The 4 Best Woks of 2024

Best Overall Wok

Scanpan Classic 12.5"

Pan Diameter x Depth	12.88 x 3.75 in
Material	Aluminum
Coating	Yes, Stratanium coating, PFOA/PFOS-free
Handles	Pan and helper
Lid	No

The Scanpan Classic 12.5" is a beautifully constructed wok made by Danish craftsmen. The PFOA/PFOS-free nonstick coating is exceptionally effective, and the heavy aluminum bottom distributes heat uniformly. When measuring heat distribution, the Classic displays a 111 ºF difference between the bottom center of the wok and its rim, while some of the competitors show differences in the 200-300+ ºF range. The Classic also has a near-perfectly flat bottom, making for a stable, predictable cooking platform. At the same time, the sidewalls are angled such that pan-tossing food is not only easy but enjoyable.

We are big fans of the Scanpan Classic, but we admit it is not a “classic” wok. The compact size, beveled sides, heavy flat bottom, nonstick coating, and composite handles stand out when contrasted with carbon steel models like the Souped Up Recipes Wok. If you're seeking a more conventional design, the Scanpan Classic may not appeal to you. And, if you're suspicious of nonstick coating, this model may also raise an eyebrow — even when the manufacturer claims it's metal-utensil safe. Coating and pan shape critiques aside, we cannot find fault with the Classic's brilliant performance in our evaluations of its cooking performance, durability, and ease of use. The Kenmore Hammond Flat Bottom, described below, is another excellent option that's lighter-weight and less expensive.

Best Bang for Your Buck

Kenmore Hammond Flat Bottom

Pan Diameter x Depth	13.75 x 3.88 in
Material	Steel
Coating	Yes, PTFE and PFOA-free
Handles	Pan and helper
Lid	No

The Kenmore Hammond Flat Bottom is made of carbon steel and has a PTFE and PFOA-free nonstick coating making a nice blend of conventional design and modern coating. We enjoyed cooking with this wok because it is responsive to temperature changes, the nonstick coating makes it a breeze to use, and it is designed for high heat up to 500 ºF. The nonstick coating means no seasoning is required, it's easy to clean, and it has virtually no sticking issues. The Acacia handles are visually appealing and limit the need for potholders even when cooking at searing temperatures.

We should note the nonstick surface of the Kenmore requires some precautions — the manufacturer recommends using wood or plastic utensils to prevent scratching. Additionally, the manufacturer recommends slowly bringing the pan to high heat and not putting it in the oven. At 22 ⅝ inches from handle to handle, the Kenmore also takes up a great deal of space in a kitchen cabinet and on the stovetop. Despite the bulk and heat restrictions, the Kenmore's combination of modern and conventional design features makes it a solid choice for stir-fry lovers who want minimal maintenance, easy clean-up, and a price tag that won't break the bank. If you want something more durable in a similar price range, check out the cast iron Cuisinart 10" wok or the Joyce Chen Flat Bottom.

A Beginner-Friendly Wok

Calphalon Signature Nonstick 12-Inch Flat Bottom

Pan Diameter x Depth	12.5 x 3.88 in
Material	Aluminum
Coating	Yes, PFOA-free
Handles	Pan and helper
Lid	Yes

The Calphalon 12 inch is a beginner-friendly pan for those looking for a full-size wok. The heavy aluminum bowl heats up slower than the carbon steel pans and holds heat for longer, making on-the-fly heat adjustments difficult. The upside is that the wok is more forgiving, as it limits dramatic temperature changes. The durable, nonstick surface keeps ingredients from adhering to the surface, requiring less oil and less cleaning effort. The size and shape are great for stir-fries and soups for the whole family. This pan also comes with a lid, which is ideal for simmering or retaining heat once removed from the stovetop.

Many nonstick pans can warp when used on high heat, but the Calphalon is high heat compatible and oven-safe up to 500 ºF. Additionally, it is dishwasher safe, which makes clean-up a breeze. It features one of the most durable nonstick surfaces we tested, making it even more user-friendly. That said, the metal helper handle gets hot, sometimes requiring the assistance of your favorite trusty potholder. The price is also pretty steep, which is likely the biggest drawback for the average consumer. The Kenmore Hammond Flat Bottom is still our favorite lower-priced model. However, you get what you pay for with the Calphalon in terms of quality, durability, and ease of use. All in all, this is an ideal multi-use pan that leans towards stir-fried dishes. The award-winning Scanpan Classic 12.5" wok is another beginner-friendly, easy-to-use option.

Best for Durability

Cuisinart 10" Cast Iron Wok

Pan Diameter x Depth	10 x 2.75 in
Material	Iron
Coating	No
Handles	Helper
Lid	No

The Cuisinart 10" Cast Iron Wok is small and compact, making it ideal for one or two people with minimal storage space. This pan is versatile and durable to boot. It is affordable and, if properly cared for, should last a lifetime. Because it is cast iron, it can be seasoned in the oven as opposed to the stovetop, which is easier and more effective for creating a thick, even coating. This pan also has good heat distribution with a 180 ºF difference from the bottom to the rim — this is in the range of the highest-end (and most expensive) models in the class. While cast iron takes longer to get up to temperature than aluminum and carbon steel, it sears meat effectively and cooks rapidly once heated.

The Cuisinart is a Cantonese-style wok and has two short handles instead of a single long one. That makes it difficult to toss on a stovetop, and potholders are mandatory. We were impressed with the nonstick qualities of the pan after the first seasoning. Yet, the pan held onto scrambled eggs a bit and stir-frying required consistent use of a spatula. The 10-inch size and small handles are compact enough for storage, but larger meals will necessitate batch cooking. As with all uncoated metal pans, extra maintenance and cleaning efforts are required. Despite these limitations, the Cuisinart offers excellent value, serviceable performance, and enough versatility to make this pan useful in the long haul. If you'd like durable materials but prefer a Mandarin-style wok with a long handle, we recommend the steel Joyce Chen Flat Bottom wok.

Compare Products

Compare select up to 5 products to compare

	Score	Product	Price
	89	Scanpan Classic 12.5" Best Overall Wok	$170
	87	Calphalon Signature Nonstick 12-Inch Flat Bottom A Beginner-Friendly Wok	$130
	73	Kenmore Hammond Flat Bottom Best Bang for Your Buck	$40
	72	Cuisinart 10" Cast Iron Wok Best for Durability	$35
	67	Souped Up Recipes Carbon Steel Wok	$55
	66	Joyce Chen Flat Bottom	$44
	63	Helen's Asian Kitchen Flat Bottom Wok	$30
	57	Mammafong Pre-seasoned Carbon Steel	$110

How We Test Woks

After researching several dozen of the most popular and sought-after woks on the market, we selected the most promising models that cover the range of consumer needs and wants in this pan style. Next, we crafted simple experiments for these woks, as simplicity offers the clearest results. For example, we test the woks' nonstick qualities with a pan-scrambled egg. The results are markedly obvious with what remains stuck in the pan and the color and texture of the eggs that come out. We also make a basic chicken broccoli stir-fry because the recipe illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of each pan when cooking ingredients with varying moisture contents, density, oils, and fats. We also perform a basic heat distribution test with an infrared digital thermometer.

Our wok testing is divided across five rating metrics:

• Cooking Performance (30% of overall score weighting)

• Quality and Durability (25% weighting)

• Ease of Cooking (20% weighting)

• Maintenance and Clean-Up (20% weighting)

• Storability (5% weighting)

Why Trust GearLab

After a trip to Thailand, Jessica Albery became a bit of a stir-fry fanatic, trying out different methods and a wide range of recipes. Stir-fry is a weeknight staple for her thanks to the short cooking time and hearty ingredients. Nick Miley joined Jessica in the most recent update to this review. Nick is an avid cook who values quality cooking tools and their contribution to unique dishes such as stir-fry. Nick has worked in the consumer-review industry for over a decade and has a background in research and experiment design.

How to Pick the Best Wok

We've come up with four key considerations involving, material selection, budget, and space to find the perfect wok for your next night of cooking.

What Size Do You Need?

One of the first considerations when looking for a wok is size. The dishes you plan to cook, the amount of mouths you plan on feeding, and storage constrictions should be considered. Generally, a wok in the 12-inch range will be ideal for an individual or two. A 14-inch diameter wok will be more appropriate for families and those planning to feed around four to six people.

What Material is Best?

A carbon steel wok is a common choice among professional cooks due to its durable, high heat retention cooking characteristics. Carbon steel can heat up quickly while still being light enough to toss food around. Carbon steel requires more maintenance to prevent rust and is prone to reacting to acidic foods altering taste. Aluminum is another viable option for wok cooking since it's lightweight, affordable, and heats quickly, but it won't provide the same level of durability and heat retention as carbon steel or cast iron. Cast iron is also a worthy consideration due to its ability to maintain constantly hot temperatures, but it's quite heavy and takes more maintenance to keep seasoned and nonstick. When deciding on your wok material, consider your taste preference, cooking abilities, and time for maintenance.

How Much Time Do You Have for Cleaning?

While cleaning will largely depend on the material, it's a factor that can sometimes be overlooked. For folks who decide to use a carbon steel or cast iron wok, cleaning will involve rinsing the wok in hot water, scrubbing food particles delicately, and then drying using your stovetop. Additionally, carbon steel and cast iron will require a one-time seasoning process as well as gradual seasoning through extended use. Aluminum woks are generally nonstick and require very little effort to clean other than hand washing or tossing into the dishwasher.

What Handle Style is Best?

Woks come in a variety of handle shapes and orientations. A Cantonese-style wok will have two loop handles. This type generally isn't shuffled or lifted during use. A Mandarin-style wok will have a long handle ideal for lifting and tossing food while cooking. For most wok cooking, it's ideal to have a long handle for leverage to mix food around while also having a smaller helper handle to help with moving the wok around from different burners.

Analysis and Test Results

After spending hours looking over the best woks on the market, we selected eight models for side-by-side testing. In our evaluation, we explore how the woks perform across five testing criteria: cooking performance, ease of cooking, maintenance and clean-up, durability, and storage. Take a look to see how they compare and which is the best option for your kitchen.

What's the Best Value?

Value ratings are an assessment of the balance between price and performance. That is to say, we want to see products perform at a higher level than competitive products but are priced similarly. Or we want to see products that perform at a similar level as the competition but cost less.

Using the criteria above, the Kenmore Hammond and Scanpan stand out in the class for their value. The Kenmore is an obvious value item as its cost is low, and it earned above-average marks in most testing metrics. Conversely, some might not find the Scanpan's value so obvious. Yet, the Scanpan is one of the best all-around woks in the class, and its nearest competitor is markedly more expensive.

Cooking Performance

To test cooking performance, we ran the pans through a series of tests to evaluate heating evenness, heating rate, stickiness, stir-fry-ability, and water-boiling efficiency. Additionally, we considered how much oil is required to prevent sticking. When taken as a whole, the Scanpan is the decisive leader in this assessment. However, the Calphalon and the Kenmore also delivered great performances.

Heating evenness is critical to rendering consistent results across a variety of ingredients and volumes. We tested this by heating the pan on medium and then taking the temperature at the bottom center of the pan and the rim. Those pans with less than a 100 ºF difference are considered to have good heat distribution. The Scanpan and Calphalon have 111 ºF and 104 ºF differences, respectively. The Kenmore is more representative of the carbon steel woks in the class with a difference of 349 ºF from pan bottom to rim.

The heating rate is determined by the time the pan takes to bring a cup of cold tap water to a rolling boil. Here, we found that the thinner bottomed pans like the Souped Up excel with boil times as low as 20.3 seconds. However, the Calphalon surprised everyone with a boil time of 48.4 seconds. The Kenmore was just a few seconds behind the Calphalon, while the Scanpan had one of the slowest times in the class at 1 minute 50.5 seconds. That said, the evenness of the Scanpan's boil made it well worth the wait.

Woks are fantastic for rapidly cooking stir-fried meals by using high heat to seal in juices while distributing heat across a large surface area. These wok characteristics prevent ingredients from getting overcrowded and, thus, soggy. Given the intended use of these pans, we cooked the same type of stir-fry in each wok to evaluate its performance. The Scanpan stands head and shoulders above the competition in this test. There is no better way to describe the results than perfect — the meat was juicy with nicely seared surfaces while the veggies were warm, soft, but snappy. It should be noted that we used just a teaspoon of oil in the pan and still rendered these desirable results. The Calphalon and Kenmore came in second and third, respectively, yielding quite good results, though a bit more oil and stirring were needed in the latter's case.

To test the stickiness of the woks, we cooked one pan-scrambled egg in each using the same amount of oil. Not surprisingly, the three leading pans — Scanpan, Calphalon, and Kenmore — lead the class. The Scanpan again showed its superiority by producing an immaculate, fluffy yellow egg with exactly zero remnants stuck to the pan. No other pan could make such a claim. However, the Cephalon came close. In comparison, the Kenmore showed browning on the egg where it occasionally stuck.

Quality and Durability

Over the years, we have conducted various tests for quality and durability. However, time and experience have taught us that a thorough inspection of a product before, during, and after our rigorous testing will tell us more about a product than destructive testing. As such, we made a detailed inspection of the woks we tested, looking at features such as the rivets securing the handles to the bowl, the handle materials, as well as the design, material, and construction of the bowl itself. The Cuisinart Cast Iron wok is the gold standard for quality and durability. Its uniformity — it is one piece of cast metal — and lack of attachments suggest that this wok will last long enough to become a family heirloom.

The Scanpan and Calphalon are perhaps better examples of high-quality pans as they have more components, such as riveted handles, coatings, and a lid, in the latter's case. These two pans are beautifully constructed with robust rivets, precision machining, and quality materials. With proper care, these pans should last a lifetime. The Joyce Chen and Souped Up also have decent construction and materials, though they are a step down from the Scanpan and Calphalon.

Ease of Cooking

The ease of cooking evaluation looks at the aspects of wok design that affect handling. For example, one big advantage of the wok design is that pan-toss is a reasonable alternative to spoon-stirring. We pick up each pan, give it a shake, and toss to test this technique. Pans that require two hands for the shake test scored lower. We also evaluated if weight or bulk made it difficult to maneuver the woks. Finally, we looked at other factors such as a pan's fit to the burner, oven restrictions, and metal utensils usage. The Calphalon took a big step ahead of its peers in this evaluation. Testers were thrilled with the ease of their interaction with this pan as it is well-balanced, has a perfectly flat bottom, and is oven and metal utensil-safe. The only note we'd add is that its handle is a bit skinny, which might make it harder to grip for some people.

The Scanpan and the Kenmore are also at the top of the rankings in this metric. Most importantly, these pans are exceptionally easy to use. The nonstick coatings and the curvature of the sidewalls on these models make pan-tosses smooth and satisfying. The Kenmore and Scanpan are a little on the heavy side for the leading models, though. Conversely, the Calphalon is light and, at 12 ½ inches in diameter, much easier to manipulate. That said, both the Calphalon and Scanpan have unconventional handle shapes. Some may prefer the large, round wooden handles on the carbon steel woks.

An important aspect of our ease of cooking assessment is how well the woks fit a burner. We favored pans with wide, flat bottoms that sit nicely on various range types. The Calphalon and Scanpan have great bottoms that are even and wide. The Kenmore and Cuisinart are also to our liking.

Finally, there is the question of using metal utensils. Scanpan and Calphalon say it's safe to use metal in their pans. However, given their high cost and high performance, we suggest playing it safe and avoiding the use of metal with these products. On the other hand, all the carbon steel woks are quite durable in this regard. In fact, the Souped Up comes with a metal wok chuan (spatula).

Maintenance and Clean-Up

The maintenance and clean-up metric looks at the time and precautions required to keep a wok in good working order. Perhaps the biggest burden posed by wok ownership is seasoning. Carbon steel pans like the Joyce Chen and Helen's Asian Kitchen need to be seasoned — a process that can take over an hour to produce the initial base coating. To evaluate the ease of this process, we read the manufacturer's instructions and followed them exactly. To test clean-up, we timed how long the pan took to clean after the scrambled egg test. Pans with nonstick coatings, such as the Scanpan, Calphalon, and Kenmore, excelled in this evaluation. The dominance of these pans is due to their ease of cleaning (nothing stuck to their surfaces) and the fact that they do not require seasoning.

While the nonstick pans are easy to maintain and clean, the Kenmore explicitly says not to use metal utensils and to hand wash the wok. Scanpan and Calphalon say that their woks are both dishwasher and metal utensil safe, though we were inclined to treat them more gently given their cost and high-performance nonstick coatings. Conversely, we are in full agreement with the manufacturers of the carbon steel woks in the class that advise hand washing their products. Developing a well-seasoned coating on a pan takes time, and you do not want to work against yourself by removing this coating with harsh detergents, steel wool, or dishwashing machines.

The Mammafong is a carbon steel wok that comes pre-seasoned, which is why it did better than its carbon steel counterparts in this evaluation. However, seasoning is an ongoing process, and buyers should be aware that a seasoned wok requires special care despite being able to use metal utensils to stir its contents.

Storability

Woks are bulky. As such, we test how well each pan fits in our test kitchen's storage drawers and cabinets and rate them accordingly. More compact or easily stackable pans scored higher, whereas ones that were difficult to store in a small space scored lower. We also take lids and the ability to hang the pan into consideration.

The Cuisinart Cast Iron is the smallest pan tested, followed (distantly) by the Souped Up. The Souped Up's lack of a helper handle gave it a leg up in the storability department, but we don't think the trade-off is worth it. Close on its heels are the Scanpan and Calphalon, two pans with helper handles that are reasonably compact. The Kenmore is large, but the ring on its handle makes it good for hanging.

Conclusion

This review of woks researched and tested every detail that a consumer will want to know before making a purchase. We grouped our testing into five metrics — cooking performance, ease of cooking, maintenance and clean-up, quality and durability, and storability. The results and insight from these tests are shared above in a format that allows one to quickly and effectively sort the products that best match their needs and budget. With our help, you'll be pan-tossing stir fry for family and friends in no time.