Counter space is the quiet luxury of kitchen design. The people who have plenty of it never think about it, and the people who do not have it plan every square inch around the coffeemaker, the toaster, and the stack of mixing bowls. That is the audience for the BLACK+DECKER 0.9 cubic foot countertop microwave. It promises a genuinely smaller footprint without giving up the power and features people actually use, and it does that with 900 watts, six auto cook presets, a push-button door, and a child safety lock. I lived with it for a month in a kitchen where counter space was measured carefully, and this is the honest story of how it earned its spot.
Before the details, the standard note. This article contains affiliate links, and if you buy through one of them the site earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. That commission does not change what I test or what I recommend. The microwave reviewed here was used daily in a working kitchen.
The 0.9 cubic foot model is the middle child of BLACK+DECKER's countertop range, sitting between the compact 0.7 and the family-sized 1.1. It keeps the same stainless steel styling and the same push-button door as its siblings while trimming the footprint, and the rest of this review works through the design, the daily performance, and the honest trade-offs.
Design and Build
The microwave carries the same clean stainless steel look as the larger BLACK+DECKER models, with a flat push-button front and no handle to snag. The door opens with a single press of the button on the right side, and the release is smooth and consistent, holding the door open at a stable angle rather than flopping. On a compact appliance, that flat front matters, because it makes the whole unit easier to wipe clean and easier to tuck against a backsplash.
The control panel is simple and readable, with a digital display, a control dial, and a row of preset buttons arranged so that the most common tasks sit at your thumb. The interior is a medium cavity with a glass turntable, and it swallows a standard dinner plate, a soup bowl, and most frozen meal trays without complaint. It cannot fit a large casserole dish the way the bigger model can, which is the first honest compromise of the smaller size.
Key Features
The feature list is the same one that makes BLACK+DECKER's countertop line popular. The push-button door opens with one hand, which is genuinely useful when you are balancing a plate of leftovers. The six auto cook presets, for popcorn, potato, pizza, frozen vegetables, beverage, and dinner plate, take the guesswork out of the most common tasks, and each one applies its own tuned combination of power and time.
The ten power levels give real control for defrosting and delicate reheating, and the defrost function works in cycles rather than dumping full power, so frozen meat thaws without cooking at the edges. The child safety lock disables the keypad until you unlock it, and there is an express start button, a kitchen timer, and a clock. For a compact microwave, the feature set punches well above the price class, and there is no sense that the smaller size meant a stripped-down panel.
Real-World Performance
The daily test started with reheating, and the 900 watt output handled a full month of leftovers without complaint. Plates of pasta and rice came out warm through the center rather than hot at the rim, and the turntable did its part to keep things even. Heating speed is a touch slower than a 1000 or 1100 watt unit, a difference measured in seconds rather than minutes, and most people will not notice it except when reheating a very dense casserole.
Defrosting worked well. A pack of frozen chicken breast thawed in reasonable time with only light cooking at the thinnest edges, and the power cycling kept the process under control. That is the test that separates a tuned microwave from a toy, and the 0.9 model passed it.
The presets were a genuine convenience. The popcorn button produced a well-popped bag without a burnt bottom, the beverage preset warmed coffee without boiling it, and the frozen vegetable preset steamed a bag to a properly hot finish. The pizza preset was the one miss, leaving the crust soft rather than crisp, which is common across brands and not a reason to avoid the unit.
The footprint was the real selling point. The 0.9 model sits noticeably smaller on the counter than the 1.1, and in a kitchen where the work surface was already tight, that freed up real space without forcing a compromise down to a toy-sized 0.7. The microwave ran quietly, the interior light was adequate if not bright, and the stainless front, true to the material, showed fingerprints that needed a regular wipe. One more detail earned respect over the month. The push-button door, which gets the most abuse of any part of a microwave, still released smoothly after weeks of daily opening, and the hinge never loosened or developed a wobble. The interior light, while dim, stayed consistent, and the turntable never jammed or skipped during a cooking cycle. That kind of steady behavior is easy to overlook, but it is the difference between an appliance that feels solid and one that feels fragile a month into ownership.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Compact footprint frees up counter space
- 900 watts handles daily reheating and defrosting
- Push-button door opens easily with one hand
- Six auto cook presets cover the common foods
- Child safety lock adds a real layer of protection
- Stainless steel styling fits a proper kitchen
Cons:
- Cavity cannot fit large casserole dishes
- Heating is a few seconds slower than 1000W models
- Stainless front shows fingerprints
- Pizza preset leaves the crust soft
How It Compares
The 0.9 cubic foot BLACK+DECKER sits between the 0.7 and 1.1 models, and choosing between them comes down to counter space and cooking volume. The table below lines up the three.
| Feature | 0.7 Cu Ft | 0.9 Cu Ft | 1.1 Cu Ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 700 watts | 900 watts | 1000 watts |
| Footprint | Smallest | Medium | Largest |
| Auto cook presets | Limited | Six | Six |
| Fits a dinner plate | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fits a casserole dish | No | Tight | Yes |
| Best for | Dorms | Small kitchens | Families |
If your counter is genuinely tight but you still cook real food, the 0.9 is the sweet spot, because it keeps the full feature set and 900 watts while trimming the footprint. The 0.7 model is smaller and cheaper but noticeably weaker, and the 1.1 model is the better choice only when you have the space and regularly heat large dishes. You can check the current price of the BLACK+DECKER 0.9 cu ft microwave on Amazon to see how it compares.
Who Should Buy It
Buy the BLACK+DECKER 0.9 cubic foot microwave if you cook in a small kitchen, an apartment galley, or an office break room and you want a full-featured microwave without sacrificing the whole counter. It is also the right pick for a couple or a single person who heats real plates of food and wants the preset conveniences, and for anyone who likes the push-button door and child lock but does not need the largest cavity.
Skip it if you regularly heat casserole dishes and large roasters, because the interior will feel tight, or if you want maximum power and speed, because the 1.1 model is faster. For smaller kitchens that still want a proper microwave, this is a balanced and honest choice.
How We Test
I used the BLACK+DECKER 0.9 cubic foot microwave daily for a month in a kitchen with limited counter space. I reheated leftovers, defrosted frozen meat and vegetables, popped popcorn, and warmed beverages using both the presets and the manual ten power levels. I tracked how well heat spread across plates, how long common tasks took, and how the push-button door and child lock held up under repeated use.
I did not measure the microwave's power draw or run it in a lab, and I used ordinary household cookware. For a broader take on countertop microwaves and what matters at this size, CNET's guide to the best microwaves is worth reading. The BLACK+DECKER 0.9 cu ft microwave listing on Amazon shows the current price and detailed specifications.
BLACK+DECKER 0.9 Cu Ft Microwave: Questions People Ask
What are the dimensions of the 0.9 cu ft microwave?
The 0.9 cubic foot model measures roughly 17.4 inches wide by 12.9 inches deep and about 10.2 inches tall, which fits nicely on a standard countertop.
Is 900 watts enough power for everyday cooking?
Yes, 900 watts reheats leftovers, defrosts frozen food, and pops popcorn reliably, and it is fully sufficient for most everyday countertop microwave tasks.
Can the microwave be placed inside a cabinet?
Countertop models need clearance for ventilation, so the manual calls for a few inches of space on the sides and top, which means an open counter position is safer.
Does this model include a turntable?
Yes, a glass turntable is included, and it rotates automatically during cooking so heat reaches food evenly across the plate.
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