25 of the Worst Products of 2025—and What to Buy Instead

A “major” appliance implies that the product will be significant enough to have a substantial impact on your day-to-day life, consume a considerable amount of power, and be installed permanently. These major appliances are likely to come with major headaches.

The worst range: Fisher & Paykel Classic Series 7 OR30SCG4X1
Score: 22
Looks aren’t everything. Despite its sleek profile, this high-end pro-style range is a disappointment. Want to make cookies? Expect the unexpected. Simmer a lovely risotto? Don’t look away! This charmer scores low on baking and struggles to hold a pot below a boil. Oh, and it typically goes for $5,000. Lol.
One of the best ranges: Monogram ZGP304NTSS
The rest of the best: See the best ranges from our tests.

The worst washing machine: Midea MLTW41A1BWW
Score: 30
What could make an eco-friendly Green Choice washer pop up on this list? Simple: The failure to clean clothes. It’s water- and energy-efficient, sure. But over a 50-minute cycle, it just doesn’t get the job done. In fact, it has the worst washing performance in our ratings. So all in all, the opposite of efficient. The kicker? This Midea costs more than the two top LG washing machines in CR’s ratings. Also, beware of this Insignia (an exclusive Lowe’s budget brand), whose score matched the Midea’s.
One of the best washing machines: LG WT7005CW
The rest of the best: See the best washing machines from our tests.

The worst refrigerator: Danby DPF074B2WDB-6
Score: 31
If you like a fridge that’s difficult to use and inefficient, have we got a pick for you. Not only does the Danby score the lowest possible grade in our ease-of-use tests, but its crisper also refuses to retain moisture, and it has a terrible score for energy efficiency, which means your electricity bills will be higher. To add insult to injury, the company couldn’t even throw in an icemaker.
One of the best refrigerators: Samsung RT70F18LRSR
The rest of the best: See the best refrigerators from our tests.

The worst dishwasher: Hotpoint HDF330PGRWW (Lowe’s)
Score: 48
Some people enjoy the old-fashioned task of drying dishes. Most of us, however, hope to open a dishwasher after a cycle and put things away. This model doesn’t do a great job of washing and isn’t the best at drying items, either. As a brand, Hotpoint gets, ahem, truly horrific scores in owner satisfaction from our trustworthy members.
One of the best dishwashers: Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N
The rest of the best: See the best dishwashers from our tests.

There’s nothing like waking up to an empty pot of coffee because your coffee maker refuses to make coffee. And what about a toaster that doesn’t toast? These countertop appliances may be a good alternative to caffeine, actually—your heart rate will skyrocket from the stress of using them.

The worst toaster oven: GoWise USA Deluxe GW44800
Score: 34
This GoWise toaster oven lands at the very bottom of our toaster oven ratings for good reason. It’s poor at baking, weak when it comes to toasting a single slice, and not very easy to use based on our evaluation of its controls and the number of steps it takes to complete a task. You may as well just place your food on a rock under the sun. (At least that would be easier to clean.)
One of the best toaster ovens: Hamilton Beach 31156
The rest of the best: See the best toaster ovens from our tests.

The worst microwave: GE Profile PEM31SFSS
Score: 34
At $550, this midsized microwave performed abysmally in our test for even heating, and its speed was almost as unimpressive. It’s not just us, either. In our member surveys, Kenmore microwaves earn a low rating for owner satisfaction. It did perform well in our noise tests, but that’s a moot point if you want to use it to, you know, heat up food.
One of the best microwaves: GE JES1109RRSS
The rest of the best: See the best microwaves from our tests.

The worst stand mixer: Hamilton Beach 6 Speed 64655
Score: 39
Don’t be seduced by the low, low price of this Hamilton Beach stand mixer ($63 vs. a staggering $840 for our highest-rated pick). This machine vibrates and labors when kneading dough with a dough hook, so it probably won’t improve your baking game very much. Heck, its score for whipping time was tragic, and its mixing skills were only so-so. You can buy a decent hand mixer for the same price or less, and most of our recommended models are likely to perform those tasks better.
One of the best stand mixers: Pioneer Woman PW3509956914017
The rest of the best: See the best stand mixers from our tests.

The worst blender: Tribest Dynapro DPS-2250GY-B
Score: 39
For $600, you’d expect far better performance from the DPS-2250GY-B blender. It received a poor durability score, so whether it will last long enough to be worth the cost is up for debate. Based on disappointing results in our tests of its ability to crush ice (we challenge blenders with seven ice cubes and no water, for a set period of time), it’s not going to be much help at a party, either.
One of the best blenders: Vitamix 5200
The rest of the best: See the best blenders from our tests.

The worst coffee maker: Ratio Six Series 2
Score: 51
Though this machine makes a decent cup of coffee, it got terrible scores in our labs for carafe handling—meaning it’s awkward to operate and can leave dribbles and drips behind. That’s a morning stressor you don’t need. This coffee maker received only middling scores for convenience, which factors in ease of use and cleaning. And in case you need another reason to avoid it, it definitely ain’t cheap.
One of the best coffee makers: Cuisinart DCC-T20 Touchscreen 14-Cup Programmable
The rest of the best: See the best coffee makers from our tests.

When it comes to purifying the air or filtering your water—you know, really insignificant tasks that don’t have an impact on your health and well-being at all—these products are spectacularly disappointing.

The worst steam mop: Shark S1000
Score: 5
What is there to say about this model except the negative? It might have the words “steam mop” in the name, but it’s lousy at producing steam and not very good at mopping. The Shark Steam Pocket S3501 struggled to clean stains off ceramic tiles in our lab and earned a low score in our steam-rate tests.
One of the best steam mops: Kenmore S200 Series SM2060
The rest of the best: See the best steam mops from our tests.

The worst air purifier: EnviroBiotics Biotica 800
Score: 13
The EnviroBiotics Biotica 800 has relatively high annual costs, which include routine filter replacement, and it doesn’t even do its job well. We found it’s completely ineffective at removing dust, smoke, and pollen at both its lowest and highest speeds.
One of the best air purifiers: Blueair Blue Pure 311i+ Max
The rest of the best: See the best air purifiers from our tests.

The worst water filter pitcher: Soma Water Filter Pitcher
Score: 25
The Soma Water Filter Pitcher is the lowest-rated pitcher in CR’s ratings. With an unbelievably low score for flavor and odor reduction, the Soma fails at two of the essential tasks of filtering. It doesn’t have a filter indicator light, either, so good luck figuring out when you need to replace the cartridge.
One of the best water filter pitchers: Brita Denali with Elite Filter
The rest of the best: See the best water filter pitchers from our tests.

The worst humidifier: CarePod Cube Plus
Score: 28
Sure, the CarePod Cube Plus is energy-efficient, easy to use, and quiet. But it’s a humidifier that doesn’t humidify enough, so nothing else matters. Our testers found its water output over 24 hours to be a measly 1.1 gallons—not enough to humidify the 500 to 999 square feet of space it’s supposed to handle.
One of the best humidifiers: Levoit Classic 300S
The rest of the best: See the best humidifiers from our tests.

The worst dehumidifier: Frigidaire GHDD5035W1
Score: 29
In areas where many high-performing dehumidifiers struggle—noise and accuracy of the humidistat (which measures moisture levels and tells the unit when to turn on and off)—this Frigidaire excels. But when it comes to the reason you buy a dehumidifier—removing moisture from your room—this model flat-out flunks, coming nowhere near its claimed 50-pint daily capacity.
One of the best dehumidifiers: Honeywell TP70WKN
The rest of the best: See the best dehumidifiers from our tests.

The worst carpet cleaner: Hoover SmartWash Pet Complete FH53000PC
Score: 31
Mediocrity is the name of the game for this Hoover carpet cleaner. In our lab tests, it proved to be lackluster at removing stains from carpets, and it left behind dampness after cleaning. It received a middling rating for convenience, but it falls below average in other major metrics.
One of the best carpet cleaners: Bissell ProHeat 2x Revolution Pet Pro Plus 3588F
The rest of the best: See the best carpet cleaners from our tests.

The worst space heater: Black+Decker BHRO608
Score: 38
Keep your socks on; this heater takes forever to do its thing. Among personal heaters, it ranks low for both heating a room and heating an individual within 15 minutes. That’s enough to take it out of the running, but those aren’t its only problems. This model’s surface can become so hot to the touch that it actually burns.
One of the best space heaters: Lasko Artisan Series CX16550
The rest of the best: See the best space heaters from our tests.

The worst robotic vacuum: Lefant M210
Score: 50
The best thing about the Lefant M210 robovac is that it’s relatively quiet and works well on bare floors. But that’s where its good characteristics end. In our labs, this Lefant earned mediocre scores for cleaning carpet, picking up pet hair, and handling edges and corners. But wait—there’s more (or should we say less). This robotic vacuum is also difficult to use, with one of the smallest dirt bins we’ve tested, and it can even scatter debris.
One of the best robotic vacuums: iRobot Roomba Max 705
The rest of the best: See the best robotic vacuums from our tests.

Working outside can be lots of fun. What’s not fun? Chores that never end because the product you bought can’t do its job. Below you’ll find leaf blowers that don’t blow leaves, lawn mowers that don’t mow lawns, and generators that don’t generate power.

The worst inverter generator: Briggs & Stratton 030761
Score: 38
Generators spend most of their time sitting in the garage, waiting for an emergency to arise. And when that happens, you need to know you can count on them to do one thing: deliver power for essentials, like the fridge, the furnace, phone chargers—and in some homes, life-sustaining medical equipment. Most of the generators we test do just that. The $1,000 Briggs & Stratton 030761? Not so much. This large inverter generator is rated for 5,000 watts, but in our tests didn’t deliver the juice promised.
One of the best inverter generators: Predator 9500 with CO SECURE
The rest of the best: See the best inverter generators from our tests.

The worst battery leaf blower: Black+Decker LSW40C
Score: 43
It can’t blow leaves, which is kind of a deal breaker for a leaf blower. We’re talking multiple passes just to gather leaves into a decent pile. When it comes to embedded material, like leaf particles in the grass, forget it. On the plus side, it’s quiet!
One of the best battery leaf blowers: Greenworks BL60L512
The rest of the best: See the best leaf blowers from our tests.

The worst battery lawn mower: Worx WG779
Score: 44
This scaled-down Worx mower is currently our lowest-rated battery mower. It struggles to mulch or bag clippings and takes forever to charge. The run time is short—only about 25 minutes—so you’d better be speedy or have a very small yard.
One of the best battery lawn mowers: Ryobi RY401220
The rest of the best: See the best battery lawn mowers from our tests.

We appreciate home technology because it enhances our lives in ways we might have once thought impossible (video doorbell, anyone?). But we can’t deny how disappointing certain products can be. 

The worst Bluetooth speaker: Sony SRS-XV900
Score: 32
Hazy, grainy, muffled, sizzly, smeared. Those are just a few of the adjectives our testers used to describe the sound quality of Sony’s pricey SRS-XV-900 party box speaker. Three feet tall and nearly 60 pounds, this behemoth is among the most expensive options in our ratings. But its audio is comparable to that of a dinky $50 speaker.
One of the best Bluetooth speakers: Ultimate Ears Hyperboom
The rest of the best: See the best Bluetooth speakers from our tests.

The worst video doorbell: Eufy Video Doorbell S220
Score: 39
Compared with other video doorbells we’ve tested, the Eufy Video Doorbell S220 does a poor job of keeping footage secure and private. It’s also slow to send alerts and load live feeds, meaning your visitor might give up and walk away before you’ve had a chance to respond.
One of the best video doorbells: Arlo Video Doorbell (AVD4001-100NAS)
The rest of the best: See the best video doorbells from our tests.

The worst under-desk treadmill: Redliro Under Desk Treadmill, 2 in 1
Score: 16
To be fair to the Redliro Under Desk Treadmill, we’re not big fans of under-desk treadmills overall for their many serious safety issues. That said, some manage to earn our recommendation. This one does not. In fact, the Redliro’s attempts at safety are comical (or horrifying, depending on your POV). The treadmill drops in speed when you step onto it, creating a tripping hazard. Its handrails are flimsy and short. And it stops abruptly when the magnetic safety key is pulled. (This article may be a bit of a joke, but this write-up isn’t—steer clear.)
One of the best under-desk treadmills: Urevo CyberPad
The rest of the best: See the best under-desk treadmills from our tests.

The worst headphones: V-Moda M-200
Score: 39
It seems like these studio-style headphones would deliver solid sound. But our testers reported that the fidelity sits somewhere between a bad telephone connection and a plastic cup against the wall—with a sprinkling of harshness for good measure. To add a bit of discomfort, our team also discovered that the headphones can pinch the head and fingers of some users.
One of the best headphones: Grado SR80x
The rest of the best: See the best headphones from our tests.

The worst smart bathroom scale: Inevifit EROS Bluetooth Body Fat Scale Smart BMI Highly Accurate Digital Bathroom Body
Score: 20
The Inevifit EROS is a great bathroom scale because it—just kidding. (Imagine if we actually recommended something that works well at the very end of this list!) In our labs, the EROS scored a 1 out of 5 for accuracy and got the same abysmal rating for consistency. Yup, it fails on two of the most important features of a smart bathroom scale. It’s able to establish a connection with the health and wellness app of your choice (Apple, Google, Samsung, Fitbit, etc.), but past that, it’s pretty useless.
One of the best smart bathroom scales: Eufy Smart Scale P2 Pro
The rest of the best: See the best bathroom scales from our tests.