The Best Multi-Cookers and Pressure Cookers

This is the model everything else gets compared to, and it earns that. Wirecutter named the Duo 7-in-1 its top overall pick after multi-year parallel testing, citing consistent high-pressure performance and the lowest total cost of ownership in the category. Instant Pot says it has sold over 10 million units. That scale is the real feature: when a recipe says "cook on high pressure for 12 minutes," it was almost certainly written for this pot.

The 6-quart size fits how most people actually cook. It handles up to six servings, which covers a family dinner with leftovers or a Sunday batch of grains and shredded chicken for the week. Roughly two-thirds of buyers pick this capacity. Go bigger only if you're feeding six or more regularly, or you're cooking a whole chicken most weeks — an 8-quart takes longer to reach pressure and eats more counter space.

The stainless inner pot is the quiet reason this one cooks better than cheaper competitors. It's 18/8 steel with a tri-ply bottom, and Cook's Illustrated found stainless develops noticeably better fond during sauté than non-stick coatings. That browned layer is where the flavor in your chili and pot roast comes from. Non-stick pots wipe clean faster, sure. But they also scratch, and you can't replace the coating once it goes.

Owners keep these for a long time, and that shows up in the feedback. People routinely describe pots still running after five, eight, or nine years across multiple moves. Sealing rings, extra pots, and steamer baskets are cheap and easy to find, so a worn part doesn't mean a new appliance. That's a meaningful difference from off-brand cookers where a cracked gasket ends the machine.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The dial-and-button interface is dated. There's no touchscreen and no display of the actual pressure inside, so you're trusting the float valve and the beep. Newer models from Cosori and Zavor are easier to read at a glance.

Steam release is loud and startling the first few times, and the plume shoots straight up — you'll want to keep it out from under your cabinets. There's no app, no Wi-Fi, and no sous vide. If you want any of that, look at the Pro Plus.

Combo units are where the category is heading, and this is the sensible version of one. CNET reports that pressure cooker and air fryer combos now make up over 40% of electric multi-cooker sales. The appeal is obvious once you cook a pork shoulder: pressure cook it tender, swap the lid, and crisp the outside without heating your oven or dirtying a second pan. The Spruce Eats estimates the finish-in-place approach saves 15 to 20 minutes per recipe.

The air-fry side is genuinely capable, not a token setting. It runs from 70°F all the way to 450°F, so you can dehydrate fruit at the low end and roast potatoes at the high end. Instant Pot's EvenCrisp lid uses about 95% less oil than deep frying. Owners describe it as good but not quite equal to a dedicated air fryer — reasonable, given it's doing two jobs.

Two lids means two things to store. The pressure lid and the crisping lid don't nest, and the crisping lid is heavy and awkward. Some people leave it parked on the counter next to the base. It's the main practical tax of a combo unit, and worth thinking about before you buy.

At 8 quarts and 22 pounds, this is the biggest appliance here. That's great for a whole chicken, a big pot of chili, or meal prep for the week. It's a lot for one person cooking for one. The pot is still stainless with a tri-ply bottom, and it's stovetop- and oven-safe, which is handy for reheating.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The 8-quart size takes longer to come to pressure than a 6-quart, and small batches can trip the burn warning because the liquid spreads thin across a wide base. Plan on a bit more liquid than a 6-quart recipe calls for.

It's tall enough that it may not clear the underside of standard upper cabinets when the crisping lid is on. Measure before you commit to a spot.

If the Instant Pot's dial-and-abbreviation interface makes your eyes glaze over, this is the friendlier option. The touchscreen labels functions in plain words, and there are enough presets to cover most of what a beginner wants: rice, porridge, stew, beans, meat. Owners consistently describe it as the appliance that finally made them stop being nervous about pressure cooking.

Cleanup is where the ceramic pot pulls ahead. Baked-on rice and oatmeal come out with a sponge, no soaking. The lid, pot, and accessories are dishwasher safe, and the housing resists fingerprints. There's also a half-inch widened gap around the pot, which sounds trivial until you've fished a lentil out of the crevice on a cheaper cooker.

Cosori lists 12 safety features, including a double-layer anti-scald lid, overheat protection, and a lid lock that won't budge under pressure. Consumer Reports notes that modern electric cookers ship with 10 or more independent protections on average, so this is in line with the category. The vent button sits away from the release valve and the steam exits at a 30° backward angle, which keeps it off your fingers.

You do give something up for the price. The ceramic coating will wear eventually, and it won't build fond the way the Instant Pot's bare stainless does. If you make a lot of braises where you deglaze and build a pan sauce, that's a real trade-off. For rice, soup, beans, and steamed vegetables, it hardly matters.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Ceramic coatings are consumable. Use wood or silicone tools, skip the metal spoon, and expect the surface to lose some slickness after a few years. Replacement pots aren't as easy to find as Instant Pot's.

The recipe ecosystem is thinner. You can adapt Instant Pot recipes without much trouble, but you'll be doing the translating yourself.

Almost every electric pressure cooker gives you two choices: high and low. This one doesn't. Consumer Reports counts 11 distinct pressure settings between 2.9 and 12 PSI on the Fast Slow Pro. That granularity matters if you cook things that fall apart under full pressure — fish, custards, delicate vegetables, a clear stock you don't want cloudy. Everything else here forces you to choose between too gentle and too aggressive.

The LCD is the other reason to pay up. It shows the pressure inside, the temperature, the countdown, and where you are in the steam-release cycle. On a standard cooker you're staring at a metal pin, guessing. Here you can see the pot come up to pressure and know exactly when the timer actually starts, which takes most of the mystery out of adapting a recipe.

Auto steam release is a genuinely nice safety feature. The cooker decides whether a recipe wants quick, pulse, or natural release, and it vents on its own, so your hand is never near the valve holding a wooden spoon. The lid is hinged, removable, and dishwasher safe, and the seal comes out easily for washing — a small thing that matters when you cook curry.

Build quality is a step above, and owners who use it daily say so. Several describe it as the appliance that stays out on the counter permanently and replaced several other gadgets. Dual sensors at the top and bottom of the bowl manage temperature and pressure together, which is why the slow-cook mode is better than the token setting on most multi-cookers.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It costs far more than the Instant Pot Duo, and for beans, rice, and weeknight chili you won't taste the difference. Buy it because you want the pressure range and the display, not because you expect better everyday results.

Reliability is the real asterisk. A recurring theme in owner feedback is units that stop reaching pressure after months or a couple of years, sometimes with a lid-seal error that won't clear. Breville's support gets decent marks for handling returns, but it's a risk worth knowing about at this price.

The ceramic-coated bowl is PFOA- and PTFE-free and doubles as a serving dish, but it won't brown like the bare stainless in the Instant Pot.

This is the Duo for people who plan meals from somewhere other than the kitchen. Pair it with the Instant Connect app and you can start a rice cycle from the driveway, watch the countdown from the couch, and switch functions without walking over. The app carries more than 2,000 guided recipes with step-by-step prompts, which is a real help if pressure cooking still feels like guesswork.

The quiet venting is the upgrade you'll notice most. Standard steam release is a jet-engine shriek that wakes a napping toddler; WhisperQuiet knocks that down considerably. You can also trigger the release from the app, which means nobody has to stand over the pot with a towel. If your kitchen opens onto a living room, this alone might justify the step up.

The extra functions are more than filler. Sous vide holds a low, steady temperature for steak or eggs. NutriBoost pulses the pot during cooking to keep soups, broths, and risotto from separating. The stainless pot has an aluminum core and a flat bottom for searing, plus two handles — a small change from earlier models that makes lifting a full pot much less precarious.

The canning function needs a caveat. It's designed for high-acid, water-bath-style canning only, not low-acid pressure canning, which still requires a tested pressure canner. Owners who understand that limit are happy with it. Owners who assume it replaces a proper canner will be disappointed and, more importantly, unsafe.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

App and Wi-Fi setup is the most common complaint. Some people connect in two minutes; others fight pairing issues for days before it sticks. If the app is the whole reason you're buying, that's a gamble.

You're paying a premium over the Duo for connectivity you may use twice. Pressure cooking is not slow cooking — you generally can't load it in the morning and start it remotely at 4 p.m., because raw meat shouldn't sit out that long.