Compare the Best OvensFebruary 2019

Not all ovens were created equal, and the types of oven available cater for different needs and budgets. The main differences between ovens are their capacity and energy source. To find the right oven it is important to identify which features are important to you. If you bake on a daily basis, having an oven that is fairly large while being energy efficient is the best way to make your baking easier and save money on the long run. For a more casual cook who uses the oven once a week, energy efficiency and capacity are not top priorities. A simpler oven that doesn't cost you a lot will do the job just fine – no need for the latest deluxe double oven with 8 cooking modes.

One of the first considerations when buying an oven is its dimensions and energy source. Most ovens are 600mm wide and will fit most kitchens. If you are looking for a larger capacity oven or a freestanding oven it is important to measure the available space in our kitchen to ensure there are no surprises when your new oven arrives.

If there is a gas supply in our kitchen you will be able to consider a gas oven. Electrical ovens are slightly easier to install but might also be more expensive to run. Always check the energy rating when comparing ovens. The installation of gas and electric ovens should always be carried out by appropriately trained and licensed engineers.

Oven Capacity

Before looking at the technical aspects of your future oven, choosing between a single or double oven is one of the first decisions to make.

Single Ovens: For the average home user who requires no more than two trays to be used at the same time, a single oven should be sufficient, even for frequent users. There is a huge range of single ovens available in different finishes and with distinct features. The high level of competition between manufacturers means single ovens offer great value for money and are available at very reasonable prices.

Double Ovens: A double oven allows for more flexibility as you can cook and bake at two different temperatures in parallel. This is great to prepare a large meal and set each oven and timer separately. You can grill a main course in one oven and bake a cake in the other, which significantly speeds things up compared to a single oven. The drawbacks of double ovens are a higher price tag, the requirement for a bigger space and a smaller number of models to choose from.

Compact Ovens

A single compact oven is usually the same size as a microwave and most feature a grill as well. These small ovens are great if you are tight on space but their capacity might be a problem depending on the types of food you want to cook.

Double Built-under Ovens

If you have space to fit a single oven but need tow separate ovens, a built-under double oven might be a good choice. You get the flexibility of a double oven without losing much space (they are usually only 10-12cm taller than an average single oven). Because two ovens have to fit into the space of a single oven, the capacity of the individual ovens is limited and you will have to weigh up the benefits of having two ovens versus a larger single oven.

Oven Types

One of the key criteria when choosing an oven is decide between an electric or gas oven. Most ovens are electric as these can be installed in almost every kitchen. Gas ovens require a natural gas supply in your property, which is not always available. When faced with the choice, both electric and gas ovens have their advantages and disadvantages.

Electric Ovens

An electric oven has much more accurate temperature control thanks to its electronic thermostat, and spreads the heat evenly throughout the cooking area. This effect is even more pronounced in fan-assisted models. In addition, the dry heat an electric oven produces prevents the build-up of rust. Purchasing costs of electric ovens are usually lower than gas ones, and there is a much wider variety to choose from. On the downside, electric ovens take longer to heat up and have slightly higher operating costs.

Gas Ovens

While there is less variety in gas ovens compared to electric ones nowadays, they have some distinct advantages. Gas ovens have lower operating costs. If you use the oven a lot, these will offset the higher acquisition costs in the long run. Gas ovens heat up and cool down faster than their electric counterparts, which is great if you don't have time to wait for an electric oven to cool down before cleaning. Gas ovens add humidity to the air inside the oven, which prevents foods from becoming dry and brittle before reaching their ideal cooking point. Temperature control and heat distribution are usually less accurate in gas ovens, however, modern gas ovens come with electronic thermostats that regulate the temperature more accurately and fans help to spread the heat evenly throughout.

Oven Features

After deciding on the capacity and type, selecting an oven with the right features ensures you will be happy with your choice for many years to come. Modern ovens provide a variety of features that make cooking and cleaning easier:

Oven Prices

The price range of ovens is from £52 to £8,767 and in total we found prices for 1332 ovens. A new oven costs on average £587 and 80% of ovens are priced between £200 and £1,059. The Neff B45FS26N0K is the most expensive oven that we found at £8,766, and the Tefal OF445840 is the cheapest at only £52.

Oven Brands - Price Range

Miele ovens start at £515 and their most expensive oven costs £7,549. The highest average oven price out of all brands is Miele ovens with an average price of £2,082.

The average price of KitchenAid ovens is £1,466 which is the second highest average price of all oven brands. KitchenAid ovens range in price from £139 to £2,300.

Bertazzoni ovens start at £999 and their most expensive oven costs £999. The third highest average oven price out of all brands is Bertazzoni ovens with an average price of £999.

Oven Brands - Average Ratings

We have checked 38 expert reviews and 7,183 user reviews for ovens and used this data to evaluate the average rating for each brand of oven. The top rated oven brand is Neff with an average rating of 92%. The second best brand is Whirlpool with 92% and the third best brand is Siemens with 91%.

Biggest Oven Retailers

We found 1,023 current offers for ovens from eBay making it the biggest oven retailer. That is more than twice as big as the second biggest retailer, AO for whom we found 362 current offers for ovens. The third biggest retailer is Currys with 354 current oven offers.

When Are Most New Ovens Released?

March to April is the most common period for new ovens to be released in. For the latest oven features you may want to consider waiting until March 2019. Alternatively you might be able to buy one of the current ovens cheaper in March once the latest models have been released. The biggest month in 2018 for new oven releases was March, with 270 new ovens released that month. April was the biggest month in 2017 for new ovens, with 456 new ovens released that month. 278 new ovens were released in October 2016 making it the biggest month that year for new oven releases.

How Fast Do Oven Prices Drop After Release?

On average, in the first 6 months after release, ovens drop in price by 2%. That means a saving of £14 on a typical £587 new oven if you wait 6 months before buying.

Oven Types

Most modern ovens run on electricity, but some ovens do use gas as their fuel source.

We found 4,783 ovens that are electric ovens, which makes this the most frequently found oven type amongst new ovens. We found 93 ovens that are gas ovens, making gas the second most popular oven type amongst new ovens.

Ovens

Some ovens have more than one oven compartment. The temperature of each compartment can be controlled separately.

Across the range of ovens, the ovens range from 1 to 3. The Electrolux EOD3460AO, which is priced at £399.99, has the most oven and is a 2 oven oven. The oven with the least oven is the Whirlpool AKZM 756 IX, which is a 1 oven oven and sells for £259.00.

Main Oven Interior Capacities

'Main Oven Capacity' denotes the usable capacity of the main cavity of the oven.

Comparing all ovens, the main oven interior capacities range from 6L to 3,600L. The main oven interior capacities of the majority of ovens range from 65L to 75L. The oven with the biggest main oven interior capacity is the Balay 3HB4841X1, which is a 3,600L primary oven capacity oven and sells for £390.12. The oven with the smallest main oven interior capacity is the TKG Mini Oven, which is a 9L primary oven capacity oven and is on sale for £71.55.

Energy Efficiency of Ovens

The energy efficiency class is a measure of the efficiency of the oven ranked using the European Union standard energy efficiency scale. G is the worst rating and A is the best rating. It is possible to have rating higher than A. These are marked with A+, A++ etc.

We found 3,435 ovens that have an energy efficiency rating of A, which makes A the most common energy efficiency rating amongst new ovens. A+ is the second most common energy efficiency rating amongst new ovens. We found 721 ovens that have an energy efficiency rating of A+.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Ovens?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying ovens. For each retailer it shows the total number of ovens where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying ovens. 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. 795 of their oven prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Ovens for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for ovens by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of oven prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's oven prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 77.7% of their oven prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.