18/10 vs 18/8 vs 18/0 Stainless Steel

What the numbers mean

The two numbers are percentages by weight: chromium first, nickel second.

• 18/10 — roughly 18% chromium, 10% nickel
• 18/8 — roughly 18% chromium, 8% nickel
• 18/0 — roughly 18% chromium, essentially no nickel

Chromium is what makes steel stainless. It forms a passive oxide layer on the surface that reforms when scratched, and it is why these alloys do not rust.

Nickel improves corrosion resistance further, gives a brighter and smoother finish, and — the consequential part — makes the alloy non-magnetic.

Why magnetism decides the design

Nickel-bearing 300-series steels such as 18/10 and 18/8 are austenitic and not magnetic. Nickel-free 18/0 is ferritic and is magnetic.

An induction hob works by inducing currents in a ferromagnetic base, so it cannot drive 18/10 at all. Which is why a well-designed induction-compatible clad pan has 18/10 inside and 18/0 outside: the nickel-bearing alloy faces the food, where corrosion resistance and finish matter, and the nickel-free alloy faces the coil, where magnetism is required.

That is engineering, not cost-cutting, and it is worth knowing before someone tries to tell you an 18/0 exterior means a cheap pan. It means an induction-compatible one. Practical implications in skillets for induction.

Side by side

The 18/10 caveat worth knowing

18/8 and 18/10 are frequently the same alloy. Both typically describe grade 304 stainless, whose nickel content spans a range that covers both labels, and the British Stainless Steel Association's position — reported in industry comparisons — is that the "10" does not indicate an actual higher nickel content in most commercial cookware, making it closer to a marketing label than a distinct alloy.

So do not pay a premium for 18/10 over 18/8. If a brand is marking the difference up, it is selling you a label. What is worth paying attention to is whether the brand publishes the grade at all — several premium manufacturers describe the surface only as "stainless steel".

Beyond the 18-series: 316Ti

One brand we cover went further. Heritage Steel uses 316Ti — a 316-series stainless reinforced with titanium and molybdenum. Molybdenum is what makes 316-series steel resist pitting from chlorides, and chloride pitting is the only chemical attack a stainless cooking surface genuinely suffers over decades.

Practically: salt added to still water settles and concentrates against the base, and acidic food left standing does something similar. Over years that produces small dark pits that will not polish out. 316Ti resists it better. Whether you will notice depends entirely on whether you cook that way. See Heritage Steel.

If you react to nickel

Nickel sensitivity is common, and 18/10 cookware contains nickel. For most people with contact allergies this is not an issue, because the nickel is alloyed into the steel rather than sitting on the surface, and stainless is used precisely because it does not readily release its constituents into food.

If you have been advised to avoid nickel exposure specifically, discuss cookware with your doctor rather than taking a cookware site's word for it. For reference, Hestan's NanoBond line publishes that it is made without nickel, and 18/0 is effectively nickel-free — though 18/0 is not used as a cooking surface in quality clad pans.

Does the alloy affect longevity?

Marginally, and only through corrosion. All three grades are far harder than anything you will cook, so none of them wear mechanically. What differs is resistance to chloride pitting, and the ranking is 316Ti, then 18/10, then 18/8, then 18/0.

In practice that ranking rarely decides anything, because pitting is largely preventable by habit: add salt to moving liquid rather than to still cold water, and do not leave acidic food standing in a pan overnight. Do those two things and an 18/10 surface will outlive you regardless.

The alloy has no bearing at all on the failures that actually retire cookware — warping and rivets. If you are optimizing for longevity, gauge, rivet quality and oven rating matter far more than the numbers on the box.