A quiet dishwasher for a small apartment kitchen

The pick

Bosch 300 Series SHE53C85N — about $900

Why

At 46 dBA it is one of the quietest 24 inch machines you can get at $900, which matters because your kitchen is open to where you sleep. It drops into your existing standard slot and hookups with no cabinet work. For 1 or 2 people's daily dishes, the flexible third rack and adjustable middle rack mean you can run it half full without rearranging everything.

The catch

Bosch dries by condensation with no heating element, so plastic containers and lids come out damp and you will be hand-drying them.

Runner-up

Bosch 500 Series SHP65CM5N — Take this if you can stretch to about $1,100 for 44 dBA and a better third rack, because 2 dB is genuinely noticeable in a studio at night.

Avoid

Any 24 inch dishwasher rated 50 dBA or louder, including the entry GE and Frigidaire built-ins around $600 — In a room open to your bed, a 50 dBA wash cycle is loud enough that you will delay every load until you leave the apartment.

Ruled on these constraints

installation width: 24 inches, a standard slot
hookup access: Yes, the hookups are already there
load size: 1 or 2 people
noise exposure: Yes, it is open to where I relax or sleep

Ruled on 15 September 2026. No brand paid for this.

Prices are our estimate on the ruled-on date. Check the current price before you buy.

This ruling was written for the constraints above, for the person who paid for it. It is published because a decided case is worth more read than filed. No brand paid for it and no link on it pays us.