Where glass wins
A single pane behind a cooktop has no grout, which is the thing that discolours, cracks and collects grease. It is wiped in one movement, it reflects light back into a bench run, and it can be cut around power outlets so there are no awkward cuts at the worst place on the wall.
Glass also suits a kitchen where the cabinetry is the feature, because a plain sheet does not compete with it the way a patterned tile does.
Where tiles win
If the wall is very out of square, tile follows it and glass does not — a large pane on a wavy wall shows every deviation. Tiles are also easier to change in part later, and cheaper where the area is small and awkward.
A tiled splashback can also be replaced by a tiler without touching the kitchen; a glass one has to be measured, made and fitted, so it is a bigger commitment.
The practical details people forget
Glass needs a gap from the cooktop, and the size of that gap depends on the appliance, not on taste. It also needs somewhere for the edge to land: a bench that meets the wall cleanly on one side and a cupboard on the other is easy; a raw plasterboard edge is not.
The cut-outs are the other thing. Every power point, every tap, every range hood fixing is a hole placed from a site measurement, and once the glass is toughened none of them can move.
Choose on the wall you have
The right question is not which looks better in a photo. It is whether your wall is flat enough for a pane, whether the bench and cupboards give the glass a clean edge to sit against, and whether you want to change it again in five years.
If the answer to those is yes, glass is the lower-maintenance choice. If the wall is a mess or the budget is tight, tile is not a compromise — it is the correct answer.