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Instant Pot Pro Plus Review: Which Upgrades Over the Duo Actually Matter?
The Instant Pot Pro Plus judged head-to-head against the standard Duo. Here's whether the steam release, sous vide mode and app control justify buying up.
By Price Review Team
Instant Pot Pro Plus Review: Worth Buying Up From the Duo?
The Bottom Line
Buy it if the things that annoy you about a basic multi-cooker are the interface and the steam release, not the cooking. The Pro Plus cooks the same way every electric pressure cooker cooks. What you're paying for is a quieter, controllable steam release, a much better display, sous vide, and app control. Whether that's worth it depends entirely on how often you use the thing.
Who should buy this: People already cooking under pressure several times a week who want the rough edges gone. Anyone nervous about the violent quick-release on cheaper models. Cooks who want sous vide without buying a separate circulator.
Who should NOT buy this: First-time multi-cooker buyers — start with a Duo and find out whether you use it. Anyone who resents apps in the kitchen.
How We Assessed It
Our assessment weighs the Pro Plus directly against the standard Duo, because that is the only comparison that decides it: the two cook the same way, so the question is whether a controlled steam release, a display that tells you which phase you are in, sous vide and app control are worth the step up. We looked at which upgrades change the food, which change the experience of using the thing, and which simply add electronics to an appliance whose plain-button ancestor is close to unbreakable.
The Good
The steam release is the best upgrade by a distance. Instead of flicking a valve and jumping back from a jet of steam, you choose the release mode on the panel and it vents in a controlled way. It's quieter, it doesn't spit starchy liquid across the cupboard, and it makes the appliance far less intimidating for anyone who's been startled by one.
The display actually tells you what's happening. It shows the pressurisation phase and a real progress indication rather than a cryptic "On". That removes most of the guesswork about when food will actually be ready — the single most common complaint about older models.
Sous vide works better than it has any right to. It's not a precision circulator and there's no water movement, but for chicken breast and steak sitting in a large mass of water held at a set temperature, the missing circulation matters far less than sous-vide orthodoxy insists. If you were curious about sous vide but not curious enough to buy dedicated kit, it's a genuine bonus.
The inner pot has flat handles. A small thing that you appreciate every single time you lift a full pot of stew out with a tea towel.
The Bad
It cooks exactly the same as the cheap one. Beans, stock and stew come out of a Pro Plus the way they come out of a Duo, because the pot has no idea what the control panel cost. Every upgrade here is about the experience, not the food, and you should decide with that clearly in mind.
Sauté is still not a sear. Same limitation as the rest of the range. Brown your meat in a pan.
The app is optional at best. Remote start on an appliance you have to physically load is close to pointless. Checking progress from another room is mildly useful. It is not a reason to buy.
More interface means more to go wrong. The Duo's physical buttons are essentially unbreakable. A larger display and more electronics is more surface area for failure over a decade of use.
Who It's Really For
The person who already uses a multi-cooker constantly and has specific, earned complaints about it — the steam release startles the dog, the display never says how long is really left, the lid handling is fiddly. The Pro Plus answers those complaints properly. If you don't have those complaints yet, you're not the buyer.
Final Verdict
Price-Per-Value Rating: 8.4/10
A genuinely better appliance to live with, and the controlled steam release alone will win over anyone who's been scalded by a quick release. It scores below the plain Duo on value because the food is identical — this is a quality-of-life upgrade, priced like one, and it should be bought as a second multi-cooker rather than a first.
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