Compare the Best CookersSeptember 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

Cookers range in price from $449 to $5,330 and in total we found prices for 28 cookers. A new cooker costs on average $1,294 and 80% of cookers are priced between $529 and $1,997. The most expensive cooker that we found is the Samsung NE59M6850 at $5,330, and the cheapest is the Samsung NE59M4320 at only $449.

Cooker Brands - Price Range

The average price of Thor Kitchen cookers is $4,599 which is the highest average price of all cooker brands. Thor Kitchen cookers range in price from $4,599 to $4,599.

Samsung cookers start at $449 and their most expensive cooker costs $5,330. The average price of Samsung cookers is $2,716 which is the second highest average price of all cooker brands.

LG cookers start at $599 and their most expensive cooker costs $1,997. The average price of LG cookers is $1,165 which is the third highest average price of all cooker brands.

Cooker Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 43 expert reviews and 25,247 user reviews for cookers from across the internet and used these reviews to calculate the average rating for each brand of cooker. The top three cooker brands are Gorenje, Bertazzoni and Hotpoint. Gorenje has an average rating of 90%, Bertazzoni has an average rating of 90% and Hotpoint has an average rating of 89%.

Biggest Cooker Retailers

The biggest cooker retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 28 current cooker offers from eBay. The second biggest retailer is Appliances Connection with 5 offers. That means eBay is over 5 times bigger than Appliances Connection when it comes to cookers. Overstock is the third biggest retailer with 1 current offers.

When Are Most New Cookers Released?

July to August is the most common period for new cookers to be released in. That means that most of the latest cooker technology was released in within the last 3 months, and now is good time to buy. The biggest month in 2017 for new cooker releases was July, with 118 new cookers released that month. October was the biggest month in 2016 for new cookers, with 339 new cookers released that month. In 2015 most new cookers were released in August, with 246 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 $1,294 you could save on average $119 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.

Freestanding is the most popular product type amongst new cookers. We found 1,172 cookers that are freestanding cookers. We found 11 cookers that are integrated cookers, making this the second most common product type amongst new cookers.

Oven Types

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

We found 889 cookers that are electric oven cookers, which makes this the most popular oven type amongst new cookers. Gas oven is the second most popular oven type amongst new cookers. We found 233 cookers that are gas oven 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 816 cookers that are cookers that have a Gas hob hob type. We found 379 cookers that are cookers that have an Electric hob hob type, making Electric hob the second most popular hob type amongst new cookers.

Ovens

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

Across the range of cookers, the ovens range from 1 to 4. The ovens of most cookers range from 2 to 3. The cooker with the most oven is the LG LDE4413, which is a 2 oven cooker and is available at $899.00. The cooker with the least oven is the Zanussi ZCV65020, which is a 1 oven cooker and can be purchased for $543.44.

Burners / Cooking Zones

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

Across the range of cookers, the burners / cooking zones range from 1 to 8. The burners / cooking zones of most cookers range from 4 to 5. The Samsung NE59J7630SS, which is available at $3,089.90, 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 $543.44.

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).

Across the range of 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 available at $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 $613.10, has the smallest main oven interior capacity and is a 48L 1st oven interior capacity cooker.

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. 27 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. 96.4% of their cooker prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.