Is the Always Pan worth it? What $135 buys, what it costs you, and what the same money buys instead
The one-paragraph answer. At $135 the ceramic Always Pan is worth it if you want one nonstick pan that also steams, strains and goes into a 450°F oven, you are willing to wash it by hand, and you accept that a ceramic coating is a three-year proposition — which is exactly the length of Our Place's warranty. It is not worth it if you want a dishwasher, a broiler, metal utensils or a pan for life: Our Place sells those too, for the same money (the cast iron, $135) or $44 more (the titanium, $179). The pan is not overpriced for what is in the box. It is priced for a particular kind of cook.
We earn a commission on purchases through the links here. We would still rather you bought the right $135 pan than the wrong one.
What $135 buys
The box. A 10.5-inch pan — 10.7 inches across, 2.8 deep, 2.6 quarts, 3.9 lb with its lid — plus a modular steam-release lid, a nesting beechwood spatula and a steamer basket that doubles as a colander. The accessories are the point of “10-in-1”: Our Place's ten are sauté, fry, bake, roast, sear, boil, braise, strain, serve and store. Sold bare, it would be an ordinary ceramic skillet.
The surface. Thermakind ceramic nonstick, which Our Place describes as “mainly comprised of sand derivative, water, and alcohol” and made without PFAS, PTFE, PFOA, lead or cadmium, over a cast aluminium body of 100% certified post-consumer recycled aluminium with a stainless steel base.
The ratings. Oven safe to 450°F. Induction: stated as “compatible with all cooktops, including induction” on the 8.5-inch and 12.5-inch pages and on the Cookware Duo page; the 10.5-inch pan's own page does not repeat it. Hand wash only.
The warranty. Three years, limited, “if the care instructions are followed” — up from one year for purchases before 1 May 2025 — plus a 100-day trial with free returns. The terms, product by product, are on Our Place warranty and returns.
Eight colourways at one price. Spice, Char, Blue Salt, Sage, Steam, Vanilla Bean, Forget-Me-Not Blue and Butter Yellow on 16 October 2026, all $135.
What it costs you
Hand washing, every time. “Hand wash only, not dishwasher safe”, and “do not fully soak or submerge the pan”. If that rule will be broken in your kitchen, the coating's life goes with it — and so does the warranty, which is conditional on the care instructions.
Low to medium heat. Our Place's instruction: “use low-to-medium heat for optimal results” and “never heat an empty pan”. A ceramic coating is not a searing surface and Our Place does not pretend it is; the Cast Iron Always Pan exists for that.
A coating that wears. Our Place's “50% longer-lasting” claim is measured against its own previous coating, not stated in years. Its care guide says sticking “usually happens because a thin film has formed over the coating” and offers no restoration method. Three years is the warranty and the honest planning horizon.
450°F and no stated broiler use. Enough to finish a dish; not a broiler pan. Every pan's rating is on are Our Place pans oven safe.
No metal utensils. “Use wooden or silicone utensils to protect the ceramic nonstick coating. Do not use metal utensils.” The titanium pan is the one in the range that permits them.
What the same money buys instead
Every price read from Our Place's product data and every specification from the product pages on 16 October 2026.
Against the other brands
These figures are dated, and the date matters. On 25 August 2026 we read every competitor's price from its own store data. None has been re-checked since, and each comparison page says so. The ceramic Always Pan's $135 has not moved between August and October; Our Place's titanium range did.
Caraway was $125 for its fry pan in six colourways and $135 in White and Black — the closest like-for-like. Our Place vs Caraway.
GreenPan's 10-inch Valencia Pro was $79.99 on promotion against a $114.99 list, sold without a lid. Our Place vs GreenPan.
HexClad's 12-inch hybrid was $143 on promotion against a $179 list. Our Place vs HexClad.
Made In's ceramic nonstick pan was $149, pan only, no lid. Our Place vs Made In.
Le Creuset's was $140, and its product page states that it uses PFAS. Our Place vs Le Creuset.
All-Clad's HA1 ceramic was $99.99 and makes no non-toxic claim at all on its page. Our Place vs All-Clad.
All competitor prices read 25 August 2026 from each store's own product data; sizes differ, so this is a price list, not a like-for-like ranking. The full set is on the comparisons index.
Every Always Pan, priced
Prices read from Our Place's product data on the date on each card. The $135 question is answered above; these are the four pans it is asked about.
So, is it worth it?
Five answers, by what you actually want from a pan.
The questions people actually ask
How long does the Always Pan last?
Our Place publishes no figure in years. It warrants the pan for three years if the care instructions are followed, calls the current coating “50% longer-lasting” than its previous one, and says in its care guide that sticking “usually happens because a thin film has formed over the coating”. Plan on three years and treat anything beyond as a bonus.
Is the Always Pan worth it compared with Caraway?
On 25 August 2026 Caraway's fry pan was $125, or $135 in White and Black, against $135 for the Always Pan with its lid, spatula and steamer basket. The specification-by-specification answer is on Our Place vs Caraway.
Is the Always Pan dishwasher safe?
No. “Hand wash only, not dishwasher safe.” The titanium Always Pan Pro is the dishwasher-safe one. Our Place's cleaning method is on how to clean the Always Pan.
Is the Always Pan oven safe?
Yes, to 450°F for the ceramic pan sold since 2023. The original, sold until April 2023, was not. Are Our Place pans oven safe has every rating.
Which Always Pan is the best value?
Per quart, the 12.5-inch at about $40 a quart, then the 10.5-inch at $52, then the Mini at $91. Per kitchen, the 10.5-inch: it is the only size whose box lists the lid, the spatula and the steamer basket.
Does the Always Pan work on induction?
Our Place states “compatible with all cooktops, including induction” on the 8.5-inch and 12.5-inch pages and on the Cookware Duo page. The 10.5-inch pan's own page does not say it, which is an omission on the page rather than a difference in the pan — but if induction is the deciding factor, check the listing before you buy.
How were these figures verified?
Our Place prices from its product data and specifications from its product pages, read 16 October 2026; competitor prices from each store's own product data, read 25 August 2026 and not re-checked since. How we check these pages.
1919 Cookware is an independent guide to Our Place cookware, written to help you work out what to buy. We earn a commission when you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you, and it does not decide our verdicts — where a rival or a cheaper model is the better buy, we say so. Prices and specifications are read from each manufacturer's own published product data rather than from long-term kitchen testing, and the page below explains what that does and does not settle. We do not accept press samples and no brand reviews our pages before publication. Our Place prices and specifications last verified 16 October 2026; competitor prices 25 August 2026.
How we check these pages