Neither. The pan a chef uses only benefits you if you’re willing to do the work that pan requires. Our pan advisor prefers to cook in stainless steel (RVS) himself, yet he still recommends a coated pan to someone buying their first frying pan. A bare pan gives meat a crust, but it demands patience and technique you need to learn first.

An expensive brand with a coating doesn’t solve sticking forever. A pricier coating is usually thicker and lasts longer, but even more expensive brands get complaints in reviews that the pan starts sticking after a while. Under the Maestro name we have two Beka frying pans of 28 cm: an aluminium pan with a ceramic coating and a stainless steel pan without a coating. They carry the same name, but only the first is the one you replace when the coating is worn.

More expensive doesn’t automatically mean PFAS-free. Of our coated pans the pricier ones often have a standard non-stick coating, and their product pages don’t list them as PFAS-free. If you want to avoid PFAS, first read about the best PFAS-free frying pan before price determines your choice.

Someone who sees pan after pan start sticking is better off with a different type of pan than with a more expensive version of the same. You don’t throw out a pan without a coating because it’s worn. If you’re willing to learn the cooking technique, start with stainless steel in the order below.

At the top is the pan that asks the least of you; every position below requires more technique or maintenance and offers something in return. If you’re torn between two spots, take the one above: the pan that demands more remains an option if you get the hang of it. Cast iron isn’t included in this list and gets its own piece immediately after these entries.

This order is based on what we first ask in the store: how much work you’re willing to put into a pan. The mispurchases we see most often are pans that require more maintenance than the buyer expected. A ranking based on sales figures or stars doesn’t account for that maintenance.

If you’re after a crust and are done with replacing coatings, we point to the Beka Koekenpan Maestro RVS ø 28 cm, a stainless steel pan with a thick base. We choose this above other stainless steel pans because of that thick base: such a base is less likely to warp. Meat sticking to the bottom at first is part of stainless steel: leave it alone, and as soon as a crust forms it will release.

It ranks above carbon steel because it doesn’t need an initial seasoning, and because stainless steel is dishwasher-safe. The pan needs time to heat up properly, and without enough fat the meat will still stick. What three or five layers of stainless steel add, we explain in the article about multi-layer stainless steel frying pans; other pans without a coating are listed in the frying pans without a non-stick coating

For those who make cooking a hobby: carbon steel

If you’re willing to do the extra work, the De Buyer Koekenpan Mineral B Element ø 28 cm is the better option: a steel pan without a non-stick coating. Because carbon steel gets very hot, steak develops a solid crust. Properly seasoned it can even do an egg, because in use the pan builds up a natural seasoning layer. It can go into the oven and withstands metal utensils.