Which Brand Has Better Appliances? Wolf vs Thermador

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Join me, Steve, alongside Fran, as we compare two of the best luxury appliance brands: Wolf and Thermador. We’re here to provide you with valuable insights into these two popular brands, helping you make informed decisions for your kitchen upgrades. break down the comparison into categories, starting with pro ranges, and discussing features like burners, grills, and oven capabilities. Neither brand is truly better than the other but one brand may suit your style and needs better. Stay to the end to find out which brand is right for you!

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Chapters

0:00 Thermador vs Wolf Ranked
0:12 Pro Ranges
4:42 Induction Ranges
6:22 Wall Ovens
8:46 Cooktops
11:00 Refrigeration
13:09 Dishwashers

Hi. I’m Steve. This is Fran. Today, we’re gonna rank Thermador versus one of the two top brands in luxury appliances, at least for the moment. Yeah this is a good one and a big one. So let’s get started right away. So first let’s talk about Pro ranges and we’re gonna break this down into categories as well. So let’s talk about all gas pro ranges. Okay. All gas pro ranges, first of all there’s like a a volume of work to explain. The thermost got two, the Pro harmony, which fits in the cabinet, and the Pro Grand, which sticks out, gives you more, oven space. And typically on the dual fuel side, gives you more options On the all gas side, it gives you twenty two thousand BT burner, the clock, and in approved mode. Yep. Right? For this, it really depends what you wanna do. Thermador discontinued their electric grill because nobody uses an electric griddle. They do have their electric I mean, sorry, electric grill. I’m sorry. Because no one uses an electric grill. You don’t use electric grill. No. They have the electric grill, but Wolf’s got the infrared. Infrared is great. It’s the same sear element you get on the Lynx grill, and they’ve got the infrared grill, so that’s better. However, on the Thermador side, you’ve got a much better burner, I think. I mean, you get the star burner. It’s eighteen thousand b two versus fifteen, fifth Wolfson and the light side. They’re both single convection, but you get the Wi Fi and, you know, the home connect capability, which actually works on a Thermador versus none of that on the Wolf Allgas. What do you think? Thermador in all gas definitely competes very well. Like you said, I like the the burners for sure. That star burner adds a lot of nice heat to the center of the pan, raised up a little bit on the pedestals for easier to clean for sure. They both simmer very well. Thermador does it a little bit differently with the extra low on a few of those burners that has the on off simmer. Mhmm. Whereas Wolf is kinda that, dual stack, but you can simmer on every burner with Wolf. So a little bit more flexibility that way. But, yeah, I think, you know, some of the things obviously promotion wise with the Thermador, you can get some different things as well. If you get the range, you can get something else. I think Thermador does a really nice job competing in that all gas segment between the burner style and power and simmer capabilities. Well, it depends. If you like to grill a griddle, then then then you’re gonna you’re gonna buy the Wolf. However, Wolf is kind of a dual fuel company. I mean, they’ve updated their dual fuel range like six times. No. Probably probably three or four anyway. And their dual fuel range is completely different than their all gas range. Now you’re talking about twenty thousand BTU in eighteen. You’re getting, the LCD screen to control. You’re getting the Wi Fi capability, wolf gourmet, which gives you you put in what you want. It’ll give you time, temperature, and rack position. It gives you that new convection system, which is now back to fans, but with extended elements called Vertiflow. Their dual fuel could be one of the best pro ranges you can buy, I think. Absolutely. And then you’re still talking on Thermador. Although I do like, I don’t believe that Star or the X8 or any of those burners, I think heat transfer to Pan Pan cooks the food, my opinion, but the nice thing about the the Star is it’s waste so you can really clean under it. But in dual fuel, totally different story in my opinion. I think the Wolf’s clearly better. Absolutely. And that’s the thing. Like, when you go from the all gas to the dual fuel and thermo, you’re you’re not necessarily gaining a ton there visibly. You know, even like the controls, it’s, you know, you’re getting that kinda small timer and you get the self clean. Whereas the Wolf, like you said, you get that nice Wolf gourmet with the touch screen, the guided cooking, nice convection system. But if you’re going forty eight or sixty and you’re going in the pro grand, you do get you do get an induction capability. Mhmm. And I think induction’s better than any burner, any gas burner, even the BlueStar twenty five thousand. And you’re getting that steam oven with the warming draw, option as well. I I think steam’s absolutely the best way to cook. No question about it. You know, I I have a steam oven in my house that I’ve gotta learn how to cook more, but I think it’s in terms of reheating and basic cooking for what I do, way better than microwaving, adding moisture. So you have that option in the Thermador. Now it’s arguable whether that steam oven it’s not very intuitive like, say, a Miele or a Wolf is, but it is a steam oven. Yeah. It’s a steam oven. But I still think Wolf or, you know, I would say, like steam, get a separate steam oven and and and, you know, that Wolf dual fuel, in my opinion. So gas, you go thermo Gas, I can go thermal. Dual fuel definitely Wolf. And then let’s lead them right into induction with that. So now they both have thirty and thirty six inch professional induction range options. The ovens now are really the same as their dual fuel ovens. So I think we kind of agree that Yeah. Wolf definitely has the advantages there. But what about the tops? Well, the tops are the top is new on Wolf where you got the LCD screen, and I know a lot of people fearful of LCD screens, but this one’s kinda cool because it gives you, like, you know, the ability to bridge very easily. It gives you the it tells you what’s on. You have that pause reset Yeah. Where you can, like, answer the put it on pause, answer the door, hit resume, and it goes right back into its settings. Bridge elements on either side, but I think the Thermador has that freedom where everything is a bridge, and even the centerpiece when you go into thirty six, and you can change the setting. Like if you wanna boil rice, simmer rice, warm rice, you can set the burner to be like three different Yeah. Three different configurations. I like that. I’m not sure if I do that. For someone that has value in that, that’s a that’s a pretty good option. I personally like the interface of the Wolf for me, but for someone that really knows how to cook the Thermador, Liberty is an excellent piece. Makes you look it makes it look like you at least know what you’re doing there. You know, you shift the pan around a little bit. I have no illusions. But no, I completely agree. I think they’re both really good induction tops. I would lean towards Wolf just, I think, with that whole range itself, like Wolf Gourmet, the convection system. I’d lean Wolf on the induction range as well. And it’s bigger too. Yeah. It’s sizeably bigger. Yeah. I’d say definitely the Wolf in the induction. Okay. So that’s gonna do it for ranges. Let’s jump into built in cooking and let’s start with wall ovens here. Again, you know, I think the wall oven is basically the the same thing as their their dual fuel pro, with the, you know, the the gourmet, the, you know, the the new convection system, Wi Fi capability, which they both have. I think that’s probably one of the best wall ovens. We still have Miele and then the new SKS as well. Those three from a technology standpoint, I like I like the best. But I will say that Thermador, reliable, but they they they it’s single convection. It’s kinda basic. It doesn’t really give you any options except when you want options because if you want you know, we’re sitting in a thermal kitchen, you would think I would know. You get the side swing. You get a thirty inch steam oven Mhmm. Which is nice. Yep. The bigger size, whatever size. You know, you can get all different kinds, speed oven over a single oven. Yeah. But if we’re gonna even I would say with wall ovens, I think Wolf is demonstratively better. Yeah. I think this is what you said. You know, you’re really comparing those dual fuel ovens. I think the Wolf just has way more feature driven. The Thermador gives you some, you know, both have options as far as kind of less expensive in the higher ends. Both, you know, Thermador, you have an option with a rotisserie, which is kinda unique with a lot of brands. But, yeah, I think the Wolf really is just far and away feature wise and just a much better wall oven for sure. And if you’re looking for a steam oven, their new steam oven is absolutely incredibly intuitive. I mean, it’s got everything. You know, the the problem is I’ve got a Wolf steam oven, and it’s the old one with the knobs. I’m gonna figure everything out, and, you know, who else I I just mess a lot of things up, Sam and everything else. But this one, you you you just hit buttons where it’s absolutely, you know, with the gourmet setting, it is absolutely foolproof. I’m actually Exactly. Changing my out and paying for it and just Sick of dealing with the button. Really, I mean just, yeah. It’s an unbelievable, it’s an unbelievable, you know, although thermos got a bigger one, so it really depends if you Yeah. Use steam or not, but I I I like that new Wolf a lot. Definitely. Yeah. They they took that gourmet mode and really put that into the steam oven now. Definitely makes it a lot easier. Tons of everything else too. Awesome. Alright. So let’s jump to cooktops. So we’ll start with gas cooktops. Gas cooktops, again, you’re talking BTU, BTU. Both both are good. I mean, I happen to like the Thermador with that Yeah. With the with the big burner in the middle, but you’re not really getting anything much else. But in terms of cooktops, I happen to like I just happen to like that big star burner in the middle. Yeah. I agree. And I think Thermador has always had a nice layout with the cooktop, the star burner, the extra low. I think Thermador makes a really nice gas cooktop. Yeah. So I’d leave Thermador there as well. And then induction cooktops. Well, again, it really depends what you value. I happen to think, I mean, I love the Liberty, and the freedom is really nice when you move back and forth and everything else. But I just, for me, and, again, you know, you may be different. I I love the Liberty feature. I know I would never use it, but I really love that LCD interface. It just makes everything easy. I like the pause or zoom. You know, you get the bridges on either side. Again, you don’t have the Liberty kind of technology, but I I think from a control standpoint, I I think it’s demonstrably better. Yeah. And I I think that you can both really good solid induction cooktops, but I think I do like the layout and the controls of the of the new Wolf. They did a really nice job with it. And you have those kind of four and on the thirty six inch of those four burners right there and then the kind of the one offset burner there too. I think just easy to use a lot of room. The controls are super easy And that is for someone that’s getting into induction. That is always the one it’s always those controls and it’s a lot different than what they’re used to. So I think Wolf did a nice job making those really easy to use there too. So sounds like we’re going Wolf refrigeration. Although, I I will say that, you know, the Wolf the Wolf’s new, brand new. The good thing about any kind of Bosch induction, whether you’re talking about Gaggenau, Thermador, Bosch, always number one reliability by a long shot. I mean, you don’t have any problems with a induction cooktop. Now ranges are totally different because, you know, you’re using more of the circuit, and anytime you get a surge, that’s a problem. But in terms of the cooktops, incredibly reliable, really reliable. Refrigeration? Okay. Well, you know, when you’re talking about we’re talking about Sub Zero, you know, you’re talking about a company that’s got compressor top made to look like a restaurant. If if you want one of those two, they’re pro versions, and they’re integrated. You’re talking about tons and tons of options versus really what sells in the Thermador, either the two the the the two piece freedom or just their their French door. I I think Sub Zero is is probably the best one of the best appliance certainly the best luxury appliance you can buy, but, you know, we’re we’re talking about these, you know, kinda like comparisons. You know, you are gonna pay more Sub Zero Wolf than you are. Thermador, although not as much as in years past. I I do like the Thermador. I like their stainless steel interiors. You know, I like the bins, but I just think, you know, from an air cleaning standpoint, you know, they’ve got the air scrubber, they’ve got the nanotechnology shelves. If you spill something as my kid always does, it stays on that shelf. It doesn’t go through the fridge. I like the construction better. I just think it’s a better fridge, although I do think Thermador with the one, two, three, there’s something to be said for that, and I think it’s a good refrigerator as well. Yeah. Absolutely. Probably, you know, probably the the the next most popular refrigerator other than the Subzeros. And like you said, it’s really they both have columns, kind of those integrated columns but then once you get to that kind of the bottom mount it is really a story of that kind of professional compressor up top style versus the more integrated Yeah. Compressor on the bottom. And that’s just really different styles of refrigeration. You know the Thermador now this year has is now starting to come out with forty two and forty eight inches French doors just like Sub Zero. Yeah. Sub Zero has a lot more options in kind of traditional side by sides as opposed to just columns that you’re not gonna get with Thermador. So really they both have a ton of variety. I think the history and, you know, just that with Sub Zero, it’s really hard to beat a Sub Zero refrigerator. Although Thermador, like you said, really, really great. Yeah. I I like the new forty two and forty eight. It’s it’s I wasn’t expecting it. It doesn’t have the compression on top. It’s more integrated in its look, different stylistically. Definitely. I still I still like a Sub Zero fridge. I like a Sub Zero as well. And then final category is gonna be dishwashers. Well, this is easy. Easy. I mean, you only got one. It’s the code. Yep. And I and I like the dishwasher. It’s it’s twenty five hundred dollars, and you get a fifteen hundred dollar rebate if you buy everything else. That’s their rebates. It’s thousand. For thousands, probably the best dishwasher you can buy. At two thousand five hundred, debatable. No one’s gonna buy that singularly. You know, with a lot of good Bosch Thermador. That’s an easy one. I mean, we we’re giving that away free. But that’s just you know, just so people know, that’s that’s kinda like a less than even basic Bosch. You know, it’s forty eight decibels, which means it doesn’t It’s it’s You’re gonna hear it. Typically, the one that people buy is the forty four decibel one. But they took all the fun star speeds and the twenty minute wash and dry cycles. They took those away, during the pandemic, and they haven’t brought them back. So I would say that the Cove’s a better dishwasher, but it’s hard to be free or five hundred dollars or one of those. Yeah. So I would say from that standpoint, and if you’re looking at Thermador, you you gotta say Bosch, it’s probably Kove’s a better dishwasher, but hard to beat free. Yeah. Absolutely. And Thermador in general overall makes it really solid dishwasher as well. Obviously, it’s dish. Yeah. Like you said yeah. Is that a lesser version of a Bosch, the equivalent there? A lot of people you can upgrade to kind of the better Thermador dishwashers as part of their promos, but, yeah, agreed there. I mean, Kova has been a great dishwasher too, but I’d probably leave Thermador. That’s it. Alright. So if you like these ranking videos, hit the subscribe button, and we’ll have more. And thanks for watching.