On the base: that's where the heat from your hob enters the pan. Under some pans there is only a thin iron disc for induction, sometimes with holes. According to our pan expert such a disc mainly heats the bottom. The high rim of a sauté pan, where your sauce reaches the sides, then contributes little.

Which place a sauté pan gets from us depends on its base according to the product page.

In first place are two pans with a five-layer base. On the SCANPAN Hapjespan CTX ø 28 cm product page it describes "heat distribution to the edge." The SCANPAN Hapjespan HaptIQ ø 28 cm has an aluminium core in those layers, "from base to rim." Both have a standard non-stick coating and a contact underside of 20.5 cm on your hob.

The Beka Hapjespan Cicla ø 28 cm takes second place with an encapsulated three-layer base. It's made of stainless steel and therefore has no coating, and the size of its underside is not listed on the product page.

In third place are five pans from De Buyer that are made entirely from sheet steel, 3 mm thick and uncoated:

• the De Buyer Hapjespan Mineral B Element ø 24 cm, with an underside diameter of 16.5 cm
• the De Buyer Hapjespan Mineral B Element ø 28 cm, with an underside diameter of 19.0 cm

• the De Buyer Hapjespan Mineral B Element ø 32 cm, without a specified underside
• the De Buyer Hapjespan Mineral B Pro with 2 handles ø 28 cm, without a specified underside
• the De Buyer Hapjespan Mineral B Pro with 2 handles ø 32 cm, without a specified underside.

Also the BerlingerHaus Hapjespan Mat Bordeaux ø 26 cm is in third place. It's entirely cast iron with enamel as a coating, and the product page does not state the size of its underside.

If a sauté pan performs well on induction at first but then starts sticking more and more, first check your hob setting. Set the hob for each stage of the dish as follows:

1. Heating up: set the hob to about 60 percent, without boost, and let the empty pan get hot. With the boost an empty pan receives the heat all at once, and according to our pan expert it can warp from that; this applies to every sauté pan in our ranking.
2. Searing: lower the hob to about 40 percent once the base is properly hot, and sear the meat or fish at that setting.
3. Adding the sauce: keep the setting or lower it, because on a high setting a sauce that simmers can easily burn on the bottom.

Why does a sauté pan work better on one cooking zone than on another?

The underside of a sauté pan, the flat part that sits on your hob, is smaller than the diameter you buy the pan as. For the 28 cm pans whose product pages state the underside, the difference is 7 to 9 cm. Of the zones on your hob, the one with approximately the width of the underside fits the sauté pan best.

On a zone that is much smaller than the underside, your sauce will already bubble in the middle while still lukewarm at the edge. Conversely, a much larger zone sometimes only reacts when you shift the pan a little.

If a product page doesn't name a pan's underside, measure it yourself as soon as you have it. That way you'll know which zone suits it. If you mainly have smaller zones, look at the three 24 cm pans: their undersides remain under 19 cm.

From our ranking we recommend these pans per situation:

• Your old sauté pan has worn out and you want a coated one again: then choose the SCANPAN CTX from spot 1, with a lid, dishwasher-safe and ovenproof up to 250 °C. Its coating is a standard non-stick coating; a PFAS-free coating is available on the Sola Ceramic Deluxe below.
• You want to get rid of coatings that wear out: with the Beka Cicla from spot 2, made of stainless steel, you can sear straight away the first time, without preheating in the oven or on a gas flame. The lid is glass, and the pan is dishwasher-safe and ovenproof up to 200 °C; without a coating you do need enough fat when searing.
• You want a PFAS-free coating: the Sola Ceramic Deluxe from spot 4 is the only ceramic pan above spot 5, with a lid and dishwasher-safe, but not ovenproof. Its ceramic coating also wears over time; if you want something other than ceramic, you'll find stainless steel, enamel and sheet steel among the other sauté pans without PFAS.
• You often cook with tomato or wine and don't want a wearing coating: the BerlingerHaus from spot 3 has enamel on cast iron, which the product page says is unaffected by acid. The product page specifies 220 °C for oven use, and a lid is included; note that the pan measures 26 cm, and cast iron takes some time to heat up.
• You make large portions and lift the full pan to the table: our pan expert recommends two handles, like on the Cicla and the Mineral B Pro 28 cm. De Buyer's is made of sheet steel, with the seasoning that entails; for both the product page doesn't name the underside, so measure it after purchase.

You can see each pan's sizes and whether a lid is included at all sauté pans at a glance.