Instant Pot Duo vs. Duo Plus vs. Duo Evo Plus vs. Duo Nova: What's the Differences & How to choose?

What Is the Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker?

Instant Pot is a smart multi-use Electric Pressure Cooker,also known as a "multicooker." It's a countertop appliance that can be used for a variety of cooking methods, including pressure cooking, slow cooking, searing, steaming, and more. Instant Pots also allow for sautéing and slow cooking right in the same vessel, for true start-to-finish, one-pot cooking of often-complicated or time-consuming dishes. Some Instant Pot models also include programs for specific food preparations, like rice and egg cooking and even yogurt making.When you use an Instant Pot pressure cooker, you can cook foods faster than you could using other cooking methods.

Why You Need An Instant Pot?

There are just a few of the benefits of Instant Pot cooking:

1. You can cook easy one pot meals.
   

2. You can safely cook meat from frozen.

3. There is no watching a pot on the stove.

4. Pressure cooking creates better flavor.

5. It’s much faster than using a slow cooker.

6. You can cook tender, fall apart pot roast or pulled pork in an hour.

7. Versatility: From perfect hard boiled eggs to one pot pastas to tender chicken breast, there’s really no limit to the foods you can cook in an Instant Pot.

8. It makes meal prep easy: You can batch cook dry beans, oatmeal, rice, shredded chicken, and much more.

How to Choose the Best Model for you?

Size/Capacity

First things first, you'll want to make a decision about which size Instant Pot is best for you. There are four Instant Pot sizes: 3-, 6-, 8-, and 10-quart options. 

• 3-quart: This mini Instant Pot can be great if you’re cooking for one or don't have much storage space. However, most recipes are designed for larger pots, so you'll need to scale them down accordingly.

• 6-quart: This is the most popular Instant Pot size, for good reason! The 6-quart Instant Pot is affordable and perfect for feeding families of 3-6.

• 8-quart & 10-quart: This larger pot is great if you are feeding a big family, or doing big batches of meal prep each week.

Features

Some Instant Pot models come with preprogramed cooking functions and even additional capabilities such as Yogurt Making and Sterilization. However, these preprogrammed functions merely mimic low- and high-pressure cooking, and you can re-create them manually. 

Accessories

Every Instant Pot comes with a trivet (where you can cook eggs or rest baking dishes), a plastic rice scoop and a cookbook. You don't really need any other accessories, although you can separately purchase a myriad of them. Options range from a glass lid to use when slow cooking to steamer inserts, additional sealing rings, egg holders, springform pans and more.

Ease of cleanup

The stainless-steel insert and ring/locking lid of an Instant Pot are extremely easy to clean. However, some Instant Pots heat up faster and reach higher temperatures than others, resulting in scorching when you're searing, which can be a little difficult to clean.

Price

It's surprising how widely the prices vary for Instant Pots, given that most of them offer the same basic features, give or take a few specifics. Your personal budget for cooking gear will influence your decision on which price is best.

Where to Buy the Instant Pot Cheapest?

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• Amazon
  

• Target

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Instant Pot Models Comparison

1.Instant Pot Duo

Price: $59.99 & up

Sizes: 3, 6 & 8 Quart

Functions: (7-in-1)pressure cooker, sauté pan, steamer, slow cooker, rice cooker, food warmer, and yogurt maker

Accessories included: steam rack with handles, getting started guide

The best-selling Instant Pot Duo multicooker not only replaces 7 appliances, but it also speeds up cooking by 2-6 times and saves up to 70% of the energy used in traditional cooking methods. The Duo™ line features a solid range of Smart Programs and features that will revolutionize the way you cook.

The Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 comes in 3 convenient sizes to suit the way you cook: 3, 6 and 8 Quarts. All sizes come with 13 standard one-touch Smart Programs — Soup/Broth, Meat/Stew, Bean/Chili, Slow Cook, Sauté, Rice, Porridge, Steam, Yogurt, Keep Warm, and Pressure Cook, while the 6 and 8-Quart Duo boast two extra presets for Multigrain and Poultry.

Pros:

• Named Amazon’s Choice in the "instant pot 8 quart" category and a best seller

• Easy to use

• A space-saving kitchen appliance

• Ideal for larger families

• Ideal for cooking healthy meals

• Smart cooking

• 10 safety measures

• Great value for the money

Cons:

• Not WiFi-enabled

• Short warranty - only 1 year

• No cake baking smart program

• There is a bit of a learning curve

2.Instant Pot Duo Nova

Price: $79.99 & up

Sizes: 3, 6, 8, & 10 Quart

Functions: (7-in-1)pressure cooker, sauté pan, steamer, slow cooker, rice cooker, food warmer, and yogurt maker

Accessories included: 2 silicone sealing rings, trivet/steam rack

Sticking "Nova" on the end of the best-known Instant Pot is enough to throw people off, but the Duo Nova is just the new-and-improved version of the Duo. It keeps the stuff we loved about the original — like straightforward buttons and seven cooking methods for an affordable price — and made some small convenience upgrades. The best part is that the Duo Nova can almost always be found on sale for the same price (sometimes cheaper) than the regular Duo.

The biggest difference between the Duo and Duo Nova is that the Nova's lid has automatic pressure sealing that closes the valve for you. Everything about the LED display is a little bit sleeker, too, with more legible icons and a status bar with progress updates on the current stage of pressurizing, cooking, or keeping warm.Its actual cooking capabilities are the exact same as the Duo, as no new functions were introduced with this model.

Pros:

• Come in 4 sizes

• Easier to read display

• Multiple sizes available

• Easy to use

• Ideal for cooking healthy meals

• Smart cooking

• 10 safety measures

Cons:

• Short warranty - only 1 year

• Fewer functions than other models

• Not WiFi-enabled

• No cake baking smart program

3.Instant Pot Duo Plus

Price: $99.99 & up

Sizes: 3, 6 & 8 Quart

Functions: (9-in-1)pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, saute, warmer, steamer, egg maker, yogurt maker, and a cake maker

Accessories included: steam rack with handles

The new Duo Plus comes with upgraded easy-seal lid and sous vide smart program.The EasySeal lid automatically seals the pot for pressure cooking when you close the lid and has a quick steam release button for ease of use.

The 3 Quart model has 13 one-touch Smart Programs, while the 6 and 8-Quart Duo Plus boast 15: it is a pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, sauté pan, food warmer, stock pot, plus with additional programs it’s also cake maker (6 and 8-Quart only), egg cooker, sterilizer, and sous vide. It’s everything you need to get nutritious dinners on the table quicker.

The DUO Plus Instant Pot comes with 12 pre-set temperatures, 15 pre-programmed dishes, and 10 safety features. Overall, the Instant Pot Duo Plus may be a bit more expensive than the first model, but it comes with new and interesting features that may be more to your liking.

Pros:

• New Functionality: It added a cake cooker, egg cooker, and sterilize feature.

• Quality materials
  

• Bright LED Display

• 12 Custom Pre-Set Temperatures

• Replaces nine different appliances

• Can be used as a sterilizer

• Cake Making module

• Large control panel

• 10 Safety features

• Up to 24h with a 24h delayed start feature

Cons:

• It takes a bit to learn how to use it

• The outer rim is a bit difficult to clean

• The Instant Pot Duo Plus is more expensive than the Instant Pot Duo

• Take more cooking time

• There is a bit of a learning curve

4.Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus

Price: $139.99

Sizes: 6 & 8 Quart

Functions: (10-in-1)pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, sous vide, sauté, food warmer, cake maker, and stock pot

Accessories included: extra sealing ring, steam rack with handles

Thanks to a 1200W heating element, the new Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus, can reduce the preheating time, meaning you can sit down to eat faster. In addition, the Evo Plus has a new stainless steel inner pot that can be used on gas, electric, and induction ranges, helpful if you want to use it to reduce liquids. And, it has two handles, making it easier to move around.

The front of the Evo Plus has a large, bright display that's not only easy to read, but should make programming the Instant Pot easier than older models. Like the Instant Pot Ultra, the Evo Plus' display has a progress indicator, so you know how much time is left. The redesigned lid also seals itself automatically and shortens the time it takes to release pressure safely. However, it's only available in 6- and 8-quart sizes.

Pros:

• 11 safety mechanisms

• Ease of use

• Bigger, brighter display

• 48 preset-cooking functions

• New QuickCool technology

• 20+ Enhancements From Duo

Cons:

• No mini size option

• Not WiFi-enabled

• Dial Can Be Confusing

Here’s an easy way to remember the differences:

• Duo Evo Plus = upgraded Duo Plus

• Duo Nova = upgraded Duo

The Final Verdict

The 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot Duo is the most popular model and it is also a great choice.The Duo Nova is made for the beginner and has a lot of the core features. The Duo Evo Plus is the company’s most innovative model to date. And the controlled pressure release on the Duo Evo Plus is a really nice feature.

If you like techie features such as control from phone/app,then go for the Smart wifi model;

If you have limited budget, I would still suggest DUO model as it has all the most important features.

At the end of the day, the decision belongs to you, since you should consider your needs and preferences. 

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