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Best Kitchen Hob in India 2023

  • Writer: The Grapevine, India
    The Grapevine, India
  • Aug 7, 2023
  • 6 min read

I compared over 30 kitchen hobs in the market to help you decide the right hob for your kitchen. I’m going to take you through a step by step process that will help you identify the right one for you.


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Best kitchen hob for safety (with flame failure device)

Best high performance hobs with brass burners

Best stainless steel hobs


The first thing to determine is whether you want a built - in hob or a stove or you want flexibility of both. Hobs require you to cut your countertop and hobtops / stoves do not. If you are certain you do not want to cut your countertop - I recommend you to go directly for a stove as they are a lot cheaper. If you are on the fence - you can go for a hobtop which gives you flexibility of a cook top and a hob - but remember these are more expensive. If you are fairly certain - you can go for a dedicated hob. Visually - hobs look the best in modern kitchens as they are integrated into the countertop. I’ve included both hobtops and hobs in this comparison - not stoves. In general - Faber, Prestige, Crompton all have hobtops.


Next thing to determine is whether you want glass hobs or stainless steel hobs. Glass hobs are aesthetically better looking - but they also require a slightly higher maintenance - inspite of using an 8mm toughened glass.

  1. You cannot use a gas tandoor in a glass hob - this can make the glass crack / shatter.

  2. You cannot use oversized vessels - the vessel size should be not more than 1 - 1.5 inches larger than the burner.

  3. You should use the burners evenly as glass tends to heat and contract based on usage. If you use one burner more than the others - expansion and contraction is more around that burner - causing glass to crack / shatter.

  4. You cannot keep hot, heavy vessels on the glass directly

  5. You should not use steel wool for cleaning or slide rough vessels through the glass that can cause the glass to crack

  6. Most often than not - if you have seen / heard glass cracking for people - its due to maintenance issues rather than the issue with the hob itself. I’ve compared both stainless steel and glass hobs in this video - and will give a recommendation for both later in the video.


Best kitchen hob for safety (with flame failure device)

Best high performance hobs with brass burners

Best stainless steel hobs


The next thing to determine is the size. Hobs range from 60 cm in width to 90 cm in width - with sizes in between as well like 75, 78, 80 cms. 60 cm is the most common dimension as it makes the best space optimization, but it can be a bit cramped if you use all 4 burners simultaneously. In this video, I’m comparing only 60 cm options - I’ve linked to the best larger sizes in the description.


Next you have to determine how many burners, type of burners, and size of burners that you need -

  1. if you multitask well - then you may want to go for a 4 burner hob / hob top. I don’t, so I use a 3 burner hob. Remember - in a 60 cm, a 4 burner hob makes good use of space, but can be a little cramped if you use medium - large vessels.

  2. In most Indian kitchens, we like to cook faster - so a brass / aluminium burner will be ideal for you. If you prefer to slow cook food, then an Italian burner will be ideal. Kaff makes something they call tornado burners - which are high speed burners like brass, but it’s unclear whether they are brass burners specifically.

  3. The next is the size of the burners - if you cook in smaller quantities, you require more small and medium burners and if you cook in larger quantities more often, then you require more medium and large burners. In the end, I’ll give recommendation for each of these usecases.


Best kitchen hob for safety (with flame failure device)

Best high performance hobs with brass burners

Best stainless steel hobs


All hobs / hob tops come with Auto ignition - some require electricity and some operate on battery. In general Faber hobs and hob tops use a battery. So if you don’t have an electrical connection near your hob, you may need to select one with battery.


All hobs by default work with LPG. If you have piped gas / PNG in your house, you will need an adapter for the hob - which you can get from the hob service team or your gas provider at an extra cost.


From a safety point of view - many of you have asked me about ISI certification for hobs in the past. Most brands and models of hobs compared do not published this. Some models have a safety feature called the “FLAME FAILURE DEVICE”. To prevent gas hazards, this device turns off the gas supply the minute the burner is on but flame is off. Only top end models of hobs have this - Faber Utopia, the Crompton Hobs and all Bosch hobs have the flame failure device.


A common problem many of you mention is liquid spills below the hob. Some models of hobs / hob tops now have a drip tray - which is useful to prevent spills below the hob. Not all brands publish this - I’ve tried to identify this based on the visuals available.

Pricing ranges from around 10K to 30+K based on the brand and features offered. Hobs with flame failure device are more expensive. Hobs from Bosch are more expensive. Stainless steel hobs are in general lower cost than a glass hob of similar feature set. Warranty varies between 1 and 2 years - with additional warranty being given on glass when used.


Best kitchen hob for safety (with flame failure device)

Best high performance hobs with brass burners

Best stainless steel hobs


Now based on all of these, here are my recommendations for the best kitchen hobs in India:

  1. If safety is your highest priority - then you need a kitchen hob that has a flame failure device. I have two recommendations for you:

    1. At a budget and if you are interested in fast cooking (and therefore brass burners), I recommend the Crompton SensoSafe. This is a 60 cm 3 burner glass hob that has 2 large - 2.5kW, and 1 medium 1.5kW sized burners. It has auto ignition and requires an electric socket for the ignition. This hob can be used either as a cooktop or can be fitted as a hob.

    2. If you are interested in slow cooking (and therefore Italian burners), I recommend the Bosch 4 burner hob that you see on the screen. At a price of around 26K, this is a 4 burner kitchen hob that has 1 large, 2 medium, and 1 small Italian burners. This hob is not hybrid - i.e., it cannot be used both as a cooktop / hob.


  1. If you need a high performance hob, then I recommend you to go with hob that has a brass burner. I have two recommendations for you:

    1. The Faber Maxus 4 burner hob (which also comes in 3 burner). The benefit of this is while it is auto ignition, it does not require an electric socket close to the hob - it is battery operated. At a price of about 17K, it offers a 1 year warranty, has 4 brass burners with 1 large, 1 medium, and 2 small sized burners - ideal if you normally cook in small-medium quantity more often than not. In general, most faber hobs can be used as a hobtop, and this one can be kept on countertop too.

    2. The Kaff 3 burner hob (also available in 4 burner) is ideal if you do really fast cooking. These use tornado burners (similar to brass, but I feel they are more powerful). It has 1 large and 2 medium sized burners, does require an electric socket for auto ignition. It also has something they call a drip tray which makes it easier to clean and liquid spills do not spill below the hob. This Kaff hob cannot be used as a cooktop / stove. It has to be fitted. This is a model I personally use for over 2 years now and I’m quite happy with it.


  1. Lastly if you are looking for stainless steel hobs instead, I again have 2 recommendations for you:

    1. At a budget, I recommend the Faber stainless steel hob that is available at a price of around 11K. It has 1 large, 2 medium, and 1 small Italian burners - that are ideal for slow cooking in small - medium quantities. It is battery operated instead of requiring an electric socket for auto ignition. Unlike other Faber hobs, this cannot be used as a hobtop

    2. My second recommendation is the Bosch stainless steel 4 burner hob. At a price of 20K, Bosch offers a 2 year warranty and has 4 aluminium burners of size 1 large, 2 medium, and 1 small. It does also have a flame failure device which helps to turn off the gas supply when the burner is on but there is no flame.


Best kitchen hob for safety (with flame failure device)

Best high performance hobs with brass burners

Best stainless steel hobs

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👋Hi! This is SAUMYA. I started The Grapevine Today to help both myself and viewers in purchasing decision of products. My opinion is that the right product for one person may be completely different from the right product for another person - so my goal is to provide you enough information that will help you decide what to look for to select what's right for YOU. 

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