What You Get at Every Multicooker Price Point in Australia

The Spread Is Narrower Than It Used to Be

Multicookers run from about $139 to $389 on Amazon AU right now, and that range is still tight compared with where the category sat a couple of years ago. The old story was that capacity cost money - a bigger pot meant a bigger bill. That is no longer true. The 8L Instant Pot Duo currently costs within a couple of dollars of the 5.7L one, and the small models cost almost as much as both.

An important note on where these prices come from. A lot of the multicooker listings you will find on amazon.com.au are not Australian sales at all - they are dispatched from Amazon UK, with UK stock, UK plugs and a warranty you would be claiming overseas rather than under Australian Consumer Law. We re-checked every listing in this guide on 14 October 2026 and dropped the ones that turned out to be imports or had no offer, including the Ninja Foodi SmartLid that used to top this list. Everything priced below is Australian stock with a live buy box.

What that leaves is a clearer picture than the old tier structure suggested: capacity is now close to free, and the thing you pay a premium for is air frying - although, as of this update, Ninja has put a pressure-and-air-fry machine under $200, which changes the maths at the bottom. Let's walk through it.

Quick Picks by Budget

Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 5.7LCheck Price →

Under $150: The Compact Entry Point

Instant Pot Rio Mini 3.8L 7-in-1 Multi-CookerA$129.95Check Price →

This tier used to mean a 3L pot and a compromise. It still contains the small models, and the interesting thing about it in 2026 is how little you save by going small.

The Instant Pot Rio Mini 3.8L at $143.65 is the genuine small option - seven functions in a footprint that suits a studio kitchen or a caravan. Pressure cook, slow cook, rice, steam, saute, yoghurt and warm. It is the same smart-program logic as the bigger machines, just scaled down, and with 785 Amazon AU reviews at 4.6 stars it is the best-proven small pot here.

The Instant Pot Duo Plus 3L at $139 is the step up within the small class: nine functions rather than seven, thirteen smart programs, and a steriliser mode that is genuinely useful if you are doing baby bottles or preserving jars. It is also, by a dollar or two, the cheapest multicooker on this list.

But here is the thing that makes this tier strange. Both of those are competing against a 5.7L machine that costs about $10 more (see the next section), and an 8L one that costs about $15 more. Unless you are physically short of bench space or cooking for exactly one person, the small models no longer make financial sense. Buy small because your kitchen is small, not because you are saving money - because you are barely saving anything.

What your money buys here: A compact, proven multicooker with the core functions and a small footprint. Worth it for space, not for price. If you are unsure how big to go, our guide to what size multicooker you actually need works through it properly.

$150 to $225: The Sweet Spot, and Capacity Is Free

This is where almost every Australian household should be shopping, and it has become remarkable value.

The Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 5.7L at $152.15 is the classic - the machine that made pressure cooking mainstream here. Seven functions in a 5.7L pot that comfortably feeds four. No air fryer, no Wi-Fi, no bells. Just a reliable, well-built pressure cooker.

Why does this model still sell so well when fancier options exist? Because most people use three functions - pressure cook, slow cook and saute - and the Duo does all three properly. The recipe community is unmatched, replacement seals and pots are cheap and everywhere, and the design has barely changed in years because it did not need to. Our piece on pressure cooking versus slow cooking covers when to reach for each mode.

The Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 8L at $154 is the same machine, supersized, and at the October price it costs less than two dollars more than the 5.7L. If you batch cook on Sundays, meal prep for the week, or regularly feed six or more, the extra 2.3 litres matters and it is effectively free. The stainless-steel inner pot is dishwasher safe, same as its smaller sibling. The trade-off is bench space and weight - an 8L unit has a serious footprint and is a genuine lug to move.

The Instant Pot Duo Plus 8L at $199.95 is the upgraded 8L: nine functions instead of seven, thirteen smart programs, plus steriliser and sous vide modes, and 1,313 Amazon AU reviews at 4.5 stars behind it. Whether the extra $46 over the plain Duo 8L is worth it comes down to one question - will you actually use sterilising and sous vide? Most people will not.

The newcomer is the Ninja Hyperheat 9-in-1 Multicooker (PC201ANZ) at $198, and it is the reason the old "air frying costs $150 extra" rule no longer holds. Nine functions - pressure cook, slow cook, steam, sear, saute, bake, roast, air fry and more - in one compact pot, sold by Amazon AU, for less than an Instant Pot Duo Plus. Ninja's Hyperheat system is about faster, more even heating across all the modes. The caveat is that it is new to Amazon AU in 2026 and has not yet built up the owner-review base the Instant Pots have, so you are trusting Ninja's track record rather than hundreds of Australian reviews.

The other wildcard here is the Ninja Foodi Everyday Possible Pro 6L at $221.93, which is a different animal entirely. It is a 10-in-1 multi-cooker built around an oven-safe casserole pot rated to 260C, so it goes from hob to oven to table. If you cook a lot of braises and bakes rather than pressure-cooked curries, that is a genuinely more useful shape than a sealed pressure pot.

What your money buys at this level: Family capacity and proven reliability for about what the small models cost, and now a credible pressure-plus-air-fry option under $200. This tier is the whole answer for most households. If you want it narrowed further, our best multicookers under $300 ranking does the head-to-head.

$358 to $389: Premium Territory, Where Big-Pot Air Frying Lives

Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer 11-in-1 Multicooker 8LA$363Check Price →

Everything up here combines pressure cooking with air frying in a full-size pot. This is the tier where a multicooker stops being a clever pot and starts replacing a second appliance for a whole family.

The Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer 11-in-1 8L at $358 is the cheapest way into full-size pressure-plus-crisp, and it is the biggest pot in this tier at 8L, with 1,745 Amazon AU reviews at 4.5 stars. Eleven functions including air fry, dehydrate, sous vide and grill. The catch is the two-lid design: a pressure lid and a separate crisping lid, and the crisping lid is bulky and has to live somewhere.

The Instant Pot Duo Crisp Ultimate Lid 13-in-1 6.5L at $389.31 solves exactly that. One lid handles pressure cooking, air frying, steaming, sous vide and the rest - you flip a switch rather than swap hardware. Thirteen functions, 6.5L. For $31 more than the two-lid model you get a smaller pot and a much better daily experience, and for most kitchens that is the right trade. The non-stick inner pot is easier to clean than stainless but will not last as long.

A note on Ninja at this level: the Foodi SmartLid 7.5L that used to sit at the top of this guide has been delisted from Amazon AU altogether, and the Foodi MAX 9-in-1 is only available as UK-dispatched stock, which is why neither appears here. If you specifically want a big Ninja pressure-and-crisp machine, buy it from an Australian retailer. Our Ninja versus Instant Pot comparison goes through the two brands properly.

What your money buys at this level: Pressure cooking and air frying in a family-size pot, and in the Ultimate Lid, a single-lid design that makes using both practical rather than annoying. You are spending roughly two and a half times the entry price for capacity plus one genuinely new capability.

Where the Biggest Jump Happens

The honest breakdown, and it has changed since our last update:

• $150 to $225 - Everything most people need. Family capacity, proven reliability, seven to ten functions, and the Ninja Hyperheat adds air frying at $198. The Duo 8L at $154 is the best pure value in the category by a wide margin.
• Under $150, small models - Buy these for a small kitchen, not for a small budget. They cost nearly as much as a bigger pot does.
• $358 to $389 - Worth it only if you want air frying in a full-size 6.5L or 8L pot. The Ultimate Lid at $389 has the smartest design of the pair.

The biggest jump is no longer about capacity, and it is no longer purely about air frying either. It is the roughly $160 gap between the Ninja Hyperheat and the Instant Pot Duo Crisp, and that gap buys you a bigger pot and a deep owner-review base. Everything else - the core functions, build, reliability, the smart programs - you already had at $152.

So the question is not "how much should I spend on a multicooker". It is "do I want an air fryer inside my pressure cooker, and how big does it need to be". If you already own a decent air fryer, the answer is almost certainly no, and you should buy the Duo 8L for $154 and stop. If you do not, and you cook for two or three, the Hyperheat at $198 is the new budget answer. If you cook for a family and bench space is tight, paying the premium for one full-size machine instead of two is reasonable. Our guide to which multicooker functions are worth paying for digs into the rest of the feature list.

One thing worth noting: even the cheapest multicooker here outperforms a standalone rice cooker or slow cooker on versatility. The entry-level Duo does seven things. A dedicated rice cooker does one. If you are weighing up which appliance to buy first, the multicooker wins on pure flexibility every time - and it now costs about what a good rice cooker does.

Ready to compare them all side by side? Check out our full best multicookers in Australia ranking with detailed scores and live pricing. Prices were the live Amazon AU figures on 14 October 2026 and move often, so check the listing before you buy.