Freestanding, 30-inch electric ranges (also called stoves) are the unsung heroes of many kitchens. They’re affordable, safe, and efficient, with versatile cooktops and consistent ovens—and they’re a lot more sophisticated than they used to be.
We recommend the good-looking GE JB735. This range offers a convection oven and the best cooktop in its price range (usually around $1,000 or less), and you can choose from four finishes.
The GE JB735 is a sturdy, handsome stove with excellent cooking and baking features for the price.The cooktop has the broadest range of power of any electric stove we’ve found in its price range. The GE JB735’s five elements include a large, 9-inch element with a quick-boil setting and a 12-inch element that’s wide enough to evenly heat larger skillets and stockpots. Two 6-inch, lower-watt elements in the back are ideal for simmering, and there’s a central warming burner for tasks like melting butter or keeping finished dishes warm.
Both large elements have a flex-width feature that you can adjust to work with smaller pots, so you don’t needlessly heat up your kitchen along with your food.
The JB735 has a convection oven—a fan circulates hot air for faster and more consistent baking or roasting. This produces flakier pie crusts, more evenly baked cookies, and crispier, juicier roasted foods in less time. The JB735 also has an air-fry mode.
The oven isn’t the largest of our picks, but it’s big enough to easily roast a 26-pound turkey, and its two oven racks can be adjusted to six levels.
It has two self-cleaning options (high heat and steam), and its storage drawer is sturdier and bigger than most.
The JB735 comes in four finishes (white, black, stainless steel, and fingerprint-resistant slate). If you prioritize your oven, consider the Frigidaire Gallery GCRE3060A. It offers most of the robust features of our top pick, but this model has a bigger, better oven.
Like our top pick, the GCRE3060A has a cooktop with five elements, including a 12-inch element for oversize pans, a 9-inch element with a quick-boil setting, and a low-wattage warming element. Though this model’s cooktop isn’t quite as strong or versatile as that of our top pick, the GCRE3060A’s cooktop is more flexible: You can adjust one of the two largest elements to work with three pot sizes, instead of just two.
Avid bakers will appreciate the oven, which is about 2 inches taller than that of our top pick, has seven rack positions (versus six), and comes with a third rack. The GCRE3060A’s oven is also what’s known as a “true convection oven,” with an extra heating element near its fan, for even faster and more-consistent baking or roasting. Like our top pick, the GCRE3060A has two self-cleaning options (high heat and steam)
The GCRE3060A comes in two finishes (stainless steel and black stainless steel). Compared with our top picks, the GE JB645 sacrifices some oven performance and cooktop versatility. But it offers stronger features, more power, and a better design than most budget-priced electric ranges.
This model’s cooktop has four elements that are more powerful than what you’d find on most sub-$1,000 ranges. Its largest element is 9 inches in diameter, so cooking with extra-large pots can be frustrating, but it will still work fine with a variety of cookware. However, the JB645 lacks the fifth warming element that our other picks have.
It doesn’t have convection, and because of its design, this oven is a bit harder to keep clean than our main picks. But it has a high-heat self-cleaning mode, which most budget stoves lack.
The JB645 comes in four finishes (white, black, stainless steel, and fingerprint-resistant slate). The GE Profile PB935 is a step up from our top and runner-up picks. Its sleekly designed, five-element cooktop offers the most flexibility, convenience, and power we've seen on any freestanding electric range.
It has the strongest power burner of any range we considered, which should bring water to a boil and skillets to searing hot faster than our other picks. The largest element accommodates three pot sizes instead of just two. You can also sync its two medium-size elements so you can use a griddle, a rare feature on freestanding electric ranges.
The PB935 has a true-convection oven (an extra element by its convection fan helps it to heat faster and more evenly).
Its Wi-Fi connectivity allows for feature upgrades (like downloading a new cooking mode as soon as it’s been developed), as well as remote management (you can turn the range off or change the temperature) and alerts for when timers go off.
The PB935 comes only in fingerprint-resistant stainless steel.
The GE Profile PB965 is the double-oven version of the GE Profile PB935. It has the same versatile and powerful cooktop as our upgrade pick. Its smaller top oven is great for when you need only one rack. And its larger lower convection oven is bigger than those of most double-oven models available (it should fit a 23-pound turkey). You do, however, give up a lower storage drawer with this style.
The PB965 comes in two finishes (fingerprint-resistant stainless steel and black stainless steel).
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