April 12th, 2024 | 9 min. read
Learn how to find the perfect cooking products with our Pro Cooking Buying Guide
Considering a professional range? Expect to spend anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000, with custom French stoves pushing the price even higher.
In this guide, we'll help you navigate the choices to find the perfect range for your cooking needs and decide if it's the right investment for you.
You will learn about the best features from brands like Wolf, Thermador, Miele, BlueStar, Monogram, SKS, and more.
First, let's start by debunking three misconceptions about buying a professional range.
Debunking Common Myths About Professional Ranges
Debunking Myth #1: Why There's No One-Size-Fits-All "Best" Professional Range
If you walk into your local appliance store and ask for the best stove, you will be shown an expensive dual-fuel range.
That could be a costly mistake.
Despite all the marketing claims, there isn’t a single “best” pro range available – it's simply not feasible.
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Every brand has different benefits, including output, cleanability, or special features.
Some have elaborate integrations with recipe apps, while others, including the $75,000+ La Cornue, have no advanced controls.
Additionally, an all-gas range is better at roasting due to its moister heat.
Complementing this, broiling works better in an all-gas professional range with an infrared broiler that provides direct, intense heat.
Electric is better for baking with its drier, more precise heat.
However, in pro ranges, many brands offer better dual-fuel features, which you will learn about later.
Typically, if you prefer baking, you'd go for a dual-fuel range, while an all-gas range is ideal if you enjoy broiling and roasting more.
Ultimately, you want to pick the best features and brands based on your cooking style.
Debunking Myth #2: Pro-Style Ranges Are Not True Professional Ranges
Many companies, such as Bertazzoni, ZLINE, Hallman, Ilve, Kucht, and others, promote their pro style ranges as professional ranges.
They rank highly on Google Search on their 48-inch ranges and are super cheap to buy.
Those brands lack real pro ranges' burner output, broiling, and oven capacity.
I would read reviews and see them in a showroom before buying anything unknown or off-brand.
Read More: Professional vs. Pro-Style Ranges
Debunking Myth #3: The Necessity of Ventilation for Professional Ranges
Professional ranges can deliver between 70,000 and 150,000 BTUs of heat and may include a grill or griddle, adding to the total burner output.
We strongly recommend an induction or electric range if you cannot vent with an overhead hood.
We have other articles on proper ventilation for your kitchen range. Here is a great place to start if you want to read more: How to Vent Your Kitchen Range.
Now that we've addressed the most common misconceptions about buying professional ranges, let's narrow your choices starting with size.
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How to Buy a Professional Range: The Ultimate 2024 Guide
Alright, let's dive into how to choose the right professional range.
In this next section, we'll break down the most important factors to consider, so you can make a decision you’ll be happy with for years to come.
Let's start your journey by exploring the available sizes, stovetops, ovens, controls, and other intangibles such as service and repair.
Professional Range Sizes
Your first step is looking at size.
The standard size of a range in most homes is 30 inches.
Pro ranges are available in 24, 30, 36, 48, and 60-inch sizes, but they are most popular at 36 inches with an extra set of burners.
If you want two ovens in a range and more options on the top, you can opt for a 48 or 60-inch customizable range from a French company like La Cornue.
You can also have a steam oven, speed oven, and warming drawers instead of the two ovens. Most larger ranges have as many as 10 stovetop configurations to choose from.
Professional Range Burner Outputs
Best Professional Ranges with the Highest Burner Output
If you are looking for the hottest burner, Hestan has one 30,000 BTU burner, but BlueStar has the most output with multiple 25,000 and 18,000 burners in their Platinum series.
Many brands, such as Monogram, SKS (Signature Kitchen Suite), and Fisher & Paykel, will offer 23,000 BTU burners, while Wolf and JennAir offer 20,000.
Thermador’s Pro Harmony series ranges and Wolf’s ranges in all gas have the least output at 18,000 and 15,000 BTU, respectively.
Best Professional Ranges with the Lowest Simmering Capability
Thermador has the best-advertised simmer burners at 100 BTUs on two of their burners, but the burners turn on and off for that average temperature.
The SKS Ultralow features two burners that can maintain a very low simmer at 100 BTUs each, whereas every burner on a Wolf range can simmer at 340 BTUs.
If you are buying a range for a low simmer output, you will learn about another option later in the article.
Professional Range Stovetop Configurations
Best Griddles on Professional Ranges
Griddles can cook anything.
Go to any busy American diner. They usually cook all that food on a griddle.
The old Yale Appliance showroom used to be on Canal Street next to the Garden.
Across the street was Demos Cafe; that guy made omelets, hash browns, hot dogs, hamburgers, and any hot sandwich on the griddle.
There are tons of different types of griddles.
Gas-powered griddles, like those on Wolf and Miele ranges, heat up faster.
Monogram has a powerful 18,000 BTU griddle and shows the degrees if you want to cook by recipe.
However, JennAir, Viking, and SKS have a chromium finish on their griddle and are the easiest to clean than any other.
Thermador and JennAir are electric for a consistent temperature, but electric griddles take more time to heat than gas or infrared.
You can always buy a portable griddle for almost any range, but a built-in griddle will perform better because it maintains a more consistent temperature.
Most professional ranges have a 12-inch griddle; on the larger 48- and 60-inch ranges, you can get a 24-inch griddle.
Read More: Should You Buy a Griddle for a Professional Range?
Best Grills on a Professional Range
The infrared grill is considered the best type for a professional range because it delivers intense, direct heat that allows for a quick and even sear.
They're exactly like the sear element of a high-end Lynx grill, but they are smaller.
Infrared is also much easier to clean than a gas or electric grill.
Any drippings are evaporated rather than you having to clean the burners.
Miele, JennAir, Monogram, and Wolf employ an infrared grill.
Viking's and BlueStar's pro grills use regular gas, which spreads the flame and is not as direct, while Thermador uses electric.
Once again, depending on the range size, you can have a 12 to 24-inch grill.
Remember, you must have a more powerful hood with an indoor grill to ventilate your space correctly.
Best French Tops on a Professional Range
French top professional ranges look like griddles but have one big burner in the middle.
The French top is designed to be inconsistent with cooking multiple items at different temperatures, while a griddle is consistent.
You also leave the food in the pans on a French top rather than placing it directly on a griddle. Wolf, BlueStar, and La Cornue all have French top options.
Read More: What Is a French Top Range and Should You Buy One?
Best Sous Vide on a Professional Range
Sous vide cooking achieves precise internal temperatures through water immersion.
Some of us may have boiled Stouffers Oriental Chicken or Mongolian Beef in a bag in college.
Sous vide cooking is similar but more precise. Sous vide cooking became popular on cooking shows due to its ability to maintain even temperatures.
Right now, only SKS’s professional range offers a sous vide stovetop option.
Best Induction on a Professional Gas Range
Induction cooking uses a magnetic heat.
The magnets of the induction burners excite the metal molecules in the pan, and the pan cooks the food.
Induction burners heat up and boil water faster than a BlueStar gas burner and offer better simmering capabilities than any traditional low-temperature pro-gas burner.
Induction cooking is also safer because it only activates when a metal pan is placed on the stovetop, preventing the burner from heating up unnecessarily.
Pro Tip: Use a simple magnet to see whether your cookware will work with induction. If it sticks, the pan will work with an induction burner.
Thermador and SKS have two induction burners on a few pro ranges.
Fisher & Paykel offers a larger 24-inch induction surface with four gas burners in their 48-inch pro ranges.
Additionally, Wolf, Monogram, Fisher & Paykel, and Viking sell larger 36-inch pro-type induction ranges.
We cover gas vs. induction in other articles. If you want to learn more, here is a great resource to start with: Induction vs. Gas Cooking: A Quick Guide to the Pros and Many Cons of Both.
Professional Range Ovens
Professional Range Oven Controls
Oven controls run the gamut from having no controls like BlueStar, Thermador Harmony, and La Cornue.
You can also have robust controls completely accessible through your phone, such as JennAir, SKS, Wolf, Monogram, and Thermador.
Many have also guided cooking to calculate temperature and time.
All you must do is input the food type and your preferred doneness level.
The range calculates time and temperature for you based on those factors. Wolf even calculates rack position.
Monogram has an interesting feature with Hestan Cue, so you can follow cooking instructions step by step.
Gas vs. Electric Convection Ovens
Gas is better for roasting, while electric is more precise and better for baking.
Certain gas manufacturers have hotter infrared broilers like Thermador, Wolf, and Miele, which are the best.
It's also more complicated than straight gas vs. electric for pro ranges.
Wolf, Thermador, SKS, and Miele dual fuel ranges have better features than their all-gas models, such as better convection systems, controls, and steam and speed functionality.
You may like some of the better functionality of these brands but be mindful that for specific tasks like baking, roasting, or broiling, the choice between gas and electric ranges can impact performance.
Best Ovens for Professional Ranges
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The best oven may be the La Cornue, which has an arched top for natural convection flow and temperature.
You can choose gas and electric ovens in the larger La Cornue stoves in the same range.
Most ranges employ either twin or single convection fans.
In gas ovens, SKS and BlueStar have True convection ovens with an element behind the fan to blow the heat across.
ProBake is more efficient than the traditional method of using a baking element. It generates heat from below, and the fan distributes the air.
Special Professional Range Oven Features
Miele, Thermador, and now SKS have changed the standard for pro-range features.
You have a steam oven option in the Thermador Grand 48 and 60-inch ranges.
Steam adds moisture to food, not baking out nutrients. Instead, it adds texture and flavor.
Thermador was also the first to add a warming drawer to keep food warm for up to three hours.
Miele's and SKS dual fuel pro range adds steam assist for bread baking.
On their 48-inch pro ranges, you also have a speed oven and a warming drawer option.
Speed vs. Steam Ovens in Professional Ranges
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Speed ovens will cook faster than steam ovens using a microwave and convection combination.
However, food prepared in a steam oven will be more flavorful.
Again, it depends on what you value and how you cook.
Best Professional Ranges for Colors
Most pro ranges, such as Miele, Wolf, Thermador, Monogram, SKS, and JennAir, are made of stainless steel only.
BlueStar has 1,000 assorted colors and 10 trim styles.
La Cornue can be customized, too, with 50 colors and available trim options.
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Both companies will allow you to customize your specific color as well.
Viking has 17 colors and brass trim options.
To read more about the best brands for custom colors, read this article: 10 Best Kitchen Appliance Brands for Color.
Now let's discuss the final problem - reliability, service, and availability.
Professional Range Reliability
Pro ranges have a higher service rate than any appliance, at 15.5% in the first year, based on 37,000 service calls completed by our service department just last year:
Then again, a pro range can be equivalent to one and a half to two ranges in some cases in larger sizes.
The most common repairs are installation, minor adjustments, and gas ignitor issues with every brand.
But that is one of the critical factors in buying a pro range.
You want to match how you cook with the brand that delivers the features, but you must consider service because it varies between brands.
Yes, there are differences between the brands in output and functionality, but some brands are far better than others. And you have to know who is best in your area.
A 25,000 BTU burner on a professional range will cook faster than those with 20,000-23,000 BTU, but this advantage holds only if it's working.
Read More: The Most Reliable Appliance Brands
Do You Need a Professional Range?
Let's look at these two ranges:
On the left is a Café Appliances slide-in range, and on the right, a Thermador pro range.
Which is hotter?
The Café slide-in range is hotter and features two ovens, self-cleaning, and a clock and timer.
Another good option is buying an induction range.
You can now buy induction in 30, 36 and 48-inch sizes.
Induction is faster, has a better simmer, is easier to clean, and is the most child-safe because you need metal to activate the metal burner.
Gas ranges will have grill, griddle, and French top options. Gas is more reliable than induction.
So, you do have choices.
How Do You Choose a Professional Range?
Okay, you may have difficulty buying a range with every possible feature unless you want to customize a La Cornue with a gas and electric oven plus whatever you want on the top, spend $75,000 or more, and have no clock, timer, or controls.
Let's ask the only important question: What is best for YOU?
How will you use the range?
Will you use a grill, griddle, sous vide accessory or a French top? How about the oven? Do you roast, bake, or broil a lot?
Once you know how to use your range the most, you will be ready to pick one.
Lastly, service needs to be vetted as well. After considering the differences between all the brands, consider which company has the better service agency in your area.
Have a question? Leave it in the comments below, and I'll respond to it.
Additional Resources
Stop feeling overwhelmed by kitchen appliance choices. Our Pro Cooking Buying Guide has helped over 1 million people choose the perfect professional range. Download it now and simplify your decision-making process!
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A Note About Pricing
Pricing on this blog is for reference only and may include time sensitive rebates. We make every attempt to provide accurate pricing at time of publishing. Please call the stores for most accurate price.
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