Compare the Best HobsApril 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

Hobs range in price from £14 to £1,975 and in total we found prices for 1401 hobs. A new hob costs on average £449 and 80% of hobs are priced between £100 and £923. The cheapest hob that we found is the Brentwood TS-337 at only £15, and the most expensive is the Smeg PVL6106CN at £1,975.

Hob Brands - Price Range

The average price of KitchenAid hobs is £1,230 which is the highest average price of all hob brands. KitchenAid hobs range in price from £700 to £1,950.

Miele hobs range in price from £200 to £1,850, and the average price of Miele hobs is £1,147 which is the second highest average price of all hob brands.

The third highest average hob price out of all brands is Elica hobs with an average price of £1,084. Elica hobs range in price from £447 to £1,950.

Hob Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 6 expert reviews and 2,337 user reviews for hobs written online and used this information to determine the average rating for each brand of hob. The top three hob brands are Tefal, AEG and Hotpoint. Tefal has an average rating of 94%, AEG has an average rating of 93% and Hotpoint has an average rating of 91%.

Biggest Hob Retailers

We found 773 current offers for hobs from eBay making it the biggest hob retailer. That is significantly bigger than the second biggest retailer, Amazon UK for whom we found 637 current offers for hobs. The third biggest retailer is ao with 366 current hob offers.

When Are Most New Hobs Released?

We looked at the release dates for new hobs over the last 3 years, but couldn't see any evident pattern. Last year most new hobs were released in April, with 167 new hobs released that month. October was the biggest month in 2016 for new hobs, with 284 new hobs released that month. In April 2015 242 new hobs were released making it the biggest month that year for new hob releases.

How Fast Do Hob Prices Drop After Release?

In the first 6 months after release, hobs drop in price by 4% on average. That means that on a typical hob costing £449 you could save on average £18 by waiting 6 months before buying.

Colours

The most common colour amongst new hobs is Black. We found 1,384 hobs that are hobs that have a Black coloured. Stainless steel is the second most common colour amongst new hobs. We found 605 hobs that are hobs that have a Stainless steel coloured.

Burners

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

The burners of hobs range from 1 to 8. The burners of most hobs range from 4 to 5. The WhirlpoolSMP 778 has the most burner. This hob is an 8 burner hob and currently retails for £810.96. The WhirlpoolSMP 778 has the least burner. This hob is a 1 burner hob and is priced at £1,849.00.

Hob Types

This is the type of power source used for the hobs - i.e gas, electric, etc.

Amongst new hobs, the most popular hob type is electric induction. We found 896 hobs that are electric induction hobs. Gas is the second most common hob type amongst new hobs. We found 689 hobs that are gas hobs.

Case Designs

Amongst new hobs, the most frequently found case design is Built-in. We found 1,731 hobs that are Built-in hobs. We found 122 hobs that are Tabletop hobs, making Tabletop the second most popular case design amongst new hobs.

Biggest Hob Retailers

We found 773 current offers for hobs from eBay making it the biggest hob retailer. That is significantly bigger than the second biggest retailer, Amazon UK for whom we found 637 current offers for hobs. The third biggest retailer is ao with 366 current hob offers.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Hobs?

The cheapest retailer by number of hob for which they offer the cheapest price is v with the cheapest price on 452 hobs.

Proportion of Hobs for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

eBay most frequently has the cheapest hob prices (found to be cheapest for 58.5% of its hobs).