Like cars and fashion, the quality of kitchen appliances is partially determined by their maker. Distinguished by price point, durability, and performance, brands can quickly indicate what you can expect from their products—and educating yourself about them can make all the difference in finding appliances that are compatible with your budget, lifestyle, and kitchen layout.
On one end of the brand spectrum, we have “mass” manufacturers, which are distinguished by their affordability and ability to meet baseline requirements. On the other, there are luxury brands that market to connoisseurs of extravagance, promising professional-grade functionality and a high-end look.
And then there are premium brands. Somewhere in the middle of the mass-luxury spectrum, premium and mass-premium appliances (used interchangeably here) are upgraded to have improved durability, a more stylish appearance, and time-saving features compared to mass brands, but they stock fewer professional-style features and panel-ready options (if any) than luxury brands.
At a Glance:
Our Aztec Appliance experts have compiled a list of our best-selling premium appliance brands to give you a rundown of their respective reputations and most touted features so you can build the kitchen of your dreams without settling for less or breaking the bank.
Frigidaire Gallery
Key Features from Frigidaire Gallery Appliances:
- Industry-first Air Fry option for ranges
- Quick Preheat on wall ovens
- Edge-to-edge Flip-Up and Slide-Under shelves in refrigerators
- OrbitClean dishwasher system with 4x better wash coverage
Related Article:Frigidaire Refrigerator Reviews [Buying Guide]
Committed to elevating your spaces with bold design and streamlining your chores with easy-to-use features, Frigidaire appliances have proven to be steadfast staples in many homes. Considered a mass brand, Frigidaire is among the most affordable options for outfitting your kitchen, so if your budget affords your ambitions for more, Frigidaire’s subsidiary brand, Frigidaire Gallery, caters to your every whim, prioritizing time-saving features and stylish exhibition.
When it comes to cooking appliances, we can’t get enough of Frigidaire Gallery’s line of ranges with an Air Fry oven setting. Serve your deep-fried favorites with none of the guilt— the Air Fry setting allows you to cook with minimal oil, thereby doling out healthier versions of appetizers, entrees, and desserts, like chicken wings, roast turkeys, and donuts. And this can all be accessed at the touch of a button—no preheating required.
Proving the point that Frigidaire aims to please, the Air Fry setting is available in gas, electric, and, yes, induction ranges. What more could you want?
GE Profile
Key Features from GE Profile Appliances:
- Precision Cooking option that auto-adjusts temperatures and cook times in wall ovens
- SmartHQ™ app that lets you control smart appliances remotely
- Bottle jets for tall items in dishwashers
- TwinChill™ fridge evaporators that separate climates in the fresh food and freezer sections
With GE Profile appliances, you can design an ultra-functional kitchen that keeps up with your lifestyle. This subsidiary GE brand incorporates smart home technology and cutting-edge features into every appliance to make daily life simpler. On top of the usual suspects of cooking appliances, refrigerators, and dishwashers, GE Profile offers Kitchen Hub™, a first-of-its-kind integrated touchscreen and ventilation appliance that unlocks a world of guided cooking, smart home automation, video chatting, video streaming, voice control, and more.
Boasting a myriad of impressive features, wall ovens and microwaves from GE Profile do more than just heating up your favorite foods. With many GE Profile wall ovens offering True European convection, air frying, and precision cooking modes, you get unmatched versatility to enjoy a new level of cooking flexibility. On select models, you can even check the progress of your food without opening the oven door, by simply syncing your oven with your smartphone and streaming live photos.
And when it comes to GE Profile microwaves, you can expect sleek panels, sensor cooking controls, large interior capacities (to fit casseroles), and gourmet results.
KitchenAid
Key Features from KitchenAid Appliances:
- Preserva® Food Care System in fridges featuring the FreshFlow™ Air Filter that minimizes odors and the Produce Preserver that delays over-ripening
- Industry’s largest third rack for dishwashers, FreeFlex™
- Microwave Keep Warm function that operates at 10 percent cooking power
- Eight bright-color options for commercial-style ranges
A beautiful table starts with sparkling dishes. Inviting you to rethink cleanup as a chore, KitchenAid has the premium dishwasher features you need to set the table with virtually spotless dishes and glasses. With a premium dishwasher and a clean set of pots and pans, you have the power to cook the meals that feed your soul—time and time again. From crusted casserole dishes to streaked wine glasses, KitchenAid dishwashers can take on the mess so you can take on what’s next.
With KitchenAid dishwashers’ Advanced Clean Water Wash System, microfiltration continuously removes food particles during the wash and rinse cycles while circulating clean water to dishes in all three racks. The Express Wash Cycle cleans in less time so that you always have the dishes you need for prepping, cooking, and entertaining. And to grant more flexibility in loading, SatinGlide® Max Rails allows third and middle racks to move effortlessly, even when the appliance is full.
As a testament to their dishwashers’ level of care, many KitchenAid models are stocked with stemware holders to secure wine glasses along the side of the middle rack to prevent them from moving around during the wash cycle.
LG
Key Features from LG Appliances:
- Energy-saving InstaView™ glass panels in Door-in-Door® refrigerators and kitchen ranges
- Connectivity with ThinQ app for hands-free cooking
- SuperBoil™ 17,000 BTU cooktop burner for faster boiling
- QuadWash™ dishwasher system that uses four multi-motion spray arms to power-clean dishes from multiple angles
Related Article:LG vs Samsung Appliances: Which Brand Should You Shop?
An industry leader in exceeding expectations for appliance performance, LG is ranked #1 in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) for two years in a row. And it’s not hard to see why! LG appliances with ThinQ technology make managing your chores easy, even when you're not at home—from preheating the oven while you’re on the way home to receiving end-of-cycle notifications for unloading the dishwasher.
Best of all, with an LG InstaView™ Door-in-Door® refrigerator, you can raid the fridge without losing your cool. Let us explain: These LG fridges have a sleek glass panel that allows you to see inside the easy-access door without letting the cold air out. Simply knock twice on the glass to illuminate the contents within. How’s that for saving energy? Furthermore, these energy-efficient refrigerators allow you to stock up and store everything you need with up to 30 cubic feet of space, and they have a fingerprint- and smudge-resistant finish to boot.
Samsung
Key Features from Samsung Appliances:
- Interactive Family Hub™ refrigerator panel lets you control home automation devices, browse the web, watch content, and stay connected to family members
- StormWash™ dishwasher rotating spray jets that power through dirty dishes so you can skip the pre-wash
- LED surface lights on induction cooktops give the visual of gas cooking with Virtual Flame™
- Brand-exclusive Tuscan stainless-steel appliance finish
As we arrive at our final spotlighted brand, we’d like to take a moment to declare our kitchen appliances as the undisputed MVPs of the home. From searing our meats to their safe-to-eat cooking temperatures; to keeping our produce crisp; to performing heavy-duty cleaning on our dishes and cookware, our appliances keep us from losing our momentum—and Samsung appliances can do even more.
If you’re partial to innovative kitchen design, then you’ve surely dreamed about a cooktop installed in the middle of your kitchen island. Along with perpetuating a luxe appearance, most Samsung cooktops are conveniently stocked with five burners, including precise power burners that can quickly boil water for pasta nights or maintain a simmer for your fish, poultry, and meats.
Most impressively, though, smart cooktops from Samsung offer both WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities. While WiFi connectivity allows you to remotely monitor the power-level settings and control your cooktop from any room with the SmartThings mobile app, Bluetooth lets you automatically sync ventilation and lights with your cooktop burners, which comes in handy if you’re a multitasking chef.
Premium Brands and Features
For your convenience, we also whipped up an easy-to-reference chart that indicates which top kitchen brands offer the most popular premium features on the market. Check it out below.
NOTES: Not all features ascribed to a brand are included across all its products and models; this chart is meant to denote which premium features are broadly available across these brands as of February 2021.
In addition, subsidiary brands LG Signature and LG Studio are not included in this data collection nor are the core brands GE and Frigidaire and their respective associated entities Café, Monogram, and Frigidaire Professional.
| Product Attributes |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COOKING: | |||||
| Convection Oven | X | X | X | X | X |
| Air Fry Oven | X | X | X | X | |
| Induction Cooking | X | X | X | X | |
| Large Capacity Microwave (≥1.9 cu. ft.) | X | X | X | X | X |
| Smart-Compatible Ranges | X | X | X | X | |
| Smart-Compatible Cooktops | X | ||||
| Smart-Compatible Wall Ovens | X | X | X | X | |
| Smart-Compatible Microwaves | X | X | X | X | |
| Smart-Compatible Vent Hoods | X | X | |||
| REFRIGERATION: | |||||
| Counter-Depth Installation | X | X | X | X | X |
| Large Capacity (≥25 cu. ft.) | X | X | X | X | X |
| LED Lighting | X | X | X | X | X |
| Smart Compatible | X | X | X | ||
| DISHWASHERS: | |||||
| Built-In Installation | X | X | X | X | X |
| Flexible Third Rack | X | X | X | X | X |
| Quiet Operation (≤44 dBA) | X | X | X | X | |
| Smart Compatible | X | X | X | ||
Let Us Help You
Feel inspired? Be sure to browse our digital catalog of premium appliance brands, and if you have any questions, feel free to call us at (858) 987-5777 or visit us at our San Diego location. More accessible than ever, our Aztec Appliance experts are also available via chat!