14 best washing machines to buy in 2025, tested by experts

Score: 86/100

Thanks to its intuitive design, featuring a wide door for easy loading and a clearly readable digital display and programme dial, this washing machine makes doing the laundry simple. It comes with clear instructions and has a child lock, should you need one.

It did an outstanding job at cleaning our clothes, banishing over 85% of all stains on every cycle we tested, including stubborn marks such as grass, blood and curry sauce. Testers also found it had a good spin efficiency and excellent water usage. It was fairly energy efficient too, with its quick cycle using just one pence of electricity. It’s a total box-ticker.

Score: 85/100

AI hasn’t taken over the world just yet, but with this machine, it will transform laundry days. The clever appliance can detect what’s in your load and how dirty it is and adjust the settings accordingly – with impressive results.

Our laundry was pristine after washing, and it used less energy and water in the process, especially for cotton loads (the synthetic one was greedier). In fact, we found that the machine was most effective when it used the AI settings, so we recommend turning to them for every load.

Stain removal was good across the board, thanks to its Bubble Soak function, which helps loosen dirt from within the fibres and removed 88 per cent of the blood on our stain sheet – no mean feat!

There's no compromising on the basics either; it has responsive controls, a user-friendly LCD display, child lock and detergent auto-dosing (although the drawer has a slightly fiddly set-up). The manual is also clear, which is handy if you’re daunted by the smart features.

The machine is compatible with Samsung’s intuitive SmartThings app, so you can control it from your phone. It even reports on energy and water consumption for you – and we found that it was a near-exact match to our own meters. The wash times were also notably accurate. If anything will make laundry feel like less of a chore, it’s this machine.

Score: 85/100

If you want to wash your backpack, your dog bed, or even a diving suit (yes really), this washing machine has a setting for it via the easy-to-navigate app. The on-machine controls are simple to use too, with our testers saying there's no need to refer to the manual if you don't want to. It also has an auto dose function, a spacious drum and accessible filters for cleaning.

As for its cleaning abilities, both our cotton and polycotton tests demonstrated effective stain removal, lifting most blood and coffee. Sebum was more of a challenge but the machine still removed over 75 per cent on both cycles.

The advertised wash lengths weren’t always accurate, proving longer than stated and while the ‘Keep Fresh’ function is useful, you can only turn it off via the app, not on the machine. But overall, it’s a good one for busy households and its versatility is sure to come in handy (for all those diving suit emergencies).

Score: 83/100

From a 15-minute quick wash and automatic detergent dosing to an option to add and remove items, this is a great machine for busy households. The drum door opens wide, there’s a child lock if needed, and its detergent tray is clearly labelled. And while it’s intuitive to use, its instructions are comprehensive, too.

It was reliable when it came to stain removal (although you may need extra laundry products for more stubborn marks) and it boasts economical energy and water consumption, although its spin efficiency varied. The latter cycles also proved quite loud. That said, it has all the features needed to make washing a breeze.

Score: 82/100

This is one of those washing machines that has it all. There’s an auto-dosing function (with room for a month’s worth of detergent), steam cleaning, ‘Pause&Add’, and ‘AI Super Wash’, which senses what’s in your load and adjusts all the settings accordingly. All of this resulted in good stain removal results in our lab, banishing an average of 90% across our testing.

Water and energy consumption were decent, coming in lower than advertised when we used the AI functionalities. The machine is WiFi connected, and testers praised the intuitive app where you can track energy and water usage, access extra programmes and even control it from afar. And don't worry if this all sounds like it offers an overwhelming amount of choice – the instructions are comprehensive.

Note though, the wash times were consistently inaccurate, so allow for longer than the machine says when planning.

Score: 82/100

If you’re on a budget, this affordable washing machine should serve you well; testers found it simple to use with clear instructions and an intuitive control panel. It also boasts some nifty features, including a child lock.

Testers noted that the door is smaller than some, so you may need to add your load in a few goes. It wasn’t the most efficient when it came to water consumption and spinning either. But this isn’t surprising given its price, and it more than made up for this with its notably good stain removal – especially from cotton clothing.

Score: 80/100

Miele’s GuideLine Washing Machine aims to give blind and visually impaired people more independence when it comes to everyday chores like laundry. The control panel features guidelines between the display and the rotary dial as well as raised dots to help the user navigate to their desired setting. In the lab, our testers also liked the audible confirmations for different selections. For example, the higher the selected temperature or spin speed was, the higher the pitch of the sound was.

There aren’t any tactile aids in the detergent drawer to help with distinguishing between the detergent and fabric conditioner drawer, but otherwise our experts were impressed with the additional features.

When it came to the machine’s performance, our 40C synthetic wash delivered the best results for stain removal, banishing over 83% of all food and household stains. However, energy and water consumption were higher than we’d have liked.

Score: 78/100

If you don’t like waiting for washing, this is your machine – its cycles were some of the shortest on test. Our cotton cycle was complete in under two hours, while the synthetics programme came in at just over.

It removed most stains well, but struggled to lift blood, so we recommend turning to a stain remover for extra help there. Its energy and water efficiency varied notably on a cycle-by-cycle basis, too. But its fascia is clean and easy to follow, which meant our testers found doing laundry effortless from start to finish.

Score: 77/100

On test, we found this machine could happily fit between 5 and 6 kilograms of washing, making it a great buy if your laundry is often piled high. It’s easy to use too – in fact, our expert found it so intuitive they barely had to consult the instructions.

The cycle selection dial is responsive, and the detergent drawer opened seamlessly. The latter’s dark grey markings were hard to see at times, though, and we noticed some sludge left after washes. But, its filter was easy to access and clean.

We noticed some inconsistencies in the advertised wash times – the actual durations were longer. While its quick cycle was notably energy efficient, water consumption was substantial across all three cycles on test. It’s a trusty stain remover though, doing a particularly good job of removing tomato puree from cotton and red wine from polycotton.

Score: 77/100

App-connected washing machines are becoming more and more common in the home and this one is a great all-rounder. It connects to the hOn app, which can be used to start or delay washes, but the feature we really love is the ‘Guided Wash’ that lets you pick the material, colour and soiling level of your load before suggesting an appropriate cycle.

Stain removal across cotton and synthetic washes was similar, performing best on food like tomato puree and struggling more with greasy marks from makeup. Our main drawback though was with spin efficiency on our cotton wash, as our clothes came out fairly wet.

Score: 76/100

With a minimalist design, intuitive control panel and artificial intelligence built in, this LG washing machine promises to make laundry days smarter. The AI is meant to detect the fabric in the machine and select the best wash settings (down to the best motion and stroke) to help care for your laundry. However, we found that results can vary depending on the clothes and environment.

In the lab, we washed everything from heavy wool to lightweight satin pyjamas and our experts found the AI programmes showed greater water and energy consumption, so for better efficiency, we recommend opting for the regular cotton and synthetic cycles. In terms of fabric care, our laundry showed no signs of damage. As AI is still relatively new to home appliances and relies on machine learning, we expect the tech to improve over time, but further testing is needed to assess the long-term benefits.

Our testers found the connected app easy to use – it allows you to select the cycle, temperature and spin speed and then turn the machine on from your phone. If you’re programming via the machine though, the uncluttered fascia keeps things simple. Plus, after 10 washes, it will default to your most frequently-used programme so it’s ready and waiting to go as soon as you switch the machine on.

Score: 76/100

Here’s a good looking machine that also comes with a large drum capacity. It has a user-friendly interface and smart function capabilities – you can start the machine remotely and see how your wash is progressing from your phone. There’s even a steam function. It removes most stains well and the detergent drawer is easy to fill.

Despite claims the maximum capacity is 12kg, we could only fit in 8kg, and it consumed quite a lot of water in our tests. The porthole is also not big enough for easy loading and unloading, but the option to add items mid-cycle makes this an appealing contender if you’re looking to splurge.

Score: 75/100

If you like to wash as much as you can on a quick cycle, this machine’s the one for you. It scored full marks for its water and energy consumption and spun our clothes well.

Our testers liked its design, with sturdy and responsive drawers and dials. Some buttons lagged a little but it’s simple to use overall – you just turn the cycle dial to turn the machine on, for example. And its door opens wide, so loading and emptying should prove a doddle.

Note, you’ll need a screwdriver to access the filter, and, on test, wash times exceeded their claims by anything from 12 to 57 minutes. We found 6.5kg was the maximum weight we could comfortably fit into the machine, but it was roomy in comparison to a lot of models we trialled. It was also a top-notch stain remover, especially on cotton, making it another good machine if you’re dealing with a family’s worth of washing.

Score: 74/100

This LG washing machine has a similar design to the brand’s 9kg-capacity F4X700 model further up our list. It boasts the same intuitive control panel and uncluttered display, which our experts quickly got to grips with. Plus, it uses integrated AI to detect the fabric in the machine and select the best wash settings to help care for your laundry.

In testing, the quick wash programme impressed with its lower energy usage and water consumption, and our experts were pleased with its stain removal on our cotton load.

We did find the start and pause button a little unresponsive (we had to press it a few times for it to work) and the cycle lengths were off by between five to 20 minutes. That said, this model expertly combines smart tech with ease-of-use, making it a worthwhile investment if you don’t mind the extra wait for your laundry to finish.