skip the microwave. cooktops are cleaner (nothing falls between like a range and counter).

This ask depends on what the layout of the kitchen will be in each scenario. It's not an automatic one is better than the other.

In either scenario I'd want a range hood.

FWIW I prefer a range because I'm think they are more convenient and I don't have any issues bending over. I like being able to pull stuff out and put it on the stove, and it's more convenient for stove to oven cooking which I do more often than baking. I have a double wall oven and can't really reach the upper one without being careful not to burn my arms. Plus the double oven is located nearly outside the kitchen which does not function well.

What your kitchen looks like, how you cook, and your physical capabilities will all inform this decision.

NEVER buy a MW/ oven combo the MW will die long before the oven As for the rest we need to see the space and a to scale floor plan. the cooktop plus oven is an expensive way to buy both. Post the plan here on graph paper show every measurement clearly marked post here in jpeg format in a comment DO NOT start another post

Can you stack the microwave above the wall oven? I've done it using a shelf and also built one in.

I much prefer a cooktop and wall oven(s) over a range and definitely a real exhaust fan rather than an OTR microwave. When we remodeled a previous kitchen we put in double wall ovens and the microwave was on shelf in the adjacent section of upper cabinets - just a shelf, not built in. We recently bought a house that has the combo wall oven and microwave unit above the oven with a separate warming drawer below. After nineteen years they all still work and when they don't I imagine I'll replace with the same thing if I can find something that fits the cabinet space.

Before anything? Post the layout. Flat on paper, every foot and inch. Walls , windows, passages, every last one.: )

Micro /oven combo as a single unit? No. They are cheaper for a reason. Nobody who is wise, buys one. You separate the two functions as the microwave has a far shorter life span. No matter the microwave. Any cook deserves proper venting, even a 30 inch cook top needs a 36 inch hood for the most enjoyable space.

First always? Layout. Please.

Put the wall oven below the cooktop (like a range configuration, but cleaner looking), Then you could get a freestanding microwave and then build a cubby to house it.

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A lot of the function involves the amount of good work zone counter space you have. A wall oven stack uses 30" of counter. A range uses no extra counter.

"A wall oven stack uses 30" of counter."

Depending the wall on which it is placed and the use of a total wall.. Can be efficient or not, and depends a layout of a kitchen. Often balanced by the drawer space beneath a cook top. ......

Cooktop & wall oven. You can't beat the ergonomics, & it's nice separating the tasks if there's a 2nd cook in the kitchen.

I had an oven/mw combo unit, & Patricia Colwell is right: the mw died 2 years later. It would have taken 2 techs to pull the unit out to repair the mw, so labor costs alone were already more than buying a new countertop mw. What a waste of space & money.

When the oven (finally) died, I replaced it with a GE Twin Flex & had a shelf built above it & outlet installed to place a countertop mw there. It's roomy enough so if the Panasonic mw dies & I buy another brand, I'm not locked into size because of cabinet dimensions. I was going to get a pricey stainless steel trim kit, but there are open cabinets elsewhere in my kitchen, & the open mw cubby doesn't look out of place.

The Twin Flex has been a game changer. Double oven flexibility & many conveniences. Much better kitchen workflow.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Profile-30-in-Smart-Double-Electric-Wall-Oven-with-Convection-and-Self-Clean-in-Stainless-Steel-PTS9200SNSS/315999217?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&srsltid=AfmBOoprkbkFJIsKvWZXo2IvmmbSnBCRSX83e06go8_lHTtVf_IGIZt-Xcw

Cooktop: induction, if you can swing it. The time you save in clean up is worth the expense.

If you're worried about reducing counter space from a wall oven, one thing I did in my kitchen remodel years ago that has proven to be a great help is, I added pull out cutting boards on each side of the cooktop. They add useful work space at a convenient angle as needed. I use them several times a day either for cutting on or for extra landing space. If I ever remodel a kitchen again, dual pull out cutting boards will be the first thing to be added. They're there when you need them, & out of the way when you don't.

That double wall oven in the space of one seems like a great idea. I wondered if a turkey would fit in there but I saw they had a picture of what looked like a turkey. I wonder how big.

I made a 20 lb turkey in mine & could have gone a bit larger. I figure if I ever need 30 lbs or more of turkey, I'd cook a small turkey (spatchcock?) before hand, cut it up & refrigerate it, then do a 20 pounder the day of for presentation. I can warm up the cold turkey slices while the whole bird is resting & while making gravy.

We feed extended family often & have entertained up to 20 people. Plenty of room for anything I've wanted to make for a crowd: oven jambalaya in a 10 qt turkey roaster, meatballs & sauce for sandwiches in my 12 qt stock pot + lid, a tall chiffon cake, my 4 qt braiser fits in the upper oven, 3 sheets of cookies using both ovens.

Here is a drawing of the layout without cabinets or appliances. The refrigerator would be in the bottom right corner with a peninsula ending across from the fridge.

Here's another look

This is the entire length of the kitchen, including an open area which is used for the dining table and seating. I'm primarily interested in how to place appliances along the refrigerator wall (which is the wall along the top of this drawing and diagonal to the sink). How would it look best to insert a microwave, wall oven, refrigerator and include some pantry space? Would a pantry be best placed in drawers below a countertop below a microwave?