BEST OVERALL

GE Profile UltraFast All-in-One Washer/Dryer Combo

Credit: Best Buy

$2,100 at Amazon

$2,297 at Wayfair

$2,999 at Lowes

Why You Should Get It

• It dries more efficiently than other all-in-one washer dryers we tested.

Keep in Mind

• For those working with small spaces, the machine is large.

Of the five all-in-one washer-dryers we tested, the GE Profile impressed us the most. Not only did all our clothes and bedding come out dry, the machine washed better than our previous washer, which wasn’t a combo unit.

The appliance is large enough to fit a king-size comforter, and while bulky loads like bedding and towels did sometimes require extra drying time, the average cycle time in our tests was 2 hours and 12 minutes.

The washer has 12 different cycle presets, and each preset is determined by three factors: soil level, spin intensity, and water temperature. The dryer settings include an air fluff setting, which is up to four hours of tumbling with no heat. The de-wrinkle setting works with clothes with light wrinkles that are dry or slightly damp. The dryer settings also have a self-cleaning mode and three steam modes (normal, towels, and whites).

A feature that sets the GE Profile apart is its pet hair remover setting. This uses high-speed air before the wash cycle to vacuum hair off clothes in 15-, 30-, 45-minute, or one-hour intervals. We found that the 15-minute interval was sufficient for our needs and removed not only hair, but pilling from clothing with ease.

Connecting to the corresponding app was easy, and we liked having smart features like notifications and a smart dispense feature that allows users to pre-fill it with 50 ounces of detergent to auto dispense, depending on load size and soil level.

The biggest downside? Its size. While all-in-one washer/dryers are often used as a small-space solution, you’ll still need a designated laundry room or closet for this unit, and it’s about an inch wider than most of the stackable sets we’ve tested. It’s also more expensive than most separate washer and dryer sets we recommend.

Product Details: Size: 28 x 46.7 x 32 in. | Drum Capacity: 4.8 cu. ft. | App Connectivity: Yes

• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens

Key Terms to Know

• Ventless dryers: In a ventless dryer, there is no external vent to remove moisture, instead heating and cooling the air within the drum to dry the clothes. Ventless dryers can be more energy efficient, but they often dry clothes more slowly and have a smaller load capacity.
• Drum capacity: The amount of dry laundry a machine can wash in one load. Typically, all-in-one washer dryers have smaller drum capacities.

BEST BUDGET

GE Front Load Washer and Electric Dryer Combo

Credit: Best Buy

Why You Should Get It

• It’s small enough to fit within cabinetry.

Keep in Mind

• It does not have any Wi-Fi features.

This best all-in-one washer and dryer is great for those on a budget. It’s also a solid option for those in apartments, tiny homes, or RVs, as unlike our top pick, it fits within cabinetry. While the machine did leave some clothes a little damp, it was manageable. We found that giving the clothes a little shake would release the steam enough to let them fully dry.

We found that the smaller drum capacity made doing large loads of laundry impractical and the appliance did have longer cycle times compared to a traditional machine. The machine performed well at half or two-thirds full, but once the drum was more than 75% filled, clothes wouldn’t come out dry.

Unlike the GE Profile, this combo unit doesn’t have Wi-Fi features. There also isn’t a lint trap, but a monthly draining process removes lint and hair. The process involves opening a drain door at the bottom right of the washer dryer and using a towel and a plastic container to catch accumulated water and your fingers to remove any trapped hair or lint. We found this task easy to complete.

Overall, we found the machine to be perfect for guest houses or spaces without vent hookups, and we think it could be a solid solution for smaller households. While it does take twice as long to complete a full wash and dry cycle, we liked the added convenience of leaving the washer on and not worrying about moving the load of laundry to a separate machine to dry.

Product Details: Size: 23 x 33.25 x 26 in. | Drum Capacity: 2.4 cu. ft. | App Connectivity: No

• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens

BEST SMART

LG WashCombo All-in-One Electric Washer Dryer

Credit: Lowe's

Why You Should Get It

• It has the largest capacity on our list, uses AI to pick wash and dry settings for you, and can be controlled remotely from an app.

Keep in Mind

• It takes about three hours to complete a wash and dry cycle.

The LG WashCombo takes the guesswork out of choosing a setting for your wash. Its AI Wash and Dry setting senses the fabric texture, soil level, and load size, then picks the right wash and dry motions, water temperature, and more. The dryer cycle turns on automatically with AI Wash and Dry, but with the other 29 wash (and 29 dry) settings, we can do so manually if we want to.

As evidenced in testing, the 5-cubic-foot drum is the perfect size for bigger loads of laundry and successfully removes stains and odors from clothes, towels, and bedding without needing an extra rinse. It spins and drains well. It vibrates but doesn’t move, there’s never any water left in the drum, and our clothes are just damp before drying. 

We love the automatic detergent and softener dispenser—after you fill it up once, you’re set for up to 31 loads. We even got an alert on our smartphone through the ThinQ app when it came time to refill. Using that same app, you can control your washer/dryer remotely. This is a nice-to-have for starting a load before a weekend trip since you’ll never return to undried clothes and mildew.

Here’s another highlight: the lint trap. Why? You don’t have to touch the lint if you don’t want to, because the trap slides right out. We found this makes it much easier to clean and way less messy. We also appreciate the ventless design that allows us to put the machine where we please.

Overall, this machine is very quiet, and when your laundry is done, it chimes at an appropriate volume. There’s even interior lighting so no socks get left behind. A full wash and dry takes about two hours and 50 minutes in total, which is a bit longer than standalone washer and dryer units, but you factor in the convenience of not having to be there to turn over a load, it’s worth it. 

Product details: Size: 33.13 x 27 x 39 in. | Drum Capacity: 5 cu. ft. | App Connectivity: Yes

• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens
• Credit: Better Homes & Gardens

The Bottom Line

After testing five all-in-one washer dryers, we chose the GE Profile Smart UltraFast Electric Washer/Dryer Combo as the best combination appliance for how well it dried everything from clothing to bedding. For a smaller unit, we recommend the GE Front Load Washer and Electric Dryer Combo. While it wasn’t as effective as our top pick, the size and price makes it a solid pick, especially if you’re not using it as your primary laundry machine.

Our Testing Process

While we’ve tested separate washers and dryers before, these are the first all-in-one combo appliances we’ve tried. We were impressed with how all-in-one washer dryers have improved in recent years, with better drying ability and more drum capacity. We looked at best-sellers at Home Depot and Lowe’s and online reviews to see which newer appliances had the best reviews to see how they compared.

For the five unique all-in-one appliances we tested, our five testers spent 480 hours and 320 loads of laundry to evaluate each machine. We noted pros and cons of each machine, how well the appliances cleaned laundry, how well the settings and pre-sets worked, how efficient the drying cycles were, and how energy and water efficient they were. We considered noise levels, overall value, and how well the appliance worked compared to separate washers and dryers.

What to Know About All-in-One Washer Dryers Before Shopping

Size and Capacity

Combo machines also take up less space than separate units, so those in apartments, RVs or smaller homes find them suitable for their needs. Many all-in-one washer dryers, like our Best Budget pick, are great for fitting under a kitchen or bathroom counter.

“I have always thought they could be great in a kitchen if the primary laundry is upstairs, but you need a unit for kitchen towels and the linens from your powder room,” Richardson says.

However, the best-performing unit we tested, the GE Profile, is too large to fit under counters, so you’ll need at least a small closet to fit the machine.

Keep in mind, machines with a smaller drum capacity limit the amount of clothing you can put in the appliance at one time, so those who like to do larger loads of laundry may need to run smaller loads instead.

Energy Efficiency

Despite longer runtimes, compared to traditional vented dryers, combination units can save you in the long run when it comes to your energy bill.

“These appliances are effective with energy-efficient drying, and you can still maintain the ability to do just wash or dry-only cycles,” Shaunfield says. “Drying is completed either with a heat pump, which is approximately 50% more energy efficient, or by a condensation drying method.”

Most advanced all-in-one washer dryers are smart compatible and allow users to operate the unit from an app or monitor their energy usage.

Other All-in-One Washer Dryers We Tested

Samsung Bespoke Ultra Capacity All-in-One Washer Dryer Combo

While this Samsung Bespoke Ultra Capacity Washer Dryer Combo washed and dried as well as our best overall option, it did have a slightly longer dry time at almost three hours compared to our top pick’s two to two-and-a-half hours. This machine also had a messier lint trap than other versions we tested. We did love the large detergent and fabric softener dispensers that require infrequent refilling. The customizable settings with multiple presets for different fabric types and soil levels. If our top pick is out of stock, or you can find the Samsung Bespoke on sale, we recommend it.

LG Front Load Washer Dryer Combo

While the LG Front Load Washer Dryer Combo offered effective stain removal with strong agitation and thorough rinsing, overall, its long cycle times and unreliable drying performance didn't make it a feasible option for larger households or frequent launderers.

Your Questions, Answered

What makes all-in-one washer dryers different from standalone machines?

Having an all-in-one washer dryer can simplify the process of doing a load of laundry, as you don’t have to wait to move clothes from the washer to the dryer. For some households, this can be incredibly helpful, letting you run a full wash and dry cycle while working in the garden or even running errands. But for large families with lots of laundry, we don’t recommend ditching separate units yet.

“The key con is the time—each cycle takes a few hours and runs start to finish, and with a separate washer and dryer, one load can be in the washer while another is in the dryer speeding up the time significantly,” Richardson says.

Richardson adds that with all-in-one appliances, it becomes harder to pull out that one shirt you don’t want to run through the dryer, and so some items may over-dry while other items are still drying.

One major difference between all-in-one units compared to separate washers and dryers is that combo machines do not have vent drying, meaning ventless drying will take longer than standard stand-alone dryers. The lack of vent drying makes these a solid choice for apartments or older homes without needing to do a major renovation. However, “if you live where humidity is a concern, sometimes ventless leave too much moisture in the room,” Richardson says.

Why do all-in-one dryers take so long?

These units take longer to dry because they use a ventless system. Traditional vented dryers essentially vacuum out moist air, while ventless models recirculate the air in the machine, which takes longer. In addition, since these combination units are performing both cycles in the same drum, there’s extra moisture to dry to begin with, Richardson says.

But new technology is changing the stigma around combo washers and dryers taking a long time, according to Naber.

“Using our laundry-connected appliance data from over 13 million cycles, we learned that consumers leave clothes in the washing machine at the end of a wash cycle for an average of 130 minutes before transferring them over to the dryer, lengthening the entire laundry day experience,” Naber says. Combo machines eliminate that crucial transfer time from one machine to the other.

Who We Are

Kate Oczypok is a contributor at Better Homes & Gardens specializing in home and lifestyle product shopping, with expertise in appliances. She has nearly 20 years of professional experience as a writer, contributing to a wide range of publications.

To write this article, Oczypok reviewed insights from BHG's testing team, who installed and tested five all-in-one washer and dryers in their own homes. After reviewing the results, she spoke with “The Laundry Evangelist” Patric Richardson, host of The Laundry Guy on Discovery+ and author of House Love and Laundry Love; Lowe’s store manager Brian Shaunfield; and Chris Naber, senior director of product management of clothes care at GE Appliances, to learn more about how all-in-one washer-dryers work and what shoppers are looking for.