Instant Pot Pro vs Duo (Newest Pressure Cooker or Reliable Flagship?)

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We’ve covered a lot of Instant Pot appliances here. Yet, the Instant family is always coming out with new gadgets that we love reviewing and checking out. Today we’re going to take a look at Instant Pot Pro vs Duo. It’s their newest model against their flagship, which one is better?

Our Instant Pot Duo vs Pro review will dive into what these pressure cookers are made for, their appliances, what smart programs they have, their sizes, and then any other differences we can find.

Read on to see which is the smartest buy.

What is Instant Pot Pro?

Our Instant Pot Pro review found that this is among the newest additions to the Instant family. By utilizing the newest technology, they have been able to ensure 20% faster pre-heating along with 70% faster cooking overall. Not only that, but it comes with handles for the inner cooking pot, auto-sealing lid, better steam release, and many other extras.

They’ve effectively taken everything about the best Instant Pots and made it even better. Pro is ideal for those who want to try new recipes, quickly cook for their family, or use the customized smart programs.

Check Price: Instant Pot Pro ->

What is Instant Pot Duo?

Our Instant Pot Duo review found that this is the flagship pressure cooker that everyone loves. While it isn’t their newest model, it offers many of the best features that you’re looking for. It heats up quickly, comes with many appliances, a ton of smart programs, and ensures fast cooking for yourself or your family.

Whether you are an aspiring chef, want to craft delicious meals with ease, or love the multifunctionality of all the appliances, Duo Instant Pot is an amazing appliance that people still love.

Check Price: Instant Pot Duo ->

What Others are Saying

Let’s take a look at the reviews to see what others say about these pressure cookers.

Instant Pot Duo Reviews

Instant Pot Duo currently has 138K reviews and a 4.7 rating. Most reviewers call it the best pressure cooker they’ve ever had, that it works well in small spaces, that it has ton of options, and that both the manual and automatic cooking options produce delicious meals.

Instant Pot Pro Reviews

Instant Pot Pro is newer and was released less than a year ago, but it commands nearly 2K reviews and the same 4.7 rating on Amazon. Many of the top reviews compare it to previous models and say how much easier it is to use, that it’s much quieter, and new users are shocked they haven’t tried multifunction pressure cookers in the past.

Appliances

We have covered this with all our Instant Pot reviews (you can see more with our Which Instant Pot is Best? article), but all of their models offer multiple appliances. It’s a staple of their brand, and it’s common for all electric pressure cookers to now offer many different appliances.

While both of these offer numerous appliances, which is best? Let’s look at the list and see what the differences are:

Appliance	Instant Pot Pro	Instant Pot Duo
Pressure Cooker	Yes	Yes
Steamer	Yes	Yes
Rice Cooker	Yes	Yes
Slow Cooker	Yes	Yes
Warmer	Yes	Yes
Yogurt Maker	Yes	Yes
Saute/Searing	Yes	Yes
Sous Vide	Yes	No
Sterilizer	Yes	No
Cake Baker	Yes	No

Both of these are nearly identical until it comes to the last three appliances, and two of these make a huge difference. The cake baker feature is good and ensures you can cook moist cakes with ease, but this can be done on the Duo with manual settings. However, the sous vide and sterilizing options offered by Pro can’t be replicated on Duo.

If you’re looking to step up your culinary game and sous vide steaks and chicken thighs, or if you’re a busy parent and need to sterilize bottles, then these features are going to be a game changer for you.

Both are good, but Pro takes it over the top.

Check Price: Instant Pot Pro ->

Instant Pot Duo vs Pro: Smart Programs

You might think the best thing about these pressure cookers is their appliances, but I would argue that it’s the smart programs. Every model has a smart microprocessor built right inside that delivers delicious, moist, steamy meals with precision. Not only that, but each new generation gets better and better with more accurate detection and changes.

The Instant Pot Smart Programs essentially make small changes to time, temp, pressure, and more to ensure your meal is amazing. It’s like having a world-class chef looking over your meals and adjusting for taste.

Both of these offer smart programs, but there is a wide difference between them. Duo has 13 Smart Programs while Pro offers 28. Not only that, but the Pro Smart Programs are more customizable and more accurate than Duo.

Another huge difference is that Pro allows you to favorite 5 Smart Programs. This makes it easier to access them rather than going through the massive list (though the large LCD display makes that simple).

Duo is great, but Pro once again proves itself to be superior.

Check Price: Instant Pot Duo ->

Instant Pot Pro vs Duo: Sizes

You want to pick the best size pressure cooker for your needs. There are numerous sizes to choose from, but let’s first cover which is best depending on your needs.

A 3qt pressure cooker is good for 1-2 people. A 6qt pressure cooker is best for 3-5 people while an 8qt pressure cooker is great for 6-8 people. While there are 10qt pressure cookers good for 9-12 people, that size isn’t offered here (that’s only available with the Duo Nova).

So let’s take a look at the sizes to see if there is a difference here.

Instant Pot Duo Sizes

Instant Pot Duo 3qt
Instant Pot Duo 6qt
Instant Pot Duo 8qt

Instant Pot Pro Sizes

Instant Pot Pro 6qt
Instant Pot Pro 8qt

As you can see, it’s nearly tied here, but there isn’t an Instant Pot Pro 3qt size. While we can give Duo the win, it’s conditional. The truth is that 6qt and 8qt sizes are the most popular here. While you can’t get the smallest 3qt size, that only serves a small part of their audience, so we bet that you’ll probably enjoy either of the Pro sizes.

What’s the Difference Between Instant Pot Pro and Duo?

Curious about what’s the difference between Instant Pot Duo and Pro? There are actually many differences we found during our review. While Duo is great, it’s basically a standard model when compared to Pro. The Pro model offers far more features, power, and options.

We also did a Pro review against other models. Be sure to check these reviews as well for more info:

The Pro has more than double the Smart Programs, and they are more customizable. It also offers three more appliances, two of which are incredibly useful for chefs and parents. While it offers one less size, it does have the most popular sizes.

More than that, it heats up 20% faster and shrinks your cooking time down to a fraction. It also includes an auto-sealing lid, easier steam release (among the best we’ve seen), handles for the inner pot, and you can set favorite Smart Programs so they’re easier to find.

Duo is a better price and offers many features when compared to other pressure cookers, but it can’t stand up to Pro.

Final Thoughts

Both of these are amazing and will do well in your kitchen. However, Pro is the newest and strongest in the Instant Pot family. Not only does it heat up faster, but it works better overall, has a better screen, more programs, and more appliances than Duo. While it’s more expensive, it’s a “you get what you pay for” situation.

So, would you rather get a good product at a good price with Duo, or a great product for just a little bit more with Pro? We stand with Pro, what do you choose?