Head-to-head · Best Compact Induction Cooktops

Breville Control Freak CMC850 Induction Cooktop vs IKEA TILLREDA 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 clear margin (4.6 vs 3.9). 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 #5 in Best Compact Induction Cooktops

IKEA TILLREDA Portable Induction Cooktop

3.9

3 sources2 derived$74.99

The TILLREDA is IKEA's answer to the argument that portable induction is complicated: four buttons, no temperature mode, no presets, no menu. Serious Eats found it genuinely powerful for the price — it boiled a gallon in 18.5 minutes and cleared the 375°F frying mark with headroom — and easy enough that it removes the induction learning curve entirely. The catch is a seven-inch coil and a stated 7.9-inch pan ceiling, the tightest cookware limit in the field.

Strengths

— Four buttons total — Power, Lock, Plus and Minus — which Serious Eats called "dead simple" and the shortest learning curve of anything in a 17-model test
— Cleared the 375°F frying target easily on full heat, one of only two burners in that test to do so with room to spare
— Boiled a gallon of water in 18.5 minutes, matching the pricier Duxtop 9600LS despite a smaller seven-inch coil

Watch-outs

— IKEA's stated pan range is 4.7 to 7.9 inches — the narrowest of any burner in Serious Eats' test, and a real constraint if you cook for more than two
— Serious Eats put a 12-inch skillet on it and the chicken around the rim of the pan did not brown evenly
— Power settings only, with no temperature mode at all, so hands-off heat maintenance is harder than on burners with both

$74.99 · Buy at ikea.com 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.

IKEA TILLREDA Portable Induction Cooktop

The TILLREDA is the simplest burner here and the most restrictive on cookware: 7.9 inches against the Hamilton Beach 34104's ten and the Duxtop 9100MC's open-ended five-inch minimum. It matched the Duxtop 9600LS's 18.5-minute boil while costing well under half as much, and unlike the 9100MC it has a lock function. The Nuwave PIC Gold offers far more claimed settings and far less confidence in them, and the Breville Control Freak CMC850 Induction Cooktop is the opposite appliance in every respect.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	Breville Control Freak CMC850 Induction Cooktop	IKEA TILLREDA Portable Induction Cooktop
Type	Portable countertop induction (commercial)	Portable countertop
Model	CMC850 (SKU CMC850BSSUSA)	TILLREDA, IKEA art. 104.935.20
Burners / Zones	1	1
Total Power	1800W	1800W
Temperature Range	77–482°F (25–250°C); 397 settings	None (power settings only)
Temperature Sensing	Through-glass sensor, 20 readings/sec; Probe Control probe included	—
Power Levels	3 intensity settings (slow / medium / fast)	9 settings (200–1800W)
Burner Diameter	10 in	7 in
Recommended Pan Diameter	5.5 in minimum	4.7–7.9 in
Timer	Up to 72 hrs, 4 end options	None; 2-hr idle auto-off
Surface Weight Limit	13 lb	—
Cord Length	36 in	55 in
Dimensions	13.7 × 18.5 × 4.3 in	12.8 × 10.6 × 2.5 in
Weight	21 lb	6.2 lb
Included	Probe, pot clip, USB stick, accessory box, padded carry case	—
Controls	—	Touch — Power, Lock, Plus, Minus
Lock Function	—	Yes
Warranty	—	2-year limited
Voltage	—	120V

← See the full ranking of best compact induction cooktops