How we test hobs

In order to get the Which? recommendation, hobs must excel at heating quickly and also be good at low-temperature simmering. 

All hobs are sent to the Which? test lab and undergo a series of rigorous tests that answer the following questions.

• How well does the hob heat up?
• How good is the hob at simmering?
• What's it like at frying?
• How easy is it to use and clean the hob?
• Should I buy it?

Head to our hob reviews to find out which ones come out top of our testing.

What makes a Best Buy hob?

All of the tests described below contribute to the overall percentage score each hob achieves. 

However, as we consider that certain tests are more important than others, we weight them differently. We think it's crucial that a hob performs well at heating, simmering and frying, so these account for a larger part of the test score. The score is broken down in the following way:

• 50% performance
• 25% ease of use 
• 20% ease of cleaning
• 5% energy use
  

Induction hobs need to score 80% or more for us to recommend them as a Best Buy, electric ceramic hobs 70% and gas (including gas-on-glass) hobs 65%. We think that any hobs that score 45% or less should be avoided, so we highlight them as Don't Buys.

How well does the hob heat up?

How good is the hob at simmering?

We heat a pan of baked beans and then leave it to keep just-warm to find out just how gently a hob can heat and to see how responsive the controls are. The best hobs are very easy to control and adjust, while the worst are harder to control and could leave some of your beans stuck to the base of the pan.

What's it like at frying?

To see how well heat spreads across the base of a pan, we heat a frying pan to 200°C and then take a photo with a thermal imaging camera. This shows how far the heat has spread and identifies any cold sections. The best hobs will heat the base of the pan evenly, and so deliver a perfect pancake, but the worst will leave some areas much cooler.

How easy is it to use and clean?

To see how easy each hob is to clean, we heat cooking oil and allow it to splatter on the burners, and we also allow a pan of rice to boil over. The grimy hobs are then left to dry overnight after which we attempt to clean them with washing-up liquid and a sponge.