All-Clad NS Pro vs. HA1 Expert: Key Differences & Test Results

What’s the difference between All-Clad NS Pro and HA1 pans? Which collection is better?

In this comparison of All-Clad NS Pro vs. HA1, you’ll learn how these pans stack up in design, performance, price, options, and more.

I also share results from head-to-head tests I conducted to measure how well these pans conduct and retain heat.

Keep reading to discover which All-Clad non-stick collection is right for your kitchen.

Update (2025): All-Clad recently revamped the HA1 collection and renamed it HA1 Expert. It now features a more durable non-stick coating and an updated handle design that closely resembles the ergonomic handle used on NS Pro pans — rounded edges, a slight groove, and an overall more comfortable grip. However, many retailers still carry the original HA1 with the older, cup-shaped handle. This comparison focuses on those differences and clarifies where the HA1 Expert aligns more closely with NS Pro.

---

Use the links below to navigate this comparison:

• Key Takeaways
• Similarities Between All-Clad NS Pro and HA1
• Difference 1: Handle Design
• Difference 2: Non-Stick Coating
• Difference 3: Shape
• Difference 4: Rims
• Difference 5: Lids
• Difference 6: Heat Conduction
• Difference 7: Heat Retention
• Difference 8: Induction Efficiency
• Difference 9: Options
• Difference 10: Price
• Bottom Line: Should You Buy All-Clad NS Pro or HA1 Pans?

---

Similarities Between All-Clad NS Pro and HA1

All-Clad’s NS Pro and HA1 collections share several notable similarities. Let’s quickly review.

Hard-Anodized Aluminum: Both collections are made from hard-anodized aluminum. To create this material, aluminum undergoes an electrochemical process that transforms the raw aluminum’s appearance from silvery-white to a dark gray or nearly black finish. This process also enhances the aluminum’s natural rust resistance, making it harder and more corrosion-resistant.

Thickness: NS Pro and HA1 pans are both 4 mm thick, which is thicker than most non-stick cookware. This extra thickness provides increased durability, resistance to warping, and better heat retention than thinner non-stick brands like GreenLife, Gotham Steel, Pioneer Woman, and T-fal.

Weight: The weight of the 12-inch fry pans from both collections is nearly identical. The HA1 pan weighs 3.64 pounds, and the NS Pro pan weighs 3.55 pounds. However, this difference is minimal and barely noticeable during use.

Oven Safety: NS Pro and HA1 pans are oven-safe up to 500°F. However, neither collection is broiler-safe, as the intense direct heat can damage the non-stick surface.

Made In China: All-Clad’s stainless steel collections are made in the USA, but HA1 and NS Pro collections are manufactured in China.

Performance: I’ve cooked a wide variety of meals using both the NS Pro and HA1 collections, including eggs, steak, salmon, vegetables, and more. Both perform incredibly well, with even heat distribution across the cooking surface and the ability to maintain a steady temperature throughout the cooking process.

The triple-layer non-stick coating on both collections is reliable and long-lasting, ensuring that food releases easily and cleanup is a breeze.

Although these pans are heavier and require more time to heat up than thinner non-stick cookware, the even and consistent heat is well worth the extra time and effort.

Difference 1: Handle Design

One of the most noticeable differences — until recently — between All-Clad HA1 and NS Pro pans was the handle.

The original HA1 collection used All-Clad’s signature cup-shaped handle. It had a flat top with sharp edges, a deep groove, and a rounded underside. This design provided a secure, rotation-proof grip even with greasy hands or towels; a feature aimed at professional chefs.

But for home cooks, it came with a big tradeoff: comfort. The sharp top edges often dug into your palm, and the deep groove could feel awkward or painful during prolonged use.

The NS Pro collection replaced that design with a much more ergonomic alternative. Its handle has rounded edges, a smoother profile, and a shallow groove on top that prevents slipping without compromising comfort.

With the launch of HA1 Expert, All-Clad adopted a very similar design. The updated handle looks and feels almost identical to NS Pro’s — same rounded edges, same comfortable groove, and same overall shape. The only noticeable difference is the handle length: HA1 Expert’s handles are slightly longer, which helps keep your hand farther from the heat.

So if you’re choosing between NS Pro and HA1 Expert, handle comfort is no longer a major differentiator. But if you’re buying HA1 and don’t see “Expert” in the product name, double-check the handle style — many retailers still sell the original version.

Difference 2: Non-Stick Coating

Another major difference between All-Clad HA1 and NS Pro pans is their non-stick coating. According to All-Clad.com, the NS Pro’s coating is longer-lasting and provides “50% Better Performance than the NS1 collection” (an older version of the NS Pro). However, they don’t mention how it compares to the HA1 collection.

To get a clearer answer, I reached out to All-Clad directly. An All-Clad product expert told me:

“NS Pro features the same PTFE non-stick coating as HA1/Essentials, but the main difference is in the ceramic plasma bonding layer. Ceramic plasma particles are sprayed as a layer between the aluminum and non-stick coating. This strengthens the surface to enable less scratching and longer-lasting non-stick compared to NS1.”

Since the NS Pro is a relatively new collection, only time will tell how well the non-stick coating holds up over extended use. However, I’ve been using HA1 pans for years and haven’t encountered any issues with scratching or degradation of the non-stick surface. Food still glides effortlessly across the pan without sticking.

Given that the ceramic plasma layer in the NS Pro collection is an improvement over HA1’s coating, and considering my positive experience with the HA1 pans, I expect the NS Pro pans to perform just as well, if not better, in the long term.

Difference 3: Shape

All-Clad HA1 and NS Pro pans have different shapes that impact performance. The sidewalls of HA1 pans are steeper and a bit taller, which helps contain food and prevents splattering. It also lets you cook a little more food at once, but not much more.

NS Pro pans’ sides are more sloped and shorter. This shape makes it easier for you to get your spatula under the food, especially when it’s close to the side of the pan.

Another advantage of the NS Pro’s sloped sides is that water evaporates from the pan faster. When searing meat, you want the steam to escape quickly so the pan stays dry. A dry pan helps you get a nice, crispy crust on meats like steak.

Difference 4: Rims

NS Pro pans feature flared rims, while HA1 pans have straight rims. This seemingly small detail can actually make a big difference in your cooking experience.

The flared rims on NS Pro pans make pouring liquids from the pan without making a mess much easier. For example, if you’re cooking bacon and want to save the grease in a jar for later use, the flared rim will help guide the oil into the jar without it running down the side of the pan.

This feature also comes in handy when drizzling a sauce over your food directly from the pan and sliding ingredients out of the pan and onto a plate.

While you can still pour liquids and slide ingredients out of HA1 pans with their straight rims, the liquid is more likely to drip or spill down the outside of the pan.

Difference 5: Lids

NS Pro pans come with stainless steel lids, while HA1 pans come with tempered glass lids.

At first glance, glass lids might seem like the better choice because they allow you to keep an eye on your food without lifting the lid and letting heat and moisture escape. However, in reality, the steam from your cooking often fogs up the glass, defeating the purpose of being able to see through it. You’ll often find yourself lifting the lid anyway to get a clear view of your food.

On the other hand, NS Pro’s stainless steel lids are more durable, won’t break, and are easier to clean. With glass lids, food particles and grease can sometimes get stuck in the space between the glass and the metal rim. You don’t have that issue with stainless steel lids.

Difference 6: Heat Conduction

Heat conduction, or how quickly and evenly a skillet heats up, is key to achieving consistent cooking results. To determine the difference in heat conduction between All-Clad HA1 and NS Pro pans, I performed a simple experiment.

I poured two cups of 55°F water into 12-inch frying pans from both collections and heated them on the highest setting using the same electric burner. As the water heated, the bubbles were uniform across the surface of both pans, indicating even heat distribution. When bubbles concentrate in one area, it’s a sign of hot spots and uneven heating.

In the HA1 pan, the first bubbles appeared after two minutes and 12 seconds, and the water reached a full boil after two minutes and 58 seconds.

The NS Pro skillet showed slightly faster results, with the first bubbles appearing after two minutes and 9 seconds and a full boil achieved after three minutes and 3 seconds.

Although the difference in heat conduction between the two collections was minor, the NS Pro pans did heat up a bit faster. It’s worth noting that as you increase the amount of liquid or plan to boil a large pot of water, the impact of this difference becomes more noticeable.

I conduct this heat conduction test with all the pans I review, and the table below shows how both the HA1 and NS Pro collections compare to the rest of the cookware industry:

Pan	Time to First Bubbles	Time to Boil
Farberware	1 minute and 2 seconds	1 minute and 29 seconds
All-Clad G5 fry pan	1 minute and 17 seconds	2 minutes and 4 seconds
All-Clad Copper Core fry pan	1 minute and 21 seconds	2 minutes and 18 seconds
Henckels HXagon fry pan	1 minute and 36 seconds	2 minutes and 19 seconds
Made In stainless steel fry pan	1 minute and 40 seconds	2 minutes and 21 seconds
Anolon X pan	1 minute and 35 seconds	2 minutes and 22 seconds
Misen fry pan	1 minute and 50 seconds	2 minutes and 25 seconds
Caraway	1 minute and 53 seconds	2 minutes and 26 seconds
Anolon Advanced fry pan	1 minute and 55 seconds	2 minutes and 27 seconds
HexClad fry pan	1 minute and 40 seconds	2 minutes and 30 seconds
Made In non-stick fry pan	1 minute and 53 seconds	2 minutes and 31 seconds
Zwilling fry pan	1 minute and 45 seconds	2 minutes and 31 seconds
T-fal fry pan	1 minute and 50 seconds	2 minutes and 32 seconds
Gotham Steel fry pan	1 minute and 58 seconds	2 minutes and 32 seconds
Rachael Ray fry pan	1 minute and 47 seconds	2 minutes and 36 seconds
Viking fry pan	1 minute and 42 seconds	2 minutes and 39 seconds
Calphalon fry pan	1 minute and 45 seconds	2 minutes and 40 seconds
Sardel fry pan	1 minute and 41 seconds	2 minutes and 46 seconds
Pioneer Woman fry pan	2 minutes and 2 seconds	2 minutes and 46 seconds
Hestan fry pan	1 minute and 52 seconds	2 minutes and 47 seconds
GreenLife pan	2 minutes and 11 seconds	2 minutes and 47 seconds
Our Place Always Pan	2 minutes and 2 seconds	2 minutes and 48 seconds
Ninja NeverStick Pan	2 minutes and 7 seconds	2 minutes and 49 seconds
Tramontina fry pan	1 minute and 53 seconds	2 minutes and 52 seconds
Circulon fry pan	2 minutes and 7 seconds	2 minutes and 55 seconds
All-Clad D3 fry pan	1 minute and 55 seconds	2 minutes and 55 seconds
All-Clad HA1 fry pan	2 minutes and 12 seconds	2 minutes and 58 seconds
All-Clad NS Pro fry pan	2 minutes and 9 seconds	3 minutes and 3 seconds
All-Clad D5 fry pan	1 minutes and 58 seconds	3 minutes and 4 seconds
Goldilocks fry pan	2 minutes and 17 seconds	3 minutes and 5 seconds
Demeyere Industry fry pan	2 minutes and 3 seconds	3 minutes and 10 seconds
Ballarini fry pan	2 minutes and 15 seconds	3 minutes and 12 seconds
Heritage Steel fry pan	1 minute and 59 seconds	3 minutes and 15 seconds
Demeyere Atlantis fry pan	2 minutes and 11 seconds	3 minutes and 25 seconds
Xtrema fry pan	3 minutes and 41 seconds	6 minutes and 7 seconds

Difference 7: Heat Retention

Heat retention is another important factor to consider when choosing cookware. Ideally, you want a pan that can maintain its heat when adding cold ingredients and keep a steady temperature during baking and roasting.

I conducted a simple experiment to compare the heat retention capabilities of All-Clad HA1 and NS Pro pans. After bringing water to a boil in both pans, I removed them from the heat and set them aside to cool. I measured the water temperature in each skillet at 5-minute intervals to see how well they retained heat over time.

After the first 5 minutes, the water temperature in the HA1 pan was 117.9°F, while the water in the NS Pro pan was slightly lower at 116.0°F.

After another 5 minutes (10 minutes total), the water temperature in the HA1 pan dropped to 98.1°F, while the water in the NS Pro pan dropped a bit lower at 97.3°F.

Although the difference in heat retention between the two collections was not substantial, it is still noteworthy. One possible explanation for this difference could be the slight variation in the design of the pans. The HA1 pans have slightly higher and less sloped walls than the NS Pro pans, which may result in less surface area of the water being exposed to the cooler air in the room.

Here’s how both pans’ heat retention stacks up against the broader cookware market:

Pan	Temperature After 5 Minutes	Temperature After 10 Minutes
Xtrema fry pan	142°F	113°F
Made In stainless steel fry pan	121.1°F	106.6°F
Demeyere Atlantis fry pan	122.0°F	106.3°F
Made In non-stick fry pan	120.2°F	105.8°F
Ninja NeverStick Pan	130.5°F	104.8°F
Misen fry pan	118.6°F	103.4°F
Zwilling fry pan	121.1°F	103.0°F
Rachael Ray fry pan	126.3°F	102.7°F
Goldilocks fry pan	122.0°F	102.5°F
HexClad fry pan	120.7°F	102.4°F
Circulon fry pan	133.3°F	102.0°F
Tramontina fry pan	118.5°F	101.3°F
Calphalon fry pan	112.8°F	101.1°F
All-Clad D3 skillet	111.6°F	100.9°F
Ballarini fry pan	120°F	99.9°F
Heritage Steel	120.1°F	98.2°F
All-Clad HA1 fry pan	117.9°F	98.1°F
Hestan fry pan	114.4°F	98.0°F
Sardel fry pan	114.0°F	97.8°F
All-Clad NS Pro fry pan	116.0°F	97.3°F
All-Clad D5 fry pan	112.7°F	97.3°F
Henckels HXagon fry pan	113.5°F	96.7°F
Our Place Always Pan	118.0°F	96.7°F
Demeyere Industry fry pan	115.2°F	96.6°F
All-Clad G5 fry pan	115.3°F	96.6°F
Caraway fry pan	116.6°F	96.4°F
Anolon X pan	114.1°F	96.0°F
Viking fry pan	106.6°F	95.9°F
All-Clad Copper Core fry pan	117.7°F	95.5°F
Farberware fry pan	112.0°F	95.4°F
GreenLife fry pan	119.0°F	95.0°F
Gotham Steel fry pan	113.0°F	95.0°F
Anolon Advanced fry pan	112.7°F	90.9°F
Pioneer Woman fry pan	104.3°F	90.9°F
T-fal fry pan	108.7°F	88.0°F

Difference 8: Induction Efficiency

To determine which All-Clad collection performs better on an induction cooktop, I conducted a side-by-side comparison using 12-inch skillets from both the HA1 and NS Pro collections. I poured two cups of 55°F water into each skillet and placed them on the same induction burner, setting the temperature to 464°F.

The results showed that the HA1 skillet was slightly faster, with the first bubbles appearing after just 1 minute and 10 seconds and the water reaching a full boil at the 1 minute and 54-second mark.

The NS Pro skillet took 1 minute and 14 seconds for the first bubbles to appear, and the water came to a full boil after 2 minutes and 2 seconds.

While both the All-Clad HA1 and NS Pro collections are induction-compatible thanks to the steel induction plate bonded to the bottom of their aluminum bodies, the HA1 skillet demonstrated a slight edge in terms of heating speed.

Difference 9: Options

The HA1 collection features over 25 products, including essential pieces like fry pans and saucepans and specialty items such as griddle pans, deep chef’s pans, and multi-purpose everyday pans. Some HA1 pieces even have bonus items like wooden trivets and serving spoons.

The NS Pro collection offers a more streamlined selection of around a dozen core products, focusing on essentials like fry pans, saucepans, and sauciers. The NS Pro collection doesn’t include specialty pieces and only offers one cookware set (the HA1 collection provides multiple set options).

Difference 10: Price

All-Clad HA1 pans are generally about 20% cheaper than their NS Pro counterparts, though the exact difference varies by pan and retailer.

The higher price of NS Pro pans is due to additional features like the ceramic plasma layer for enhanced durability, improved handle design, flared rims, and stainless steel lids.

Compare the current prices of both collections at the links below:

• All-Clad NS Pro on All-Clad.com
• All-Clad HA1 on All-Clad.com and Amazon

Bottom Line: Should You Buy All-Clad NS Pro or HA1 Pans?

Now that you understand the similarities and differences between All-Clad NS Pro and HA1, it’s time to decide which is right for you.

The three main factors to consider are the handle design, pan shape, and price.

• The original HA1 handles were secure but widely considered uncomfortable. However, HA1 Expert now uses a handle design nearly identical to NS Pro — rounded, ergonomic, and much more pleasant to hold. If you’re deciding between NS Pro and HA1 Expert, handle comfort is no longer a deciding factor. But if you’re comparing NS Pro to the original HA1, NS Pro is the clear winner in that category.
• NS Pro’s sloped walls and flared rims result in quicker moisture evaporation and cleaner pouring.
• The NS Pro collection is around 20% more expensive than HA1.

For most home cooks, I recommend the NS Pro collection over HA1. While both collections are made of the same high-quality materials and offer excellent performance, NS Pro’s thoughtfully designed handles, pan shape, and rims make it a joy to use in the kitchen. The slightly higher investment in the superior comfort and functionality of NS Pro is well worth it.

Both collections are available at the links below, where you can read more reviews and compare the current prices.

Use code PRUDENT15 at checkout on All-Clad.com for 15% off.

• All-Clad NS Pro on All-Clad.com
• All-Clad HA1 on All-Clad.com and Amazon