Compare the Best CookersNovember 2018

A cooker is the central componant of many larger kitchens - they are usually made up of a freestanding oven, with a hob comprising of several burners on top. Their size mean that they have a sizable footprint in the kitchen, but can also be used to cook several dishes at once - making them invaluable for large families.

There are several different types and configurations of cooker, and your choice will be dictated largely by how much food you prepare on a regular basis, and whether you need the capacity for both oven cooking (such as baking cakes or pies) and hob cooking (such as boiling and frying).

Oven

The oven is the main section of a cooker, and is mainly used for baking, roasting and slow-cooking dishes. Most cookers will have a single oven with the hob placed on top - however some more expensive brands contain 2, 3 or even 4 ovens. In these cases there is usually one oven that is the larger 'main' oven (for cooking large dishes like turkeys or geese) and several smaller ovens.

The capacity of the oven(s) is extremely important since the larger the capacity, the bigger the dishes you can prepare. Oven capacity is measured in litres - we look both at the capacities of the individual ovens and the total capacity of the entire cooker to help you make an informed decision.

Hob

The hob is the second section of the cooker - a collection of hot plates or burners which allow several different dishes to be cooked at once. When comparing hobs on a cooker, it's important to look at the number of cooking zones (burners or hot plates) on the hob. Most cookers have 4 burners spaced evenly across the top of the machine - however some models have as few as 2, or as many as 7.

Another important consideration is whether to choose a gas or electric hob for your cooker. 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.

Power Level

The power level of both the oven(s) and hob is an important consideration - the higher the power level, the faster and more efficiently food can be cooked. All our ovens and cookers are measured in watts (W).

Extras

Finally, there are a multitude of smaller features and functions to consider when choosing a cooker. These can involve safety features such as child locks and automatic shut-off systems and pre-programmed settings to make cooking popular dishes extremely easy. We also have cookers in a wide range of colours and styles, so you can match it perfectly to the design of your kitchen.

Cooker Prices

The price range of cookers is from $118 to $4,761 and in total we found prices for 28 cookers. On average, a new cooker costs $1,074 and 80% of cookers are priced between $503 and $1,820. The Samsung NE59M6850 is the most expensive cooker that we found at $4,760, and the Thor Kitchen HRG4808 is the cheapest at only $119.

Cooker Brands - Price Range

The highest average cooker price out of all brands is Samsung cookers with an average price of $2,538. Samsung cookers range in price from $449 to $4,760.

The average price of LG cookers is $1,106 which is the second highest average price of all cooker brands. LG cookers start at $599 and their most expensive cooker costs $1,820.

The third highest average cooker price out of all brands is Bosch cookers with an average price of $1,045. Bosch cookers range in price from $669 to $1,430.

Cooker Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 45 expert reviews and 25,671 user reviews for cookers from across the internet and used this information to evaluate the average rating for each brand of cooker. The top rated cooker brand is Gorenje with an average rating of 90%. The second best brand is Bertazzoni with 90% and the third best brand is Hotpoint with 88%.

Biggest Cooker Retailers

We found 26 current offers for cookers from eBay making it the biggest cooker retailer. That is over 5 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, Appliances Connection for whom we found 5 current offers for cookers. The third biggest retailer is Overstock with 1 current cooker offers.

When Are Most New Cookers Released?

Most new cookers tend to be released between July and August. 118 new cookers were released in July 2017 making it the biggest month that year for new cooker releases. In 2016 most new cookers were released in October, with 339 new cookers released that month. August was the biggest month in 2015 for new cookers, with 244 new cookers released that month.

How Fast Do Cooker Prices Drop After Release?

New cookers drop in price by an average of 9% in the first 6 months after they wer first released. That means that on a typical cooker costing $1,074 you could save on average $99 by waiting 6 months before buying.

Product Types

Product type denotes whether the cooker is designed to be free standing, or to be built in to fixtures unobtrusively.

The most frequently found product type amongst new cookers is freestanding. We found 1,199 cookers that are freestanding cookers. We found 15 cookers that are integrated cookers, making integrated the second most common product type amongst new cookers.

Oven Types

The category of oven e.g. gas, electrical.

The most frequently found oven type amongst new cookers is electric oven. We found 890 cookers that are electric oven cookers. We found 269 cookers that are gas oven cookers, making this the second most popular oven type amongst new cookers.

Hob Types

A hob (burner on top of cooker) can be gas, induction, ceramic etc.

The most frequently found hob type amongst new cookers is Gas hob. We found 796 cookers that are cookers that have a Gas hob hob type. We found 384 cookers that are cookers that have an Electric hob hob type, making Electric hob the second most frequently found hob type amongst new cookers.

Ovens

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

The ovens of cookers range from 1 to 4. The ovens of most cookers range from 2 to 3. The LG LDE4413, which can be purchased for $899.00, has the most oven and is a 2 oven cooker. The cooker with the least oven is the Zanussi ZCV65020, which is a 1 oven cooker and is priced at $531.27.

Burners / Cooking Zones

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

Comparing all cookers, the burners / cooking zones range from 1 to 8. The burners / cooking zones of the majority of cookers range from 4 to 5. The Samsung NE59J7850WG, which currently retails for $1,993.99, has the most burner / cooking zone and is a 5 burner / cooking zone cooker. The cooker with the least burner / cooking zone is the Zanussi ZCV65020, which is a 4 burner / cooking zone cooker and is priced at $531.27.

Main Oven Interior Capacities

'Main Oven Capacity' is a measurement of how much food can fit inside the main oven in the cooker, measures in litres (L).

Comparing all cookers, the main oven interior capacities range from 18L to 178.4L. The main oven interior capacities of most cookers range from 65L to 75L. The LG LRE3061ST, which is on sale for $599.00, has the biggest main oven interior capacity and is a 178.4L 1st oven interior capacity cooker. The Gorenje K57CLI1, which currently retails for $600.70, has the smallest main oven interior capacity and is a 48L 1st oven interior capacity cooker.

Energy Efficiency of Cookers

The Energy Efficiency Class of a cooker is a measure of how much energy is wasted when the appliance is in use.

A is the most popular energy efficiency rating amongst new cookers. We found 771 cookers that have an energy efficiency rating of A. We found 405 cookers that have an energy efficiency rating of A+, making this the second most popular energy efficiency rating amongst new cookers.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Cookers?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying cookers. For each retailer it shows the total number of cookers where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying cookers. 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. 25 of their cooker prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Cookers for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for cookers by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of cooker prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's cooker prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 96.2% of their cooker prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.