Are 950 Watts Good for a Microwave (and What You Can Expect Out of It)

Wattage can be everything to a microwave. Determining power and cost, the wattage of your microwave decides how much you’re paying for it, both upfront and down the road, and the time it will take for your food to cook. There are a variety of wattages for microwaves available around. However, is 950 watts good for a microwave?

950 watts is good for a microwave meant to serve a small family. Aside from costing less, 950-watt microwaves have a forgivable difference from the more popular 1100-watt microwaves, usually only seconds or a minute of cooking time. You can reliably use these microwaves for most uses.

Microwaves sit around a range of wattages between 600 to 1100 for home-grade ones, so 950 watts sit comfortably on the above-average side. A microwave with 950 watts will often strike a great balance in size (capacity is proportional to wattage) and speed in cooking (faster than the lower end, closer to the higher end).

With this wattage, you can dependably use them for all possible use cases you might ever need for a microwave.

Is A 900 Watt Microwave Enough?

If you’re looking for the difference between a 950-watt microwave and a 900-watt microwave, you’ll find that there wouldn’t be a major difference that would radically change the use cases of either microwave. 

A 900-watt microwave can easily match a 950-watt one in most cases. Where a 950-watt microwave would take around 14 minutes, a 900-watt microwave would simply need to add a minute to match the cooking time. 

With that said, a 950-watt microwave might be a better choice if compared to a similarly-priced 900-watt microwave. A higher wattage is generally better for cooking times. If you are at this range of wattage for microwaves, you are already sitting at a comfortable range where 50 watts may not matter as much.

What You Can Expect Out of 950-Watt Microwaves?

If you’re coming from a lower-wattage microwave, then 950 watts will be a great upgrade. Meals will cook faster, popcorn pops faster, and you don’t have to wait forever to cook and reheat meals. Cooking times will be cut anywhere from seconds to five full minutes.

That means a meal usually prepared for 20 minutes on a 700-watt microwave will only take 15 minutes, which easily accumulates over time. 950-watt microwaves in this case will save you a lot of time. However, if you’re coming from a high-wattage microwave, then 950 watts may introduce a few more seconds to your cooking time.

At most, you will need to add around a minute and a half for recipes that call for a 10-minute cooking time on an 1100-watt microwave. As you see, the difference is often forgivable, especially if you’re only cooking meals for a small number of people.

If you are getting a 950-watt microwave as your first, then you’ll find it good for a microwave. It will meet all your expectations, from reheating food to cooking a wide variety of foods. 950 watts is definitely good for a microwave that does not have to consistently cook large meals.

Conclusion

One more minute of cooking is not the end of the world yet, so 950 watts is not a deal-breaker against the higher-end wattages. If you come from anything lower than 950 watts, this will be an obvious upgrade. If you’re still asking “is 950 watts good for a microwave,” then it’s easily a yes for most people.