You can buy a Bosch induction top for $1300 at Lowes. And Ikea has one under 1K. Induction doesn't have to be costly. What you get with the more spendy ones are better controls and more power. But the basic technology is still the same.

There still aren't that many induction ranges so they are a little overpriced. If you can swing a cooktop and separate wall oven, you might end up spending less on appliances (but more on cabinets...).

The cheap ones are fine. I used one made in 1983 and only replaced it because it was a weird size. Yes, the new one was better (probably double the power at least), but either one beat the pants off anything else I've ever used.

There are plenty of induction ranges below 3000. Check aj Madison, of the 15 induction ranges they sell, 12 or 13 are under 3000. Heck there are lots under 2500 and even 2000. At sale times you can get them even cheaper.

I've been using an "induction hob" recommended here to try out induction. I love it and chose induction based on it ... but it's probably 1/2 the power of full-fledged induction. It's kindof like a hotplate versus a range. I don't think it would be a good permanent way to have induction.

I do have an acquaintance who somehow had a rangetop made (bought?) that had some gas burners and 2 induction hobs. Might be worth investigating such an approach.

We bought a GE Profile 30" induction cook top for well under $2,000, and their 36" model is also well under $2,000. We are very satisfied with its performance. We're not brand-conscious...after all, they're all just a flat piece of black glass unless you need some really high-performance cook top.

>>>" Is there a way to go induction without spending $3,000+?"Sure. As DCJersey says, there are numbers of induction ranges that cost less than $3k and several that cost less than $2k. AJ Madison is indeed an excellent place to check out the offerings.

For less than $2k, the current choices for induction in ranges for the US are all freestanding models:

(a) A couple of Samsung NOPBSR models: one is roughly $1300 (NE595NOPBSR) and the other is $1600 (NE597NOPBSR) at AJ Madison. I looked at the 597 pretty seriously several months ago and have posted about it (including in a thread DCJersey started a couple of months ago.) The NE597 looked like a pretty good deal, but Samsung has not been in the US market long enough to have developed much of a track record for judging long term reliability and parts availability. That can give some people pause. Also, people have reported problems with Samsung's outsourced warranty service on other other Samsung products. Consumer Reports rates Samsung highly for cooktop and oven performance, slightly behind GE's induction stoves. There is no data yet about Samsung electrical stoves in CR's annual membership product reliability surveys.

(b) Some Whirlppool branded products (a Whirlpool, a Maytag and a KitchenAid). The Whirlpool and Maytag have unusual burner arrangements (small burners up front with the burner control pad betweent them). The Kitchenaid looks like it might be outsourced and rebranded from Electrolux/Frigidaire or maybe even Samsung. The criticism of the WP products is that their only oven self-cleaning is a "steam clean" function which reportedly does not work very well. (I wound up buying an NXR gas stove and use the steam-clean technique, which requires wiping out (if not scrubbing) the oven with a blue Scotch-brite scrubbing sponge. It is not bad but, then, NXR does not claim to have a self-cleaning oven function.)

(c) Frigidaire FPIF3093LF, which seems to be a decent range for about $1700. (BTW, Frigidaire is a division of Electrolux). CR's membership surveys show GE/Hotpoint electric stoves as reliability champs witho 4% and 6% defect ratea. Frigidaire, by comparison, is significantly higher with a higher, 10% defect rate for electrical stoves. Not sure how that affects induction stoves because there are no breakouts for induction stoves. Some reviews on other forums and vendor sites. Reviews are are mostly very positive. Nobody seems have posted here at GW about the Frigidaire induction range, though. It has a different layout and a larger oven than the more expensive ELectrolux/Kenmore corporate brandmates. No performance rating from Consumer Reports, yet.

(d) GE will (sometime soon) be releasing the GE Profile PHP915 induction range which seems to be a slightly less-feature rich version of the PHP/PHS925 models which have been very highly rated here on GW and which are Consumer Reports' highest rated stoves. Not clear when this stove will reach the market. Some sites have said Marhc and others have said August.

For induction ranges in the $2k to $3k range, the choices currently are:

(a) GE Profile PHP925 (freestanding) and PHS925 (slide-in) which are very highly thought of here.

(b) Samsung NE599NOPBSR which is available in Canada, but not on the US side of the border. There have been a couple of postings about quality control problems here.

(c) Kenmore freestanding and and slide-in induction stoves (made for Sears by Electrolux) and pretty well thought of although there were some quality control problems with the intial production runs a couple of years ago. Mostly postive reviews since then, but not many reviews.

(d) Electrolux Wavetouch EW30IF60IS freestanding range. Been inproduction for several years and mostly pretty well reviewed although Consumer Reports testing seemed to downrate its oven functions.

As hollysprings and fori suggest, you have a more choices if you can go with a separate cooktop and wall oven. There are numbers of such combinations that will cost less than $3k, assuming you've got the electrical wiring already in place to handle the higher demands of separate units. Some combos may cost less than $2k. My kitchen electrical would not readily accomodate the power needs of a separate cooktop and oven, so I did not research this approach when I was recently shopping for a new stove. Again, though, the suggestion to cruise through AJ MAdison is good one for finding your options and getting a handle on pricing.

>>>"What about combining a good gas range with a smaller induction hob?"It certainly can be done for less than $3k or even $2k -- heck, maybe even less that $1k --- depending on what you have in mind as as a "good" gas range and what did you have in mind for a "smaller" induction hob and how you want your kitchen laid out.

A small hob might mean one of the portable hotplate models like the Max Burton/Athena, Aroma, or Vollrath models. These are hotplates. These run from under $100 to around $250. They'll give you speed of adjustment and low level simmering. But, as Yebo said, it's still only hot plate. No really rapid boiling or the other "magic of high power induction.

Or, you can get 240v induction hobs from the likes of Cooktek. They can be had in drop-in versions (i.e., a mini induction cooktop that drops into a cut-out on a countertop like any other smoothop cooktop, only smaller. They can be had in self-contained "portable" hobs. They look like Incredible Hulk verisons of hot plates. (BIIIGGG!!!) I used a a Cooktek unit for a while and it would heat a cast iron pan hot enough to melt lead. (That's roughly 620F, IIRC). More than enough power to do all the high-heat induction magic. They are made for commercial applications so they are tough and and dead-bang reliable. A single burner costs around $750, so as expensive as some decent gas stoves. Because they need a 240v outlet, these units are not really portable in any sense that most of us would recognize. But maybe that's what you want?

This post was edited by JWVideo on Wed, Jan 16, 13 at 2:15

Lots available. Brand new, the Bosch 500 series induction is 1600. I purchased an 800 series at an outlet, brand new sealed in box, for 1649 so deal can be had. Induction is much more efficient than gas, btw.