18/8, 18/10, and 18/0 Decoded: How to Read Stainless Steel Cookware Labels

Those two-number labels on cookware boxes are not marketing fluff — they are shorthand for the alloy's actual composition, and that composition determines how your pan behaves on day one of cooking and on year ten of ownership. The first number is chromium, the second is nickel. An 18/8 pan contains roughly 18% chromium and 8% nickel; an 18/0 pan has the chromium but no nickel. That single difference drives corrosion resistance, magnetism, and induction compatibility.

Decoding Stainless Steel Grades: 18/0, 18/8, 18/10, and Beyond

The retail labels and the industrial numbers describe the same metals. As cookware manufacturer Changwen explains, 18-8 is another name for 304 stainless steel, one of the most widely used and trusted grades in the food service industry. The same mapping applies to 18/10, which also falls within the 304 family. The AISI numbers — 304, 316, 430 — are the materials-science designations and, as one cookware guide notes, they tell you more, including whether molybdenum is in the alloy.

What makes steel "stainless" in the first place is chromium. According to the British Stainless Steel Association, cited in a cookware buying guide, stainless steels are corrosion-resistant steels with at least 10.5% chromium, and elements such as nickel and molybdenum further affect corrosion resistance and performance. Nickel enhances durability and gives the metal its lustrous finish, while chromium provides the corrosion resistance. The "8" in 18/8 refers to that nickel content.

Then there is 18/0, which corresponds to the 430 grade. It is a different metallurgical family — ferritic rather than austenitic — and that distinction matters most when you turn on an induction burner, as we will see below.

Stainless Steel Cookware Grades: Quick Comparison

The table below classifies the common grades by composition and maps them to the two characteristics that matter most in a kitchen: how well the steel resists corrosion, and whether a magnet will stick to it — the practical test for induction compatibility.

Common stainless steel grades in cookware and flatware
Grade (retail & SAE)	Composition (Cr/Ni)	Corrosion Resistance	Magnetic (Induction Ready?)	Common Kitchen Uses
18/0 (Type 430)	~18% chromium, no nickel	Less corrosion resistance than 304 grades	Yes — magnetic, suitable for induction	Flatware, dishwasher-safe utensils, magnetic outer layer of clad pans; less common as a primary cooking surface
18/8 (Type 304)	~18% chromium, 8% nickel	Excellent, from chromium and nickel content	Generally non-magnetic when annealed; may become slightly magnetic after cold working; not typically suitable for induction unless combined with a magnetic layer	Everyday cookware, food service equipment, utensils; a trusted grade in the food service industry
18/10 (Type 304)	~18% chromium, 10% nickel	Excellent, with the higher nickel supporting durability and corrosion resistance	Same as 18/8 — austenitic and generally non-magnetic	Higher-end cookware and flatware, especially for acidic-food contact

The pattern that emerges is a genuine trade-off rather than a simple hierarchy. The 304-family grades win on corrosion resistance and durability; the 430 grade wins on magnetism. This is why many quality pans use both.

Practical Implications for Your Kitchen: Corrosion and Induction

Nickel is what separates a pan that shrugs off tomato sauce from one that needs more care. Because 18/8 and 18/10 carry higher nickel content, they offer better durability and corrosion resistance, which — as Xometry's materials guide puts it — makes them "perfect for cookware that comes into contact with acidic foods." An 18/0 pan is still suitable for basic cookware applications, but without nickel it may be more prone to corrosion.

Induction works in the opposite direction. Citing the Machinery's Handbook, Pi Fabricators explains that austenitic grades like 304 are nonmagnetic in the annealed condition but become slightly magnetic after cold working such as bending, drawing, or machining, while ferritic grades like 430 are magnetic in all conditions. The practical test is simple: if a magnet sticks strongly to a stainless part, it is most likely a 400-series ferritic grade; if it does not stick or sticks only weakly, it is most likely a 300-series austenitic grade.

This is why 18/0 steel is almost never used as a cooking surface — its primary cookware role is the magnetic outer layer of induction-compatible clad pans, where it lets the induction coil engage. A 304 interior for food contact and a 430 exterior for the burner is the standard engineering solution, so a non-magnetic cooking surface does not mean a pan will not work on induction.