3 best stainless steel pans in 2025

Tramontina: It came to a photo finish for the best budget pan between the Calphalon and this Tramontina pan. The Calphalon blew away Tramontina’s 10-inch pan, which costs less than $40, with slightly more even heat distribution in the tests I performed.

Material (out of stock): The $125 material 10-inch pan is a great option if you’re looking for a sturdier (read, heavier) pan with a lid. Is it technically a frying pan and not a frying pan since it has straight sides, and it did well all over the table.

From the Buyer: This legacy French manufacturer makes an excellent 11-inch pan, but it might be better suited for a professional kitchen. It is heavier than most and costs an impressive $ 225. All this makes it difficult to recommend it to the casual home cook.

Demeyere: This Belgian-made seven-layer pan was the heaviest of all the pans I tried, despite being only 9 inches wide. The 4-pound pan heats evenly and cooks food well, but that weight coupled with an inflated $270 price tag means it probably isn’t a great choice for most people.

360 Tableware: This American-made five-layer pan performs about as well as any other, but at $200, other pans will give you better value for your money.

Tuxton Home: I don’t have much bad to say about this budget pan, but it was a little harder to clean than some of the others. The Tuxton home three-layer pan can be had for less than $50 and will certainly do the job.

All-Clad Graphite Core: This All-Clad pan has a lightweight graphite core, so it could be a good choice for someone who struggles to handle a standard pan. That said, it’s not cheap — $200 for a 10-inch — and it distributes more unevenly than its aluminum-core counterparts.