Cooktop - Induction or Gas?

I just got an induction stove. I'm having some difficulties. I wonder whether mine can be set for temperature instead of just 1 to 9 on the dial. That would be outstanding, but I didn't know to look for it when I purchased mine.
I hate the layout of the burners. I hate the constant hum. And I'm having trouble setting things, such as the pressure cooker, at the exact temperature I want.

Edit: I'm still glad I have it but it's going to take a lot of getting used to.

Oh Ellen, that stinks. We haven't been experiencing any of the problems you have. Maybe if you are still within a warranty period, you can exchange it for something else. Mine is easy to get precise (letting you stop anywhere on the dial). It makes an annoying noise when there is moisture under a pot but that's an easy fix. I like the burner layout too...pretty functional for our needs. We have a GE Cafe. I'm a chronic over-thinker with this stuff but hit a home run on this.

M Waisman wrote:Electric doesn't come close to induction for precision, cleanliness or efficiency; that's not a worthy comparison, folks.

Induction is, of course, electric. A glass electric cooktop with resistance coils beneath is just as easy to clean as a glass electric cooktop with an induction device beneath. It is not as precise, granted. It is very nearly the same in efficiency though, at least the research I found showed less than a 5% difference. An induction range is easily twice the price of an older technology electric range, both with glass cooktops and electric ovens. Convection ovens are significantly more efficient for both types of range.

Tereza Okava wrote:I am glad this thread is getting bumped.

I've tracked our gas use since we got the induction burner (just one). Like many people here, I cook everything, mostly from scratch.
We went from using one 13kg bottle of gas every other month to TWO PER YEAR (and as someone else mentioned above, gas here is a pain in the butt, have to go get it refilled or have it delivered, it's not piped where i live).
Our electricity bill has not budged.

If you make things that involve boiling or heating liquids (jam, cheese, yogurt, beer, chutney, etc) or set periods of time at certain temps (candy) this thing is amazing. I also have a huge stainless lobster pot type thing that I use for beermaking, it is now my go-to for canning (which I had basically stopped doing, since gas was getting pricey and I just couldn't bear to spend that much).
Also deep frying: I can set the oil temp, and it will keep it there. Absolutely amazing.

I have the cheapest ("practically disposable") one I could find, since I bought it just to test out, and I've found that some fooling around is merited. I also thought it was crap for very slow/low simmer til I messed around with the options: instead of using power levels, set for temperature. Same with deep frying, I needed a certain temp for making tortilla chips, with the power level setting we couldn't hit it, but with the temp setting we did.

I have started messing around with the settings myself...     I normally set mine to 400 watts of power for grilling bread,   then I set the time for 4 minutes  per side of bread and for my setup that works perfect each time for browning the bread.      

Being able to set the timer for each side of the bread has enabled me to walk away from  stove because it automagically shuts off when it cooks what I want cooked.      

Next I think I will experiment with cooking by temperature,        I am now wondering if this could be used to make yogurt   or perhaps cheese that needs a temp of like 115 deg to cook...       I know some of the people with 3d printers use their bed warmers to oook with

We should also mention the risk of fire. Induction is so safe and simple, far fewer worries for resourceful children preparing their own meals.

Of course induction is electric but we all know what "gas," "electric," and "induction" mean when talking about ranges. And a glass top is a glass top. The OP was considering gas or induction so electric isn't really a consideration here.

Induction energy gets 80-90% of the energy into the food, gas is about 38%, and induction boils water in half the time. https://reviewed.usatoday.com/ovens/features/induction-101-better-cooking-through-science  It's all about preferences, budgets and priorities. To us, it's been a game changer and 100% worth it. We burn less, it saves us a ton of time cooking and cleaning, and it's healthier and safer in the kitchen.

I heard a Sporkful podcast in the last year or two about gas vs electric. They went into how and why gas took off in popularity decades ago; it was the fossil fuel industry lobbying and marketing to consumers. It was an effective campaign.