Air fryers are the hot topic of any kitchen conversation and they’re only getting hotter. These speedy, compact machines started off as excellent options for crispy chips. Now, they can handle everything from whole pizzas to full turkeys: even the smallest, most basic models offer bake, broil, and dehydration functions, often finished in minutes. The latest and greatest models offer flexible drawers, different doors, and countless cooking options.
With never-ending innovations in the air fryer industry, we’ve decided to dedicate a team to covering all things air fryers. Our experts have tested well over 30 different air fryers in the process of crafting this guide, but we only think 12 are worth buying.
These are the best of the best. We have ceramic and stainless steel options, easy non-stick designs, and ones that double up as toaster ovens too. Our list covers every shape, size, and style you can think of. We’ve also put some air frying giants head-to-head, so that you know exactly which model can cater to your needs.
So without further ado, here's our hot list – including where to pick up the best air fryer deals on the top machines.
The Quick List
Best air fryer overall
Capacity: 6 quarts
The best air fryer in the world, making perfect fries with a unique odor neutralizer that saves your kitchen from the smell of fried food.
Best two-basket air fryer
Capacity: 8 quarts
The Vortex Plus Dual has the same features as the single drawer, but with a bigger capacity.
Best multicooker air fryer
Capacity: 6.5 quarts
Our favorite multicooker, this Instant Pot has a remarkably good air fryer function for a multi-functional appliance.
Best large air fryer
Capacity: 7 quarts
The two drawers of this air fryer collapse into a single 7 quart 'megazone', so you can air fry large joints of meat.
Fastest air fryer
Capacity: 8 quarts
This air fryer not only has a huge capacity, but it's also the fastest air fryer we've ever tested.
Best value air fryer
Capacity: 6 quarts
Drew Barrymore's Beautiful air fryer is surprisingly good, and never more than $80.
Best air fryers 2024
You can trust Homes & Gardens. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing the latest products, helping you choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Best air fryer overall
This is the best air fryer in the world. The Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6-Quart 6-in-1 Air Fryer made the best homemade fries of any air fryer I tested. They had a fluffy interior and crispy exterior, with evenly browned edges and consistent cooking throughout.
Because there is a removable air fry insert, you can also use the Instant Pot Vortex Plus 6-Quart 6-in-1 Air Fryer to reheat foods like rice and pasta, which would usually fall through the slots in the air fryer tray. The 'ClearCook display' is a slightly gimmicky term for a window so that you can monitor your food, but it's an obvious idea that makes cooking a lot easier and saves you pulling out the basket to check on your food.
The six-quart capacity is perfect for families, and it will easily cook for 5 or 6 people. My bacon was rendered perfectly, and the innovative OdorErase technology isn't just a gimmick – it hugely reduced unwanted smells in the kitchen. On top of all of that, this is also one of the quietest air fryers I've tried, and I found that the control panel is sleek and attractive, though be prepared to wipe away finger smudges. The only real issue is that you have to clean it by hand.
My Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 Air Fryer with ClearCook and OdorErase review has more details.
Best two-basket air fryer
With an 8-quart capacity that's split across two drawers, this Instant Vortex Plus Dual Basket Air Fryer is perfect for families and those who want to cook a whole meal in one appliance. The fries I made in this air fryer were amazing, and they were already starting to brown after just 10 minutes of cooking. We had to shake them up to get an even finish, but they were some of the crispiest fries we've made, and only took 22 minutes. In the other basket, I made breaded fish, which also came out deliciously crisp.
The two baskets are 4 quarts each, which is perfect for cooking an entire meal for two people or a batch of fries or roasted vegetables for an entire family split across the two baskets. Of course, if you're only cooking something small for a lunchtime salad topper, you can just use one drawer at a time. Choose SyncFinish mode to cook your meal at two different times, modes or temperatures, but to finish at the same time. SyncCook will take the settings you've applied to one drawer and copy them across to the second drawer. Both are easy to use, and the touch controls will make adjusting your timings mid-cook easy.
We pitted this against TikTok's favorite Ninja air fryer (the 6-in-1 Dual) and the Instant still came out on top. This is nearly $70 cheaper and is still incredibly quick, with all the premium features we know and love Instant for.
The only important thing to bear in mind with this air fryer is that it takes up a lot of space on a countertop. It's more than a square foot, so it might not be easy to store. Like the smaller 6-quart version above, cleaning obsessives will find that this air fryer smudges easily.
My Instant Vortex Plus Dual Basket Air Fryer review has more information.
Best multicooker air fryer
The Instant Pot Pro Crisp beat its predecessor to go straight in at #1 in our picks of the best Instant Pots. It truly does it all, with 11 different functions. Unlike some other Instant Pots, this appliance has a single lid for every function, halving the space you need for storage and making this appliance incredibly easy to use.
It certainly impressed home economics expert Helen McCue. She was particularly pleased with the air fryer mode, which crisped perfect rashers of bacon in just seven minutes. She also found that this Instant Pot helped to create one of the best mac 'n' cheeses she ever cooked. Even better, the different functions meant she could do it all in one pot, hugely cutting down on cleaning afterward.
There's also a stress-free pressure cooking function, which takes all the worry out of cooking by releasing steam automatically. That's great for curries and Chinese dishes. It has 13 functions in one appliance, so you can cook everything from whole roast chickens to curry or mashed potatoes. The only problem Helen found is that the stainless steel pot isn't non-stick, so you might need to put a little extra effort into cleaning to get it back to looking its best.
Helen's full Instant Pot Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid review has all the detail.
Best large air fryer
If you need to feed a big family with large portions, this is the best large air fryer. Simply remove the dividing wall between the two baskets to make one large air fryer basket. You can load it with large portions of fries, veggies and more to make a whole meal in one pot.
On test, we found it very similar to the Ninja Foodi. It has sync-cook and match finish functions that make it easy to cook two different dishes at once, and it's easy to use. It's also speedy – I particularly liked the roast vegetables we made in this air fryer. It's dishwasher-safe, too.
However, the unique shape of the air fryer basket is one of its biggest drawbacks; you can't tip the contents out. Maybe it's just me being lazy, but it's so much faster to be able to pull the basket out and quickly tip a load of fries onto a plate. You can't do that with this air fryer because the basket is too big. It's also so fast that it can be hard to cook. Even though I adjusted the cooking times a little and stopped the program a few minutes early, the fries we made were overdone.
You can find out more in our full review
Fastest air fryer
The Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 XL 2-Basket Air Fryer is the fastest air fryer I've tested. A high 450°F temperature limit means it made the quickest bacon and frozen chicken in my tests. There are six modes: air broil, air fry, roast, reheat, dehydrate and bake. I found that the air fry mode is great, especially when you use the removable crisper plates, and you can use one in one drawer to air fry chicken while baking or roasting vegetables in the other drawer to make fast fajitas.
That's because you can sync the two drawers, so every element of your meal will finish together. You can choose between smart finish, which allows you to cook at two different modes simultaneously with them finishing at the same time, or match cook, where the settings in drawer 1 are automatically applied to drawer 2.
We've tested cheaper models, such as the Ultenic K20 and Cosori Dual Blaze, which boast the same smart sync finish functions, but they all feel less premium. Everything about them is just that bit more clunky, loud, slow, or unreliable. The Ninja is good value anyway, but when you look at it against these, you can see why it's worth paying a bit more.
Unlike other air fryers you can place both drawers and the crisper insert into the dishwasher, so not only is it easy to use, but it's easy to clean, too. If you own a small dishwasher, you can buy more flexible, silicone inserts, so you won't have to even touch the drawers: the inserts can go in the dishwasher instead.
Our only criticisms are that there's no pre-heat function, so the Ninja loses marks for precision. It also takes a little getting used to, as it's easy to confuse the 'match' and 'smart finish' functions.
My Ninja Foodi DZ401 6-in-1 XL 2-Basket Air Fryer review covers all the detail.
Best value air fryer
We were sceptical when Drew Barrymore came out with her own line of appliances and we were first in line to review them. The Beautiful 6-Quart Digital Air Fryer looked just as good in person as it did online, with a sage green finish (it also comes in black, white, blue, and other shades) and a matte exterior that resists scuff marks.
The six-quart basket is great for families, but it also worked well on smaller servings of snacks. In her tests, expert tester Camryn Rabideau baked bagels, made French fries, and dehydrated slices of apple, and everything came out well-cooked and evenly crisped. What's more, I've never seen it cost more than $90. For the price, this is a brilliant and stylish pick.
The Beautiful 6-Quart Digital Air Fryer has modes for dehydrating, roasting, air frying, and reheating food. It's got a smart touchscreen control panel that increases the temperature in 5-degree increments up to 400°F.
While Camryn found that the materials felt a little cheap, you should bear in mind that this is true of most air fryers, as they're largely made of plastic. However, Camryn also found that you have to press the buttons right in the center for the air fryer to work, which can be a little frustrating.
Camryn's Beautiful 6-Quart Digital Air Fryer review has more details.
Best air fryer for ease of use
This air fryer has better preset functions than any other. Our homemade fries came out very crispy and evenly cooked, and they finished about 10 minutes ahead of when we'd usually expect them to be ready. The bacon was cooked in just five minutes, and the vegetables came out with the crispiest finish of all the air fryers I tested. That's thanks to a handy 'starfish' base that makes sure the air circulates around the entire basket for evenly cooked results.
The preset functions on this air fryer were a little confusing at first, and they all have specific timings. That's tricky if you're cooking very different sizes of cuts of meat in one mode. However, once you've mastered this you hardly need to think about what you're cooking. The presets take care of everything and turn out perfect food every time.
Smaller households or those with less kitchen space to spare will love the Philips Essential Airfryer XL, but it is expensive for its capacity and the controls are a little cluttered. However, when the big sales periods roll around, keep an eye on this appliance. We saw the price plummet several times last year, so you might be able to grab a steal.
Whilst this wasn't as intuitive as Ninja and Cosori air fryers, this still seriously impressed me with its cooking ability. Choosing the Philips over models higher up this guide simply means compromising on slick functions as well as enduring a little more noise (I found that it was one of the noisier options, registering 72dBA).
My Philips Essential Air Fryer XL review has more information.
The ones that just missed the list
We've also tested other options that didn't make the grade, as well as some other appliances with air frying functions.
Easiest to use
Capacity: 6.5 quarts
This air fryer has perfect presets, cooking entire meals at the touch of a button. It's expensive for what it does though.
Best toaster oven air fryer
Capacity: 9x13 inch baking pan
This toaster oven has the best air fry function of any we've tested, but if you just wanted an air fryer, it's a bit bulky.
Best basic air fryer
Capacity: 4 quarts
This no-frills fryer is basic, but it made the best roast asparagus we've ever tested. It's short on space and a bit too simple for us though.
Best smart air fryer
Capacity: 6.8 quarts
This smart air fryer can be controlled from your phone for easy air frying. It's surprisingly loud and slower than all of our other favorites.
Best compact air fryer
Capacity: 5.5 quarts
Ironically, our tests found that the Max XL is actually the best compact air fryer. It doesn't pre-heat, so timings can be tricky.
Best for small households
Capacity: 5.3 quarts
This nontoxic air fryer is good for small homes – it doesn't take up much room, but can still tackle a whole chicken. The presets tend to overcook though.
How we tested these air fryers
Testing the Paris Rhone Air Fryer with a whole chicken
There's more detail in our explanation of how we test air fryers, but when testing, I took into account the following factors:
Noise: The noise of an air fryer can impact your ability to use it. Perhaps you like to cook while listening to the TV, or you live in a smaller home and the noise of an air fryer running would distract you as you work. If an air fryer is noisy, I make a note of it.
Speed: Air fryers promise to speed up cooking times, so when testing them I used standardized recipes to see how long they will take to cook classic recipes. While potato fries would typically take around 25 minutes in the air fryer, the speediest air fryers we tested have taken as little as 12 minutes to make crisp, evenly-cooked fries.
Looks: It's going on your kitchen counters, so it has to look the part. You might not mind a less attractive air fryer as much as some other users, but any bulky features or unattractive elements such as smudging or busy display panels were noted during testing.
Cleaning: Cleaning an air fryer should be easy. Most have baskets that can go in the dishwasher, and it's rare to find one without a non-stick interior. If I ran into any difficulties cleaning, I marked it down.
Some of the air fryers in our guide have been reviewed on other Future Homes websites, but they have all been reviewed by me, so I can still bring you all my inside knowledge even if you can't click through to read the full review on Homes & Gardens.
For more insight, our review guidelines explain more about our product review process.
Meet the team
Meet our professional testers. All our reviews are carried out by our dedicated in-house writers and experienced freelancers. We've tested dozens of products over the years and we insist on first-hand experience of the products we feature.
Most of the air fryers in this guide to the best air fryers were tested by our resident testing genius and Head of Reviews, Millie Fender. Millie tested these air fryers for weeks in her kitchen at home as well as our dedicated test kitchen, so she can directly compare taste, user experience, cooking times, and ease of cleaning.
Helen is trained in Home Economics, and has focused on food and cooking throughout her 20-year career. She is a freelance writer specializing in home appliance reviews, and most at home when trying out the latest kitchen gadgets.
Camryn has been reviewing kitchen appliances for years, and she has reviewed everything from bread makers to juicers for Homes & Gardens.
Camryn reviewed the Beautiful 6-Quart Digital Air Fryer from her home in Rhode Island, finding 'a great entry-level air fryer for anyone who wants a more attractive appliance'.
Our former Ecommerce Editor, Jaclyn has tested dozens of top kitchen appliances to help you find the very best.
How to choose an air fryer
There are a few different types of air fryers to choose from, but all of them work in a similar way. You can choose between two main types:
Drawer air fryers have inserts with handles that can be easily lifted out of the cooking unit and shaken up to evenly cook your fries or chicken without having to turn using a spatula.
They are a very popular design because they often have an insert that elevates your food to allow air to circulate inside the air fryer basket as it cooks. You can sometimes even lift this filter out of the main basket, which contains oil and juices as they drip away from your food, to make sure none of it ends up on your plate.
Toaster oven air fryers are the second and less common type. We feature many of them in our guide to toaster ovens because they come with layered designs that can be used to bake and roast as well as air fry.
Some even come with rotisserie functions that can be used to cook kebabs or whole chickens, but because they don't have a drawer that can be easily pulled out, they can be more fiddly to operate, but they most closely resemble a smaller-scale oven. We explain in more detail in our guide to air fryers vs toaster ovens, and our explainer of air fryers vs convection ovens.
FAQs
How much does an air fryer cost?
You can typically expect to pay between $80 and $150 for an air fryer, but a few of our top picks come in at under $80, and some of the smarter options go up to $200. As a general rule, as you go up in budget you'll find that the options become smarter and larger. The best value air fryers I've tested come with one large-capacity basket and a drawer-style design that is easy to use and clean.
How big of an air fryer do I need?
For the average buyer, I suggest buying a five-quart air fryer. The basket is large enough to not be crammed when cooking for your family, but won't take up too much space on the counter.
For two-person households, between two and four quarts of capacity will serve your day-to-day air frying needs. However, if you want to cook for more than two people or you plan on cooking two elements of your meal at once, some of the top dual-drawer air fryers offer up to nine quarts of cooking space.
Testing chicken and fires in the Ninja Max XL Air Fryer
Final thoughts
You can see above that the very best air fryer you can buy is the Instant Vortex Plus 6-in 1 Air Fryer. However, it won't work for everyone. Larger families should opt for the Instant Vortex Plus Dual Basket, and if you need a little speed, the Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 is a good option.
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