Leasha, rice cookers steam the rice. There is no need to stir and IMO the rice is nicer. It's the only way I cook rice. I think the brands are much of a muchness, although you can get some with a steamer basket so you can steam vegies while you cook the rice and that's a good idea. The one thing I would watch, is that many of them have a minimum cook amount of 2 cups of rice, which is too much for us. So I would try and get one where you can cook less.