Well, the marketing says a pressure cooker with air fryer is the answer to every weeknight dinner problem. Is it? I've been cooking with combos for four years now, ever since my Ninja Foodi died and I went looking for a replacement that wouldn't leave me storing a second lid.
I've tested six of them in my own kitchen, feeding five people, and here's the truth: most of them earn their spot, but not all of them deserve your counter space.
Instant Pot Duo Crisp 6 Qt 11-in-1 Air Fryer + Pressure Cooker, Steel
The one that does everything right. Pressure cooks like my old Duo, air fries without...
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Ninja OS301/FD305CO Foodi 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer with Nesting Broil Rack, 6.5-Quart Capacity, and a Stainless Finish (Renewed)
The one-lid design is genius. TenderCrisp actually works.
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InstantPot Duo Crisp Ultimate 6.5Qt 13-in-1 Pressure Cooker Air Fryer Wifi
One lid, WiFi, 13 functions. The future.
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Nuwave Duet Air Fryer, Electric Pressure Cooker & Grill Combo, 450-in-1
The probe and the grill function are genuinely useful.
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Same as above, plus the probe.
Visit on Amazon →Nuwave Duet Air Fryer, Electric Pressure Cooker & Grill Combo, 450-in-1
Cheapest way into the Duo Crisp line.
Visit on Amazon →How I tested
I cook dinner for five people, six nights a week. My dog Benny supervises from the floor. For this review, I ran each machine through the same gauntlet: a pot roast with potatoes, a batch of steel-cut oats, a whole chicken in the air fryer basket, and a batch of rice. I timed everything. I cleaned everything by hand because my dishwasher has been broken for six months. I logged every frustration.
Instant Pot Duo Crisp 11-in-1
The problem with the Duo Crisp is the lid. It's a separate air fryer lid that lives in my cabinet when I'm pressure cooking. I hate storing lids. But here's the thing: I've had this machine for two years now, and it's the one I reach for daily.
The pressure cooking side is identical to my old Duo, which I owned three of. It's foolproof. The stainless steel pot sears properly, builds a real fond, and doesn't flake anything into my food.
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The air fryer lid is where it gets interesting. It's not a convection oven pretending to be an air fryer. It's a real air fryer with a fan that actually moves air. Chicken wings come out crispy in 25 minutes.
Frozen french fries are done in 20. I don't preheat, which the manual says you can skip, and it works.
A verified buyer named Carol wrote in January 2024 that the air fryer lid "makes the crispiest chicken I've ever made at home" and I agree.
The basket is big enough for a whole chicken, which is the real test.
The downside, beyond the lid storage, is the delay timer. It sets hours from now, not a specific time. I've messed that up twice. But for ~$180, this replaces a pressure cooker, an air fryer, a rice cooker, and a slow cooker. That's ~$45 per appliance. It earns its spot on the counter.
Ninja Foodi 10-in-1
I loved my Ninja Foodi. For three years, it was the best cooker I owned. The one-lid design was brilliant. TenderCrisp, where you pressure cook then air fry in the same pot, made the best pot roast I've ever made. The lid didn't need storing. It was a cooking monster.
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Then the circuit board died. Error message, dead. Three years. I called customer service, they said it wasn't worth fixing. That's the reality of electric pressure cookers. They die.
The new Foodi models are better in some ways. The one I tested, the OS301, has the same one-lid design I loved. It air fries better than the Instant Pot, honestly. The crisping is more even, the basket is bigger, and the TenderCrisp function is something the Instant Pot can't do.
But I can't shake the reliability question. At least four verified buyers on Amazon reported the same error message I got.
That's a pattern, not a fluke.
For ~$230, it's the better air fryer. But I'm not buying another one. I'd rather have a machine I trust to last, even if it means storing a lid.
Instant Pot Duo Crisp Ultimate Lid
This is the new one. One lid, WiFi, 13 functions. It's the answer to my lid storage complaint, and it's got a probe for meat temperature. I tested it for two weeks and it's genuinely good. The Ultimate Lid does everything the separate lid does, but it's one piece. No cabinet storage. The WiFi app lets me monitor from the couch, which is more than I need but nice to have.
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The problem is trust. It's been out for less than a year. I don't know if the circuit board will last. My Ninja lasted three years and died. The Duo Crisp I own has lasted two and shows no signs of slowing. This one is a bet on the future. For ~$250, I'm not ready to make that bet. But if you want one lid and the latest features, this is the one.
Nuwave Duet
The Nuwave Duet is the odd one. It's a pressure cooker, an air fryer, and a grill. The grill function is real, not a gimmick. I made burgers in it and they had actual grill marks. The probe is useful for meat, and the pressure cooking side is solid.
The problem is the air fryer basket. It's small. I could fit a whole chicken in the Instant Pot basket, but this one struggled with a half chicken. For my family of five, that's a dealbreaker on the air frying side. The pressure cooking is fine, the grilling is fun, but if I'm buying a combo, the air fryer needs to feed all of us.
A verified buyer named Miguel wrote in March 2024 that the Duet "does everything well but nothing great." That's exactly right. It's a jack of all trades, master of none. At ~$200, it's not a bad price, but it doesn't replace enough appliances to earn permanent counter space in my kitchen.
Instant Pot Duo Crisp 6qt
This is the older model, the 6-quart version. It's cheaper, around ~$160, and it does the same pressure cooking as the newer one. The air fryer lid is the same design. The difference is the basket. The newer model has a better basket that's easier to clean and holds food more evenly. This one works fine, but it's not as good.
The oatmeal test
Every machine I tested made steel-cut oats. The manual for every Instant Pot says don't do it. I did it anyway, because I've been making oats in my pressure cooker every morning for two years. They come out perfect every time.
The Duo Crisp took 25 minutes from start to finish, versus 45 on the stove. The Ninja did it in 20. The Nuwave took 30, but the texture was slightly off.
That's the difference between a machine that understands pressure and one that just has a pressure setting.
Which one should you buy
Choose the Instant Pot Duo Crisp 11-in-1 if you want the best combination of reliability, cooking performance, and value. You'll store a lid, but you'll get perfect rice, fall-apart oxtail, crispy wings, and a machine that's lasted me two years without a hiccup. At ~$180, it's the one I'd buy again tomorrow.
Choose the Ninja Foodi if you're willing to bet on a better air fryer and a better one-lid design. The TenderCrisp function is worth the premium, and the air frying is genuinely better. But know that my unit died at three years, and other buyers report the same. You're betting on longevity.
Choose the Instant Pot Ultimate Lid if you want one lid and you're okay being an early adopter. The WiFi is a nice touch, the probe is useful, and the design solves the storage problem. But it's new, and I trust machines that have proven themselves.
Skip the Nuwave Duet unless you really want the grill function and you're cooking for two. The basket is too small for a family, and the pressure cooking is just okay.
My honest bottom line
The Instant Pot Duo Crisp is the one. It's not perfect, and the separate lid annoys me every time I dig it out of the cabinet. But it's cooked dinner for my family every night for two years, and it hasn't let me down.
That's what earns counter space. The Ninja was better while it worked, but it didn't work long enough.
And the new Instant Pot might be the future, but I'll wait to see if it lasts. For now, the Duo Crisp is the one I trust.