The High-End Appliance Brand That Earns Consumer Reports' Highest Dishwasher Score

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An unreliable dishwasher is a frustrating issue. Malfunctioning parts, poor designs, and remaining food residue may leave dishes half-washed, forcing you to finish them by hand. The unreliable dishwasher you bought to save time leaves you wasting time troubleshooting common dishwasher problems. 

Finding a dishwasher you can count on is easier when you have the help of experts. The team at Consumer Reports is ready to help, as it offers hands-on lab testing and collects owner surveys to make recommendations on the best models. In its rankings of the best dishwashers for brand reliability, wash performance, energy efficiency, and noise, Consumer Reports placed the Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N model at the top of the list. In fact, Bosch-branded models occupied the top 10 spots on the Consumer Reports list of 123 models with a 24-inch width, showing that Bosch is one of the most reliable dishwasher brands worth buying.

The Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N costs $1,999, which is significantly higher than the average price of $400 to $1,200 for a 24-inch wide built-in unit. Bosch offers five price tiers for its dishwashers, and the Benchmark series is the manufacturer's most expensive tier. Bosch's Benchmark series attempts to justify its higher price by offering top-end features, including a durable stainless steel tub, extra loading room in the flexible third rack, built-in water softening technologies, and interior lighting.

In its hands-on lab testing, Consumer Reports gave the Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N above-average scores in every category, including the maximum possible score in ease of use and quiet operation. One of the most common mistakes everyone makes when buying dishwashers is not paying attention to the noise they generate. Benchmark Series dishwashers are considered the quietest models that Bosch manufactures. Consumer Reports gave this model a high score for ease of use because of its easy-to-understand interface and multiple loading options.

One of the high-end design features of the Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N is its motorized washing arm at the bottom of the unit. (Most dishwashers use water pressure to spin the arm.) This allows you to use an app and the dishwasher's WiFi connectivity to control the intensity of the water in different sections of the rack when you have pots and pans that need extra cleaning power. With its extra cleaning performance, Consumer Reports gives the Bosch model above-average scores for both upper and lower rack wash performance. During testing, Consumer Reports washed dishes with heavily soiled and baked-on food, and the Benchmark SHP9PCM5N was able to clean the dishes well.

The Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N also received strong marks from Consumer Reports for brand reliability and owner satisfaction. Consumer Reports also surveyed its members who had bought new dishwashers between 2015 and 2025 to calculate these marks.

Price is the biggest drawback to the Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N, as it costs significantly more than average dishwashers and other Bosch models. The Benchmark tier averages about $450 more per unit than Bosch's closest pricing tier found in the 800 Series. Compared to two Bosch 800 Series dishwashers that received high scores in the Consumer Reports rankings, the organization's testing experts gave the Benchmark SHP9PCM5N and the two 800 Series equal scores in the categories of upper and lower rack wash performance, noise generation, and drying performance. The Benchmark SHP9PCM5N generates 38 decibels of noise during operation, while the Bosch 800 Series creates 42 decibels of noise. Some people may not notice this small of a noise difference, which means it may be tough to justify paying the Benchmark's premium cost compared to the 800 Series if you're primarily worried about noise.

Although 93% of customer reviewers on the Home Depot website would recommend purchasing the Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N, it did receive some negative reviews. Many of the unflattering remarks focused on difficulties in finding replacement parts when the Bosch dishwasher eventually needed service. Some customer reviewers were frustrated with needing to run the app and connect the dishwasher to Wi-Fi to be able to use some of the most basic operational features, such as a delayed start.