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What do chef Carla Hall, actress Busy Philipps, country star Trisha Yearwood, and millions of Americans have in common? They’re all proud owners of an Instant Pot! Despite only making its debut in 2009, it’s safe to say the Instant Pot isn’t just a fad; it’s here to stay. In fact, these multi-cookers have such a cult following that they're frequently at the top of shoppers' must-have lists during the year’s biggest sales, like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday. And for good reason—after all, what other countertop appliance can do the work of five or more kitchen gadgets while convincing beginner home cooks to leave the comfort zone of their food delivery apps and takeout menu drawers?

It should come as no surprise that the best multi-cooker to buy is an Instant Pot. But with so many options available, even a seasoned owner can get confused. While most Instant Pots have the same wattage, they diverge in terms of their built-in pressure and heat levels, not to mention their smart settings. Many home cooks opt for the most popular 6-quart options, but there are also 3-, 8-, and 10-quart sizes available. Then there’s the wide range of models, from Instant’s most popular option, the Duo 7-in-1, to their newest line, the Pro series, which made its debut in 2021. And on top of that, there are many discontinued models and sizes that may have rendered your current smart kitchen set-up obsolete. So you'll have to make a choice, but don’t cave under all that pressure just yet. Using our expertise in all things cooking—and the assistance of the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute and its Director of the Kitchen Appliances & Culinary Innovation Lab, Nicole Papantoniou—we’ve rounded up five recommendations for the cheapest, smartest, and easiest-to-use Instant Pots. We also have plenty of advice to help you determine which Instant Pot is best for you.

Need some inspo to take your “set it and forget it” meals to the next level? Check out our recommendations for the best Instant Pot recipes and our favorite Instant Pot cookbooks.

To determine which Instant Pots are the best of the bunch, we turned to our friends at the Good Housekeeping Institute, who have tested nearly every multi-cooker on the market, including the full suite of Instant Pots. Their team of on-staff experts—which includes all types: engineers! data analysts! registered dietitians!—rigorously put everyday products to the test (and then more and more tests) in their New York City labs to determine which ones you can trust.

From evaluating their ability to evenly brown meat and make rice to determining how quickly they came up to and released pressure, these Kitchen Tech Experts put over 15 Instant Pot models through rigorous testing to determine their overall performance, ease of use, cleanability, and additional features and settings. After reviewing their findings and sitting down with Papantoniou to discuss the pros and cons of each model, we’ve determined that these are the best Instant Pots you can buy in 2022.

Save yourself time and valuable countertop real estate with the Instant Pot Duo Plus, which packs the functions of nine kitchen appliances into one compact machine. Like all Instant Pots, it comes with a dishwasher-safe, food-grade stainless steel inner pot with a three-ply bottom for optimal durability, cleanability, and ease of use, but it also includes bonus accessories like an extra sealing ring and a stainless steel steam rack. Boasting 15 customizable smart programs, this model offers all the classic one-touch Instant Pot cooking functions—including slow cooker, rice cooker, and steaming features—as well as some extra capabilities.

In addition to settings that sterilize, bake cakes, and cook eggs, “The Duo Plus has a sous vide function that is newer compared to the Duo,” said Papantoniou. “It has a more polished control panel [than entry-level Instant Pot models] and tracks the cooking process, so you can have a better understanding of when it begins to pressure cook.” It's good to note that Duo Plus lacks the preheat and poultry settings of more souped-up Instant Pots. However, we think there’s still plenty to love about this gadget’s user-friendly design, like an anti-spin function that secures your pot for sautéing, a steam release switch that automatically resets when you close the lid, and 10 safety features (including overheat protection and a safe-locking lid).

Whether you’re a longtime Instant Pot lover or you’re just an average home cook, the Instant Pot Duo Plus is sure to be an effective culinary tool for most people, thanks to its size, capabilities, and intuitive interface.

Are bells and whistles not really your thing? The Duo V4 is a solid choice that offers much of the convenience of pricier Instant Pots, but has a more basic design and lower price tag. This powerhouse of a countertop appliance still does all the work of seven appliances and comes with 13 built-in smart programs for preparing quick, easy, and, best of all, delicious meals. (Not to mention, you still get the same 10 safety features as you would with the Duo Plus, as well as the included dishwasher-safe lid, stainless steel steamer rack, and stainless steel pot.)

Calling the Duo V4 an "entry-level" model, Papantoniou explained "You manually release the pressure by turning the steam release valve, while with the V5, there is a button to release the pressure, which helps keeps your hands away from the escaping steam."

Because of its lower price, you will be making some sacrifices with this model—like the Duo Plus, the Duo V4 has no preheat setting. It also lacks settings for sterilizing or making eggs or cakes and a few safety features. However, we don’t think you’ll be missing out on much if you want to save a few bucks and don’t plan on cooking fancier dishes.

For those seeking ultimate Instant Pot experience, you can’t go wrong with the Instant Pot Ultra 60. Once you take this baby for a spin, you won’t want to cook with anything else—and with its 10-in-1 design and multitude of accessories (including a steam rack with handles, serving spoon, and soup spoon), you likely won’t have to.

“I love the Ultra myself,” Papantoniou said. “It’s really giving you the ‘ultra’ experience with its updated control panel. It uses a graph to let you know where it is in the cooking process, and it’s more of a digitized experience.” The thoughtful design of the control panel also features a central dial, which is easy to turn and provides additional precision when selecting your preferred program and toggling through to make adjustments. Plus, like some other models on our list, it has a sterilize function, though Papantoniou warns to “always check the manufacturer instructions to ensure the safest results.”

We appreciate that this model has settings to preheat your device and programs to sterilize, bake cakes, and cook eggs. But as with the Duo Plus, the Ultra’s Achilles heel can be found in its poultry setting… or lack thereof. That said, it makes up for its shortcomings with a plethora of other useful and convenient details, like a cooking indicator, an Easy-Release steam-release button, an ultra button for custom programming, and an altitude adjuster—so you can take your Instant Pot wherever you go and immediately get to cooking anytime, anywhere.

But wait, there’s more: This model is also equipped with an embedded microprocessor to monitor the device’s pressure and temperature, adjust heating intensity and duration, and keep time. And for optimal user-friendliness, the Ultra has the most safety features of any option on our list (11!) and even boasts an Underwriters' Laboratories certification for user safety.

Sure, each of these Instant Pots are smart, but the Instant Pot Smart Wi-Fi is a Tesla in a sea of Toyotas. This is a great option for home chefs who value tech integration at home (or really big fans of the 1999 Katey Sagal masterpiece Smart House.) As the name would suggest, the Smart Wi-Fi’s internet-enabled features are what sets it apart from its siblings. It features Amazon and Google compatibility and Wi-Fi connectivity, so you can control your appliance, access over 1,000 pre-programmed recipes, and monitor the cooking process using your phone or your smart speaker. However, this means it sacrifices other features users may find more valuable, such as the ability to cook eggs, bake cakes, or sterilize.

Though Papantoniou hasn’t used this model herself, she pointed out that “It has high and low pressure levels, as opposed to the three levels of some other higher-end models, so I wouldn’t use it on big cuts of meat, but it would work well with a stew.” The Smart Wi-Fi Instant Pot combines eight kitchen appliances in one: pressure cooker, slow cooker, sauté pan, steamer, rice cooker, yogurt maker, cake maker, and warmer. It also comes fully-loaded with 13 one-touch smart programs and a slew of handy accessories—including a stainless steel steam rack, soup spoon, sealing ring, silicone mini mitts, measuring cup, and serving spoon. And like most of the other models we recommend, it’s also outfitted with 10 built-in safety features, including overheat protection and a safety lock.

Looking to just dip your toe into the waters of Instant Pot ownership? There’s no better choice than the Instant Pot Duo V5, which is as easy to use and clean as it is convenient. This model offers the same smart programs, accessories, and cooking functions as the V4. That does mean it lacks some of the other, fancier functions found in pricier models, but we think this simplicity will make your user experience even easier if you’re an IP newbie.

“The Duo V5 would be best for beginners,” Papantoniou said, citing its plethora of user-friendly design details like the Easy-Release switch that releases pressure with the touch of a button. This can make a huge difference if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of manually releasing your pot’s pressure. Plus, like the V4, this model offers 10 safety features, including a safe-locking lid and overheat protection.

Slow cookers have been a go-to countertop appliances for decades. But thanks to innovative tools like the Instant Pot and air fryers, many home chefs are branching out when it comes to outfitting their kitchens with the latest and greatest innovations. Which begs the question: Is it worth getting an Instant Pot?

"The biggest thing about slow cooking versus an Instant Pot is that a slow cooker is typically oval shaped and can accommodate a large roast, so they’re really good for large chunks of meat that you’re trying to break down and make tender," said Papantoniou. "Instant Pots are multi-cookers, and typically have a slow cooker function. The round vessel allows for a small chicken, but you’ll probably have to trim a larger roast to make it fit." Furthermore, she explained that the primary difference between the two lies in the seal. "Slow cooker lids don’t usually have a seal on them, so they allow steam to escape," while "in a pressure cooker, it’s an airtight environment and that’s what causes things to cook quickly. The slow cooker function on an Instant Pot is designed to allow steam to escape through the vent, but it’s still a more airtight environment."

A common misconception is that Instant Pots are just fancy electric pressure cookers, but that’s not (entirely) true. Multi-cookers and pressure cookers are similar, but where they differ is that a pressure cooker can only be used for pressure cooking, whereas a multi-cooker has a bunch of bonus features besides pressure cooking. In fact, the main appeal of the Instant Pot is that it essentially serves as a bunch of appliances and tools in one. You can bake everything from peanut butter explosion cakes to a hearty breakfast casserole in some multi-cookers! These added features can save you some valuable kitchen real estate, but it also means they tend to be bulkier—a key factor to consider if you have a small space. What you look for in a multi-cooker depends entirely on your needs. After all, while air frying capabilities may be convenient, this added feature may not be necessary for someone who already owns an air fryer.

Multi-cookers can do a lot, but there are some functions that slow cookers can do better, such as tenderizing large cuts of meat and offering more control when it comes to dishes like beef stew. That being said, there are some areas in which Instant Pots excel as well, such as making rice, cheesecake, and even yogurt.

During testing, Papantoniou said the Good Housekeeping Institute found that the two types of cookers performed similarly. “People think that pressure cookers with slow cooker functions tend to dry out, but in our more recent [Instant Pot] road tests, we did not find that to be the case.” So if functionality is more important to you than performance, it really comes down to what you’ll be cooking (and how much).

For the average home cook who likes their leftovers or a family of four, you shouldn’t need more or less than a 6-quart Instant Pot. “The 6-quarts are best," advised Papantoniou. "They’re a good entry point and amongst the most popular size.”

However, an 8-quart model is a solid choice, too, if you live in a larger household, frequently use your multicooker for parties and potlucks, or if you want to use it for meal prep. On the flip side, if you’re just cooking for yourself or live in a smaller space and don’t mind possibly having to make multiple batches (thank goodness for spare cooking pots), you can probably get away with a 3-quart model.