The Anova Precision Vacuum Sealer Pro is a compact edge sealer with moist and dry modes, a pulse control, an accessory port, built-in bag storage and a sliding cutter. Wirecutter makes it its top pick, measuring 25.1 inHg of suction and finding that bags sealed with it still held after six months in the freezer. Serious Eats calls it the best of the 25 models its team tested and found its double seal never failed during sous vide cooking. The drawbacks are minor: Wirecutter notes there is no removable drip tray and that it reached 83 dBA, and Serious Eats says it costs more than comparable models when not on sale.
Full review
Wirecutter's top pick
Wirecutter says the Precision Vacuum Sealer Pro has all of the features it looks for: powerful suction, several control options, a slot for bag storage, a bag cutter, an accessory port for jar and container attachments, and a foot-long sealing bar that makes a double seal. It measured 25.1 inHg of suction, against roughly 29 inHg for the most powerful sealers including commercial ones.
At 15¾ by 7½ by 4¼ inches it is unusually compact for a model with bag storage and a cutter built in, and Wirecutter says that after years of long-term testing its staff reach for the smaller models most.
Seals that held
In Wirecutter's long-term test, bags of raspberries and ground beef sealed with the Pro held their seals after six months in the freezer, and bags of walnuts were still sealed after nine months. Wirecutter found the double seal stronger than the single seal of its budget pick, the base Anova.
Serious Eats, whose team tested 25 models, found the Pro's seal never budged or failed despite high water temperatures and long stints in a sous vide bath, while a surprising number of other brands failed under the same conditions.
Controls and handling
Moist and dry modes adjust the sealing time, a pulse button lets the user stop short of crushing delicate food, and a seal-only option turns roll stock into bags. Wirecutter says the handle lifts and closes with minimal effort and that lifting it stops the vacuum.
Serious Eats adds that the swivel handle folds down and locks for storage so the unit packs flat, that the locking lid virtually eliminated crooked or misaligned bags, and that the Pro needs no rest period between seals; Anova claims up to 100 continuous sealings.
What to know before buying
Wirecutter's flaws are small ones: there is no removable drip tray, so liquid that reaches the vacuum channel has to be wiped out with a paper towel, and the Pro hit 83 dBA at its loudest, in line with the 73 to 84 dBA of the other models it tested. It also has no cancel button.
Serious Eats' complaints are price, since it costs more than models with comparable performance when not on sale, and a manual that relies on diagrams without explanatory text. Wirecutter notes it comes with one starter bag roll and a two-year warranty.
Strengths
- +Wirecutter's top pick and Serious Eats' best overall
- +Serious Eats found its double seal never failed during long sous vide cooks
- +Bag storage, a sliding cutter and an accessory port in a compact 15¾ by 7½ by 4¼ inch body, per Wirecutter
Watch-outs
- −No removable drip tray; Wirecutter says liquid in the channel has to be wiped out with a paper towel
- −Wirecutter recorded 83 dBA while vacuuming, about as loud as a vacuum cleaner
- −No cancel button, per Wirecutter, though lifting the handle stops the vacuum
- −Pricier than models with comparable performance when not on sale, per Serious Eats
How it compares
The Anova Precision Vacuum Sealer Pro adds the bag roll storage, cutter and accessory port that the base Anova Vacuum Sealer lacks, and Wirecutter found its double seal stronger than the base model's single seal. Wirecutter rates the Nesco Deluxe VS-12 as having the same suction power as the Pro in a bulkier, heavier body with a cancel button the Pro does not have.
Rating sources
“Never again will have I have freezer burned meat or veggies... With the Anova Precision Vacuum Sealer Pro a whole lot more vacuum seals than it ever used to.”
“It was hard for me to find many faults with the Anova Precision Vacuum Sealer Pro, which I consider to be one of the best vacuum sealers available for home cooks today.”
“this is going to be more of just walking through the features using it that sort of a video so with that let's jump into it”
“This vacuum sealer has the suction capability of models that cost twice as much.”
Our 4.5 score is the average of the 2 scored reviews above; 3 more reviewed it without printing a score and are not in the average. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
