Best-Rated Ovens

Compare Oven brands in New Zealand at Canstar Blue. Samsung, Smeg, Haier, Bosch, Fisher & Paykel, Westinghouse and Beko were compared on Overall Satisfaction, Cooking Performance & Reliability, Design, Ease of Cleaning, Ease of Use, Functionality & Features and Value for Money.

See our Ratings Methodology.

Most Satisfied Customers | Samsung

Samsung’s ovens are hot stuff with Kiwi consumers, earning the best ratings of any brand in our research and winning Canstar Blue’s 2024 Award for Most Satisfied Customers | Ovens.

 

 

How we rate ovens

Our review compares oven brands on customer satisfaction, so you can discover what other Kiwis think about our compared oven brands before you go ahead and purchase a new appliance. Think of it like asking hundreds of your closest friends and family which ovens they think are best!


Canstar Blue surveyed 874 Kiwis who have ovens installed in their homes and had used them during the past 12 months and asked for their feedback on their oven brands.

  • The outcomes reported in these ratings are measured via accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics.

Respondents rate their satisfaction with their oven brands from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:

  • Overall Satisfaction: measures consumer satisfaction with an oven as an individual score NOT a combined total of all criteria.
  • Cooking Performance & Reliability: the oven cooks foods effectively, hasn’t broken (i.e. is without faults) and its performance hasn’t reduced over time.
  • Ease of Use: the settings and functions are easy to find, use and understand.
  • Value for Money: takes into account the number of functions, the sophistication of technology, and how well it works for the price.
  • Ease of Cleaning: the shelves, door, inside compartments and hob, if applicable, are easy to reach and clean.
  • Functionality & Features: the appliance has adequate cooking functions and extra features such as self-cleaning, etc.
  • Design: the oven size suits its purpose and the appearance/finish of the appliance is aesthetically pleasing.

The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall Satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall Satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.

  • Overall Satisfaction is asked as a specific question and represents an individual measure, not a combined total of all criteria.
  • When we cannot determine a clear winner from the criteria for the Overall Satisfaction rating, we will then look at the other criteria measured in the rating.
    • The brand with the highest number of five-star ratings within the supporting criteria will become the five-star recipient in overall satisfaction, and thus win the award. If a clear leader still cannot be determined from the supporting criteria, joint winners will be declared.

Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.

  • Samsung
  • Smeg
  • Haier
  • Bosch
  • Fisher & Paykel
  • Westinghouse
  • Beko


Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.

Best oven brands in New Zealand

  1. Samsung
  2. Smeg
  3. Haier
  4. Bosch
  5. Fisher & Paykel
  6. Westinghouse
  7. Beko

Samsung

Ratings Results

As the only brand to earn a top 5-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction, Samsung is the deserved winner of Canstar Blue’s Ovens Award for 2024. Across all categories it rates highly with consumers: it earns further five 5-Star ratings for Cooking Performance & Reliability, Ease of Use, Ease of Cleaning, Functionality & Features and Design. For Value for Money Samsung earns a 3-Star rating, which is by no means a measure of dissatisfaction, rather it indicates that Samsung customers are happy with the perceived levels of value delivered by their choice of ovens.

Editor’s Notes

Samsung is known for smart appliances and industry leading technology, and its ovens are no different. Sporting unique features such as flexible doors, the ability to convert a single oven into a double oven and wi-fi connectivity, Samsung ovens are perfect for those looking to cook perfectly, and a little smarter.

Samsung’s range covers just five models of built-in wall ovens. Prices begin at around $1000 for Samsung’s 4 Series 76L built-in wall oven, which features SmartThings Cooking and catalytic self-cleaning.

With prices starting at $3600, Samsung’s 76L Series 6 Wall Oven delivers steam-assisted cooking, AI Pro Cooking, Dual Cook Flex and an internal camera.


Smeg

Ratings Results

Rated second for Overall Satisfaction by the Kiwi consumers in our survey, Smeg is the only brand to earn impressive 4-Star ratings across the board. Smeg’s consistently high ratings prove that its customers are more than satisfied with their oven purchases.

Editor’s Notes

Designed and built in Italy, Smeg is a premium appliance brand that has built a reputation for delivering great style as well as performance. Smeg offers a wide range of ovens in New Zealand. The range includes over 43 different models of built-in ovens and a greater number, 48, of freestanding models, in both gas and electric. Smeg ovens are available in various cool colours and styles, so whatever the style of your kitchen, you can rest assured there’s a stylish Smeg oven to fit.


haier logo

Haier

Ratings Results

Haier scores well in this year’s ratings, earning a respectable 4-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction. It scores particularly well for Value for Money and is the only brand to earn a 5-Star rating in the category.

Editor’s Notes

Haier was founded in China in 1984 and is the owner of Fisher & Paykel. Here in NZ, the brand is often considered a cheaper alternative to Fisher & Paykel products, delivering great design and features at an affordable price.
Its range of built-in ovens comprises 18 appliances. Cheaper models are priced around $850, while more expensive ovens come with all the modern features you’d expect, like pyrolytic cleaning, air frying, rotisseries and even wi-fi. Haier’s range of freestanding models is more limited, just seven models, which are priced from just under $800.


Bosch

Ratings Results

Sitting in the middle of this year’s award ratings, Bosch earns a 4-Star Overall Satisfaction rating, plus a further four 4-Star ratings across three other categories. Bosch’s ovens score particularly well for Design, earning a perfect 5-Star rating.

Editor’s Notes

German appliance manufacturer Bosch is synonymous with quality and design. In NZ, it retails three oven ranges: the Series 4, Series 6 and Series 8. Most of its oven models are designed for built-in kitchens, and across its three ranges it offers 20 built-in models and three freestanding ovens.

Bosch’s premium models, the Series 8, are all designed for built-in kitchens and are manufactured in Bosch’s German factory. Models in the Series 8 range feature options such as steam cooking functions and built-in microwaves.


fisher-paykel_logo

Fisher & Paykel

Ratings Results

Fisher & Paykel is a brand synonymous with appliances in NZ, and in this year’s ratings it comes close to achieving a clean sweep of great 4-Star ratings across all categories. However, Fisher & Paykel’s run of 4s is broken by a solitary 3-Star rating, which it achieves for Ease of Cleaning.

Editor’s Notes

Fisher & Paykel’s range of built-in ovens encompasses 39 models across four series: the 5, 7, 9 and 11 Series, and three design styles: Minimal, Contemporary and Professional. Over 20 more models are due to arrive in New Zealand by the end of the year. Features include basic convection ovens through to ones that offer convection alongside steam or microwave cooking and pyrolytic self-cleaning.

Fisher & Paykel’s range of freestanding models is somewhat smaller, just 14 ovens, which feature Classic, Contemporary and Professional styles across a number of capacity sizes.


Westinghouse

Ratings Results

Westinghouse scores a strong 4-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction, and is one of only two brands to score a 5-Star rating for Ease of Use. However, the brand falls down slightly for its Ease of Use and Functionality & Features, for which it earns 3-Star ratings.

Editor’s Notes

Westinghouse is an Australian brand that has been producing quality cooking appliances for over 60 years. Here it offers a choice of 30 built-in ovens and 26 freestanding models. Features available include pyrolytic cleaning and steam-assisted cooking. Some Westinghouse ovens also feature an AirFry mode, to replicate the cooking speed and intensity of air fryers.


Beko

Ratings Results

Rounding out our Oven awards is Beko, which earns consistent 3-Star ratings across all categories. While not a top score, a 3-Star rating indicates that Beko’s customers are satisfied with their Beko ovens.

Editor’s Notes

Beko is a Turkish company that is one of Europe’s biggest appliance manufacturers. All of its ovens are made in Europe and come with a five-year warranty. In New Zealand, it sells a range of nine freestanding ovens, plus ten built-in ovens. It’s range of ovens are available to purchase instore from appliance retailers such as Heathcotes and AppliancePlus.


Other oven brands

Not all brands in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are more brands to check out before making a purchase decision.

  • Belling
  • DeLonghi
  • Electrolux
  • Miele
  • Parmco
  • Whirpool

Belling

Editor’s Notes

Belling is an English appliance brand, and all its ovens are made in the UK. Here it sells a wide range of single and double standalone stoves and multi-function built-in ovens. Prices range from around $2000 to over $10,000.

DeLonghi

Italian brand DeLonghi offers one Benchtop Air Convection MultiOven, perfect for those with minimal space. It’s also budget friendly, available for under $500.

Electrolux

Editor’s Notes

Electrolux is a Swedish appliance company. It’s a premium brand that sells 10 different built-in oven models that boast features such as steam-assisted cooking and pyrolytic cleaning. It also has one standalone models, the 90cm UltimateTaste 900 cooker, available in electric or gas/electric.

Miele

Editor’s Notes

Miele is a German premium brand that manufactures a wide range of home appliances. Its range of built-in ovens in New Zealand encompasses regular convection ovens as well as models with steam-assisted and microwave cooking functions. Prices start around $2800 and go up to a whopping $20,199 for Miele’s top-of-the-range H7890 BP PureLine CleanSteel 90cm Pyrolytic oven.

Parmco

Editor’s Notes

Founded here in 1987, Parmco produces European designed and energy-efficient appliances that come with industry-leading warranties of up to seven years on most products. Parmco’s warranties are backed by a nationwide after-sales, technical and stock support network. Parmco sells a wide range of built-in and freestanding ovens, prices starting from around $800.

Whirlpool

Editor’s Notes

Whirlpool is an American appliance manufacturer. It retails six models of built-in and freestanding ovens, with prices ranging from around $1000 for basic models, up to $2588 for the premier 60cm 12 Function Built-in Steam Oven.

Choosing the Right Oven for You

Ovens are a household workhorse, one that in most homes are used for hours each week. Indeed, close to half of respondents in our survey say they regularly cook a family roast, and that’s without the daily dinners, breakfasts and lunchtime snacks that require cooking, boiling, roasting and baking in or on the family stove.

Therefore, it’s no surprise to discover that when it comes to what makes Kiwis content with their cookers, they say performance and reliability is the most important concern, cited by nearly half of those in our survey: 44%. Ease of use is also important, ranked No.1 by 18% of consumers in our survey.

However, cost is still a concern. Does a $10,000 oven really bake a potato any better than a $1000 model? Well, nearly half of consumers (47%) in our ovens survey say you get what you pay for, but when it comes to Value for Money, it rates third on our list of main concerns when it comes to oven satisfaction.

Overall, here’s how the consumers in our survey rank the main things they consider when rating their choice of oven:

  • Cooking Performance & Reliability: 44%
  • Ease of Use: 18%
  • Value for Money: 12%
  • Ease of Cleaning: 11%
  • Functionality & Features: 10%
  • Design: 5%

Different Types of Oven Explained

Even if you’re fairly new to cooking, you should still know that there isn’t just one standard type oven. As with heat pumps and washing machines, there are multiple different types of models. Below we run through the different types of ovens.

Built-in ovens

Also known as wall ovens, built-in ovens are the most common type of oven. They are fitted either in a wall space or under a bench. Wall ovens give you a large degree of flexibility when it comes to your kitchen’s layout.

They come in a wide variety of makes and models, from basic ovens with mechanical controls and few cooking modes, to smart ovens with touch displays, smart cook settings and a host of features.

Freestanding ovens

A freestanding cooker is a combination of both an oven and a hob. As they are free-standing, they can’t be installed into a wall unit, so it does limit your layout somewhat. However, these are easier to install, as they can be placed just about anywhere, and can be a good option for small spaces.

When considering a freestanding oven, you need to consider your hobs as much as your oven. Do you want electric, gas or induction? And how many burners/elements do you need?

Conventional oven vs convection oven

Conventional and convection ovens look the same, and can be freestanding or built-in. The difference is that while heat in a conventional oven circulates naturally, a convection oven uses a fan to distribute hot air evenly around the oven cavity.

Most modern ovens are convection ovens and, depending on what you’re cooking, you can switch the oven setting to either fan-bake or conventional bake.

A conventional oven cooking setting is great for cooking slow-baked or simmered meals, such as casseroles, stews and ragus, as well as fatty meats like duck and goose. It’s also great for for baking breads, cakes and puddings.

Fan-forced cooking is very much like air frying, great for producing crispy food or blasting pizzas with intense heat. Plus, due to the even oven temperature, the function works well when cooking a variety of foods on different racks. Keep in mind that compared to a conventional oven setting, when using fan-forced you should reduce cooking temperatures by 20°C.

Sunbeam COM1000SS toaster oven

Toaster ovens

As the name suggests, a toaster oven is a countertop appliance that can grill bread as well as bake food. They are much cheaper to buy than a large conventional oven, and simple to set up, but generally do not offer the same bake quality as their larger counterparts. Because of their size, the amount of food you can cook is also limited.

Bench-top convection ovens

Bench-top ovens are similar to toaster ovens, but rather than letting hot air circulate naturally, convection ovens use internal fans, like those found in most freestanding and wall ovens, to distribute the hot air evenly to create a constant temperature. They are more expensive than toaster ovens, but can cook faster, at lower temperatures and deliver better results.

Microwave ovens

Technically, your microwave is a form of oven, and they are great for heating food rapidly. However, for the most part, they are sub-par when it comes to all-round cooking, as they can’t brown or crisp food and don’t cook evenly – hence the rotating table! However, it’s common to find smaller ovens that also have a microwave oven function, which can be ideal for small kitchens.

Air fryers

Air fryers have been hugely popular over the past few years. But despite the fancy name, an air fryer is essentially a small convection oven. By making the cooking area smaller, and by placing the heating element and fan directly on top, you can get crispy food that cooks quickly.

Self-cleaning ovens

There are two types of self-cleaning ovens:

  • Pyrolytic ovens – feature a self-cleaning mode that heats the oven to temperatures as high as 500°. This reduces food and fat residue to a thin white ash, which you can then wipe away easily.
  • Catalytic liners – these oven liners absorb fats and grease particles, which are then burned off by running a cleaning setting. All you have to do is given them a quick wipe for a spotless oven.

Compare air fryers with Canstar Blue here!

About the editor of this page

This report was written by Canstar Content Producer, Caitlin Bingham. Caitlin is an experienced writer whose passion for creativity led her to study communication and journalism. She began her career freelancing as a content writer, before joining the Canstar team.

More Information

Key statistics

You get what you pay for with ovens: 47%

Have considered using an air fryer instead of oven: 44%

Prefer a built-in oven to a wall oven: 26%

Looks for ovens with more than the basic cooking functions: 26%

Intend to purchase a self-cleaning oven in the future: 21%

Have been inspired by TV baking shows to use oven more: 18%

Purchased a self-cleaning oven: 10%

Intend to move away from gas cooking, given its environmental impact: 10%

Type of Oven

Electric: 89%

Gas: 11%

Oven Cleaning Frequency

At least once every six months: 27%

Monthly: 21%

Weekly: 12%

At least once a year: 11%

Fortnightly: 9%

A few times a week: 8%

Less often: 7%

Daily: 4%

Never: 1%

Canstar Blue surveyed 2531 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from respondents who had installed and used an oven in their home during the past 12 months. In this case, 874 New Zealanders.

Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria. Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criterion.

The past winners from Canstar Blue’s Oven ratings:

  • 2023: Samsung
  • 2021: Parmco

Latest appliance articles

How to Clean a Water Bottle or Travel Mug

Why do I need to clean my water bottle/travel mug?
Cleaning your water bottle or travel mug regularly is essential for several reasons:

Hygiene: bacteria, mould, and other microorganisms can accumulate in your water bottle or …

– Read more

Top Fridge-Freezers vs Bottom Fridge-Freezers

What is a top fridge-freezer?
A top fridge-freezer refers to a type of refrigerator-freezer unit where the freezer compartment is located at the top of the appliance, above the refrigerator compartment. In this design, the freezer …

– Read more

Washing Machines – The Best Washes For Your Delicates

Why do delicates need to be washed differently?
Delicate items, like silk blouses or lace lingerie, need special care when washing because they’re made of fragile fabrics or have intricate details. Regular washing machines and harsh …

– Read more

Kmart’s Best Cheap Appliances

Kitchen appliances
Air fryers

3.75L Air Fryer ($85)
If it’s your first time buying an air fryer, or you’re not willing to break the bank, consider Kmart’s affordable 3.75L air fryer. Prepare delicious, crispy fries, nuggets and more …

– Read more

How to Clean a Vacuum Cleaner

If you vacuum sucks at sucking, it could just need a deep clean. Keeping your vacuum cleaner in top shape ensures it provides optimal performance, lasts longer, and remains hygienic. This comprehensive guide caters to …

– Read more