Our Place is known for its stylish, aesthetically-driven, multifunctional cookware designed for the everyday home cook, while HexClad focuses on high-performance hybrid cookware that combines stainless steel durability with a non-stick surface for serious enthusiasts. Our Place champions a colorful, minimalist look and non-toxic ceramic coatings, whereas HexClad boasts a patented hexagon design that is scratch-resistant, oven-safe, and built to last a lifetime.
Let's compare everything you need to know to choose the right cookware for your kitchen.
Our Place: The Stylish, Multifunctional Cookware
Our Place is a modern kitchenware brand that captured social media with its beautifully designed and highly versatile products. Centered around its famous Always Pan, the brand targets design-conscious home cooks who want to simplify their kitchen with fewer, better pieces. Their products combine form and function with a focus on non-toxic materials and an eye-catching color palette.
- Product mix: Their core product is the Always Pan, designed to replace eight traditional pieces of cookware. The collection also includes the Perfect Pot, bakeware, grilling accessories, serving dishes, and kitchen utensils.
- Style/vibe: Minimalist, contemporary, and colorful. The brand offers a range of trendy, often muted, colors that add a decorative element to any kitchen stovetop.
- Price point: Mid-range premium. The Always Pan 2.0 is around $150, and the Perfect Pot is about $165. Bundles and sets offer some savings on the collection.
- Quality: Made from a sturdy aluminum body for fast, even heating with a non-toxic ceramic non-stick coating. Our Place cookware is designed for everyday use, but care must be taken (avoiding high heat and metal utensils) to preserve the coating.
- Key Features: Multifunctional design to reduce kitchen clutter, built-in spoon rest, and a nesting steamer basket. The cookware is free from PFAs, PFOAs, lead, and cadmium.
- Shopping Experience: Available directly from their website, which offers a great shopping experience, and through retail partners like Nordstrom and Williams Sonoma.
Our Place is the ideal choice for home cooks who appreciate beautiful design, versatility, and non-toxic materials for daily meals.
Shop Our Place: ourplace.com
HexClad: The High-Performance Hybrid Cookware
HexClad creates premium hybrid cookware that appeals to serious home chefs and culinary professionals. Its signature feature is a patented laser-etched hexagon pattern that combines the searing power and durability of stainless steel with the ease of a non-stick surface. This innovative construction allows for high-heat cooking and the use of metal utensils without fear of scratching, setting it apart from traditional non-stick pans.
- Product mix: A full line of cookware including various sizes of frying pans, woks, saucepans, and large stockpots. They also offer grill pans, griddles, knife sets, and accessories.
- Style/vibe: Sleek, professional, and high-tech. The stainless steel and black non-stick pattern creates a modern, industrial look that prioritizes performance.
- Price point: Premium. Individual 10-inch pans start around $140, while full cookware sets can range from $400 to over $1,000.
- Quality: Features a tri-ply construction (aluminum core between two layers of stainless steel) for excellent heat distribution. The surface is an FDA-approved, PFOA-free non-stick that is physically protected by the steel "peaks" of the hexagon pattern.
- Key Features: Scratch-resistant surface that works with metal utensils, oven safe up to 500°F, dishwasher safe, and stay-cool handles.
- Shopping Experience: You can buy directly from the HexClad website or through major retailers like Amazon. The brand offers a lifetime warranty, highlighting its commitment to durability.
HexClad is built for cooks who demand durability, high heat performance, and the flexibility to switch from stovetop to oven seamlessly.
Shop HexClad: hexclad.com
Our Place vs. HexClad Comparison
Price Comparison
Our Place positions itself in the mid-range market. At around $150, its flagship Always Pan is an accessible investment for its versatility. The pricing strategy encourages buying into an aesthetic ecosystem one piece at a time.
HexClad is a clear step up into the premium cookware category. An individual pan costs nearly the same as the Always Pan, and full sets represent a significant investment. However, HexClad justifies this with its lifetime warranty and durable construction, marketing its products as a final cookware purchase rather than a trendy update.
Style & Aesthetic
Style is at the heart of the Our Place brand. Its products are made to be seen, with a polished, minimalist design and a palette of attractive colors that complement modern kitchens. It’s cookware that doubles as kitchen decor.
HexClad’s aesthetic is driven entirely by performance. The look is professional, industrial, and uniform, with the signature hexagon pattern serving as a visual cue of its hybrid technology. It’s for the cook who prefers a serious, restaurant-style kitchen arsenal rather than a colorful display.
Quality & Construction
Our Place uses an aluminum body with a ceramic non-stick coating. This construction provides great heat distribution and an effective non-toxic cooking surface. The main drawback is the sensitivity of the ceramic, it can degrade with very high heat, abrasive scrubbing, or metal utensils.
HexClad's tri-ply stainless steel hybrid construction is in a different league for durability. The stainless steel "peaks" protect the non-stick "valleys," allowing you to get an excellent sear on steaks while still enjoying easy cleanup. It is oven-safe to a higher temperature (500°F vs. Our Place's 450°F) and is not susceptible to scratches from metal utensils.
Product Selection
Our Place is built on a philosophy of "less is more." Their main products, the Always Pan and Perfect Pot, are designed to handle the tasks of multiple traditional pots and pans, from braising and steaming to boiling and frying. The collection is highly focused, encouraging a minimalist approach to cookware.
HexClad offers a more traditional, comprehensive range of cookware. You can buy 8, 10, and 12-inch frying pans, multiple sizes of sauce pots, woks, stockpots, and grill pans. This allows chefs to build a complete, professional-style set where each piece is specialized for a particular task, suiting those who cook a wider variety of recipes that demand specific tools.
Sustainability & Ethics
Our Place makes sustainability and ethics a core part of its mission. The brand emphasizes its use of non-toxic, PFOA-free coatings, ethically-sourced materials, and eco-friendly packaging. By creating multifunctional products, they also advocate for reducing consumerism and kitchen clutter.
HexClad’s primary sustainability argument is longevity. By creating cookware that is scratch-resistant and backed by a lifetime warranty, the company aims to reduce the waste generated by consumers replacing cheaper, less durable non-stick pans every few years. Their materials are also PFOA-free, but eco-friendly manufacturing is less of a central marketing point compared to Our Place.
Which One Should You Choose?
Both brands offer excellent products, but they cater to very different types of cooks and priorities.
Choose Our Place if:
- You prioritize kitchen aesthetics and want cookware in beautiful, modern colors.
- You are looking for a multifunctional pan to simplify your cooking and save space.
- You primarily cook daily meals on low to medium heat.
- Using non-toxic, eco-friendly materials is your top shopping priority.
Choose HexClad if:
- You are a serious or aspiring home chef who needs high-performance, durable tools.
- You want the searing capability of stainless steel without the difficult cleanup.
- You often move your pans from the stovetop to the oven.
- You prioritize longevity and are willing to invest in cookware backed by a lifetime warranty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Our Place or HexClad cheaper?
Our Place is significantly cheaper on a per-piece basis. The popular Always Pan costs about $150, whereas a single comparable HexClad frying pan is often priced similarly or higher. Full sets from HexClad cost several hundred dollars more than an Our Place bundle.
Which has better quality cookware?
This depends on what you value. HexClad has superior build quality in terms of raw durability, heat tolerance, and scratch resistance due to its stainless steel hybrid construction. Our Place offers excellent quality for its intended use - everyday cooking - and features a high-quality, non-toxic ceramic non-stick surface, though it requires more gentle care.
Is it safe to use metal utensils on HexClad pans?
Yes. HexClad’s design specifically protects the non-stick surface, allowing you to use metal spatulas, whisks, and other utensils without scratching it. This is a major advantage over Our Place, where you should only use wood or silicone utensils.
Are HexClad and Our Place pans dishwasher safe?
HexClad cookware is fully dishwasher safe. While you can put the Always Pan from Our Place in the dishwasher, the brand strongly recommends hand-washing to prolong the life of the ceramic non-stick coating.
Which brand is better for searing meat?
HexClad is far superior for searing. Its stainless steel elements allow it to reach and maintain high temperatures necessary for creating a deep crust on steaks, burgers, and other meats. Traditional ceramic non-stick surfaces, like Our Place's, are typically not designed for sustained high-heat cooking.
Can the Always Pan go in the oven?
Yes, the newer version of the Our Place Always Pan is oven-safe up to 450°F. This makes it more versatile than its original model, though HexClad pans have a slightly higher oven-safe temperature of 500°F.
What kind of non-stick coating does each brand use?
Our Place uses a proprietary ceramic non-stick coating called Thermakind™ that is free of toxic materials like PFAS, PFOAs, lead, and cadmium. HexClad uses a high-grade, PFOA-free non-stick coating inside the valleys of its stainless steel hexagon pattern.
Is the non-stick on HexClad permanent?
HexClad's non-stick is very durable thanks to its patented design. With proper care (including occasional seasoning with oil), the non-stick properties should last a very long time, and the entire pan is backed by a lifetime warranty against manufacturer defects.
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