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700 vs 900 watt microwave

Among these 4 countertop listings the stated wattage takes two values, 700 and 900, and every one of them states it. Two other things move with it in lockstep: the stated cavity size, and whether the listing states a preset count at all. Everything else on the box either matches across the 4 or is described in words that do not line up.

What each listing states

Every counted field this question turns on, as the listings state it
ListingCapacityWattsIn-oneSettingsPresetsMax tempModel code
BLACK+DECKER EM720CB7 Countertop Microwave Oven, 0.7 Cu.Ft, 700W, Stainless Steel0.7 cubic feet700not stated10 power levelsnot statednot statedEM720CB7
COMFEE EM720CPL-PMB Countertop Microwave Oven, 0.7 Cu.Ft, 700W, Black0.7 cubic feet700not statednot statednot statednot statedEM720CPL-PMB
BLACK+DECKER EM925AB9 Countertop Microwave Oven, 0.9 Cu.Ft, 900W, Stainless Steel0.9 cubic feet900not stated10 power levels6 auto cook presetsnot statedEM925AB9
TOSHIBA ML-EM09PA-BS Microwave Oven, 0.9 Cu.Ft, 900W, Black Stainless Steel0.9 cubic feet900not statednot stated6 auto menusnot statedML-EM09PA-BS

The wattage and the cavity move together

All 4 of these listings state a wattage, which makes this one of the few fields in the catalog with no gaps in it. They also all state a capacity, and the two fields split the group the same way: the pair stating the lower wattage both state "0.7 cubic feet", and the pair stating the higher one both state "0.9 cubic feet".

So within this group the two figures are not independent claims. A reader who knows one knows the other, which is the opposite of what happens with air fryer capacity and wattage. The subgroup labels in the catalog follow the same split, and there are 2 of them here.

The preset count appears only at the higher wattage

This is the field that separates the two pairs most sharply. Two of these 4 listings state a preset count, and both are the higher-wattage models. Both state the same figure, 6, and they do not use the same words for it: the BLACK+DECKER states "6 auto cook presets" and the TOSHIBA states "6 auto menus".

The lower-wattage pair state no preset count whatsoever. Where this catalog tracks presets, both of those rows read "not stated", and that is a real difference between the halves of this group rather than a hole in the record. The same figure arriving under two different words is the subject of the count of preset figures across the catalog.

Power levels are stated by some and not others

Power levels cut across the wattage split instead of following it. Two of the 4 state a figure for them, and they are one from each wattage pair: both state "10 power levels". The other two listings, one from each pair, state nothing on that field.

This is worth noticing because power levels and wattage are easy to read as one claim. In this group they are not even stated by the same listings. A shared "10 power levels" does not accompany a shared wattage, and a shared wattage does not bring a power level figure with it.

What every one of them states, and in different words

All 4 state a model code, and all 4 carry the child safety lock phrase this catalog tracks in its fine print index. On that last point the wording diverges again: three of them state a child safety lock and the TOSHIBA states a child lock, which is the same idea with a word removed.

Beyond the counted fields the listings name features that cannot be compared at all, because no two of them name the same ones: digital controls and a push-button door on one, eco mode and one-touch buttons on another, a mute function and LED lighting on a third. None of this is a figure, so none of it is in the table. Set against the air fryer size comparison, the microwaves are the tidier half of the catalog: here the headline figure really does travel with something.

Questions with plain answers

What is the difference between a 700 and 900 watt microwave?

On what these 4 listings state: the wattage figure, the stated cavity size, and whether a preset count is given at all. The higher-wattage pair state "0.9 cubic feet" and a preset figure; the lower-wattage pair state "0.7 cubic feet" and no preset figure.

Is 700 watts enough for a microwave?

No listing filed here makes a claim of that kind, and this site does not make one either. What the lower-wattage listings state is 700 watts and "0.7 cubic feet", and in one case "10 power levels". Nothing in either listing says what those figures are sufficient for.

Do all microwave listings state the wattage?

All 4 of these do, which is unusual for this catalog. Across the wider set of fields the same listings are far patchier: the category index shows how many leave other counted fields empty.

What are auto cook presets on a microwave?

They are whatever the listing states them to be, and here two listings state the same figure of 6 under two different names, "6 auto cook presets" and "6 auto menus". Neither listing names any of the individual presets, so the figure is the whole of the claim.

The listings on this page

The shared pair, turntable removable

BLACK+DECKER EM720CB7 Countertop Microwave Oven, 0.7 Cu.Ft, 700W, Stainless Steel, product image supplied with the listing

BLACK+DECKER EM720CB7 Countertop Microwave Oven, 0.7 Cu.Ft, 700W, Stainless Steel

The shared pair, a power level count and a set of named parts. Its model code opens with digits that read like the cavity figure beside it, and measure nothing. The turntable is described as removable rather than measured.

Settings
10 power levels
Capacity
0.7 cubic feet
Watts
700
Model code
EM720CB7
Not stated
4 of the counted fields

What the listing gives you

  • The power level count is stated plainly
  • The door mechanism is described rather than implied
  • The turntable is described as removable
  • The model code appears in the listing title

What it leaves out

  • No preset count at all, so it cannot be compared against most of this category
  • The digits in its model code measure nothing
  • Both halves of the pair are shared with several other listings here

Best for
A model code that reads like a capacity and is not one.

Badge basis
It states the shared pair, and it is the only listing in this subgroup to describe its turntable as removable.

Quoted from the listing
listing states 0.7 cubic feet, 700 watts, digital controls, a push-button door, a child safety lock, 10 power levels and a removable turntable

Check the listing

The shared pair, sound switchable

COMFEE EM720CPL-PMB Countertop Microwave Oven, 0.7 Cu.Ft, 700W, Black, product image supplied with the listing

COMFEE EM720CPL-PMB Countertop Microwave Oven, 0.7 Cu.Ft, 700W, Black

The pair and nothing else counted. One-touch buttons are mentioned without a figure, which is the same feature its neighbors put a number on. Its model code opens with digits that echo the cavity figure, by coincidence rather than by design.

Capacity
0.7 cubic feet
Watts
700
Model code
EM720CPL-PMB
Not stated
5 of the counted fields

What the listing gives you

  • It does not count something it declines to name
  • The sound control is described in both directions, on and off
  • The model code appears in the listing title
  • The pair is stated with units on both halves

What it leaves out

  • One-touch buttons are described but never counted
  • Neither figure it states separates it from six other listings here
  • No power level count and no preset count

Best for
The pair, and a feature its neighbors count that this one does not.

Badge basis
It states the shared pair, and it is the only listing in this subgroup to describe its sound as switchable in both directions.

Quoted from the listing
listing states 0.7 cubic feet, 700 watts, eco mode, sound on and off, one-touch buttons and a child safety lock

Check the listing

Above the pair, levels still counted

BLACK+DECKER EM925AB9 Countertop Microwave Oven, 0.9 Cu.Ft, 900W, Stainless Steel, product image supplied with the listing

BLACK+DECKER EM925AB9 Countertop Microwave Oven, 0.9 Cu.Ft, 900W, Stainless Steel

6presets claimed; the listing names none of them

A larger cavity and a higher wattage than the shared pair, with the same power level figure the small machines state and a preset count under a fifth phrase. Its model code opens with digits close enough to the cavity figure to look deliberate.

Presets
6 auto cook presets
Settings
10 power levels
Capacity
0.9 cubic feet
Watts
900
Model code
EM925AB9
Not stated
3 of the counted fields

What the listing gives you

  • Cavity and wattage are both stated with units and both differ from the shared pair
  • Power levels and presets are counted separately
  • The door mechanism is named
  • The model code appears in the listing title

What it leaves out

  • A power level count that matches machines of a different wattage tells you nothing about either
  • Auto cook preset is another phrase for a thing none of these listings defines
  • None of the presets is named

Best for
The same power level count, on a machine of different size and wattage.

Badge basis
It is the only listing outside the shared pair subgroup to state a power level count, and it states the same count the small machines do.

Quoted from the listing
listing states 0.9 cubic feet, 900 watts, 10 power levels, a push-button door, a child safety lock and 6 auto cook presets

Check the listing

Above the pair, turntable measured

TOSHIBA ML-EM09PA-BS Microwave Oven, 0.9 Cu.Ft, 900W, Black Stainless Steel, product image supplied with the listing

TOSHIBA ML-EM09PA-BS Microwave Oven, 0.9 Cu.Ft, 900W, Black Stainless Steel

6presets claimed; the listing names none of them

The same cavity and wattage as one neighbor, a turntable measured in inches, and a menu count that matches three preset counts elsewhere in this category under three other names. Its model code carries the digits nine, which the cavity figure also carries.

Presets
6 auto menus
Capacity
0.9 cubic feet
Watts
900
Model code
ML-EM09PA-BS
Not stated
4 of the counted fields

What the listing gives you

  • The turntable is measured, which most listings here skip
  • Cavity and wattage are both stated with units
  • The menu count is stated as a figure
  • The model code appears in the listing title

What it leaves out

  • Its menu count matches preset counts elsewhere under different names
  • None of the menus is named
  • Its cavity and wattage are identical to another listing in this subgroup

Best for
Two machines with the same pair, in the subgroup built to avoid that.

Badge basis
This menu phrase is stated by one listing in the catalog, and this is the smaller of the two turntables measured in inches here.

Quoted from the listing
listing states 0.9 cubic feet, 900 watts, 6 auto menus, a mute function, a child lock, LED lighting and a 10.6 inch removable turntable

Check the listing