Instant Pot Duo Crisp vs. Ninja Foodi: Our kitchen appliance expert put both popular multicookers to the test

Prices are accurate at the time of publication.

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• Air fryers and Instant Pots have exploded in popularity in the last decade.
• The Instant Pot Duo Crisp and Ninja Foodi are two top appliances that can air fry and pressure cook.
• We preferred the Duo Crisp in our head-to-head testing, but the Foodi is better at some tasks.

Electric pressure cookers and air fryers are two of the hottest kitchen appliances, literally and figuratively, as they've become ubiquitous in American kitchens. A few years ago, Ninja had the brilliant idea of combining the two with the Ninja Foodi. Instant Pot soon caught up and introduced its Duo Crisp.

Below, we compare these two titans of multi-cooking based on their ease of use, pressure cooking, air frying, additional functions, variety of recipes, and prices to help you decide which is the better buy.

Specs 

Convenience

I give the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer the advantage in this category because of its convenient dial control, easy storage, and nonstick pot. Though, I like that I can use metal utensils in the Instant Pot Duo Crisp.

Setting up the units was simple. I had both running within five minutes of opening the box. Both have intuitive controls. The Instant Pot Duo Crisp has buttons for each function, while the Ninja Foodi relies on a dial for selecting functions and adjusting the time and temp, giving it a cleaner, less crowded appearance.

Both units come with separate lids for air frying and pressure cooking. The Foodi's air fryer lid is attached by a hinge. This made storage easier since both lids could fit on top simultaneously. With the Duo Crisp, I needed to devote additional shelf space to the second lid. 

Aside from the base and lids, all of the elements of each cooker are dishwasher safe. I found that the nonstick ceramic coating of the Ninja Foodi pot made it easier to clean by hand. However, you can't use metal utensils without damaging it. The Instant Pot has a stainless steel pot that handles metal utensils. 

Pressure cooking

I put electric pressure cookers through many of the same tests, and while the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer did better in one test, the Instant Pot Duo Crisp performed better overall.

The pressure build adds several minutes to recipes, so as I test pressure cookers, I time the pressure build. The Duo Crisp was faster than the Ninja Foodi in all four of our tests.

Both units produced easy-to-shred, mouthwatering pulled pork, but the Duo Crisp's was slightly easier to shred and juicier. The Duo Crisp also produced better rice. It had a good texture, wasn't too dry, and had uniform consistency. The Foodi's rice was stickier but still great. Both units took about 20 minutes to cook rice.

When I pressure cooked a pound of dry beans, the appliances both produced virtually perfect results. The beans weren't too mushy or too hard. Both took about an hour.

Air frying

The Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer air-fried faster than the Instant Pot Duo Crisp. I filled the baskets of each cooker with a pound of frozen french fries and cooked them at 400 degrees. I shook the basket at 4 minutes to cook the fries evenly. Then, I checked the fries at 8 minutes to see if they were done. 

At 8 minutes, the fries in the Ninja Foodi were golden and evenly cooked. The Duo Crisp fries still need some time. I had to cook them for an additional three minutes to get the fries to the proper doneness.

Other functions

While the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer was better at searing meats and slow cooking, we give the Instant Pot Duo Crisp the edge because it has a sous vide function.

I slow-cooked a 3.5-pound pork shoulder in each unit for 10 hours on low. The Duo Crisp's pulled pork turned out good, though slightly dry. The Ninja Foodi's pork was easier to shred and more flavorful.

Chicken seared in the Foodi had a nice, consistent crust, whereas the browning was more subtle on the Duo Crisp's chicken.

The Instant Pot Duo Crisp has a sous vide function that the Foodi does not. So, you can enjoy tender and delicious meats, even when you're working with cheap cuts. I cooked a beefsteak in the sous vide water bath at 129 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours, and it was excellent. The only negative was the water took longer to get up to temperature than it would if I were using a traditional immersion circulator.

Recipe variety

The Instant Pot Duo Crisp is supported by the Instant Brands Connect app (available for iOS and Android), featuring over 1,000 recipes that work with most Instant Pots. The Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer just comes with a 45-recipe booklet. Plus, a search of Duo Crisp cookbooks on Amazon yields over 300 results. The Ninja Foodi only has about 30 results.

Yet, in an interview for our electric pressure cookers guide, Jeffrey Eisner, the author of "The Step-by-Step Instant Pot Cookbook," said he'd heard from several people that his recipes work just as well in off-brand pressure cookers. And, in my testing, I used Instant Pot recipes in all of the units and didn't notice a difference in performance between brands. In other words, you can use the Ninja Foodi to make most Instant Pot recipes and vice versa.

Still, if you don't feel comfortable doing that, the Instant Pot Duo Crisp definitely has more recipe options.

Price

The MSRP of the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer is about $250. The Instant Pot Duo Crisp is $200. As I write this, both are marked down to $200 and $160, respectively. The Duo Crisp is more affordable, but these appliances regularly go on sale. For example, late last year, the Ninja Foodi was marked down to $140. The Duo Crisp was $108. So, watch out for sales, especially around Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Overall

With its superior pressure cooking, sous vide functionality, and lower price, I think the Instant Pot Duo Crisp will appeal to more home chefs. Yet, if you love to air fry, don't care to sous vide, and find it on sale, the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer will be a better, more convenient option for you. Both are excellent cookers.