Is a high end gas stove really much better than the average priced one?

I think the thing you have to do is look at the highest priced ones and work your way down from there. Print out the features (best done on-line wthout a salesperson) and mark out the ones that don’t interest you. Highlight the features that you’re uninformed about. Look them up, then return to your list and cross off the stuff you don’t need. Underline the things you want, double underline the things you require.

NOW you have a starting place. Find an on-line shopper that allows you to enter your criteria, and find the lowest priced-plus-shipping.

BUT. To answer your question simply, I’d just buy a nice cooktop.

The above advice is spot-on. Just like buying a car, settling for the cheapest wheels you can put under you will get you where you want to go, but usually ends in regret when you discover that a flame is not always a flame which you are happy with every day.

But is buying a Mercedes with all of the bells and whistles necessary ? For most people…..nah….

The key in shopping for any costly item is doing your homework, being sure of what features are important to you, and generally knowing what you are talking about before dealing with a salesperson….

I’m looking for opinions from people who have cooked, preferbly owned, both.

@JLeslie I’d almost think it might be more important for an average cook to get a better burner. I’m good, I can work with any stove. But I think an average cook could get better results with a more precise burner. I’ve worked with average gas, electric, and high end professional stoves and they’re nice, but not necessary to me.

I cooked the books once for an employer in New York….

@OneBadApple You do prison cuisine?

I agree with @Adirondackwannabe about the less skilled cook doing better with more precise temperature control. But you can usually get that in a decent moderately priced stove. I cook over charcoal and wood in a firepit much of the year, so I have had to learn to judge temperatures and can manage on nearly any stove.

I’ve cooked on two low-end gas stoves, after cooking for my whole life on electric ones. I felt like the gas stove turned me into an instant gourmet chef. I almost instantly developed a much better sense for how hot my burners were. The temperature control was so much more sensitive than any electric stove I’d used, that I have trouble imagining that a more expensive gas stove would produce a better result. Perhaps it would – and perhaps I was just lucky with those two. But my guess is that the difference in price is due to other details, in terms of design and oven functionality.

I have the cheapest kind of gas stove- you have light the hotplates with a match and the stove part has a piezo striker. It’s fine, way better than electric.

I’m not getting electric, my husband wants gas again. I am just trying to decide how much to spend. The elite brands are very in vogue now in this part of the country, but the price is so much more. Part of it has to be aesthetics. I’m sure the parts feel more substantial, better control of flame, etc, but I’ve never had a problem with an average gas stove. Other appliances quality really matters, like dishwashers. Having dishes come out dirty when you ran a cycle is annoying.

It has been my experience that when it comes to major appliances, it’s prudent to buy the best you can afford. Had the oven been included in your question, the verdict would be spend the money, hands down, but even without the oven in the equation, the investment in a good stove top should prove more than worthwhile considering the extent to which you will use the stove in its long lifetime. I’ve had experience with cheap stoves, washing machines, water heaters, dishwashers etc. Believe me, the reliability, functionality and longevity of top-notch appliances ALWAYS trumps what appears to be a “bargain”