Commercial Range Buying Guide: Gas vs Electric, BTUs, Burners, and the Brands That Actually Last

Short answer: buy a gas range with heavy cast-iron burners, a standing pilot or reliable spark ignition, and an oven big enough to actually cook in. Size it at 6 burners per 50 seats as a rough floor. For a full-service restaurant, look at Vulcan, Garland, and Southbend first — they show up on the most service trucks and parts shelves because they're the easiest to fix when something goes wrong. Electric ranges are better than they used to be, but gas is still faster, hotter, and cheaper to run in most markets.

What this guide covers

If you're shopping for your first commercial range, this guide walks you through the six real decisions that matter — type, fuel, size, burner configuration, oven style, and brand — and explains which choices actually affect your line speed, your gas bill, and how many service calls you'll log in year one. No fluff, no ranking a bunch of unrelated SKUs, no pretending every brand is equally good.

Already know what you want? Jump to the full selection of commercial ranges or the narrower gas ranges and electric ranges collections.

1. Restaurant range vs. heavy-duty range — pick the right class

Before anything else, you need to know which class of range fits your operation. The difference isn't just price — it's how many hours a day the range can run wide open without failing.

Class	Duty cycle	Best for	Typical price
Restaurant range	~8 hrs/day sustained use	Independents, small full-service, bistros, pizzerias with light line cooking	$3,000–$8,000
Heavy-duty range	12+ hrs/day, continuous	High-volume line cooking, steakhouses, institutional, chain concepts, hotels	$8,000–$25,000+

Heavy-duty ranges use thicker steel, higher-BTU burners, commercial-grade oven liners, and parts built to survive constant thermal cycling. They're overkill for a 40-seat café. They're exactly right for a 180-seat dinner house pushing 400 covers on a Saturday. Operators who buy a restaurant-class range for a heavy-duty application end up replacing the whole unit inside three years — budget for the right class up front.

2. Gas or electric?

Most commercial kitchens still run gas, and for good reason. Gas gives you instant high-heat recovery between pans, visible flame cues line cooks use without thinking, and — in most of the country — a lower energy cost per BTU than electric.

That said, electric ranges are worth a real look in three scenarios:

• No gas line available. Ghost kitchens, food halls, retrofits in old buildings, and some mall kitchens have no practical way to run gas.
• Induction-hybrid lines. If you're already planning induction for speed and precision, a matching electric convection oven or plancha simplifies the install.
• Energy code constraints. California, Washington, New York City, and a growing list of jurisdictions have started restricting new gas hookups. Check your local code before you spec.

Gas vs. electric at a glance

	Gas	Electric
High-heat recovery	Instant	Good on solid-top, slower on coil
Visible flame for line cooks	Yes	No
Operating cost (most of US)	Lower	Higher
Install cost	Higher (gas line + regulator)	Lower if 208/240V already present
Ventilation load	Heavier (combustion air)	Lighter
Code restrictions	Increasing in new construction	None

Two concrete examples from our catalog so you can see what each looks like in practice: a Vulcan VTC24B 24-inch gas range vs. a Vulcan EV36S-36G480 36-inch electric range — same brand, different fuel, very different install and operating profile.

3. Size the range by burners, not by inches

Width tells you how much space it takes up. Burner count tells you how many pans the line can run at once — which is the actual throughput constraint in 90% of kitchens.

Standard commercial ranges come in these burner counts:

• 4 burners — 24" wide. Coffee shops, sandwich shops, prep-only lines.
• 6 burners — 36" wide. The default full-service range. Fits most independents under 80 seats.
• 10 burners — 60" wide. Mid-volume full-service, steakhouses, pizzerias doing pasta alongside pies.
• 12 burners or 6 burners + griddle — 72" wide. High-volume, multi-station lines.

A rough sizing rule that actually holds up in the field: one open burner per 8 seats for dinner, plus one burner's worth of griddle or solid-top for eggs/breakfast if you're doing brunch. A 120-seat dinner house should be specing 12–15 burner-equivalents across the hot line, split across a range, a second range (or range + charbroiler), and a flat-top.

4. Burner type — open, solid-top, or hybrid

Not all "burners" are the same thing. The three main cooking surfaces on a commercial range each do a different job.

Open burners

Individual cast-iron burner heads over a direct gas flame. Highest heat output (typically 25,000–35,000 BTU per burner on a restaurant range, 35,000+ BTU on heavy-duty), most versatile, easiest to clean. This is the default on any restaurant-class range. If you're not sure what you need, open burners are the safe answer.

Solid-top (hot-top)

A single thick cast-iron plate heated from underneath by a large burner. You can slide pans around freely and use the whole surface — great for sauce work, simmering stocks, and stations that run a dozen small pans at once. Less flexible than open burners; you can't turn off individual zones. Common on French-style ranges and in high-volume European-style kitchens.

Griddle / plancha

A smooth, thermostatically controlled flat steel surface. Eggs, pancakes, smash burgers, sandwiches. Most ranges offer a 12" or 24" griddle module in place of two or four open burners — a popular config for breakfast-heavy concepts.

5. The oven underneath matters more than people think

Every commercial range has an oven under the burners. Not every oven is worth using. Know what you're buying:

• Standard (radiant) oven — the default. Fine for baking potatoes, finishing steaks, roasting, proofing. Slow for large batches.
• Convection oven — adds a fan. 25–30% faster cook times, more even bakes, significantly better for anything sheet-pan. Worth the upcharge for almost any full-service operation.
• Space-saver (half-size) oven — smaller cavity to fit a shorter range. Accepts half sheet pans, not full. OK for cafés and prep-only lines; limiting everywhere else.

If the back of the house is the oven, not the range top — pizza, bread, roasts, casseroles — the range's oven is usually the wrong appliance anyway. You want a dedicated commercial oven (convection, combi, or deck) and a range underneath with just a standard oven. Our commercial oven buyer's guide walks through that decision if you're still on the fence.

6. Brands that actually last

There are dozens of commercial range brands. In real kitchens, a much shorter list does most of the work. Here's how the big names break down.

Vulcan

The workhorse. Vulcan ranges are the single most common commercial range in American kitchens, and that ubiquity matters: every commercial service tech in the country has worked on one, parts are on most shelves, and the knockdown-resistant build holds up to line cooks who don't baby anything. The Vulcan lineup covers everything from a 24" countertop hot plate up to 72" heavy-duty restaurant ranges. Solid default choice if you don't have a strong opinion.

Garland

Heavy-duty specialist. Garland ranges (see the manufacturer's lineup at garland-group.com) are built like tanks — thicker steel, higher-BTU burners, serious oven cavities. Pros in high-volume dinner houses and steakhouses lean Garland. Price premium over Vulcan is real, but so is the duty cycle. Parts and service are widely available.

Southbend (Middleby)

Strong in heavy-duty ranges, convection ovens, and steam. Southbend's Platinum line is a go-to for institutional kitchens — schools, hospitals, military, large catering. Well-built, parts backed by Middleby's service network; see the full Southbend catalog at southbendnc.com.

Imperial (Middleby)

Known for Asian-cooking specialty equipment — wok ranges, Chinese ranges, and high-BTU stock-pot stoves. Imperial Range publishes their full spec library on the manufacturer site. If your menu involves wok work, start here.

American Range

Good value in the mid-tier. American Range (americanrange.com) makes restaurant-class ranges that compete on price with Vulcan while offering more burner-config flexibility. Slightly lighter duty cycle than Vulcan or Garland.

Wolf / Jade (Middleby)

Top-shelf heavy-duty. You'll see Wolf Challenger series and Jade Titan ranges in high-end restaurants where the chef wants French-style solid tops, option-packed configurations, and the best warranties available. Expensive. Worth it if you're that restaurant.

What a real commercial range costs in 2026

Ballpark numbers so you can set a realistic budget before you shop:

Range configuration	Typical price (2026)
4-burner restaurant range with standard oven	$2,800–$4,500
6-burner restaurant range with standard oven	$3,500–$6,500
6-burner restaurant range with convection oven	$4,500–$8,000
10-burner restaurant range	$5,500–$9,500
Heavy-duty 36" range (6-burner)	$8,000–$16,000
Heavy-duty 72" range with griddle + double ovens	$18,000–$30,000
Wok range (institutional)	$12,000–$40,000

Real examples from our catalog at those price points: the Vulcan VTC36 6-burner restaurant gas range, the Southbend Platinum PE36T 36" heavy-duty electric range, and the Wolf Challenger XL 72" gas range with 36" griddle.

Spec-sheet red flags

Before you buy any commercial range — from any brand, any dealer — check the spec sheet for these four things. Missing or vague on any of them = walk away.

1. Total input rating (BTU/hr for gas, kW for electric). You need this for hood/makeup-air sizing. A 6-burner heavy-duty range can pull 180,000+ BTU/hr; undersized ventilation is a code failure waiting to happen.
2. Gas type and regulator. Natural gas vs. LP matters — the orifices are different. A legit manufacturer will specify the default and whether an LP conversion kit is available.
3. Depth and backsplash/riser height. Standard depth is 32"–36". If your line is tight, verify before ordering. Riser (the back shelf) adds another 15"–24" — your hood has to clear it.
4. Sanitation certification. Every legit commercial range carries an NSF sanitation listing (NSF/ANSI 4 for commercial cooking equipment). No NSF mark = not fit for a permitted commercial kitchen.
5. Warranty terms. One-year parts/labor is industry standard; heavy-duty brands often offer two years. Any range with "90-day warranty" on the spec sheet is a red flag.

Installation and ventilation — don't skip this part

A commercial range is not a DIY install. Before you buy, make sure you've got:

• A properly sized Type I hood over the range. Your hood's CFM rating has to match or exceed the total BTU load of every piece of equipment underneath it. Most jurisdictions require permitted install.
• Make-up air equal to roughly 80–90% of the hood's exhaust. Without it, the hood fights your HVAC system and either underventilates or depressurizes the building.
• A correctly sized gas line with a shutoff valve at the range. Your gas fitter confirms pipe diameter against the range's BTU rating.
• Proper clearances to combustibles — specified in the spec sheet, verified by your inspector.

If you're equipping a full kitchen and need to think about ventilation alongside the range, start with the commercial kitchen hoods collection and have your HVAC contractor run the CFM math. For energy-efficient cooking equipment that qualifies for utility rebates, check the ENERGY STAR commercial foodservice equipment list — commercial ranges don't have their own ENERGY STAR category yet, but combination ovens, fryers, and steamers that live alongside your range often do.

Frequently asked questions

How many BTUs do I need on my commercial range?

For most independent full-service restaurants, 25,000–30,000 BTU per open burner on a restaurant-class range is plenty. Heavy-duty operations should look for 35,000+ BTU per burner. Total range BTUs vary — a 6-burner with a standard oven typically totals 150,000–200,000 BTU/hr; a heavy-duty 6-burner with convection oven can hit 250,000+.

Is a gas range cheaper to run than electric?

In most US markets, yes — usually by 15–40% per BTU delivered. Check your specific utility rates, though. States with high natural gas prices and cheap electricity (parts of the Pacific Northwest, for example) can flip the math.

What's the difference between a range and a restaurant range?

"Commercial range" is the generic term. "Restaurant range" usually means a medium-duty commercial range suitable for standard restaurant use (~8 hours a day). "Heavy-duty range" is built for 12+ hour duty cycles. Manufacturers use these terms consistently, so it's worth learning the distinction before you shop.

Can I convert a natural gas range to propane?

Most commercial ranges ship natural-gas by default with an LP conversion kit available from the manufacturer. The conversion swaps burner orifices and the regulator. It's a 30-minute job for a qualified technician and should cost $150–$300 in labor plus the kit.

What's the lead time on a new commercial range?

It depends. Popular Vulcan and Garland restaurant ranges are often in stock or 2–4 weeks factory lead. Heavy-duty configurations, wok ranges, and custom builds can run 8–16+ weeks direct from the factory. Ask before you order — and if you have a hard opening date, have a backup model identified.

Which commercial range brand is most reliable?

Vulcan and Garland are the two most commonly cited for long service life and parts availability. Southbend is the institutional standard. Wolf and Jade (Middleby) are top-tier heavy-duty. Any range's reliability depends as much on install quality, ventilation, and daily cleaning as it does on the brand badge.

Keep reading

• What Commercial Oven Is Right For You? A Buyer's Guide
• The 7 Must-Have Pieces of Equipment for Every Commercial Kitchen
• The Complete Guide to Commercial Refrigeration for Restaurants
• Top 5 Best Pizza Ovens to Buy in 2025 for Your Pizzeria
• The Ultimate Preventative-Maintenance Checklist for a Hassle-Free Commercial Kitchen

Ready to shop? Browse the full commercial ranges collection or narrow to gas ranges, electric ranges, or a specific brand like Vulcan or Garland.