Compare the Best HobsOctober 2018

A hob is a collection of gas or electric burners arranged together in a single unit with a unified power source. While they are usually included with an oven as part of a cooker set, they can also be bought seperately. We have a large selection of hobs in all different shapes, sizes and colours, allowing you to pick the perfect hob for your needs, as well as one that complements the style of your kitchen.

Burner Type

When choosing a hob, first you must decide whether you want gas or electric burners. Both have advantages and disadvantages:

Gas Hob: Gas burners have no heat-up time, so are far quicker to use, and the heat levels are easier to control than electric. Gas flames tend to spread more evenly across the bottom of pans, meaning quicker heating and more even cooking. They are also cheaper to run than electric hobs, saving you money on daily use.

Electric Hob: Electric hot plates take time to heat up, and tend to have a far more concentrated heat radius, leading to uneven heat distribution with large pans. They are also more expensive to run than gas hobs - however they are easier to clean, and significantly easier to set up and use.

Number Of Burners

Another consideration is the number of cooking zones (burners or hot plates) on the hob. Most hobs have 4 burners spaced evenly across the top of the machine - however some models have as few as 2, or as many as 7. These burners will be of differing sizes and shapes - most 4-burner hobs contain a small, medium, large and extra-large burner, suitable for a range of different pots and pans. While 3-4 burners will be sufficient for the majority of users, people that find themselves cooking a lot of dishes at once may wish to look at extra-large hobs that can fit several different pans at once.

Specialist Burners

It's not only the number of burners that is important - several more advanced hobs also contain specialist burners as well. These can include:

Power Level

The power level of the hobs are measured in watts (W). The larger the power level, the quicker and more efficiently food will be cooked. Hobs also have a different amount of power settings - on some more basic models, this can be little more than 'low' or 'high'. However more advanced models feature a large number of power settings, allowing for extreme precision when cooking.

Hob Prices

In total we found 1544 hobs ranging from £13 to £2,000. On average, a new hob costs £457 and 80% of hobs are priced between £125 and £978. The cheapest hob that we found is the Brentwood TS-322 at only £14, and the most expensive is the AEG IDK84451IB at £2,000.

Hob Brands - Price Range

The highest average hob price out of all brands is Fulgor Milano hobs with an average price of £1,333. Fulgor Milano hobs range in price from £1,333 to £1,333.

The second highest average hob price out of all brands is KitchenAid hobs with an average price of £1,230. KitchenAid hobs range in price from £700 to £1,950.

Gaggenau hobs range in price from £1,220 to £1,220, and the third highest average hob price out of all brands is Gaggenau hobs with an average price of £1,220.

Hob Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 8 expert reviews and 3,230 user reviews for hobs and used these reviews to determine the average rating for each brand of hob. The top rated hob brand is Candy with an average rating of 92%. The second best brand is AEG with 92% and the third best brand is Hotpoint with 92%.

Biggest Hob Retailers

The biggest hob retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 1,072 current hob offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Amazon UK with 877 offers. That means eBay is significantly bigger than Amazon UK when it comes to hobs. ao is the third biggest retailer with 349 current offers.

When Are Most New Hobs Released?

We couldn't see any noticeable pattern in the release dates for new hobs over the last 3 years. The biggest month in 2017 for new hob releases was April, with 167 new hobs released that month. In 2016 most new hobs were released in October, with 292 new hobs released that month. 233 new hobs were released in April 2015 making it the biggest month that year for new hob releases.

How Fast Do Hob Prices Drop After Release?

On average, in the first 6 months after release, hobs drop in price by 2%. On a typical new hob costing £457, by waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average £10.

Hob Types

There are a number of different technologies used by hobs to transfer heat to the cooking pan. Gas hobs use a simple flame to heat the underside of the pan and can be used with any pan type. Electric hobs come in a variety of types including ceramic, sealed plate, halogen and induction.

We found 1,099 hobs that are induction hobs, which makes this the most frequently found hob type amongst new hobs. We found 900 hobs that are gas hobs, making this the second most frequently found hob type amongst new hobs.

Burners / Cooking Zones

The number of burners (gas) or cooking zones (electric) on the hob.

The burners / cooking zones of hobs range from 1 to 8. The burners / cooking zones of the majority of hobs range from 4 to 5. The hob with the most burner / cooking zone is the Whirlpool SMP 778, which is an 8 burner / cooking zone hob and is priced at £849.00. The hob with the least burner / cooking zone is the KALORIK TKG CKP 1001, which is a 1 burner / cooking zone hob and can be purchased for £47.93.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Hobs?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying hobs. For each retailer it shows the total number of hobs where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying hobs. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 747 of their hob prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Hobs for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for hobs by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of hob prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's hob prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 69.7% of their hob prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.