The 15 Best Cast Iron Brands, Ranked

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Cast iron is one of the home kitchen's most finicky yet rewarding materials. Cast iron is manufactured into a variety of shapes like skillets and Dutch ovens and used for cooking everything from vegetables on the grill to baked cornbread. Cast iron is easily the most versatile material in a kitchen and can produce fantastic results if used and cared for correctly.

If you plan on purchasing your first cast-iron skillet, you should know a few things. The first is that cooking in cast iron is vastly different from stainless steel and non-stick skillets. Cast iron skillets are heavy, take a comparatively long time to heat up, and won't always heat food evenly. Plus, in order to get the optimal use out of a cast iron skillet, you must constantly season the cast-iron skillet by carbonizing oil and fat into the pan's surface. The fatty coat will come off the skillet with time and use, so the cast iron skillet necessitates constant upkeep and re-seasoning. If you're worried about maintaining the quality of your pan, we recommend sticking to a stainless steel pan, grill, and traditional baking ware.

If the adventure of owning a cast iron skillet excites you, you're in luck! Here are our top picks for the best cast iron brands you can buy. Prices may vary.

Borough Furnace is ranked last on our top picks for its price. A 10.5-inch skillet is listed on the website at $210, while a two-piece set with a 9-inch and 10.5-inch skillet is listed at $350. Borough Furnace also manufactures Dutch ovens in both enameled and pre-seasoned finishes. The main criticism we noticed with this pan was the ergonomics of the handle; which a user may find uncomfortable to handle and hold.

Ergonomically speaking, Borough Furnace has an upper hand on some of the brands on this list. The skillets feature low walls for optimized airflow and a heavy base. From a purely aesthetic angle, you can tell that the folks at Borough Furnace put a level of craftsmanship into its products not often seen with other mass-produced cast iron brands. Plus, Borough Furnace is a family-owned business with renewable energy offsets. For an eco-minded consumer, these values may justify the price.

Staub has risen in popularity as a brand with the release of similar aesthetically-designed cookware brands like Le Creuset. Staub offers several functionalities that set it apart from Le Creuset. The lid of the Staub cast iron Dutch oven has small spikes to keep the food inside from drying out; it is also heavier and flatter than the Le Creuset to keep moisture retained in the pot.

The Staub Dutch oven also has a dark interior finish which will hide minor scuffs and abrasions much better than Le Cruset pans. Although the dark interior preserves the aesthetic value of the pan, it is more difficult to tell when the food inside is finished cooking.

According to Boonie Hicks, Staub is priced higher than its competitors because each cast iron piece is individually molded and inspected for hairline cracks and defects prior to enameling. Each enameled cast iron piece is covered in three layers of protective enamel to prevent cracking and damage — thus making Staub a superior product in terms of durability. Overall, we love Staub's style and its durability in the kitchen.

The Field Company cast iron skillets are elegant and classically designed. Inside Hook reveres baking in a Field Company No. 8 pan and claims, "Field Company's deep, thin cast iron gave me a golden, flaky crust and the dessert similarly slipped out of the pan without incident." While the lightweight design and shape of the pan make baking, grilling, and searing easy, this pan won't replace every other piece of cookware in your kitchen.

At first glance, it's clear that Field Company does not offer some of the same features as other pans — including pour spouts. However, the pan wins some brownie points for its classic design and comfortable handling. The brand also features an array of sizes and pan types including skillets (both single and double-handed), Dutch ovens, braisers, and griddles. The 10.25-inch No. 8 pan is sold for $145 — which rivals the price of some of our middle-of-the-road-priced cast iron pieces.

Stargazer cast iron products are designed to be lightweight and smooth to the touch, according to online retailer Cook Culture. We love Stargazer's flared rim, which makes pouring super simple. The extended handle, along with the fork design for maximum airflow, also allows the user to keep safe proximity to the hot base. Consumers can purchase the cast-iron skillets from Stargazer in one of two finishes: bare and seasoned. Bare pans arrive coated in oil, according to Thrifty Nifty Mommy, while the seasoned skillet will have already been pre-seasoned and are ready for use straight out of the package.

The reviews on the cast iron skillets from Stargazer are fairly positive. The main complaint was the price and the minimal selection; the Stargazer skillets only come in a 10.5-inch and 12-inch skillet and a 13-inch braising pan. The 10.5-inch skillet is slightly less expensive than other brands (like Finex and Lancaster) at $115.

Le Creuset may be the peak of designer cookware. Although the brand is famous for making some of the most beautiful cast-iron Dutch ovens, the brand also includes several cast iron pieces. According to Viva Flavor, the signature skillet is top-of-the-line when it comes to aesthetics and design. While enameled cast-iron isn't truly non-stick, it offers a cooking experience similar to that of a non-stick pan. The signature skillet is durable, evenly heats food (unlike other cast iron skillets), and will retain its color over time thanks to high-quality pigments. The price tag is likely the only thing stopping you from ordering a La Creuset from Williams Sonoma; its retail value is $160.

You'll find an equally impressive quality in Le Creuset's other cast iron items including the skillet fry pan ($210), 13-inch enameled deep skillet ($260), or the 4.5-quart deep sauté pan ($350). We believe the cost justifies the longevity of Le Creuset's products — and you're unlikely to find a piece with the same quality at a lower price.

Utopia Kitchen sets come in a 6-inch, 8-inch-and 12-inch skillet on Amazon for $26.99. This bundle is a no-frills cast iron set that can be used for both cooking and baking. These pans come pre-seasoned. After hand-washing these skillets, users will need to be diligent about re-seasoning.

Several of the folks who have purchased Utopia Kitchen's pans note that the finish is very rough; sanding down the cast iron will provide a more refined feeling to the pans. Some users also found that the pans were not seasoned enough to prevent rust. It took several rounds of seasoning to make sure the pans would be durable enough to survive everyday use. Overall, this brand has the potential to be a mainstay for basic cast iron cookware. If you're looking for cheap cast iron, this is the brand to go with. We would have ranked Utopia Kitchen higher if the products were better seasoned and had additional features like a longer handle.

The Victoria Cookware skillet offers a similar design, shape, and quality as skillets three to four times its price. However, this skillet was one of the stickier brands of the cast iron pans we've reviewed; it may require extra seasoning to prevent residue. Folks who have purchased from Victoria Cookware claim its searing ability and shape are on par with other brands.

One of our favorite features of Victoria Cookware is its variety in shapes, sizes, and uses. You can purchase cast iron skillets, fajita pans, Dutch ovens, presses, griddles, and specialty cookware from the website to fit whatever your heart desires. As a whole, Victoria Cookware cast iron products are affordable. A 12-inch cast iron skillet is sold on Amazon for $24.99. Of the over 10,000 reviews, the average rating was 4.7-stars with the most common complaints being about the weight of the skillet and the difficulty in maneuvering the pan.