Best hobs 2024: Which? Best Buys and expert buying advice

A great hob will be quick to heat up when you're in a hurry, but also able to maintain a gentle simmer. The best hobs will spread heat evenly to help you prepare a perfect pancake.

While gas hobs are still very popular, they're not easy to keep clean. Induction and ceramic hobs are flat, which makes removing cooking splashes and spills much easier.

Read on for our expert buying advice and Best Buy recommendations, which are based on our rigorous and independent tests. 

To browse all the hobs we've tested, see our hob reviews.

Best hobs for 2024

There are three main categories of hob to choose from: gas, induction and ceramic. Induction and ceramic hobs both use electricity, but in different ways. 

We test hobs thoroughly and evaluate how good each one is at cooking, plus how easy it is to use and clean. Featured below are our top choices from each category.

For more recommendations, see our ceramic hob reviews.

For more recommendations, see our gas hob reviews.

For more recommendations, see our induction hob reviews.

Video: how to buy the best hob

Watch our video to help you choose the type of hob that's right for you and your kitchen.

Hob types explained

Once you’ve decided on electric or gas, there are more options to consider. If electric is your choice, do you want a modern induction hob or a traditional electric model? If you’re going for gas, how about a gas-on-glass model or a hob with five burners? Below is a brief overview of the three main types of hob.

For in-depth buying advice and Best Buy product recommendations for each hob type, just follow the links. 

Ceramic hobs

Technically, traditional electric, induction and gas on glass hobs are all ‘ceramic’. Ceramic refers to the smooth glass finish on a hob, rather than the workings of the hob itself. However, most retailers use the term to describe a standard electric hob, so that's how we categorise them on our pages.

Pros:

• Ceramic hobs have a smooth surface, so they look stylish and are easy to clean.
• If you like touch controls, there are plenty of options. But equally if you prefer dials, you’ll find many to choose from. 

Cons:

• Ceramic hobs are less easy to control than either gas or induction; there’s a time lag between adjusting the temperature and the temperature changing.
• They tend to be worse than gas at spreading heat evenly across the cooking zone, so food can cook faster in the middle than at the edges of a pan.
• After switching off, the glass takes a while to cool down, so you'll need to take care not to touch it. Most ceramic hobs have residual-heat indicators to warn you if a cooking zone is still hot.

For more buying advice, see our guide to the best ceramic hobs.

Gas hobs

 Conventional gas hobs are simple affairs, usually 60cm wide with four burners. They have auto-ignition and are controlled with chunky dials. 

A gas-on-glass hob is a standard hob that’s mounted under ceramic glass. This gives it a modern feel and makes it simpler to keep clean.

Five-ring hobs give you more space and cooking flexibility. The fifth zone is often a powerful wok burner that gives an intense, rapid source of heat, perfect for a crunchy stir-fry.

Pros:

• Gas hobs have a heat source that's visible, instant and easy to control, which has made them a long-term favourite with both professional chefs and amateur cooks.
• Gas hobs tend to distribute heat evenly for easier frying.

Cons:

• They need to be installed by a qualified gas engineer.
• Starting prices can be higher than for basic electric ceramic hobs.
• They tend to be more difficult and fiddly to clean because the burners and pan supports have nooks and crannies where food can get trapped.
• Gas hobs tend to be slower to heat up large volumes of food, and some aren't great at low-level simmering.

For more buying advice, see our guide to the best gas hobs.

Induction hobs

Induction hobs use a copper coil magnet within the appliance to create electromagnetic energy. The energy passes through the glass directly to the iron-based pan, producing – or inducing – a current, which in turn releases heat.

Pros:

• Of the various types of hob, induction hobs are the most energy efficient. This is because only the pan is heated up rather than the hob surface.
• Their glass surfaces do get hot, but not as hot as ceramic hob surfaces, where the glass itself is heated. This is a useful safety feature. The surface of an induction hob does get hot, but this is only because the pan transfers heat back to it. 
• Induction hobs are powerful and impressively speedy at heating food. They also tend to be good at simmering.

Cons:

• Induction hobs need pans with enough iron in them to work, and not all have this, so you might need to buy some new pans.
• They can make irritating whirring, clicking or buzzing noises, especially when on full power.
• They can interfere with pacemaker settings. 

For more buying advice, see our guide to the best induction hobs.

Other hob types

Occasionally, among the shiny rows of glass-covered electric and induction hobs, you might spot older-style models with solid black plates or coils. These can be a much cheaper option but, as there are so few around, we no longer test them.

At the cutting edge of hob design is the venting hob, a special type of two in one appliance that has a built-in extractor fan in an induction hob. This does away with the need for a cooker hood.

We’ve recently started testing these hybrid appliances that let you cook while whisking away unwanted steam, grease and smells at the same time.

See our best venting hobs for more information.

Best hob features to look for

From special burners for woks through to child-safety locks, here are some features to consider: 

• Wok burners Some gas hobs have a large, high-powered wok burner that provides intense, rapid heat. These are designed for stir-fry cooking. Occasionally you find induction hobs with a dedicated wok zone consisting of a curved indentation in the hob's surface. 
• Dual zones On electric hobs, this allows you to use an inner zone within the main ring, which saves energy when cooking with smaller pans.
• Child-safety lock Most electric ceramic and induction hobs have safety locks to stop the controls being adjusted by inquisitive children. 
• Power boost This heats up an electric cooking zone more quickly. It's a rapid, intense heat that's good for stir-frying or searing meat.
• Hob timers Many induction hobs have a timer for programming zones to switch off automatically when you want them to stop cooking.

Looking for the perfect cookware for your hob? Read our guide to the best non-stick frying pans. 

What size hob should I buy?

Hobs come in various shapes and sizes. Most have four cooking zones, but there are plenty of five-zone hobs to choose from. These tend to be 70-90cm wide and 51-52cm front to back which means they'll fit onto standard-sized kitchen counters.

Four-zone hobs

Most ceramic, gas and induction hobs are about 60cm wide. Hobs that are slightly wider should still fit a standard 60cm gap, as they’re designed to overlap the worktop. The size of hob depends on the size of the burners or hob rings, which varies between models.

Five-zone hobs

Larger hobs have five cooking zones and gas hobs often have a central wok burner. This is a high-powered burner used for stir-frying or rapid boiling. Five-zone hobs range in width, but are generally no more than 90cm wide. Having five zones doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to fit five pots and pans comfortably on the hob, but the extra cooking zone gives more space than a four-zone model.

One, two and three-zone hobs

You don't have to be limited by traditional-sized hobs. Single-zone, two-zone and three-zone hobs are all available and can be built into a countertop.

How much should I spend to get a good hob?

You can buy a basic gas hob for less than £100 if you go for an own-brand model. Gas-on-glass hobs are a little pricier, starting at around £150. You can pay up to £1,000 for a high-end, five-zone gas hob from an upmarket brand.

Induction hobs have plummeted in price over the past few years, and a basic four-zone model can cost less than £200. We've even found Best Buy induction hobs for less than £250.

At the other end of the scale, a top-of-the-range induction hob could set you back more than £2,000.

Electric ceramic hobs often cost less than £200. As with gas and induction hobs, larger, pricier models are available.

Use the filters on our hob reviews to find one that meets your needs and budget.

Find out which hob brands are the most reliable.

Which hob type is the most energy efficient?

The quickest induction hob we've tested takes just over three minutes to boil a big pan of water – as fast as some kettles. Compare this with the fastest gas model, which took nearly nine minutes, and induction wins hands down.

On average induction hobs are twice as fast as gas, while electric ceramic falls in between these two.

* Based on all hobs tested in 2021

Whether you've got a hob on full power for a few minutes or you're simmering gently for a while, an induction hob uses energy more efficiently than either a gas or an electric ceramic model. 

Gas hobs are the least energy efficient of the three main types. A significant amount of heat is lost heating up your kitchen, rather than your food. However, because gas is cheaper, you might save a few pounds a year with a gas hob over an electric one.

In terms of sustainability, induction and ceramic hobs can run on renewable energy (depending on your electricity supplier), while this is not the case for gas.  

How we test hobs

We put each hob through a battery of tests to see which ones will serve you best in the kitchen. 

We measure how quickly and efficiently it can heat up a panful of water from tap temperature to 90°C . Then we see how gently it can simmer and whether it can fry evenly. Finally, we assess how easy it is to use, and whether it’s a dream to clean or if you’ll be stuck for ages trying to get cooking grime from nooks and crannies.

Read more about how we test hobs.