Induction (coil symbol)
The maker says the pan works on an induction hob. Induction only heats a pan whose base responds to a magnet, which is why makers and retailers also suggest the magnet test.
Market convention
This symbol is a market convention: no law or public standard defines the drawing, so each maker draws its own and the meaning is whatever that maker says it is. This page follows 4 makers’ and retailers’ own keys.
- What it looks like
- A row of loops like a coiled spring or a spiral, usually with a line under it, often in a square or circle. It is stamped on the base of the pan or printed on the pack, sometimes next to icons for gas and ceramic hobs; some pans just say INDUCTION.
- Other names
- induction symbol; induction hob symbol; coil symbol; spiral symbol; induction suitable
What it does not promise
It does not promise the pan works well on every induction hob or ring size. IKEA warns that a pan used on gas can deform slightly and then no longer makes full contact with an induction hob. DI ORO advises confirming with a magnet ‘regardless of what the pan bottom shows’.
Where makers differ
The number of loops and the frame vary. Stellar draws loops in a circle; Wisefood describes ‘a spiral in a square’; Whirlpool calls it ‘a coiled spring symbol’; DI ORO says ‘loops resembling a spring or zigzag lines’, and that some pans print the word ‘induction’ instead.
More oven and hob symbols
Sources
No law defines this symbol, so the meaning is taken from makers’ and retailers’ own pages. Those marked as showing the icon draw or describe it; the others add conditions. Each was fetched and read on the date shown:
- Stellar : Stellar Cookware Buying Guide — the Stellar cookware symbols — Its symbol key shows ‘Induction suitable’ as a row of coil loops in a circle, alongside separate icons for ceramic, electric and gas hobs. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Whirlpool : Dishwasher Safe & Other Tableware Symbols — Shows an induction coil icon: ‘Induction compatible cookware is usually stamped with a coiled spring symbol on the bottom of the pot or pan.’ Checked 2026-09-24.
- DI ORO : How to Know If Pan Is Induction Compatible — ‘Flip your pan over. See a coil symbol--loops resembling a spring or zigzag lines? That's the induction compatible symbol’; ‘Some pans just print “induction” in plain text instead’; ‘Always verify with the magnet method, regardless of what the pan bottom shows.’ Checked 2026-09-24.
- Wisefood (catering-disposables retailer, Germany) : Mark for induction-suitable cookware (10 November 2021) — Induction cookware ‘has a small pictogram of a spiral in a square on the bottom – usually alongside other symbols that indicate suitability for other stove types’; if a magnet sticks to the bottom, the pot works on induction. Checked 2026-09-24.
- IKEA Netherlands: Is my pan suitable for my IKEA hob? — ‘IKEA puts clear symbols on all pans that indicate whether they are suitable for gas, ceramic, induction or even all three’; a pan used on gas may deform slightly and then ‘no longer makes full contact with the induction hob’. The page does not draw the symbols. Checked 2026-09-24.
Written in our own words; quotations are the sources’ wording.