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Welcome to the 21st century, where a cooktop can heat your pots and pans without a hot surface. Ferromagnetic pots and pans, including cast iron, stainless steel and other metal cookware, are heated using a magnetic current generated below the surface of the stove.

Induction cooktops provide a significantly more energy-efficient option. About 90% of the generated heat energy goes straight into your metal cookware which in turn heats up your quesadillas, chili or pasta water. But finding the best induction cooktop can be a challenge with so many different companies and options to choose from.

We’ve put together a guide to the best induction cooktops of 2022 with the hope we can induce you to make the best decision for your kitchen renovation.

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GE Profile 30-Inch Electric Induction Cooktop With Four Elements and Exact Fit

While the GE Profile 30-Inch Induction Cooktop is one of the priciest options on our list, it also comes incredibly well-reviewed by customers and features a chef’s list of smart, user-friendly features. An already well-known and regarded company, GE is especially good at customer support.. With a 12-month warranty and a specialized Fit Guarantee, GE will pay up to $100 for necessary modifications if the cooktop doesn’t fit your kitchen layout.

This induction cooktop has many additional features: control locks, burning syncing and pan detection to correctly size the heating element to the size of your pan. The cooktop also automatically turns off the element when pans are removed.

Frigidaire 36-Inch Induction Cooktop With Five Elements

This Frigidaire 36-Inch Induction Cooktop adds a fifth heating element, boasts the even-heating power of induction and still comes in at an affordable price. With 36 luxurious inches of space for five burners, you can do everything at once—just beware: Frigidaire brags its induction cooktops can boil water significantly faster than standard radiant electric cooktops, so if you choose to multitask, be ready to move a lot faster.

The cooktop automatically senses the size of your pan and can dial in the amount of energy to use—saving you energy. Customer reviews aren’t completely perfect; some users report slower-than-promised boil settings.

Frigidaire 30-Inch Four Elements Black Induction Cooktop

This Frigidaire 30-inch Four Element Induction Cooktop boasts the same list of excellent smart features as the 36-Inch version does. Auto-sizing pan detection maximizes the induction heat straight to the correct size pot or pan, and Frigidaire’s “True Temp Melt and Hold” guarantees a precision low-heat setting that will perfectly melt delicate sauces, cheeses or chocolates without burning them.

Empava 24-Inch Stove Power Boost Vitro Ceramic Black Electric Induction Cooktop With Four Booster Burners Smooth Surface Tempered Glass

This space-saving Empava 24-Inch Induction Cooktop may not have the footprint of other stoves on our list, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for with induction power. The Empava cooktop features two eight-inch elements with up to 2,700 watts each and two six-inch elements with up to 2,000 watts each, a power-boost mode and a cooking timer. With a two-year warranty and durable, quality construction, including a scratch- and discoloration-resistant ceramic surface, the Empava cooktop is ready for anything you throw at it.

Jenn-Air Euro-Style 36-Inch Induction Cooktop

The Jenn-Air Euro-Style 36 Inch Induction Cooktop is a powerful, five-element stove with a huge array of intelligent features to make cooking as pain-free as possible. A sensor boil feature sets an element to optimal power and then turns it down once the water reaches its boiling point. All five elements offer a melt function to protect delicate sauces, chocolates or butter.

If you need power, the performance boost setting will push past the highest standard temperature for up to ten minutes and with pan detection, the moment cookware is removed the element switches itself off. None of this high-tech modern living comes cheap; this cooktop is the highest-priced on our list.

A cooktop generally refers to a separate cooking surface powered by electricity. These are usually embedded in a countertop. A range or stove involves a cooktop attached to an oven and is often a standalone appliance. An induction cooktop uses electricity to generate heat directly to your cookware via induction as opposed to heating the surface the cookware sits upon. In an induction cooktop, electricity is passed through a copper coil just below a ceramic surface.

An electromagnetic current passes into any cookware made of ferromagnetic metal such as cast iron, stainless steel or other metals. The resulting evenly heated pots and pans cook food using much less energy or wasted electricity. This is good for the environment and good for your utility bill, but unlike a radiant electric cooktop, the ceramic or glass surface does not get hot. Consequently, it is safe to touch and much easier to clean. Induction cooktops do not work with non-ferromagnetic cookware.

Is induction right for your home as opposed to electric or gas? Consider the size of the cooktop and the number of burners, the cost and types of maintenance that might be required and any smart features you may be interested in before finalizing a decision about your new cooktop.

Determining which cooktop is the best fit for your home means choosing among the three most common types of cooktop. Gas ranges are great for those looking for quick responsiveness and fine control over the heat level of their cooking—professional chefs usually prefer gas for this reason. Gas cooktops can continue working even when the power goes out.

Radiant electric cooktops are much more affordable, much more energy-efficient and much safer than gas cooktops, but they lack the power and the fine controllability of gas.

Induction cooktops offer the best of both worlds with precision temperature control and faster heating times than gas or electric stoves—all while being much more energy-efficient and even safer. Because induction cooktops only heat the pot or pan, minimal energy loss makes them friendlier to the environment and your electricity bill. The direct and even heating makes cooking time much faster. Induction cooktops often boast half the time to boil water compared to radiant electric cooktops.

These cooktops are significantly safer than electric or gas because the surface does not get too hot to touch. The only major disadvantages of induction cooktops are the cost and their lack of functionality with copper and ceramic cookware.

The size and number of burners (or heating elements) you want and what will or won’t fit in your kitchen layout will factor into your decision, but many manufacturers produce similar cooktops in multiple sizes. The cooktops featured on our list are 24-inches, 30-inches and 36-inches. These are all standard sizes found in nearly all homes. Some companies, such as GE, even have a “fit guarantee” to make sure the cooktop fits in your home. .

Most induction cooktops have an appropriate number and size of burners. Typically, 36-inch cooktops usually feature five, and 30-inch cooktops have four. Be wary of any 30-inch or smaller cooktop with five burners, as it will likely be hard to actually fit five pots or pans—don’t expect a spacious use of elements or burners on a smaller unit.

Potential maintenance and regular operation costs associated with a cooktop can make the initial price of the unit seem like pocket change, so finding a reliable manufacturer with solid customer support can be worth any increase in unit price.

Induction cooktops use significantly more complex technology than the gas and electric counterparts, resulting in higher maintenance costs when something goes wrong. Purchasing a high-end German induction cooktop may mean significantly higher quality, but when something goes wrong, the costs associated with shipping parts to and from a distant country may not be worth the actual appliance. Most manufacturers manufacture overseas, however, so this may not be as important as having a reliable customer service department to back you up.

All the induction cooktops on our list come with a long list of smart features that may or may not be useful in your home and kitchen. Features such as auto-off timers or pan removal detection can help keep you and your family safe, especially if you’re the type to walk away and forget what you were doing.

Smart cooking features can help you relax and let the stove keep your dish at a perfect simmer—instead of requiring you to watch it like your dog watches you eat. These features should probably not be the primary drivers of your decision, but they can be key in tipping your choice one way or the other if you’ve narrowed it down to a couple of final options.

Price, customer reviews and warranty are the main three factors by which we evaluated induction cooktops and should be some of the top factors you consider when making your purchase.

Induction cooktops are some of the most expensive cooktops of any type available on the market, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on the rest of the kitchen remodel if you want one. The price of an induction cooktop ranges between  $500 and $3,000.  Keep in mind some features pushing the price higher may be unnecessary in your home. Touch-pad controls may cost more than knob controls. While they may seem better, many customers actually prefer traditional knobs for ease of use—even when things get messy on the stovetop.

Another important thing to look for in an induction cooktop is strong, consistent customer feedback both on the company and with regard to the product itself. Induction cooktops use an incredible, advanced technology to operate, but this can mean they are more prone to maintenance problems even right out of the box. Examine reviews for the products on a third-party seller’s website to see what real customers actually say.

Most cooktops on our list have a 12-month limited warranty. This is the best timeline for such a frequently used appliance,, but it will cover any out of the box appliance issues. Some companies offer longer warranties or paid protection plans to offer more comprehensive and more extensive coverage. Though pricey, these may be worth the investment in the long term.

To determine the best induction cooktop ranking, the Forbes Home Improvement editorial team analyzed third-party data on over 60 products. Each product’s star rating is determined by evaluating a variety of metrics, including:

The key factors to consider when choosing an induction cooktop are price, positive customer reviews, length of warranty and the smart features available with the cooktop.

No—compared to radiant electric cooktops, induction cooktops are significantly more energy-efficient because much less heat energy is lost. Heat transfer involves magnetic currents and remains far more efficient than traditional conductive, radiant heat transfer.

Induction ranges are generally much longer-lasting than electric cooktops and can average between around 10,000 to 30,000 hours of life (approximately three to nine years) depending on how heavily used they are. Induction ranges will start to lose efficiency over time but they will still heat evenly, if slower.

While an electric or radiant electric cooktop runs electricity through metal coils to heat up the cooktop surface and in turn the pot or pan, induction cooktops create heat by running electricity through copper coils to create a magnetic field that will transfer energy in the form of heat to any metal pots or pans set upon the element.

Chauncey grew up on a farm in rural northern California. At 18 he ran away and saw the world with a backpack and a credit card, discovering that the true value of any point or mile is the experience it facilitates. He remains most at home on a tractor, but has learned that opportunity is where he finds it and discomfort is more interesting than complacency.

Lowe is a lead editor, covering all things related to home improvement and good design. She previously worked in the decor and lifestyle spaces for digital publishers like Hunker and Ranker and has multiple years of experience creating design and DIY content.