Cooking

I'm totally not going to talk you out of it because this is what I would love to do. The apartment I live in has a tiny kitchen with hardly any counter space. If I could rip out the stove, replace it with a counter top, and use individual burners I'd be happy. I can't so I won't, but if I could I would. I'd only need two because I hardly ever use all four burners at once.

Usually a cooktop is paired with ventilation like a range hood. If you go with countertop units, would you still have a hood?

Depending on what kind of outlet you're talking about and what country you're in you may be limited in the power it will have. In the US at 110 V and maybe being able to pull 15 A (based on fuse for that circuit) you could only get 1650 W. A regular cook top or range is hard wired, has a much bigger fuse on they circuit usually 30 to 40 A and gets two phases so has 220 V which allows for much higher power output. My range's big induction burner has 3600 W for example so it's quite the difference.

I use a double burner induction cooktop in my tiny kitchen because the gas range that came with this apartment is a crappy quality, inaccurate POS. I’ve been using the induction cooktop every day for about two years now, I usually leave it out too, since it’s a really nice glass surface. I just don’t give it power unless I’m actively using it. My cooking has vastly improved since I switched over to this thing. I wish I could toss the gas range. As for aesthetics, I honestly think it looks pretty cool on my counter.

• There is a minor safety issue, as portable units are - by definition - easily movable and can be jostled, tipped, etc. A range isn't going anywhere.
• On a range you will typically have four burners, two front and two rear, with controls for all four on a common panel which is easily accessible at the edge of the counter. Each portable induction plate will have its own control.
• As others have pointed out, a combined cooktop (in the US) will generally have a dedicated 30-50A / 240V circuit supplying power to the group of heating elements. Unless you have asked for multiple circuits when you built your house, there will often be a single 15A/120v (or, in the last 20 years 20A/120V) circuit supplying all of the receptacles in your kitchen. If your house is older than ~1975 or 1980, the refrigerator may be on the same breaker as the receptacles. Even with a 20A/240, it means you'd be sharing the circuit with a countertop microwave oven, stand mixer, toaster, coffee machine, sous vide, etc, and possibly even the overhead lights and lights/receptacles in adjacent rooms.

I made the note about special circuits because when I had the kitchen in my 1960s house redone, I had 4 separate 20A circuits run, plus the fridge, plus the lighting circuit both separate. Two pairs of the outlets are actually on adjacent breakers so that, if I were crazy enough to do it, I could get a 240V/20A service with a custom (and definitely not UL rated) dual plug. I've never done that and, though it would be possible, it's a terrible idea because it's not a common breaker but two individuals and they should really be able to trip with a single breaker if used that way.

I got two of the cheap single hob ones from ikea. I have been using them for a while and the function just fine. Having two seperate ones also means that I can just put either one away if it's not needed.

How much room do you have available on your countertop? That could be an issue.

If you gas stove doesn't have a hood, or it just has a hood that recirculatis, then I could see the benefits.

No. Don't. Stop.

Fuck it, you know your space better than I do. Staple them to the wall and get some weird vertical thing going hell if it works for you.