At over 16 inches wide, the RIO Wide fits a whole chicken without crowding and sears large cuts without batching, Serious Eats calls it their best budget pick for its spacious cooking surface and easy-release steam valve. Ideal for families and batch cookers.
Measuring over 16 inches wide, it can sear without forcing you to cook in batches and the anti-spin inner pot stayed anchored.
It made a great stew in our Lab tests: tender meat and very flavorful broth. We like the pot's surface area, the brand claims it has more cooking area than a 12-inch skillet, allowing you to brown and cook larger cuts of meat.
The Duo Plus is the sweet spot between simplicity and features, it adds cake, egg, and sterilize settings over the base Duo, plus a bigger LED display and mid-cook adjustments. Good Housekeeping named it their top pick after testing eight models.
The #1 bestseller on Amazon with over 100,000 reviews averaging 4.7 stars, the Duo nails the basics at the lowest price of any full-featured Instant Pot. CNET, Good Housekeeping, and Serious Eats all recommend it as the entry point.
The Pro pressurizes faster than any other model in Serious Eats' 15-pot test, sears better than most electric multicookers, and adds sous vide, sterilize, and five custom presets. It's the upgrade that actually earns its price.
A separate air fryer lid transforms this into a superconvection air fryer that rivals standalone units, CNET says results rival their favorite dedicated air fryers. One appliance replaces two, and it still does all the standard Instant Pot pressure cooking.