performance scores in our CHOICE testing in addition to being a reliable brand with highly satisfied customers.
Note: While Miele ovens scored slightly higher on average in our testing, the brand received a below average score on reliability, which means they aren’t eligible for Best Brand.
Best brand scores
1. Westinghouse – 77% (Best oven brand)
2. Miele – 78%
3. Fisher & Paykel – 77%
4. Electrolux – 76%
5. Bosch – 74%
6. Smeg – 71%
It’s important to note that the performance of specific product models may vary quite significantly, so don’t assume that one brand’s products are the best across the many different features, functions and price points.
To find out which specific oven models we recommend based on our test results, and to make sure you buy the best, click on the ‘Recommended’ box in the filters section of our wall oven and freestanding oven reviews.
What are CHOICE Best Brand recommendations?
The Best Brand recommendation for ovens is based on our test results for ovens over the past six years, as well as customer satisfaction and reliability information submitted by CHOICE members on their experience with the brand.
The recommendation is given to companies with a clear lead over their competitors during the test period, and no more than two recommendations are given during each period.
Best Brand eligibility is tough – to be considered, we must have tested a minimum of five models, and a brand must have received a minimum of 50 responses to the CHOICE member survey. Additionally, brands must score a minimum of 60% and be above the average score for average test score, reliability and satisfaction for consideration.
How we calculate the best oven brand
The following criteria determines the Best Brand recommendation.
Average test score – 40%
Brand reliability – 30%
Customer satisfaction – 20%
Recommended ratio – 10%
Average test score
This measures the average CHOICE Expert Rating for all wall and freestanding ovens tested in the CHOICE labs for each brand. Our testers assess:
how well the oven performs over a range of temperatures, times and functions
how easy it is to use the grill and shelves, read the labels and clean the inside and outside of the oven.
Our customer insights team surveyed several thousand members about their ovens. The brand reliability score is determined based on the proportion of respondents who reported a problem with their oven in the past 12 months.
Customer satisfaction
Our survey also asks how satisfied members are with their oven. So even if an oven has a fault after six months, it’s still possible for it to have a high satisfaction score – perhaps the company has customer service that goes beyond expectations, or the product is simply too good, despite some performance quirks.
Recommended ratio
In order to be recommended, a wall oven must earn a CHOICE Expert Rating (our overall score) of at least 85% overall, with the score made up of performance (60%) and ease of use (40%). We then calculate the percentage of ovens that CHOICE recommends for each brand. The greater the number of models that earn a recommendation in relation to the number of models tested, the higher the recommended ratio score.
Some ovens can be plugged into a power point, while others are hardwired. It pays to know how your existing oven is connected and what its power rating is (look for a label inside, usually on the frame near the door hinges), so you know whether the new one can just slot into place, or if an electrician will be needed to do the wiring.
In most cases, where you’re replacing like with like, the existing oven circuit will be fine. But always check with the supplier or retailer about the installation requirements for the new model.
Large ovens and ranges in particular may need a circuit with more capacity, so you may need to factor in the cost of an electrician to upgrade the circuit or install a new one.
In most cases, where you’re replacing like with like, the existing oven circuit will be fine
Note that a sales assistant in an appliance store may not know much about the electrical requirements of oven installation, but you can ask them to check the details with the store’s recommended installer.
When replacing or buying an oven – whether it’s under your kitchen counter or placed higher up in your cabinetry – check to make sure the cut-out dimensions accommodate your new oven.
Our wall ovens review lists the cut-out dimensions. Usually these are 590mm (H) x 560mm (W) x 550mm (D), but some height requirements may be as much as 600mm.
Rebecca Ciaramidaro is a Content producer in the Household team at CHOICE. Rebecca writes about a wide range of children's and household products, ranging from cots and strollers to ovens, BBQs, espresso machines and electric blankets. And also grocery items such as nappies, sanitary pads and laundry detergents.
Previously at CHOICE, Rebecca worked as a Test officer in the kitchen lab.
Rebecca has a Bachelor of Science (Nutrition and Food) from the University of Western Sydney. LinkedIn
Rebecca Ciaramidaro is a Content producer in the Household team at CHOICE. Rebecca writes about a wide range of children's and household products, ranging from cots and strollers to ovens, BBQs, espresso machines and electric blankets. And also grocery items such as nappies, sanitary pads and laundry detergents.
Previously at CHOICE, Rebecca worked as a Test officer in the kitchen lab.
Rebecca has a Bachelor of Science (Nutrition and Food) from the University of Western Sydney. LinkedIn
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