Home cooks in every corner of the world have long been familiar with the presence of a pressure cooker in their kitchen. Pressure cookers are so popular that a wide selection of models from many pressure cooker brands is now available on the market. As diverse as it is, pressure cookers come in only two main categories: Electric and stovetop. If you are looking to purchase a new piece, either as your first pressure cooker or a replacement for your old one, chances are you are being torn choosing between these two types of pressure cookers.

To ease your headache in deciding what is the best pressure cooker for you, we have taken the liberty of pitching them against each other in a pressure cooker comparison. Following is all the information you may need in order to find yourself a good pressure cooker, one that most suits your domestic uses.

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• The mechanism

The most fundamental distinction that allows you to tell an electric apart from a traditional stovetop lies in their source of heat. As being suggested by the name, electric models depend on a power supply while stovetop ones can get heated while being put on all kinds of cooktops. This offers stovetop users much more versatility even if you intend to use the equipment for outdoor cooking, especially where you will have no access to electricity but only fire. Secondly, in such cases where you are already cooking with gas at home, using a conventional model will likely turn out to be the more economical option in the long run.

• Heat control

Finding the right level of heat while using a stovetop may take a little bit more skill since it tends to take users a few times trying to get used to operating the equipment correctly. Not having mastered adjusting the temperature, you may end up either over- or undercooking your meals. You will also have to stand by and tend to the stovetop during this approximately 15-minute process of managing the heat level.

On the contrary, the whole cooking process on electric devices is fully automated. All you need to do is to toggle with the settings, set it to the desired mode and wait until the machine finishes cooking your food. Your attention will not be required again throughout the time of pressure cooking.

• Cooking speed

Generally speaking, all the top rated pressure cookers will significantly lessen your time of cooking as compared to the standard cooking method but with electric and stovetop models come different cooking speeds. The stovetop ones are faster in reaching the needed pressure level, averagely in 11 minutes and in turn, shorten the cooking process by three times. The electric ones take up to 14 minutes to build up the pressure and are only two times faster than regular cooking.

In the same fashion, releasing pressure from a stovetop pressure cooker takes less time than an electric one. This factor will not come into play though If you usually leave the cooked food in the pressure cooker when going out and come home to dinner ready. Plus, you can always choose to release the pressure using the knobs before opening the cooker safely.

In short, stovetop pressure cookers work more efficiently to save you a few minutes, which can be helpful if you are often in a hurry preparing your food ahead of mealtime.

• Customizability and additional functions

Electric pressure cookers will right out beat their stovetop counterparts when it comes to customizable settings. The extra features found on electric models are widely diverse while on stovetop ones are almost non-existent.

The most basic added features in electric models include a timer, a thermometer and a barometer for the purposes of measuring the cooking time, the temperature and the pressure. More advanced features can vary from various cooking options to schedule programming.

Both types of pressure cookers can be used for some other purposes. A lid-off stovetop model can be converted into one regular pot or pan if necessary. Meanwhile, the electric appliances may already integrate functions from other kinds of cookware like rice cookers or slow cookers and become known as a multi-cooker.

The highest-rated pressure cooker obviously comes with lots of extra perks, but you should be the one who decides whether you can take advantage of all the benefits that it has to offer. If you are not sure about all its utilities, it may be a good idea to pick a simpler design and make some savings.

• Durability

Simply put, stovetop models will be the ones that last longer. Considering the fact that metals are subject to physical wears over time, it is still a very slow process.

It seems inevitable that electric gadgets will one day cease to function upon the breakdown of its components. Electronics, as in common knowledge, are more susceptible to natural damages caused by the routine uses.

• Ease of use

Getting the right settings on a modern electric appliance would be arguably trickier than its traditional variant. While we are at this, there may be a nod in the direction of the stovetop models. A stovetop is hands down a user-friendly item for modest construction and one single goal of pressure cooking.

The electric pressure cookers are the less portable out of the two because of their dependence on the power supply. However, electric models are completely fine to be used around the house wherever there is a power socket.

Lastly, most electric models are bulkier, often demand some space on your counter, and unlike the stovetop ones, cannot be stored in the same place with your normal pots and pans.

• Pricing

It is no brainer that electric pressure cookers are more expensive than traditional ones because of the countless bonus utilities that they deliver. If you need help in finding a good pressure cooker for a high value, read the best electric pressure cooker reviews from our market experts to get the most out of your purchase.

Running a stovetop would also mean spending less money on your electricity bills. Given the long-lasting durability of a stovetop, it is not as frequent for you to have to buy a replacement piece, thus saves more over the years.

• Safety risks

Cooking with a stovetop pressure cooker can be relatively safe if you strictly follow its user instructions. To eliminate the only threat of having the equipment blown up, you just need to remember to release pressure before opening.

Electric pressure cookers are, in some way, carry more risks that have to do with its power supply. There are small chances that users face electrocution or fire hazards if the item in question is poorly assembled.

Seeing all the comparable aspects of the two types of pressure cookers above, we hope you have come to some conclusion on whether a stovetop or an electric pressure cooker is a better fit for your conditions. We are happy to enhance your shopping experience further by providing you with our insights on best pressure cookers on the market. Find out more in the best pressure cooker reviews brought to you by our team.