Comparison
Ceramic vs stainless steel cookware: which is safer?
“Ceramic” means two different things. Solid ceramic and stainless both score well. Ceramic coatings don’t, because nobody publishes the recipe.
For a pan that lasts and hides nothing, stainless steel. Ceramic-coated pans are PTFE-free, but the coating wears out and the recipe is secret: Caraway scores 53, Our Place 21. The exception is solid ceramic: Xtrema scores 96, our highest.
Caraway Ceramic Fry PanCeramic sol-gel coating on aluminium. Recipe not published.53/100See the full entry →
Side by side
| Compared | Stainless | Ceramic-coated |
|---|---|---|
| Cooking surface | Bare stainless steel | Sol-gel coating on aluminium |
| Contains PTFE? | No | No |
| Recipe published? | Nothing to publish | No: proprietary |
| Wears out? | No | Yes: non-stick fades |
| Leaches? | Small nickel and chromium, mostly when new | Unknown: not independently published |
| Our best score | Made In, 92 | GreenPan, 57 US / 62 AU |
The American Ceramic Society calls them “quasi-ceramic”: silica, metal oxides and binders sprayed on aluminium and fired. What they are made of.
Every pan in this comparison
| Product | Score /100 | What touches the food | Our call |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96 | 60/60 | Best material | |
| 92 | 60/60 | Buy it | |
| 92 | 60/60 | Buy it | |
| 83 | 60/60 | Buy it | |
| 76 | 53/60 | Fine | |
| 57 | 34/60 | Read the caveats | |
| 53 | 34/60 | Read the caveats | |
| 21 | 8/60 | They won't say |
- 96/100
- 92/100Made In Stainless Clad Frying Pan · US
5-ply: 304 18/10 stainless, aluminium, aluminium alloy, 403 ferritic
The full entry → - 92/100
Heritage Steel Titanium 12" Fry Pan · USCooking surface “specialty 316Ti stainless steel”
The full entry → - 83/100
Tramontina Tri-Ply Clad 12" Fry Pan · US“18/10 stainless steel” outer layers with an aluminium core
The full entry → - 76/100
All-Clad D3 Stainless Fry Pan · USTri-ply bonded: aluminium core between stainless layers
The full entry → - No maker photo57/100GreenPan Valencia Pro Frypan · US
Thermolon ceramic sol-gel on hard-anodised aluminium
The full entry → - 53/100
- No maker photo21/100Our Place Always Pan (ceramic) · US
“Thermakind” ceramic coating on recycled aluminium
The full entry →
Questions people ask
Is ceramic or stainless steel cookware safer?
Stainless has no coating, so nothing breaks down and nothing is secret. Ceramic-coated pans are PTFE-free but their recipes are proprietary and the surface wears. Solid ceramic, like Xtrema, is different again and scores highest of all.
Does stainless steel leach into food?
A little. One study measured the fraction of nickel leached falling from 5.10% on the first cook to 0.48% by the sixth, mostly with acidic food. A second study using real pots found 18/10 stainless “safe for the majority of nickel-allergic subjects”.
Is ceramic non-stick toxic?
There is no published evidence that it is. The issue is that nobody outside the factory can check, because the coating chemistry is not disclosed. In 2025 the National Advertising Division also found Caraway’s health comparisons against traditional non-stick unsupported.
How long does ceramic non-stick last?
Shorter than stainless, which has no coating to lose. Makers rarely publish a figure, so we don’t quote one.
Is solid ceramic cookware the same as ceramic-coated?
No. Xtrema is 100% ceramic with no metal and no coating, and states it is tested for lead and cadmium. Ceramic-coated pans are aluminium with a thin sol-gel layer.
Related
Sources
- American Ceramic Society, Ceramic Tech Today: is ceramic-coated cookware safe?. ceramics.org
- Kamerud, Hobbie and Anderson (2013), stainless steel leaches nickel and chromium into foods during cooking, J Agric Food Chem. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Guarneri et al. (2017), release of nickel and chromium in common foods during cooking in 18/10 stainless steel pots, Contact Dermatitis. onlinelibrary.wiley.com
- BBB National Programs, National Advertising Division decision concerning Caraway Home (2025). bbbprograms.org
- Xtrema Classic Skillet — maker or retailer page. xtrema.com
- Made In Stainless Clad Frying Pan — maker or retailer page. madeincookware.com
- Heritage Steel Titanium 12" Fry Pan — maker or retailer page. www.heritagesteel.us
- Tramontina Tri-Ply Clad 12" Fry Pan — maker or retailer page. www.tramontina.com
- All-Clad D3 Stainless Fry Pan — maker or retailer page. www.all-clad.com
- GreenPan Valencia Pro Frypan — maker or retailer page. www.greenpan.us
- Caraway Ceramic Fry Pan — maker or retailer page. www.carawayhome.com
- Our Place Always Pan (ceramic) — maker or retailer page. fromourplace.com
- MessyPig materials rubric. MessyPig materials rubric
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New scores, brands that finally answered, and any rule change that affects what you can buy. The list is not open yet — email us and we will add you when it is.