Should I buy a range cooker or a built-in oven and hob?

This is a kitchen-layout decision as much as an appliance one, and the two options fail differently. A range is a single large purchase that concentrates your cooking in one place; built-in spreads the same money across two appliances that can be sited, specified and replaced independently. Both are correct in the right kitchen.

Step by step

1. Measure the width you can actually give up.Ranges are typically 900mm, 1000mm or 1100mm wide, plus a small clearance each side. That is worktop and cupboard you do not get back. A built-in hob takes 600mm of worktop with a usable cupboard beneath, and the oven goes elsewhere.
2. Decide whether you want the oven at eye level.A built-in oven in a tall housing puts the shelves at chest height, which is easier on backs and safer with a hot tray. A range puts every cavity below waist height. For some households this decides it on its own.
3. Compare total usable cavity rather than cavity count.A 1000mm range typically gives a large main oven plus a second smaller cavity and often a slow or warming oven. That is genuinely more capacity than one built-in single, and comparable to a built-in double — but a built-in double costs less than the equivalent range.
4. Think about how a failure plays out.On a range, a failed hob element or a failed oven means the whole appliance goes into repair, and a replacement means replacing a large, expensive unit and possibly the surrounding worktop cut. Built-in lets you replace a £300 hob without touching the oven.
5. Check the fuel and supply implications.Many ranges are dual fuel — gas hob, electric ovens — which needs both a Gas Safe registered gas connection and a cooker circuit. All-electric ranges often need a substantial dedicated circuit, sometimes more than a standard cooker circuit. Confirm with an electrician before ordering.
6. Look at the extraction requirement honestly.A wide range needs a wide hood above it, and a hood should be at least as wide as the hob. A 1000mm range effectively commits you to a 1000mm hood and the ducting to match, which is a real additional cost.
7. Weigh cleaning and the gap either side.A freestanding range leaves a narrow gap each side that collects everything. Some models come with filler strips; most do not seal to the worktop. Built-in appliances sit flush and have no such gap.
8. Reach the verdict on how you cook, not how the kitchen looks.Cooking for six or more regularly, big batch days, several pans at once, and the width to spare: take the range. Two or three of you, occasional entertaining, and a kitchen where 900mm of worktop matters: built-in wins on every practical axis.

Tips

• If you like the look of a range but not the trade-offs, a 600mm freestanding cooker gives you the same one-unit simplicity in a standard gap, at much lower cost.
• Ranges are heavy — often over 100kg. Check the delivery route and the floor before ordering, especially over a suspended timber floor or into a basement kitchen.
• Buy the hood at the same time as a range. Retrofitting a 1000mm hood after the kitchen is finished is where the budget surprises happen.
• A built-in setup lets you buy an expensive hob and a modest oven, or the reverse, according to what you actually use. That asymmetry is worth real money.

Common mistakes

• Buying a range without confirming the electrical supply — Some all-electric ranges need more than a standard 32A cooker circuit. Finding that out on delivery day means an electrician, a new circuit and notifiable work.
• Fitting an undersized hood over a range — A hood narrower than the hob cannot catch the plume from the outer burners, so a wide range with a 600mm hood puts steam and grease straight into the room.

Alternatives

• Built-in oven plus separate hob: The flexible default. Oven at eye level, hob where the prep is, independent replacement, and the budget split however you like.
• 600mm freestanding cooker: One unit in a standard gap. Cheapest route to a combined hob and oven, easy to replace, and no bespoke cabinetry required.
• 900mm to 1100mm range cooker: Maximum capacity and burner count in one appliance, with the presence people buy them for. Costs width, hood size and replaceability.
• Built-in double oven plus a five-burner hob: Matches most of a range's capability for less money, with the cavities at a better height, if you have the tall housing for it.

Questions people ask