Grabbing one of the best induction hobs is an excellent way of bringing your kitchen up-to-date, providing a more eco-friendly way of cooking, and faster heat-up times.
Knowing exactly what to get though is where things get a little fiddly. While hobs may seem simple, there’s a lot to consider in terms of how powerful they need to be, and what additional features they may have, such as heat-control sliders and pause buttons.
Well, to help you out, our team of experts has tested a wide range of hobs, keeping an eye on key indicators such as their design, build quality and size, as well as how well they function in a range of tests, including how quickly they boil a pan of water. We’ve used them for an extended period of time, so we can best assess their strengths and weaknesses and provide an honest verdict.
If you can’t find an induction hob you like at the moment, be sure to bookmark this page as we’ll be adding more worthy contenders as they pass through our Trusted Labs.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every induction hob we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
We test how long it takes to bring pans of water from 20C to 90C: we measure times for 1.5-litres of water in a large pan, 1-litre in a medium pan and 500ml in a small pan. We use the most appropriate sized burner for each hob.
We also test how long the large pan takes to heat up, while all other burners are in use. This helps us see if there are any power-sharing options going on, where only one burner can be run on maximum power.
We test a hob’s usability features: any auto-cooking features, such as chocolate melting; how timers work; and any smart features. By cooking on each hob, we can also tell you what each model is like to use, and how easy they are to clean.
- Super-fast heat-up times
- Effective boost power
- Even pan heating
- Great cooking features
- Flex Zone isn’t that flexible
- Rather bold zone markings
- Flexible
- Simple to use
- Clever Push&Go settings
- Not very fast
- Only two timers
- Main cooking zone is super-fast
- Simple heat controls
- Looks fantastic
- Additional features difficult to use
- Clever PowerSlide
- Intuitive touch controls
- SenseFry makes cooking automatic
- Not much more cooking space than a 60cm hob
AEG IAE84851FB
Best overall hob
Pros
- Clever PowerSlide
- Intuitive touch controls
- SenseFry makes cooking automatic
Cons
- Not much more cooking space than a 60cm hob
The AEG IAE84851FB is a hob that offers some especially clever cooking modes, and a whole lot of versatility.
At 80cm, it’s a fraction wider than most four-zone induction hobs and also features an LCD display for control, which we found to be especially useful. In addition, each of the cooking zones is activated automatically when a pan is placed on it, but there are nine power modes available for proper control, as well as a power boost option for rapidly boiling water in a matter of minutes. You can also expand the left-hand induction area so it offers a range of three sizes as opposed to being used as two separate areas. This AEG hob also offers a clever function known as PowerSlide, which separates the zone into three areas with different power levels, which you can change with a simple slide of the pan between zones to change power: just by sliding the pan, you can move from boil to simmer to keep warm. It makes this hob a joy to use, as power modes can be changed without touching any buttons.
This AEG candidate also proved to be a speedy customer, with a 1.5 litre pan of water being heated to 90 degrees in a touch over 3 minutes in the flexible zone. Over the standard rings, it also managed to boil a small 500ml pan in 90 seconds or so, offering an especially fast time that’s largely thanks to the fact this AEG hob drew 2800W of power. It also offered consistent heating over the flexible zone.
Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: AEG IAE84851FB
Indesit IB 88B60 NE
Best mid-range hob
Pros
- Flexible
- Simple to use
- Clever Push&Go settings
Cons
- Not very fast
- Only two timers
If it’s flexibility you’re after, the Indesit IB 88B60 NE should be a more than capable choice.
It’s a hob that doesn’t feature more traditional distinct burner rings, but instead offers a pair of Flex Zones that can also be combined to offer a single, much larger zone that’s ideal for square dishes and larger grill plates. The controls on offer are along the bottom edge, with plus and minus symbols for cycling through the nine power zones. In addition, this Indesit hob also comes with buttons to turn off a zone as well as putting one into max power for 5 minutes to help boil water. The IB 88B60 NE also comes with some clever Push&Go modes for this purpose – Push&Boil brings water to the boil and keeps it rolling, while the Push&Warm function is used for keeping food warm or gently reducing liquid.
In testing, it offered okay speeds for boiling water, but this Indesit hob proves that speed isn’t everything. To this end, it’s a consistent performer with the ability to have max power in all zones without siphoning power off from elsewhere. This helps to make it a star when it comes to power management. The automatic modes also performed decently, with consistent near-100 degree temps for the Push&Boil mode, while Push&Warm offered a consistent temperature of 72 degrees, which is ideal for keeping food warm without drying out.
Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Indesit IB 88B60 NE
Miele KM7201FR
Best for power
Pros
- Main cooking zone is super-fast
- Simple heat controls
- Looks fantastic
Cons
- Additional features difficult to use
The Miele KM7201FR is an especially fast heating hob, but it’s one that’ll come at quite the premium price.
In testing, it managed to boil a big 1.5 litre full pan of water in a speedy 2 minutes 19 seconds, which is faster than most kettles, for reference, with a total 3650W of power. These speeds get lower by around ten seconds each when you dial the quantity of water back to 1 litre and half a litre respectively. As well as heating food and liquid insanely quickly, a quick look through a thermal camera also reveals the KM7201FR’s round cooking zones also distribute heat relatively evenly, although the pans do tend to get warmer around the outside – even cooking can be ensured by stirring, as is typical for more conventional hobs.
This is a hob that provides a stainless steel surround as opposed to featuring edge-to-edge glass, which helps it to look classy as well as aiding in protecting the side of the hob from any potential damage. In addition, its four round ring setup is easy, with a pair of mid-sized rings as well as a smaller zone and a larger one for, well, bigger pans.
Controlling the hob was nice and easy with an auto detect function which picks up when you place a pan down on the hob; there is a row of buttons along the button for manual control of the 9 power levels for more control, too. In addition, this Miele hob also comes with two levels of power boost to quickly boil up pasta and the like, as well as a special Keep Warm function ans an auto-heat-up for getting pans all warmed up quickly so you aren’t waiting around for pans to heat.
Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Miele KM7201FR
Samsung NZ64K5747BK
Best for features
Pros
- Super-fast heat-up times
- Effective boost power
- Even pan heating
- Great cooking features
Cons
- Flex Zone isn’t that flexible
- Rather bold zone markings
The Samsung NZ64K5747BK may be the oldest hob on our list, having been released some five years ago, but it’s still a handy mid-range induction option even today.
With a frameless glass surface and a bevelled front edge, it definitely looks rather good, and comes with a fair amount of control options; there are fifteen power levels for each of the four main cooking areas, offering more control than the more standard issue nine levels.
It’s also handy that there are two different cooking areas with this Samsung candidate – two are more normal circular zones while the other two makes for a Flex Zone of sorts that are really mid-sized burners. As well as offering four zones to play with, the NZ64K5747BK also has some handy features such as Power Boost to offer some extra cooking oomph to one of the four zones, as well as a keep warm function and a global pause button for if you need to step away from the hob at any point.
During testing, we found the hob worked rather well at full power with speedy heat up times saving a few seconds with each meal. The hob’s Power Boost function helped to deliver some of the fastest boiling times we’ve seen, with an average of 4 and a half minutes to boil between a litre and two litres of water. The fifteen levels of heat aided in offering some welcome control and the Keep Warm feature functioned well, distributing 200W of power per zone. Generally speaking, the heating across the circular burners was especially even, although much less across the Flex Zone – a thermal imaging camera revealed the two circular burners, with some cool spots outside of them.
Reviewer: Richard & Jackie Stevenson
Full review: Samsung NZ64K574BK
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FAQs
Gas hobs are cheaper to run, but induction hobs are more efficient, heat faster, respond to controls faster and have more features, such as being able to cut off power when a timer goes off. They’re a far better way of cooking and they’re more eco-friendly than gas models.
This of course depends on how careful you are with the hob, but given the glass surface that most induction hobs feature, they can be somewhat prone to scratching if you aren’t that careful.
You can run all four burners at the same time. Most hobs have power management, so running one burner on maximum may reduce the power of the other burners. The settings vary by burner, but our reviews tell you all.
In most cases, no. Most induction hobs require a dedicated 32A circuit. There are some models designed for a 13A plug, but they are much more restrictive in use, as you can only use one or two burners on maximum power. Think of plug-in hobs as an upgrade option for situations where you can’t run a new circuit.
Most hobs are (nominally) 60cm wide, so should fit into a standard worktop cutout, even replacing a gas hob. There are wider 80cm hobs, too.
Trusted Reviews test data
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.