Instant Pot 8 vs 6 Quart (DUO80 vs DUO60) – What to choose?

Julia Wright | Last updated February 12th, 2019

This question arises in the mind of almost all the people when they decide to go to buy an Instant Pot: “Which Instant Pot size is good for me, Pot 6 or Pot 8?”. Nowadays, these Instant Pots are available in different sizes and are capable to perform various functions.

What food you’re going to make? For whom you’re going to prepare the food?

Does size matter?

Yes, a lot! The first important thing to consider is that you cannot use all the space mentioned in the volume of the instant pot. For instance, if you’re using 6 Quart or 8 Quart, you cannot fill them up to the upper limit because you need some space for pressure, stirring and other similar things. Ideally, you can fill 75% of the instant pot with food items to cook.

Family size

If you’re 1-2 family members, Instant Pot 6 Quart can satisfy all your basic food needs. It has the capacity of 6 liters. On the other hand, if you have a large family then you must go for Instant Pot 8 Quart which can hold 8 liters. If your family size is small, but you do batch cooking, then you must go for 8 Quart.

Your cooking habit

Some people love to cook more food. For instance, if you want to cook one 5 to 6 pounds whole chicken, 6 quart is good but for 2 chicken of this size, you’ll have to use 8 Quart. You can prepare 5 to 6-quart yogurt in 6 Quart and 6 to 7 quart in 8 Quart Instant Pot. As far as the accessories are concerned, you can store good amount of them in both Pots but, obviously, the 8 Quart can hold more material than 6 Quart.

Let’s do a direct comparison between the two models.

Price

Of course, the 8 Quart Instant Pot is a little more expensive than Instant Pot IP-DUO60. Simply, it can prove a small burden on your pocket if you’re on a tight budget. So, we can conclude that 8 Quart is clearly more expensive than Instant Pot 6 Quart.

8 Quart is not commonly used

The second issue with 8 Quart is that it’s not commonly used. So it will be tough to find recipes and accessories for this model. But, if you’re determined and ambitious cook, you can find anything for your Quart 8.  So not a big deal!

Height

Quart 8 is taller than the Quart 6 pot. Well, it may be an issue to adjust taller cooker in cabinets. Another thing is you’ll have to move your taller cooker a bit away from the upper cabinet to direct the steam away from the upper cabinets.

Final thought

Whatever your choice may be, whether you choose the 6 Quart Instant Pot or the 8 Quart Pot, you’re going to prepare perfect, delicious and tasty food for your family.  In my opinion, if your family is small and you don’t do batch cooking, go for 6-quart model and if you have large family or even a small family but you do batch cooking, go for 8-quart model.