Philips and Crock Pot were both rated best by Aussie consumers in Canstar Blue’s latest multi-cooker ratings. Philips earned five stars for ease of use, value for money, performance and overall satisfaction, while Crock Pot received five stars for ease of cleaning, performance, features & functionality and overall satisfaction.
Stewing over what to make for dinner? The multi-cooker might be the most helpful sous-chef to have in your kitchen, armed with all the tools of a slow cooker, pressure cooker, air fryer, electric frying pan, steamer, and more. But what’s the best brand to buy and which should you put a lid on? Canstar Blue compared the top multi-cooker brands on the market to find out.
Canstar Blue surveyed 387 Australians for their feedback on the multi-cooker they have purchased in the last three years.
Respondents rate their satisfaction with their multi-cooker brand(s) from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:
The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
• Philips
• Crock Pot
• Breville
• Anko (Kmart)
• ALDI Ambiano
Philips and Crock Pot cooked up a win each, with Philips achieving five stars for ease of use, value for money, performance and overall satisfaction, and Crock Pot five stars for ease of cleaning, performance, features & functionality and overall satisfaction. Breville and Kmart shared a win for ease of use, with the former streaking ahead to also claim a win for design.
Find more detailed information on our ratings methodology.
Not sure which multi-cooker to buy? Check out our buying guide below.
Philips earned five stars for ease of use, value for money, performance and overall satisfaction. It finished on four stars for ease of cleaning, design and features & functionality.
The Philips multi-cooker range is simple and straight to the point, much like the features it offers across the line-up. There are currently just two models available (at the time of writing) – the Philips All-In-One Cooker and Philips Viva Collection All-In-One Multi-Cooker.
The XXL All-In-One Cooker is the larger and more powerful of the two, offering an 8L capacity, 1500W worth of power, and 20 pre-set cooking programs. It boasts similar functions to the 6L Viva Collection multi-cooker, such as a keep-warm function for up to 12 hours, in addition to its slightly smaller 1300W output. The Viva multi-cooker also features seven pressure cooking modes, various protection systems, and a ProCeramic+ coating that’s five times more durable than a conventional non-stick coating, according to Philips.
Crock Pot received five stars for ease of cleaning, performance, features & functionality and overall satisfaction. The brand finished on four stars for ease of use, value for money and design.
Crock Pot has a few multi-cookers to make mealtime low maintenance, and offers the models in either a 5.7 or 7.6 litre capacity. Each multi-cooker features an easy release lid, up to eight different cooking functions and up to 15 different one touch pre-set programs. Every multi-cooker from Crock Pot claims to be able to cook meals up to 70% faster than a regular pot, which means you can expect anything from veggie risotto to pulled pork in under 60 minutes. As you go up the price chain, prices increase, but they stay reasonable within the multi-cooking range – Crock Pot multi-cookers start at $179 and reach up to $244 for the latest model.
Breville rated five stars for ease of use and design, and four stars for value for money, ease of cleaning, performance, features & functionality and overall satisfaction.
Breville serves up several versatile electric cookers, with its slow cookers, rice cookers and steamers providing multiple pre-set programs in addition to the brand’s multi-cookers.
The Breville Multi Chef multi-cooker is among the brand’s most budget-friendly options, and includes pre-sets for creating risotto, sautéing, cooking rice, slow cooking and more. It has a 3.7L capacity and fits up to 10 cups of rice, plus contains a non-stick cooking bowl that can double as a serving bowl.
For more flexibility, Breville’s The Multi-Cooker 9-in-1 features 12 automatic programs, 11 cooking pre-sets, and in-built sensors to monitor and automatically control temperature. This comes with a 5L capacity and a similar 10-cup rice capacity.
Kmart earned five stars for ease of use, and three stars in every other category, including value for money, ease of cleaning, design, performance, features & functionality and overall satisfaction.
Kmart’s multi-cooker range (as of time of writing) is currently under some maintenance, with their main model, the 6L 8-in-1 Multicooker now on the clearance shelves. Instead, the budget brand has a 5.8L pressure cooker available, and a number of slow cookers, including a twin slow cooker, for individual meals.
The good news is that you can steam, sear and slow cook in a lot of pressure cookers and some slow cookers, meaning that the versatility of a multi-cooker isn’t out of reach, even if the physical product may be.
ALDI brand Ambiano rated three stars across the board. This included ease of use, value for money, ease of cleaning, design, performance, features & functionality and overall satisfaction.
If you’re hoping to snag an affordable multi-cooker from ALDI, you better keep an eye on its Special Buys. Its models are available for a limited time − often sold under the brand name Ambiano, with a thermo cooker also occasionally on sale. These generally cost around $70.
One of the multi-cookers previously included in ALDI’s Special Buys is the 6L Ambiano Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, which featured 15 pre-sets such as meat, stew, rice, yoghurt, and slow cooking. It also came with a 1000W power output and LCD display.
Not all multi-cooker brands in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are several more brands to check out before making a purchase decision.
A multi-cooker is an all-in-one cooking appliance that comes with a variety of pre-set cooking modes such as sauté, sear, grill, slow cook, pressure cook, air fry, steam and bake. Some models can also create yoghurt, jam and porridge. Multi-cookers are also designed to cook food faster compared to other appliances, although cooking times will vary between modes and models.
Our survey revealed more than a third of consumers (38%) bought a multi-cooker to replace several other appliances, including electric frying pans, rice cookers and steamers.
Multi-cookers come in all shapes and sizes, but often contain many of the same functions such as bake/roast, sear, steam, slow cook and pressure cook. Here are five factors to consider when picking the best model for your home:
Our survey found consumers spend an average of $183 on a new multi-cooker, proving you can still buy a fairly budget-friendly model and have your cooking needs satisfied.
A multi-cooker is different from a pressure cooker because it’s designed to function as several types of benchtop kitchen appliances, such as a slow cooker, oven, steamer and air fryer. Meanwhile, pressure cookers are generally intended to be used one way – that is, as a sealed pot that builds steam pressure in order to cook food quickly.
Pressure cooking is a common pre-set in many multi-cookers. An additional lid is sometimes included with your multi-cooker, which features a steam release valve to let steam escape.
A multi-cooker is certainly worth purchasing, especially if you like to use different cooking methods and want to maximize storage space in your kitchen by having just one cooking appliance that does it all, instead of having to contend with multiple. What’s more, half of the people we surveyed (52%) said their multi-cooker made cooking easier and more convenient.
One in three consumers (27%) also admitted they have cooked more since making the purchase, with 33% believing the appliance has helped them achieve a deeper flavour compared to other cooking methods. Only 19% of survey respondents said they didn’t end up using their multi-cooker as much as they thought they would, while 13% wished they bought a different size.
Overall, multi-cookers can be a great addition to the kitchen and we hope our ratings can help you find the right one to satisfy your tummy (and wallet!).
Megan is Canstar Blue’s Home & Lifestyle Editor, leading the team that focuses on consumer products and services, ranging from supermarkets and groceries to home and personal appliances and retail stores. She interprets Canstar Blue’s bespoke research on the thousands of brands that we compare, rate and review, to help shoppers make better purchasing decisions.
Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and 2 years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.
*Prices are taken from respective retailers and Appliances Online, correct as of April 2023.
Here are the past winners of Canstar Blue’s multi-cookers review:
Appliances - October 7th
Nothing beats the feeling of coming home to a slow cooked winter warmer on a freezing winter’s day. Or perhaps the satisfaction of knowing it required minimal prep time, effort and supervision. You just chopped …
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Appliances - June 26th
It’s no doubt that air fryers have taken the appliance and cooking worlds by storm. They’re a simple appliance that make preparing meals much easier, but how do you know what you can and can’t …
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Appliances - April 10th
Cooking rice the traditional way can be a pain. Is it worth buying a new appliance to get that perfect fluffy rice? Canstar Blue reviews rice cookers.
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Appliances - March 29th
If you’re in the market for a quality multi-cooker, you’ve no doubt heard about Instant Pot and Crock Pot. Both brands have a cult following and are revered for their range of benchtop cookers that …
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Appliances - February 22nd
Slow cookers are a convenient and easy way to get maximum flavour and create melt-in-your-mouth dishes like fall-off-the-bone barbecue ribs or a deliciously moist sticky date pudding. Fortunately, Kmart’s Anko range offers a few budget-friendly …
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