The nonstick pan worth buying, knowing it will wear out.

This is Tramontina's restaurant line, and for home cooks it answers the nonstick problem best: heavy-gauge aluminum for even heat, a reinforced PTFE coating, a cast stainless handle with a removable silicone sleeve, all for about the price of a good dinner out. It is made in Brazil and NSF certified, which means it was built for commercial kitchens.

Wirecutter has long named it the top nonstick pick. The appeal is simple. The flared sides let an omelet slide straight onto a plate, the pan is light enough to toss with one hand, and when the coating eventually tires, a new one costs less than most people spend on a single fancy pan's lid.

Skip it if you cook on induction; the plain aluminum base will not work. Tramontina says it is dishwasher safe, but hand washing will keep the coating slick for longer.

HA1 Expert is All-Clad's hard-anodized nonstick line. The body is anodized aluminum, harder and more scratch resistant than plain aluminum, and the base is reinforced with stainless steel, which All-Clad says improves warp resistance and makes the pan induction compatible. The coating is PTFE.

It is oven safe to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, which is higher than most nonstick, and the double-riveted stainless handle is the familiar All-Clad shape. The listing is candid that it is designed in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and made in China, and backed by a limited lifetime warranty.

Skip it if you cook on gas or radiant electric. The Tramontina does the same job for less than half the money.

Valencia Pro is GreenPan's hard-anodized ceramic line, with a diamond-reinforced coating the maker describes as free of PFAS, PFOA, lead and cadmium. The base is built for induction, the stainless handle has a V-shaped cutout to stay cooler, and the pan is oven and broiler safe to 600 degrees Fahrenheit.

America's Test Kitchen tested ceramic nonstick hard and was blunt about the category: ceramic is not quite as slick or as durable as traditional nonstick and gets less so over time. Most pans failed their abuse tests quickly. Valencia Pro was one of very few that arrived slick and stayed slick throughout, and it is their favorite.

Buy it because you want to avoid PTFE, not because you expect it to outlast one. Skip it if the goal is the longest-lived nonstick for the money.

Scanpan is a family business in Ryomgaard, Denmark, and has made nonstick cookware for decades. The Professional pan is cast from recycled aluminum, thick enough to hold heat for a proper sear, with Scanpan's Stratanium coating: several layers in which hard particles interlock to reinforce the nonstick surface. The maker says it is metal-utensil safe and dishwasher safe.

Scanpan designs it to brown, sear and deglaze, which most nonstick does poorly, and it is oven safe to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with stainless handles. The coating is PFOA-free.

Skip it if you cook on induction; the Professional line is for gas and electric only. It is also heavier than the Tramontina, which some cooks will notice when flipping.

D3 Pro Nonstick is the D3 tri-ply sandwich, stainless around an aluminum core, bonded up the sides, with a PTFE coating inside. The result heats more evenly than a plain aluminum pan, sits heavily on the burner, and works on induction. It is made in All-Clad's Pennsylvania factory with global components and oven safe to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

America's Test Kitchen's current favorite nonstick skillet is an All-Clad stainless-clad nonstick pan, praised for a generous cooking surface, gently sloped walls and durability. The 12 inch size is the one to own if you cook for four; a 10 inch pan crowds a family's eggs.

Skip it if you want value. The clad body will outlive the coating by years, which means you are paying for steel you will eventually retire with the lining. Hand wash only.