Is a Microwave Worth Buying?

Last updated: 2026-08-25

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Wondering whether a microwave is actually worth the counter space in your kitchen, or if your oven and stovetop can handle reheating and defrosting on their own? The short answer is yes for most households, because the real difference is the repeated daily time, not just whether you can reheat food one way or another. Let’s compare the options honestly before you decide.

The quick answer

Yes, a microwave is worth buying for most households, because it reheats a ready plate or leftovers in one to three minutes with no preheating like an oven needs, and it defrosts frozen items quickly and safely. Skip it only if you genuinely cook every meal fresh and never keep leftovers at all.

Key takeaways

• A microwave is faster than an oven for daily reheating because it needs no preheating, unlike an oven that takes several minutes to reach temperature.
• Defrosting frozen items is faster and safer than leaving them out on the counter for hours, which lowers the risk of bacterial growth.
• A compact solo unit doesn’t need much space, even in a small kitchen or a one-room apartment.
• A grill microwave adds value beyond reheating: browning cheese and crisping a dish’s surface if you occasionally want that.
• The real question isn’t “can you reheat food another way”, it’s the time and convenience you save repeatedly over weeks and months of daily use.

Microwave versus reheating on the stovetop or oven

Reheating a plate on the stovetop needs a pot or pan and constant watching to avoid burning or drying it out, and takes five to ten minutes depending on the amount of food. An oven is also slower for daily reheating, since it usually needs ten minutes or more to reach temperature before the actual reheating starts, which makes sense for a full meal but not for a single plate of leftovers. A microwave does this in one to three minutes with a single button press, with no extra pot or pan to wash, and that gap adds up fast with daily use.

Microwave versus skipping it entirely

Some households wonder whether they can skip the microwave entirely and rely only on the oven and stovetop. That’s genuinely possible, but it means longer reheating time for every plate of leftovers or frozen item, plus an extra dish to wash every time. For anyone living alone or working long hours and relying on leftovers or pre-made meals, going without a microwave means wasted time every day on a task that could take one minute.

Quick comparison: microwave or another option?

The simple rule: the more you rely on leftovers or frozen items during your week, the more real value a microwave has, not just whether you can reheat food another way.

When might a microwave not be worth buying?

If you cook every meal fresh right before eating it, and you never keep leftovers or frozen items in your home at all, you may not urgently need a microwave. That’s genuinely rare for most households in Saudi Arabia, but it happens. Even then, if you have children or family members eating meals on different schedules, a single microwave solves that problem at a relatively low cost.

Our practical pick if you decide to buy

If you decide a microwave is worth the space, the Toshiba MW3-AG20PE 3-in-1 is a practical example that combines speed and flexibility: it reheats like any solo microwave, and it adds a grill and convection function for browning cheese or crisping a dish’s surface if you occasionally want that, with a practical 20L capacity and thousands of positive reviews on Amazon.sa. We didn’t pick it for being the cheapest, we picked it because the balance of performance and flexibility makes sense, which is why it tops our guide to the best microwave in Saudi Arabia. At roughly ≈ 720 SAR at the time of writing.

See the Toshiba MW3-AG20PE price on Amazon.sa ↗

Bottom line

For most households in Saudi Arabia, a microwave is clearly worth buying: it saves time and daily convenience compared to an oven and stovetop, and it covers more than one task if you pick a grill format. Skip it only if you genuinely never reheat leftovers or frozen items. If you decide to buy, first check what size microwave you need for your home, and if your budget is tight see the best budget microwave. If you’re torn between solo and grill, read solo vs grill microwave, and for the full buying criteria see our how to choose a microwave guide, or browse the full microwaves section.

Sources

• Price and review data from Amazon.sa at the time of publication.

This analysis is based on published information from Amazon.sa.

Written by Mohab Mohamed Hussein