Best Cast Iron Skillet: I Tested 6 Top Brands to Find the Winner

Are $200 cast iron skillets actually better than ones that cost $25? And which cast iron skillet is the best regardless of price?

In this guide, I answer those questions by putting 6 of the most popular cast iron skillets through a series of tests. You’ll see which has the best food release, heat retention, ease of use, design, and overall performance.

From handles and pour spouts to the texture of the cooking surface, I tested everything.

At the end, I reveal the clear winner and give you all the data and insights you need to determine which skillet is best for you.

If you’re in a rush, skip to the Key Takeaways.

Comparison Chart

Below are the six cast iron skillets I tested. All come pre-seasoned, and they’re all around 12 inches in diameter from rim to rim. They range from $25 to $215. There are dozens of cast iron skillets on the market, but I picked these because they’re the most popular brands, with thousands of reviews and awards from publications like The New York Times and America’s Test Kitchen.

(Swipe to view the entire chart on mobile)

Skillet	Lodge Classic	Lodge Chef Collection	Calphalon Cast Iron	Stargazer	Smithey No.12	Field Company No. 10
Price	$ (Amazon)	$$ (Amazon)	$$ (Amazon)	$$$$ (StargazerCastIron.com)	$$$$$ (Smithey.com)	$$$$ (FieldCompany.com)
Where It’s Made	South Pittsburg, TN	South Pittsburg, TN	China	Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania	Charleston, SC	Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin
Diameter Rim to Rim (in)	12	12	12	12	12	11.6
Diameter Flat Cooking Surface (in)	10	9.75	9.5	9.5	10	9.7
Wall Height (in)	2.2	1.9	2	2.4	2.3	2.1
Weight (lb)	8.1	6.3	7.2	6.5	7.2	5.5
Handle Length (in)	5.0	5.5	4.8	7.6	5.3	5.5
Helper Handle Length (in)	1.1	1.25	1.5	1.75	1.1	0.75
Induction Compatible	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pour Spouts or Flared Rims?	Pour Spouts	Pour Spouts	Pour Spouts	Flared Rims	Pour Spouts	Flared Rims
Heat Conduction Test 1 (Induction)	2:53 (3rd)	2:59 (5th)	3:16 (6th)	2:55 (4th)	2:40 (2nd)	2:32 (1st)
Heat Conduction Test 2 (Electric)	3:01 (6th)	2:43 (4th)	2:48 (5th)	2:02 (2nd)	2:39 (3rd)	1:54 (1st)
Heat Retention Test 1	102°F (2nd)	100°F (Tied 4th)	100°F (Tied 4th)	101°F (3rd)	105°F (1st)	95°F (5th)
Heat Retention Test 2	136°F (5th)	138°F (4th)	144°F (2nd)	142°F (3rd)	158°F (1st)	129°F (6th)
Egg Test	No Sticking	Minimal Sticking	Noticeable Sticking	No Sticking	No Sticking	Minimal Sticking
Pour Test 1 (water)	Some spilling	Some spilling	Significant spilling	No Spilling	Some spilling	Minimal spilling
Pour Test 2 (beef fat)	Some dripping	Some dripping	Significant dripping	Minimal dripping	Some dripping	Some dripping
Top Reason to Buy	Inexpensive	Curved walls	Inexpensive	Flare rims; long handle	Superior heat retention; comfortable handle	Lightweight; heats fast
Top Reason to NOT Buy	Heavy	Pricier than Lodge Classic	Poor test results	Uncomfortable handle	Expensive	Poor heat retention

Handle Design

Handle design is one of the most important things to consider when shopping for a cast iron skillet.

I thoroughly tested each handle by holding it for several minutes with my bare hand, an oven mitt, and a towel. I’ve also been using these skillets for a long time, so I’m familiar with the feel of each.

The Lodge Classic and Chef Collection handles have the same shape, but the Chef Collection handle is half an inch longer, slightly curved, and angled upward.

These handles are comfortable and secure when grabbing them with your bare hand, but they feel short and thin when wearing an oven mitt or holding a towel. The thinner part closer to the skillet doesn’t give you much to hold, and it’s easy for the oven mitt or towel to slip.

The Calphalon handle is even shorter and thinner than the two Lodge handles. Therefore, it’s slippery when wearing an oven mitt and holding the handle with a towel. It’s my least favorite of the six handles.

At 7.6 inches, the Stargazer handle is by far the longest. It splits at the end, which helps keep it cool. Unlike the others, you get a lot to grab onto, and the cup-shaped design keeps it nice and secure in your hand.

However, the edges can dig into your hand, so it’s not the most comfortable handle.

The two handles I like the most are Field Company and Smithey.

The Field Company handle is straight and has the same thickness throughout. While it’s the most comfortable handle to hold with a bare hand, it’s on the thinner side so an oven mitt or towel can get slippery.

The Smithey handle is flat and slightly shorter and wider than the Field handle. It feels good in your hand but has enough width and length to not move around or slip when you grab it with an oven mitt. Because of that, it’s the best overall handle.

Helper Handles

All six skillets have a helper handle opposite the main handle, which allows you to carry the skillet with two hands.

Stargazer’s is the largest by far — it sticks out 1.75 inches. Field’s is the smallest — it’s only .75 inches.

The helper handles on the two Lodge skillets have a wide opening to hook your fingers, and Smithey has three holes that add texture to prevent slipping. You can also hang the skillet from these holes.

All of these helper handles are effective and safe to use, but you need to be extra careful with Field because it’s so small. A shorter helper handle like Field’s provides less leverage and control when lifting and maneuvering the skillet, especially when it’s full of heavy food.

Maneuverability

Maneuverability is another big difference between these brands.

Lodge Classic is the heaviest at 8.1 pounds, Calphalon and Smithey are both 7.2 pounds, Stargazer is 6.5, Lodge Chef Collection is 6.3, and Field is the lightest by a lot at 5.5 pounds.

The two-and-a-half-pound difference between the Lodge Classic and Field skillet might not seem like much, but when you pick them up, the Field skillet feels like a feather compared to the Lodge.

It’s important to know that a lighter skillet isn’t necessarily a better skillet. Weight and thickness can lead to better heat retention, which I’ll get to in a second. The most important thing is to ensure you can comfortably handle the skillet you choose.

Make sure to consider not only the weight of the skillet empty but also the weight when it’s hot and full of food (which can add up to 6 more pounds, depending on what you’re cooking).

Heat Conduction

I wanted to see how quickly these skillets heated up, so I poured two cups of water into each and heated them on an induction burner set at 464°F.

The Field Company Skillet boiled the water fastest, at two minutes and thirty-two seconds, which was not surprising because it’s the lightest and thinnest. Smithey came in second, at two minutes and 40 seconds, followed by Lodge Classic, Stargazer, Lodge Chef Collection, and finally, Calphalon. Below are the results:

Skillet	Heat Conduction Test 1 (Induction)
Field Company No. 10	2:32 (1st)
Smithey No.12	2:40 (2nd)
Lodge Classic	2:53 (3rd)
Stargazer	2:55 (4th)
Lodge Chef Collection	2:59 (5th)
Calphalon Cast Iron	3:16 (6th)

Smithey and Field both have heat rings around the bottom edge. I initially thought these rings would negatively impact performance on induction cooktops since the middle of the skillet’s bottom doesn’t directly touch the cooktop surface. But based on these tests, that’s not the case.

I repeated this same test but on an electric cooktop.

Although the order was slightly different, Field came in first place again. Here are the results:

Skillet	Heat Conduction Test 2 (Electric)
Field Company No. 10	1:54 (1st)
Stargazer	2:02 (2nd)
Smithey No.12	2:39 (3rd)
Lodge Chef Collection	2:43 (4th)
Calphalon Cast Iron	2:48 (5th)
Lodge Classic	3:01 (6th)

Heat Retention

It’s nice to know which skillet heats the fastest, but that’s not why you buy a cast iron skillet. Cast iron’s main benefit is heat retention. You want a skillet that holds its heat when you add cold ingredients and maintains a steady temperature when baking, roasting, and frying.

To find out which retains heat the best, I conducted two simple tests. After boiling 2 cups of water in each skillet, I took them off the heat and measured the water temperature after 10 minutes.

At 105°F, Smithey had the best heat retention, followed by Lodge Classic at 102°F, Stargazer at 101°F, a tie between Lodge Chef Collection and Calphalon at 100°F, and finally, Field, which had the lowest temperature at 95°F.

To confirm these results, I also heated each skillet empty and removed it from the heat when the surface reached 300°F, according to my infrared thermometer.

After allowing the skillets to cool for precisely 5 minutes, I measured the temperature again at the center of each skillet’s surface.

The Smithey skillet had the hottest surface, cooling to 158°F. Calphalon was second at 144°F, followed by Stargazer at 142°F, Lodge Chef Collection at 138°F, Lodge Classic at 136°F, and finally, Field Company at 129°F.

Although I didn’t expect Smithey to win both tests by such a large margin, I wasn’t surprised Field had the worst heat retention scores because it’s the thinnest, lightest skillet with less thermal mass than the others.

Egg Test (Smooth vs. Rough Cast Iron)

There’s a big debate in the cast iron world around the texture of the cooking surface.

Lodge and Calphalon cooking surfaces have a rough, pebbly texture. Lodges claims the rougher surface holds onto seasoning better.

Smithey, Field, and Stargazer all have smooth, polished surfaces. These brands claim the smoother surface helps prevent sticking.

To end this debate, I conducted a simple egg test.

One by one, I preheated each skillet for 2 minutes before adding exactly one teaspoon of oil and one teaspoon of butter. After greasing the surface, I added one egg.

Smithey was the first up and the non-stick performance was phenomenal. The egg slid around like a hockey puck and didn’t stick at any point.

Next was Field. Although the surface is smooth, it has a slightly matte finish; it’s not as glossy and slick as Smithey. The egg still released and slid around the pan, but I had to nudge it to get it going. Overall, the non-stick performance was fantastic; I have no complaints.

Stargazer performed similarly to Smithey. There was no sticking, and I didn’t have to nudge it with the spatula to get it to slide; simply tilting the pan was enough to make it glide smoothly.

The egg in the Lodge Classic didn’t stick at all. Despite the rougher surface, it slid almost as smoothly as the eggs in the Smithey and Stargazer skillets.

The egg in the Lodge Chef Collection skillet did stick a bit — not much — but I had to get under it with the spatula and loosen it up. Once I got it loose, it moved around smoothly.

The Calphalon skillet performed the worst. The egg stuck a little bit, and even after I loosened it up, I had to push it with the spatula to get it to move. However, the egg cooked completely fine;  it didn’t fall apart, and the end result was the same.

The key point is that you can cook eggs without sticking in any well-seasoned cast iron skillet. However, if you’re looking for the ultimate non-stick performance, skillets with smoother, polished cooking surfaces, like Smithey and Stargazer, provide an extra level of slickness that enhances the cooking experience.

Seasoning

But what about seasoning? Well, what Lodge says about the textured surface holding onto seasoning better seems to be true. The skillets with rougher surfaces —  Calphalon and Lodge — hold their seasoning well.

The three with smoother surfaces (Smithey, Stargazer, and Field Company) tend to get blotchy, and their seasoning fades, especially when cooking on high heat.

Fortunately, this problem is more cosmetic than functional. As my egg tests proved, the non-stick performance of these skillets is still outstanding despite the inconsistent seasoning.

Over time, the seasoning builds up, and the issue of inconsistent seasoning on smoother skillets becomes less noticeable. But in the beginning, expect some fading and blotchiness.

Pouring Test

Stargazer and Field Company skillets have flared rims so you can pour liquids at any angle. Lodge, Smithey, and Calphalon have pour spouts.

To find out which performs better, I conducted two quick tests.

First, I poured 2 cups of water from each skillet into a glass. I wanted to see which skillet could pour the most accurately without spilling.

When I tipped the Lodge Classic, water spilled and dripped down the sides. The pour spouts are small and couldn’t handle the initial flow of water.

Lodge Chef Collection has slightly larger pour spouts, but that didn’t make a big difference. The water still spilled around the spouts, but luckily, the glass caught most of it.

The Calphalon skillet failed the test with a good amount of water spilling over the edge.

Smithey has much larger pour spouts than Lodge and Calphalon, but the results were similar. The initial rush of water caused some spilling, but as the skillet emptied, the water poured very precisely.

Stargazer’s flared rim did an excellent job controlling the pour, and it didn’t spill at all.

Field also has a flared rim, but it’s not as flared as Stargazer, and because of that, some of the water dripped down the side and spilled on the table.

In the second test I used fat from ground beef instead of water. Since fat is thicker, I wanted to see which design resulted in the least dripping.

The two Lodge skillets performed well with minimal dripping.

Calphalon made a mess.

Stargazer did a great job with minimal dripping.

Field and Smithey performed almost the same as Lodge.

Stargazer and its flared rims are the clear winner in this category.

Overall Performance

These controlled tests highlight the nuances between these skillets, but what about their actual performance in the kitchen?

I’ve been using Lodge, Calphalon, and Stargazer for years and Field and Smithey for several months. All six skillets perform really well.

I’ve used them to cook eggs, bacon, chicken, steak, fish, vegetables, cornbread, and many other meals. And they all get the job done.

There are differences in design, thickness, and weight. But they’re all made of cast iron, so there’s not a significant difference in how they sear, roast, bake, and fry.

The one outlier in this group is Field. It’s noticeably easier to handle and heats up significantly faster.

Below is a side-by-side of Field and Smithey. I preheated both skillets for the same time at the same temperature. As you can see, the chicken in the Field Company skillet is much browner than the pieces cooking in the Smithey skillet.

When you cook with Field, you benefit from its quick preheating, but you need to pay close attention because it can overheat and burn your food before you know it.

The other five skillets heat slowly and steadily. They’re not as responsive, so you don’t get as much control, but they’re easier to cook with because the temperature is more steady with less frequent fluctuations.

Bottom Line: Which Cast Iron Skillet Is the Best?

So which of these skillets is truly the best?

Calphalon is a decent skillet, but it’s more expensive than Lodge and doesn’t provide any additional benefits.

While I love Stargazer’s flared rims, handle length, large helper handle, and smooth surface, it’s not my number one pick because the cup-shaped handle is uncomfortable.

Field Company is a fantastic lightweight skillet. I reach for it more often than others because it’s much easier to handle and heats up faster. But it’s the most expensive skillet and the worst at retaining heat.

If you’re trying to get the most for your money, you can’t beat Lodge. Few products in the world last forever, perform really well, and cost under $30. The Lodge Classic skillet is one of them.

If price is not a factor, Smithey is the best overall skillet.

The handle is just the right size, and I love the subtle details that make it stand out like the quail logo on the handle and the three holes in the helper handle. Although the other skillets are non-stick, Smithey’s ultra-smooth interior is on another level. It also performed the best in my heat retention tests.

Every time I use it, I’m impressed with its performance. Although it’s not the easiest to maneuver, and the seasoning can be tricky, it excels in the areas that matter most.

Ultimately, all of these skillets have pros and cons. And the ones that cost eight times more don’t perform eight times better. However, the subtle design elements make a difference over time. Since these skillets last forever, it’s worth spending more to get one you’ll love long-term.

Learn more about each skillet, compare prices, and read more reviews at the links below:

• Lodge Classic (Amazon)
• Lodge Chef Collection (Amazon)
• Calphalon (Amazon)
• Stargazer (StargazerCastIron.com)
• Smithey No.12 (Smithey.com)
• Field Company No. 10 (FieldCompany.com)