Which Instant Pot to Buy: Duo, Pro, Duo Crisp & RIO Compared

The short answer

Quick picks

#	Cooker	Best for	Score	Price
01	Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, 6 Quart The one to buy if you are not sure	1,000 W	8.6	$71.89Amazon
02	Instant Pot Pro 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker, 6 Quart The one to keep for a decade	1,200 W	8.4	$169.99Amazon
03	Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1 Multicooker, 6 Quart Sous vide and sterilize without stepping up to the Pro	1,000 W	8.1	$64.08Amazon
04	Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1 Multicooker, 8 Quart Pressure cooking for a crowd	1,200 W	8.5	$176.99Amazon
05	Instant Pot Duo Crisp Ultimate Lid, 13-in-1 Air Fryer & Pressure Cooker, 6.5 Quart Pressure cook and air fry under one lid	1,500 W	8.4	$219.95Amazon
06	Instant Pot RIO 7-in-1 Multi-Cooker, 6 Quart The current-generation entry Instant Pot	1,000 W	8.0	$89.99Amazon
07	Instant Pot Duo Mini 7-in-1, 3 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker One or two people, or a second pot	700 W	7.3	$89.99Amazon

#ad· Prices pulled live from Amazon's official Creators API, last checked October 20, 2026. Where we have no verified live price we show none — we would rather leave a gap than print a number that has gone stale. The wattage column is what the manufacturer publishes; “not published” means exactly that, and we have not estimated one. Scores are ours, compiled from published specifications, and are not test results.

The models, sorted by what actually differs

Instant Brands names its cookers in a way that hides the differences. Here is the short version: the Duo is the plain, stainless, well-documented default. The Duo Plus adds sous vide, sterilize and a quieter steam release. The Pro adds an auto-sealing lid and programmable buttons on top of that. The Duo Crisp adds an air-fry lid. The Duo Plus 8 Qt is the Duo Plus made bigger. The RIO is the current entry model — the Duo's 1,000 W element and 18/8 stainless pot in a newer body with a flat panel, for more money. The Duo Mini is the Duo made smaller. Everything else is the same cooking underneath. (The 7.5-quart RIO Wide Plus, the one wide-base pot, is no longer buyable on Amazon, so it is not in the lineup above.)

Buy the Duo unless you have a reason not to

The 6-quart Duo is the right answer for most households. It has the 18/8 stainless pot, Instant Brands publishes its full specification, and it costs the least of any cooker in the range you can genuinely trust for years. The reasons to spend more are specific and worth naming: you want air frying (Duo Crisp), you keep forgetting to seal the valve and want the auto-sealing lid (Pro), or you batch-cook and need the capacity (the 8-quart Duo Plus, which is also the priciest pot in the range here).

Which have sous vide?

The Duo Plus in both sizes, the Pro and the Duo Crisp all include a sous vide program; the Duo and the 6-quart RIO do not. It is worth knowing that sous vide on a pressure cooker holds temperature less tightly than a dedicated circulator with a pump — good enough for a chicken breast, not for a precise 63°C egg. If sous vide is a real priority, a $95 Inkbird does it better than any of these.

Size before features

Get the size right first, then pick the feature tier. Six quarts suits most families; three quarts (the Duo Mini) is right for one or two people and makes a good second pot for a side dish; eight quarts (the Duo Plus 8 Qt) is for batch cooking and bigger cuts. A cooker too large heats more air than you need every time you use it, and a cooker too small means two rounds for a normal recipe.

Three model-level pages worth reading alongside this table. The current RIO 6-quart review explains why the newest entry model is mechanically the Duo and usually costs more; Duo vs Duo Crisp and Pro vs Duo Crisp settle whether the air-fry lid is worth the step up. If you are weighing the non-Instant-Pot options too, Ninja Foodi vs the PossibleCooker PRO covers the two Ninja pots.

In detail

The picks, in full

The one to buy if you are not sure

Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, 6 Quart

Rated power:1000 W Capacity:6 Qt / 5.7 L Working pressure:10.2–11.6 psi (70–80 kPa) high Functions:7-in-1, 13 programs Inner pot:18/8 stainless, tri-ply base

Stainless inner potWattage & pressure published

8.6/10

The multicooker that made the category, and still the right default. Instant Brands publishes the wattage, the working pressure range and a stainless (not nonstick) inner pot, which is more than most of the field manages — and it costs less than almost all of them.

Capability: 7.5
Capacity: 8
Documentation: 9.5
Build: 8.5
Value: 9.5

What it gets right

Instant Brands publishes the wattage, the working-pressure range and the pot material — the full set, which most of the field does not
The 18/8 stainless inner pot has no coating to scratch off, so it outlives the nonstick pots in cookers costing more
At the current price it is the cheapest genuinely well-documented multicooker on this site

What it doesn't

No sous vide or air-fry program — this is the plain pressure-and-slow-cook model, by design
The steam release is a manual toggle, not the quiet auto-release of the Duo Plus or Pro
Seven functions is fewer than the sticker-count leaders, though most of those are the same element at different set points

What it costs to run

About 18.8¢ an hour at full rated draw, at the US average of 18.83¢ per kWh.

1,000 W ÷ 1000 × 1 h × 18.83¢ = 18.8¢

1000 W at 120 V / 60 Hz, published on the Instant Pot Duo product page and confirmed on the IP-DUO60 manual specification page. This is an upper bound: the element only draws full power while it is heating up or pressurizing, then cycles off to hold temperature, and no manufacturer publishes a duty cycle — so we compute at full rated draw rather than invent a correction factor. The full method is published.

Skip this if…

…you specifically want sous vide, a quieter steam release, or an air-fry lid — the Duo has none of those, and reaching for it and then wishing it did more is the most common Instant Pot regret. Step up to the Pro or Duo Crisp instead.

$71.89on Amazon

Price last checked October 20, 2026. Prices move constantly — Amazon's at checkout is the one that counts.

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The one to keep for a decade

Instant Pot Pro 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker, 6 Quart

Rated power:1200 W Capacity:6 Qt / 5.7 L Functions:10-in-1, 28 one-touch options Inner pot:Dishwasher-safe stainless

Sous vide programNo published pressure figure

8.4/10

The Duo's mechanicals with the interface fixed: a genuine sous vide program, an auto-sealing lid, grab-and-go pot handles and five programmable buttons. It draws 1,200 W rather than the Duo's 1,000, and Instant Brands does not publish a working-pressure figure for it — the one gap in an otherwise well-documented cooker.

Capability: 9
Capacity: 8
Documentation: 8
Build: 9
Value: 8

What it gets right

A real sous vide program plus sterilize, on a stainless pot with grab-and-go handles — the most complete Instant Pot without the air-fry lid
The auto-sealing lid removes the single most common Instant Pot mistake: leaving the valve on Venting and wondering why it will not pressurize
Five programmable Fav buttons make it the only model here you can genuinely set up around the three things you actually cook

What it doesn't

Instant Brands publishes no working-pressure figure for the Pro — the number is on the Duo's manual but not this one, which for a premium model is a fair thing to want
1,200 W draws more than the Duo's 1,000, so it costs marginally more per minute to run
You are paying for interface and lid engineering, not for better cooking — the pot and heating are the Duo's

What it costs to run

About 22.6¢ an hour at full rated draw, at the US average of 18.83¢ per kWh.

1,200 W ÷ 1000 × 1 h × 18.83¢ = 22.6¢

1200 W at 120 V / 60 Hz, published on the Instant Pot Pro product page and confirmed on the Pro manual specification page 51. This is an upper bound: the element only draws full power while it is heating up or pressurizing, then cycles off to hold temperature, and no manufacturer publishes a duty cycle — so we compute at full rated draw rather than invent a correction factor. The full method is published.

Skip this if…

…you want air frying. The Pro has no crisping lid and never will; if a crisp finish is on your list, the Duo Crisp is the model in the range that does it.

$169.99on Amazon

Price last checked October 20, 2026. Prices move constantly — Amazon's at checkout is the one that counts.

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Sous vide and sterilize without stepping up to the Pro

Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1 Multicooker, 6 Quart

Rated power:1000 W Capacity:6 Qt Working pressure:10.2–11.6 psi (70–80 kPa) high Functions:9-in-1, 25 presets Inner pot:18/8 stainless, tri-ply base

Sous vide + sterilizeStainless inner pot

8.1/10

The Duo with two functions added that people genuinely use — sous vide and sterilize — plus a quieter WhisperQuiet steam release. Same 1,000 W, same stainless pot, same published working pressure, at a price between the Duo and the Pro.

Capability: 8
Capacity: 8
Documentation: 9
Build: 8
Value: 7.5

What it gets right

Sous vide and sterilize on top of the Duo's core set, for meaningfully less than the Pro
The WhisperQuiet steam release is a real quality-of-life change if the kitchen is near a bedroom
Ships with a steam rack and two spare sealing rings, which is the accessory you always end up buying anyway

What it doesn't

The blue backlit LCD and button interface is dated next to the Pro's dial, and there is no auto-sealing lid
Sous vide on a pressure cooker holds temperature less tightly than a dedicated circulator with a pump
It sits in an awkward middle — close enough to the Pro's price that the Pro is often the better buy

What it costs to run

About 18.8¢ an hour at full rated draw, at the US average of 18.83¢ per kWh.

1,000 W ÷ 1000 × 1 h × 18.83¢ = 18.8¢

1000 W at 120 V / 60 Hz, published on the Duo Plus product page and confirmed on the Duo Plus manual specifications page 7. This is an upper bound: the element only draws full power while it is heating up or pressurizing, then cycles off to hold temperature, and no manufacturer publishes a duty cycle — so we compute at full rated draw rather than invent a correction factor. The full method is published.

Skip this if…

…the Pro is only a little more where you are shopping — the Pro's auto-sealing lid and programmable buttons are worth the gap, and the Duo Plus's one advantage over it is a lower list price that discounts often erase.

$64.08on Amazon

Price last checked October 20, 2026. Prices move constantly — Amazon's at checkout is the one that counts.

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Pressure cooking for a crowd

Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1 Multicooker, 8 Quart

Rated power:1200 watts Capacity:8.0 Quart Functions:9-in-1, 25 recipe presets Inner pot:Stainless steel (18/8) with a tri-ply bottom Steam release:WhisperQuiet, one-touch button

Biggest pressure pot hereStainless inner pot

8.5/10

The largest pressure cooker Instant Brands currently lists on Amazon, and the big-batch pick here now the RIO Wide line has gone. Eight quarts — Instant Brands says up to 8 servings — with the full nine-function Duo Plus set including sous vide and cake, a WhisperQuiet one-touch steam release, and the same 18/8 stainless tri-ply pot as the 6-quart. It draws 1,200 W, which is 200 less than the Wide Plus it replaces.

Capability: 8
Capacity: 9.5
Documentation: 9
Build: 8.5
Value: 7.5

What it gets right

Eight quarts is the largest pressure-cooking capacity on this site — Instant Brands rates it for up to 8 servings, which is a genuine batch-cooking and big-roast pot
The full nine-function Duo Plus set, sous vide and cake included, on an 18/8 stainless tri-ply pot with no coating to fail
At 1,200 W it draws 200 less than the 1,400 W RIO Wide Plus it replaces, and Instant Brands publishes the figure on its own product page

What it doesn't

No wide searing base — this is a conventional tall pot, so browning a big batch before you pressurize means doing it in rounds, which is exactly what the discontinued RIO Wide was built to avoid
An 8-quart body is tall and takes real cupboard space, and the same nine functions come in a 6-quart Duo Plus for roughly half the money
Its sous vide program heats a still pot with no pump, so it holds temperature far more loosely than a circulator

What it costs to run

About 22.6¢ an hour at full rated draw, at the US average of 18.83¢ per kWh.

1,200 W ÷ 1000 × 1 h × 18.83¢ = 22.6¢

1200 watts at 120 V~ 60 Hz, published on Instant Brands' own Duo Plus 8qt WhisperQuiet product page. This is an upper bound: the element only draws full power while it is heating up or pressurizing, then cycles off to hold temperature, and no manufacturer publishes a duty cycle — so we compute at full rated draw rather than invent a correction factor. The full method is published.

Skip this if…

…you cook for fewer than four. Eight quarts is the entire reason to buy this one, and a half-full pressure cooker is just a bigger thing to store and preheat — the 6-quart Duo Plus has identical functions for roughly half the price. And if a wide searing floor was what you wanted, no current Instant Pot has one.

$176.99on Amazon

Price last checked October 20, 2026. Prices move constantly — Amazon's at checkout is the one that counts.

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Pressure cook and air fry under one lid

Instant Pot Duo Crisp Ultimate Lid, 13-in-1 Air Fryer & Pressure Cooker, 6.5 Quart

Rated power:1500 W Capacity:6.5 Qt / 6.2 L Functions:13-in-1 (pressure, air fry, bake, dehydrate, sous vide, proof)Inner pot:Stainless steel

One lid, both jobsHighest draw here

8.4/10

The one lid that both pressurizes and crisps, which is the whole argument against buying a pressure cooker and an air fryer separately. It draws 1,500 W — the most of any Instant Pot here — and that higher draw is the air-fry element doing real work, not a spec-sheet flourish.

Capability: 9.5
Capacity: 8.5
Documentation: 8.5
Build: 8
Value: 7.5

What it gets right

The Ultimate Lid does pressure and air fry without swapping hardware, which is the genuine space-saving argument for the combo
Thirteen functions here include the ones people actually asked for — sous vide, dehydrate and proof, not just relabeled heat
Instant Brands publishes the 1,500 W rating and a stainless inner pot in its own manual — full documentation on a combo unit, which is rare

What it doesn't

1,500 W is the highest draw of any Instant Pot on this site, so it is the most expensive per minute to run
Switching from pressure to air fry has an extra step: the protective pressure cooking cover over the air-fry element comes out first, and Instant Brands' own instructions warn it will be hot — an oven-mitt job mid-recipe
The single Ultimate Lid is more complex than a plain pressure lid, so there is more to go wrong over years of use

What it costs to run

About 28.2¢ an hour at full rated draw, at the US average of 18.83¢ per kWh.

1,500 W ÷ 1000 × 1 h × 18.83¢ = 28.2¢

1500 W at 120 V / 60 Hz, published on Instant Brands' own Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid product page and confirmed in the model SLCO65000 user manual specification table. This is an upper bound: the element only draws full power while it is heating up or pressurizing, then cycles off to hold temperature, and no manufacturer publishes a duty cycle — so we compute at full rated draw rather than invent a correction factor. The full method is published.

Skip this if…

…you already own a separate air fryer you are happy with. The combo's entire premium is putting both jobs in one box; if crisping is already handled, the plain Pro does the pressure half better for less.

$219.95on Amazon

Price last checked October 20, 2026. Prices move constantly — Amazon's at checkout is the one that counts.

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The current-generation entry Instant Pot

Instant Pot RIO 7-in-1 Multi-Cooker, 6 Quart

Rated power:1000 watts, 120 V~ 60 Hz Capacity:6.0 Quart Functions:7 Cooking Functions, 13 one-touch options Inner pot:Stainless steel (18/8) pot with a tri-ply bottom Warranty:One (1) Year Limited Warranty

Stainless inner potWattage published

8.0/10

Instant Brands' current entry-level 6-quart, and mechanically the Duo brought up to date: the same 1,000 W element and the same 18/8 stainless tri-ply pot, in the newer RIO body with a flat control panel. It costs more than the Duo it replaces, which is the only real argument against it.

Capability: 7.5
Capacity: 8
Documentation: 8.5
Build: 8.5
Value: 7.5

What it gets right

The same published 1,000 W element and 18/8 stainless tri-ply pot as the Duo — nothing load-bearing was cheapened to make the newer body
Instant Brands publishes the wattage, the pot material and the warranty on its own product page, which is the full set
Thirteen one-touch programs on a flat panel that wipes clean, versus the Duo's raised buttons

What it doesn't

Costs meaningfully more than the plain Duo for the same element and the same pot
Instant Brands does not publish a working-pressure range for the RIO the way it does in the Duo and Duo Plus manuals
No sous vide, no air fry and no auto-sealing lid — it is the entry model, not a Pro

What it costs to run

About 18.8¢ an hour at full rated draw, at the US average of 18.83¢ per kWh.

1,000 W ÷ 1000 × 1 h × 18.83¢ = 18.8¢

1000 watts at 120 V / 60 Hz, UL & ULC Listed, published on Instant Brands' own RIO 6QT product page. This is an upper bound: the element only draws full power while it is heating up or pressurizing, then cycles off to hold temperature, and no manufacturer publishes a duty cycle — so we compute at full rated draw rather than invent a correction factor. The full method is published.

Skip this if…

…the Duo is in stock and cheaper, which it usually is. You are paying the difference for a newer control panel and nothing that touches the food — and on this site that is not a reason to spend more.

$89.99on Amazon

$109.9918% off

Price last checked October 20, 2026. Prices move constantly — Amazon's at checkout is the one that counts.

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One or two people, or a second pot

Instant Pot Duo Mini 7-in-1, 3 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker

Rated power:700 W Capacity:3 Quart Functions:7-in-1, 11 one-touch programs Inner pot:18/8 stainless, tri-ply base

Smallest footprintLowest-draw Instant Pot here

7.3/10

The Duo shrunk to 3 quarts. It is the right size for one or two people, for a dorm or an RV, or as a second pot for a side dish while the big one does the main. The same 7-in-1 function set, the same stainless pot, in a footprint that actually fits a small kitchen.

Capability: 7
Capacity: 4.5
Documentation: 9
Build: 8
Value: 8

What it gets right

Three quarts is genuinely one-or-two-person sized — you are not heating a six-quart pot to cook a cup of rice
At 700 W it is the lowest-draw Instant Pot on this site, and small and light enough to live in a cupboard
The same 18/8 stainless inner pot and 7-in-1 set as the full Duo, so nothing about the cooking is compromised

What it doesn't

Three quarts is a hard ceiling — it will not cook for a family, and doubling a recipe means two rounds
The smaller pot pressurizes fast but the tight interior makes searing in batches fiddly
No sous vide or air fry — it is the plain Duo feature set, scaled down

What it costs to run

About 13.2¢ an hour at full rated draw, at the US average of 18.83¢ per kWh.

700 W ÷ 1000 × 1 h × 18.83¢ = 13.2¢

700 W at 120 V / 60 Hz, published on Instant Brands' own Duo Mini product page and confirmed in the Duo Mini user manual specification table. This is an upper bound: the element only draws full power while it is heating up or pressurizing, then cycles off to hold temperature, and no manufacturer publishes a duty cycle — so we compute at full rated draw rather than invent a correction factor. The full method is published.

Skip this if…

…you ever cook for more than two, or you batch-cook. The Mini's size is its whole point and also its whole limit; a 6-quart Duo is only a little more money and vastly more useful for a household.

$89.99on Amazon

Price last checked October 20, 2026. Prices move constantly — Amazon's at checkout is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to Instant Pot Duo Mini 7-in-1, 3 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker

How we picked

Machines we claim to have tested: 0

Everyone in this category tells you they tested twenty cookers. We have tested none, and we say so. Here is what we do instead: read the manufacturer's manual and spec page, record the published wattage, capacity, pressure or temperature figure and warranty term, work out what the machine costs to run per hour, show the arithmetic so you can redo it with your own electricity rate, and cite all of it. Where a brand publishes no wattage, we print no running cost rather than borrowing a number from a similar model. Prices come live from Amazon's API and disappear rather than go stale.

The scores above are judgments from that documented research — not test results. One of the five metrics is Documentation: whether the manufacturer will tell you what its cooker draws at all. The full rubric, including what disqualifies a pick, is published in full.

Questions

Frequently asked

What is the difference between the Instant Pot Duo and Pro?

The Pro adds an auto-sealing lid (no more forgetting the steam valve), a sous vide program, grab-and-go pot handles and five programmable buttons, and draws 1,200 W to the Duo's 1,000 W. Both use the same 18/8 stainless pot. The Pro is the better cooker; the Duo is the better value.

Which Instant Pot has an air fryer?

The Instant Pot Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid — its single lid switches between pressure cooking and air frying, at 1,500 W. It is the only Instant Pot on this list that air fries. We compare it to the Ninja Foodi here.

What size Instant Pot should I buy?

Six quarts for most families and the widest recipe support; three quarts (Duo Mini) for one or two people or as a second pot; eight quarts (Duo Plus 8 Qt) for batch cooking and larger cuts. Buy for how you actually cook most weeks, not for the occasional big-batch day.

Keep reading

Receipts

Sources

We have not tested these machines in a lab and we do not pretend to have. Specifications come from the manufacturer's own published documents; electricity rates come from the US Energy Information Administration; prices come from the live Amazon API. Where a figure is not published, the page says “not published” rather than guessing. Read the full method.

Quick picks

The models, sorted by what actually differs

Buy the Duo unless you have a reason not to

Which have sous vide?

Size before features

The picks, in full

Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, 6 Quart

Instant Pot Pro 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker, 6 Quart

Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1 Multicooker, 6 Quart

Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1 Multicooker, 8 Quart

Instant Pot Duo Crisp Ultimate Lid, 13-in-1 Air Fryer & Pressure Cooker, 6.5 Quart

Instant Pot RIO 7-in-1 Multi-Cooker, 6 Quart

Instant Pot Duo Mini 7-in-1, 3 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker

Machines we claim to have tested: 0

Frequently asked

Related

Sources