Induction vs. Gas Cooking Cost Calculator

Sometimes, and the gap is smaller than the marketing suggests. Cooking is such a small share of a household energy bill that the answer flips entirely with your local rates:

• At U.S. averages for August 2026 ($0.18 per kWh against $2.61 per therm), induction delivers heat for about $62.61 per 1 MMBTU against about $84.19 for natural gas, so induction is roughly 26% cheaper to cook with.
• That difference is worth about $15.11 a year on a typical home's cooking heat, because a household burns only around 0.70 MMBTU of delivered heat a year on the stove.
• Under the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 (26.32p per kWh against 7.97p per kWh of gas) the ranking reverses: gas cooks for about £75 per 1 MMBTU and induction about £91, so gas stays cheaper.
• Propane homes usually see the biggest saving, because bottled propane costs far more per delivered BTU than either mains option.

The two fuels are compared on heat that reaches the food, not heat that leaves the burner. On that basis the laboratory numbers disagree, which is why the calculator lets you choose the protocol:

• Frontier Energy's 2019 tests for SMUD, run at the Food Service Technology Center, measured about 85% of an induction hob's electricity arriving in the pot against about 31% of a gas cooktop's fuel.
• ACEEE's 2014 review reported about 76.5% for induction and about 41% for gas, with radiant smooth tops near 74% and coil elements from about 42% on a small pot to about 83% on a large one.
• The disagreement is real: pot size, burner design and test method move the numbers by more than the difference between the two studies.
• Either protocol still says induction puts far more of the energy you buy into the food than gas does - about 2.7 times as much on Frontier's figures, about 1.9 times on ACEEE's. What changes is how much that is worth in money.

Usually, and it is the cost that decides whether the switch makes financial sense:

• An 8.8 kW cooktop on a 240V supply draws roughly 37 amps. North American wiring practice sizes the conductor at 125% of a continuous load, which lands on a 50-amp breaker.
• A dedicated 50A or 60A range circuit where the old cooktop sat is normally a swap-in. A 30A dryer outlet is not enough for a cooktop, whatever an adapter listing claims.
• An 11-12 kW slide-in range needs a 60-70A circuit, and on a smaller service it can be the load that forces an upgrade.
• On 230V supplies the same appliance is treated as a diversity load rather than a continuous one, so a 7.4 kW hob sizes to about 40A. Always have a licensed electrician confirm; local code governs.

Not for the energy bill alone. The default scenario in this calculator - a U.S. home swapping a gas cooktop for an 8.8 kW induction hob at 2026 average rates - saves about $15 a year against an all-in upfront cost of roughly $1,880 to $5,880 depending on what the wiring turns out to need. That is a payback measured in decades, not years. People switch for faster boiling, precise low heat, easier cleaning, cooler summers and cleaner indoor air, and the running cost usually comes out roughly neutral or slightly ahead. If the electrical work is cheap because a suitable circuit already exists, the case gets much better; if it needs a service upgrade, it gets much worse.

For U.S. households the honest answer in 2026 is narrower than most articles say:

• The federal 25C and 25D credits never covered cooking appliances, and they ended for property placed in service after 31 December 2025.
• The Department of Energy's Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) do cover induction ranges and cooktops, but they are income-restricted, administered state by state, and rollout has been uneven.
• Some states and gas utilities run their own switch-from-gas incentives. Enter whatever you are actually offered in the rebate box - the calculator nets it against the upfront cost.

If you stop burning gas entirely, most utilities and codes want the line terminated by a licensed fitter rather than left live with an unused outlet - typically around $100 to $150 for a simple cap, more if the pipe has to be rerouted. Tick the option in the calculator and it adds the cost to the upfront figure; leave it unticked if you keep a gas dryer, boiler or range somewhere in the house, because then the line stays in service and the utility may keep charging a daily facility or standing fee regardless.

No. Unflued gas cooking releases nitrogen dioxide, benzene and carbon monoxide into the kitchen, and range hoods vented to the outside reduce exposure substantially - that is a real reason households switch. Those effects are not converted into dollars here, because there is no defensible way to price them in a cost calculator. This tool answers the money question and the wiring question only.