Head-to-head · Best Compact Induction Cooktops

Breville Control Freak CMC850 Induction Cooktop vs Duxtop 9600LS Portable Induction Cooktop

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

Verdict is reader-supported. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Some links on this page are affiliate links — if you click through and buy, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Our ratings are sourced from independent publications, not sponsors.

The short answer

Breville Control Freak CMC850 Induction Cooktop comes out ahead by a narrow margin (4.6 vs 4.3). The gap is mostly about Pastry cooks, confectioners and anyone whose failures come from temperature drift rather than lack of power — custards, curds, tempered chocolate, caramel, long low-temperature holds. Also a defensible buy for a small professional kitchen. It is the wrong appliance for a dorm room, an RV, or a counter where it would have to be put away between uses. — read the strengths below before deciding.

Higher ratedRanked #1 in Best Compact Induction Cooktops

Breville Control Freak CMC850 Induction Cooktop

4.6

4 sources3 derived$1,499.95

The Control Freak is the outlier in this category and the reason is measurable. Serious Eats found that on ordinary portable induction burners a temperature setting can be hundreds of degrees away from what is happening in the pan; this one held cookware within 15 to 20 degrees of target and came with a probe to tighten that further. It is also 21 pounds, has no quick-boil, and costs more than ten times the price of the burners it beats. That is a specialist's trade, not a general one.

Strengths

— The only cooktop in Serious Eats' 17-model test whose temperature settings tracked reality, holding cookware within 15 to 20 degrees of the target
— Ships with a probe that attaches to the cooktop for closed-loop temperature regulation rather than open-loop guessing
— Breville specifies a 77°F to 482°F range and Serious Eats counted 397 discrete temperature settings within it — resolution no other portable burner in that test approached

Watch-outs

— Costs more than ten times what most of the other recommended portable induction cooktops cost
— 21 pounds and 13.7 by 18.5 inches — Wirecutter says it "takes up about as much counter space as a 1980s microwave"
— No quick-boil setting; without one it took 19 minutes to boil a gallon of water, slower than the Duxtop 9100MC's 16

$1,499.95 · Buy at webstaurantstore.com Full review →

Ranked #4 in Best Compact Induction Cooktops

Duxtop 9600LS Portable Induction Cooktop

4.3

6 sourcesall derived$116.99

The Duxtop 9600LS is a single-burner 1800W portable induction cooktop, and reviewers repeatedly name it a top pick under roughly $250 on the strength of its 20 power and 20 temperature steps and a 10-hour timer that few budget units match. It boils water quickly in testing (CenturyLife saw about 3.5 minutes) and holds low simmers better than cheaper Duxtop models. Precision is not its game: the fan is loud (around 56 dB), it can whine at full power, the temperature sensor reads roughly 15F low, and it pulses at the lowest settings. On an inexpensive countertop induction burner, those are expected trade-offs rather than dealbreakers.

Strengths

— NYT Wirecutter's top pick after testing more than a dozen portable induction cooktops, praised as "the easiest to use for everyday cooking"
— 20 power settings and 20 temperature settings — the most of any model in Wirecutter's test group, and more than the 15 on the cheaper Duxtop 9100MC
— Temperature floor of 100°F, low enough to melt butter or chocolate without a double boiler

Watch-outs

— Serious Eats could not get frying oil above 350°F on it even after an hour, missing the 375°F target that the cheaper Duxtop 9100MC and the IKEA TILLREDA both reached
— Slower than its cheaper sibling in the same test: 18.5 minutes to boil a gallon of water against the 9100MC's 16, at roughly 1.4 times the price
— Its one-touch Boil preset starts a 10-minute countdown, which Serious Eats measured as about eight and a half minutes short of an actual rolling boil

$116.99 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

Derived means the reviewer published no score, so one was inferred from their written verdict. Everything else is a number the publisher printed. How we rank.

How they stack up

Breville Control Freak CMC850 Induction Cooktop

Every other cooktop here has temperature settings you have to re-learn for each pot; the Control Freak is the one where the number on the display means something. It does not win on speed — the Duxtop 9100MC boiled a gallon in 16 minutes to the Breville's 19 — and it is not portable in the sense the Duxtop 9600LS, IKEA TILLREDA or Nuwave PIC Gold are, at 21 pounds against their five to six. The Hamilton Beach 34104 is the cheap way to get frying headroom; this is the expensive way to get precision.

Duxtop 9600LS Portable Induction Cooktop

This is the product the two best tests in the category disagree about: Wirecutter's top pick is Serious Eats' also-ran, beaten there by the cheaper Duxtop 9100MC. The 9600LS has 20 settings to the 9100MC's 15 and a 10-hour timer against its 170 minutes; the 9100MC boils faster and fries hotter. The Hamilton Beach 34104 beats both on oil, the IKEA TILLREDA matches the 9600LS's boil time for far less money, the Nuwave PIC Gold is down on wattage, and the Breville Control Freak CMC850 Induction Cooktop is the only unit whose temperature readout can be trusted.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	Breville Control Freak CMC850 Induction Cooktop	Duxtop 9600LS Portable Induction Cooktop
Type	Portable countertop induction (commercial)	Portable countertop
Model	CMC850 (SKU CMC850BSSUSA)	—
Burners / Zones	1	1
Total Power	1800W	1800W
Temperature Range	77–482°F (25–250°C); 397 settings	100–460°F (20 steps)
Temperature Sensing	Through-glass sensor, 20 readings/sec; Probe Control probe included	—
Power Levels	3 intensity settings (slow / medium / fast)	20 (100–1800W)
Burner Diameter	10 in	—
Recommended Pan Diameter	5.5 in minimum	—
Timer	Up to 72 hrs, 4 end options	Up to 10 hrs (1-min steps)
Surface Weight Limit	13 lb	—
Cord Length	36 in	—
Dimensions	13.7 × 18.5 × 4.3 in	14 × 11.4 × 2.5 in
Weight	21 lb	7.3 lb
Included	Probe, pot clip, USB stick, accessory box, padded carry case	—
Surface	—	Glass-ceramic (11 × 11 in)
Controls	—	LCD sensor-touch, child lock
Voltage	—	120V
Warranty	—	1-year limited
Material	—	Glass
Wattage	—	1800 watts

← See the full ranking of best compact induction cooktops