The built in microwaves are now popular in stoves and ovens. When purchasing a new oven for your kitchen to replace an old one, or just remodeling a kitchen, a built in microwave needs to be considered. The first thing a customer will notice is that they are more costly than buying a stand alone type.
However, they are often big models which may be used to cook large meals and large pieces of meat. The equivalent size in countertop microwave ovens are not that much cheaper. The real affordable stand alone models are small-scale and only effective for reheating or cooking frozen food.
Therefore it is important to take comparable microwave ovens when comparing costs. The first place to start is with the power consumption of the oven followed by the cooking space and then the other features of the oven. But price should not be the only reason in determining a purchase.
The stand alone model will probably win out on this aspect. But, in several kitchens, counter space is at a premium. The kitchen is the most used area in a home, and if several people are using the kitchen, space is very important. Large microwave ovens use up a lot of space. Not just the space of the oven, but also space to swing the door open. You will find limited places to buy a stand alone microwave because they need to be located close to an outlet.
A built in microwave oven comes in various heights for a cook. A stand alone model will always be the same height as the counter top, whereas the microwave in a stove has several options as to the height and installation of the microwave. Both the installation and the space issue mentioned above should both be fully checked before buying one. The value of these factors can only be determined by the particular buyer's needs.