10 Best Instant Pots of 2026, Multi-Cookers Compared and Ranked

Sunday batch cooking is where I'd expect this one to earn its place. A beef stew that would tie up the hob all afternoon becomes a pressure-cooked job, and Instant quotes risotto in 6 minutes once it's up to pressure (add the heat-up time, which no box ever prints). The 5.7L stainless steel inner pot, lid and accessories are dishwasher-safe, and four favourite buttons save your usual settings. It isn't the cleverest machine here, though. There's no air fryer lid like the Ninja Foodi's, and the model code ends in EU, so check the plug type on the Instant Pot UK listing before you order.

If your worktop can only spare room for one appliance, this is the one that replaces two. The Foodi pressure cooks a stew, then the same SmartLid slides across to air fry the top, so a chicken goes from tender to crisp-skinned without swapping lids. It takes a 2kg roast, or 1.1kg of chips in the 3.7L basket. The trade-offs are real. At 10.7 kilograms it's a lump to haul out of a cupboard, and Ninja says it cooks up to four portions, fewer than the Instant Pot's six.

Families who batch cook will like the numbers: a 5.6L non-stick bowl listed for more than six people, and 14 cooking options including pressure, slow cook, sauté and steam. Crock-Pot claims the Turbo setting cuts cooking time by 20%, and you can set your own temperature. A heating status bar shows where it's up to, which I'd appreciate on a school night when someone keeps asking if tea is ready. My hesitation is power. The listing says 1400 watts while another spec says 1000W, and a non-stick bowl won't age like stainless steel.

The bowl is the odd thing about this Tefal, and it's deliberate. It's spherical and ceramic-coated, which Tefal says spreads heat more evenly. Ten automatic programmes cover pressure cooking, steaming and slow cooking, and the jog dial is the kind of control my mum could use without the manual. I like the delayed start of up to 12 hours: load dried beans and stock before work, and they're done when you're home. On the other hand, only 4.8L of the 5L bowl is usable, and the rounded shape is less handy for searing chops than the Hisense's flat base.

If you mainly want stews, soups and the odd loaf, and speed doesn't matter, the CleverChef is a sensible fit. It's a multi-cooker rather than a pressure cooker, because the listing names no pressure function. You get a 5L non-stick pot, high and low slow cook, bread rise and bake settings, plus a customisable DIY mode. It's tall, though, at 39.5cm, so I'd check the gap under your wall cupboards first, and the 860 watts element means nothing gets rushed.

I'll be straight: this is an Instant Pot only in the everyday sense. The Good-to-Go has no pressure-cooking mode. It's a sear-and-slow-cook multicooker with sous vide, steam, rice, roast and boil settings, and at 750W it's the gentlest machine here. Its party trick is practical. The control panel lifts off, so the 6.5L pot goes straight to the table, which saves me a serving dish on a Sunday. It's also the most affordable pick in this lineup, though at 48.5cm across it wants a long worktop.

Feeding six, or freezing portions for the week? The Midea's 7.6L stainless steel pot is the biggest on this list, ahead of the 6.5L Russell Hobbs, and it's a true electric pressure cooker with nine functions and twelve presets, from rice and porridge to yoghurt. A locking lid, float valve and overheat protection are among the listed safety features. I couldn't find it in any independent UK roundup, so this ranking leans on the spec sheet. At 35.5cm deep and tall it may belong in the utility room.

Most pressure cookers have a narrow, deep pot, which makes browning mince a crowded, steamy job. Hisense went wider. The flat-bottomed 6L stainless steel pot gives you more room to sauté before you lock the lid, and its 10 programmes cover pressure, slow cook, rice, steam and yoghurt. Two serving spoons and a steaming rack come in the box. It's heavy at 7.2 kilograms, though, and it's a newer listing with little independent coverage, so I'd call it promising rather than proven.

Pressure release is the bit that makes nervous first-timers hesitate, and Nutricook's answer is a single button. The Smart Pot 2 Prime seals itself when pressure cooking starts and lets the steam out with one push, so nobody is nudging a hot valve with a wooden spoon. An anti-spin design stops the inner pot turning while you stir. I found no UK roundup that covered it, and the listed dimensions look approximate, so measure your space first.

Judge the Go Chef as a pot that does a bit of everything, not as a pressure cooker, because it can't build pressure at all. Its eight settings are roast, slow cook, steam, poach, fry, boil, bake and fondue, in a 5L ceramic pot. JML says it heats up in around four minutes and costs less to run than a fan oven, which I notice when our energy bill lands. Ceramic coatings need gentle handling, so keep metal utensils away.